Author, Scott Nailor
Category Archives: Technology Integration
Alternative Resources for Flipping Your Lessons
As I have learned more about the Flipped Classroom and as I have searched for smart, innovative ways to practice these methods, I’ve been a little disappointed. I do like the idea that flipped lessons enable teachers to better differentiate their instruction and hone focus on mastering skills, but it seems those who are leading this movement are focusing mostly on science and math to the neglect of the humanities and language arts in particular. Khan Academy and at The Flipped Class Network, for example, have countless math and science videos but very few that are useful to us in the humanities. Given this lack of resources for language and lit, I came up with some alternative sources you might consider if you want to try flipping your middle or high school language arts lessons. Some easily overlooked places you might find these useful videos (often referred to as “vodcasts” … Continue reading
Posted in Flipped Classroom, Informational Texts, Presenting, Technology Integration
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, engage students, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, middle school lesson plans, online lesson plans, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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Flipping your Classroom
I have been hearing a lot lately about the “flipped” classroom. If you haven’t heard about it yet, Holly Epstein Ojalvo and Shannon Doyne of the New York Times provide a succinct definition: “an ‘inverted’ teaching structure in which instructional content is delivered outside class, and engagement with the content – skill development and practice, projects and the like – is done in class, under teacher guidance and in collaboration with peers.” It all started when a couple of teachers started recording their lectures and posting them as Power Points on the net for students who were absent. And that is the essence of it really. You provide content for the students to access outside the classroom and structured exploratory activities and lessons based on that content in the classroom. This “flips” the teacher’s role from class lecturer (information provider) to class guide through activities based on the pre-assigned content. … Continue reading
Posted in Common Core Standards, Flipped Classroom, Technology Integration
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, engage students, flip classroom, flipped classroom, flipped lesson plans, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, interactive lesson, Language Arts Lesson Plans, language arts websites, middle school lesson plans, online english, shakespeare, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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Teach Students to Use the Power of Images with Worlde, Creatly, and Statworld
The other day a student stood in the middle of my classroom holding his cellphone at arm’s length, pointing it at the white board. I was about to tell him to put it away, but then I realized what he was doing and it gave me pause to think…he was “taking notes” by snapping a digital picture of what I had written on the board. So I wondered, what if I asked him to use those images in his next essay? Isn’t this a way to integrate technology into the language arts curriculum—taking digital pictures and using them with text? But really, when is the last time you asked your students to include images in their essays? Probably never, right? When students include pictures, it’s usually to adorn the cover of the essay beneath one of those annoying plastic report covers. But consider how many images the average student encounters … Continue reading
Posted in Informational Texts, Lesson Plans, Reading, Technology Integration, Writing
Tagged classroom technology, digital text, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, interactive lesson, language arts, Language Arts Lesson Plans, language arts websites, technology integration, Technology lesson plans
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Commit to Trying New Methods on Digital Learning Day
If you have been teaching for a long time, making changes can be difficult and even intimidating. Sometimes it’s easier to close the door to the classroom and do what you have always done instead of worrying about whatever next “big thing” is coming along. Things, after all, are always changing and maybe it’s impossible to keep up with it all. But today technology is significantly impacting how our students engage and process information more than ever. Consider how in the last decade our chalkboards have been replaced with LCD projectors and smart boards. Grade books are accessible by students and parents online 24/7, graphing calculators are now available as downloadable apps on smart phones, and students communicate in a dozen different ways using as many different modes of technology from email and texting to Facebook, chat, and Skype. Textbooks, magazines, novels and newspapers are no longer limited to the … Continue reading
Posted in Lesson Plans, Presenting, Technology Integration
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Diigo: A Powerful, Hands-On Research Tool for Students and Teachers
Informational Texts Common Core Standard #1 – Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Remember back when we were in school and research meant pouring over books in the library with a stack of note cards? When I was in college, I became very handy with Post-it® notes and multi-colored highlighters for finding “textual evidence.” I miss those days hunched over a notebook amid piles of old books. I loved rolling up my sleeves and immersing myself in the physical work of learning. Students seldom set foot in brick-and-mortar libraries for research anymore, and they rarely flip through actual paper books or periodicals either. Most research is done with electronic resources now, and I don’t know any current students who know what a library card catalog looks like (you know, the ones with the long, narrow … Continue reading
Bring Shakespeare to Old Time Radio–Common Core Standard 9
Most students are probably not aware that copyright protection laws are relatively new, so they might be surprised to learn just how many famous authors like Shakespeare borrowed and adapted others’ ideas. They should already know (I hope) that Stephanie Meyer’s books aren’t entirely original vampire stories, but they probably don’t know how many earlier “versions” of Romeo and Juliet you can find. Common Core Standard 9. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare). Although there are many authors who treat themes and topics from earlier works in their own, Shakespeare is one of the easiest to approach with students simply because one can find more information online about him than nearly any other author. If you are lucky … Continue reading
Posted in Audio, Classical Literature, Common Core Standards, Drama, Lesson Plans, Shakespeare, Technology Integration, World Literature
Tagged classroom technology, Common Core Standards, digital text, high school english, High School Lesson Plans, interactive lesson, language arts websites, middle school lesson plans, romeo and juliet, shakespeare, technology integration
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