I think that, for me, the statement within Chapter 1 that spoke the loudest to me was: "The point is to teach them to better acquire, process, and present information using the computer as a tool" (p. 2). I very openly admit that I am somewhat of a luddite. However, the more that I read and learn about computers, especially in the classroom, the more I see them as a vehicle through which children can gain a better understanding of their world. Not only that, but that they can use to express their new-found knowledge with the rest of the world. As such, I agree with much of what Chapter 1 said: that teachers should do some informing of the things that a computer can do, but mostly that it should serve as a place to display understanding. In that way, I believe I am becoming more comfortable with the idea of computers in the classroom.
Given that I am interested in teaching literature, I can easily see myself encouraging students to use computers to explore databases filled with literary criticism and hopefully could point them in the direction of websites that provide free short stories, poems, and sometimes even novels.
The more time that I spend reading this book, the more I become excited for being a teacher and for the things I didn't know would be so easy to share with my students.
I like that you intend on expanding your literature classes with using the computer. In my IB English IV class, we were completely discouraged from using the computer in any way.
ReplyDeleteWhich naturally meant I used Sparknotes.... and only Sparknotes. Of course, nothing truly compares to reading the book the first time, but so long as you recognize the Internet as a resource, your classes will be enriched. I also believe that the internet/electronic resources encourage more thinking. When a student is only presented with one thought process about a given topic, it's hard for them to think on their own.
Viva la Sparknotes!
Hahaha, yes I think that is a problem a lot of the time with students. However, I use Sparknotes still, as supplimentary material. I had a teacher with whom we read everything aloud in class in addition to reading it at home. We read it, took a quiz on it, then read it again in class. She read Sparknotes too and made sure that none of the answers on her tests could be found that way. Everyone still managed to get A's though. EVERYONE. I like that style quite a bit. Mostly, I just want to be her.
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