READING REVIEW BLOG POST #1

Stuart, Harrison (Cartoonist). (2007). Welcome to your new English class [cartoon]. Retrieved from https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonview.asp?catref=sha0388

Student apathy is an issue that has been ongoing since I started teaching seven years ago. I am interested in finding a way to engage students in the English 11-12 curriculum so that they take away something from the course that is meaningful and relevant to them. Most students want to finish their assignments quickly, and with as little effort as possible. This sometimes leads to them plagiarizing their work, another issue that I have been dealing with over the past few years. I also teach Advanced Placement English Literature and I would like to find ways for students to get the most out of the course by using digital technology to help expedite their learning. Last year I started using Moodle to provide the students with resources they could use to further their learning, most students didn’t take advantage of this and I would like to find a way to get them to using these digital tools available to them.

At the high school I was working at, teachers were given a large budget to purchase technology as part of the new school building budget. Our department decided that we wanted to purchase tablets for student use. While most students have a device they bring to school, there are some students who do not have one, so these tablets will help these students gain access to online resources. While most students have had access to the Internet their whole life, they really lack some basic digital literacy skills. They can text and share photos, but they can’t attach a document to an email or double space their assignments. They have been exposed to blogs and wikis on the Internet, but have never created one before. These are basic skills that students are missing out on because we assume that this generation has grown up with this technology, so they should be experts in using it.

I am interested in exploring a few different ideas in terms of students using their own devices, or the tablets our department provides for them. I would like to be able to find digital tools that will help students become more engaged in the assignments and subject matter, but for authentic purposes. English Language Arts classes offer quite a bit of freedom as to what we teach or how we teach the course in order to have the students successfully meet the prescribed learning outcomes. Not only do I want to find engaging ways in the digital world to connect them to the course, I also want to find a way to teach students how to avoid plagiarism by finding a way to teach them how to cite their sources. I also want them to develop their skills in using programs such as Microsoft Office and other programs that are essential to 21^st century learning. This will help to prepare students for post-secondary education and for their future.