This week, I have been busy using many forms of technology in preparation for my field experience. I have been emailing a few professors, my cooperating teacher, and my field partner getting ready for the upcoming field experience. I have been surfing the web, looking for reliable websites to learn all I can about the Middle Ages. I have been creating and sharing lesson plans with my partner. I have been creating PowerPoint presentations on feudalism and medieval architecture. I have been looking for an appropriate webquest for my students to complete; and the week is not even over yet. As I prepare, I try to keep in mind if I am truly creating technology rich lessons. Am I using technology to inspire the students I will be teaching? Are the sites I am considering really interactive educational sites? Will they be of benefit to the students? I hope I will make wise choices that will inspire the students and help them learn.
Although I watched the video We Didn’t Start the Fire and I enjoyed it, today while watching the NBC News they referenced a video created by students at Village Academy High School in Pomona, California. They are students in Mr. Michael Steinman’s advanced placement language arts class. As part of their studies they had been reading The Great Gatsby about the American dream. Mr. Steinman asked how the students were doing in this economy. Every student had something to say. As a class they talked and did many writing assignments and then they decided to create the video. The experiences they relate are very emotional, so emotional in fact that President Obama mentioned them in a speech on March 10th and actually paid a visit to the classroom today, March 19th. This is an example of an authentic use of technology in the classroom that made some very important people see the economic crisis from the eyes of teens. I recommend watching it. Is Anybody Listening? A testament by Village Academy High School Students on the Economic Crisis can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WMTTrOrKVI.
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