Writing the Book on Online Literature Circles

Raising Reading Achievement through Web-based Mentoring
by Melanie Helt

The goals were to raise reading and writing skills and scores by using technology. A group of educators used the well known literature circle model in which small groups discuss a common novel of their choice and created an online learning community. They tested the students and those with a below reading level were also placed in a "study group" along with the general program all students participated in. The other students were used as the "control group" and the study groups were tested through out the year. The sessions were focused on a theme and the students read books about this general theme. The groups were mixed by gender and ability. Students read books, discussed them online with peers and mentors, and were given homework assignments.

Q1: Was this project successful and Why?
A1: According to the test results, the reading scores increased for all students. It is debatable whether it was the technology that helped the students improve, however, based on this research, this is one successful way to include technology in the classroom. I think one of the most important aspects of the project was the student mentors who helped in analyzing the reading content to pull out the deeper meanings from the text. In my experience, one-on-one help is very beneficial to most students learning.

Q2: How could I use this project in my own classroom?
A2: Through this project the results showed for the discussions, students were willing to go online to check other students' comments and discuss connections to their own lives. They were motivated to think critically and express their thoughts about the reading. I think it would be useful to use this kind of idea in the classroom. Maybe for reading groups I could have the students post their discussions online with peers/partners and with a mentor. Overall, I see how discussing the information online could help in writing and reading abilities.

Improving Student Writing Through Email Mentoring

by Mary Burns

Teaching a writing class, Ms. Burns was struggling with her students. They continued to make consistent mistakes, use a limited vocabulary and remain uninterested in the assignments. She tried peer reviews, however, her students were just getting bored and frustrated. Finally, she came up with the idea to set up her students with "mentors" who were in jobs the student's were interested in. The students and mentors were required to communicate at least four times over email and Ms. Burns graded their emails as the writing assignments. They went over proper email etiquette, etc. Students and mentors alike were enthusiastic about the project and exceeded the minimum work. Students vocabulary and overall writing improved immensely.

Q1: How can I use this idea/project in my teaching?

A1: Email is fairly simple to use and many schools now own computers for students. The real challenge would be to have a social/professional network to contact people from different career areas who would be interested in mentoring a student. This project is mainly geared toward older students such as middle school and high school, who have a bigger idea of what they want to do for a career.

Q2:How could I adapt this idea for elementary students?

A2: I am planning to teach elementary students, and while the career mentoring may be a bit too early for the students, the elements of email communication for writing skills are important. As I have read and heard before, there are ways to communicate with a classroom from another part of the world. Students can connect over internet with other students and you can collaborate with the other teacher for projects, etc. Not only does this bring awareness of different cultures and geography, but it is a fun way to have students practice and improve writing through social networking and email communication.

Connecting Curriculum Across the Continent

by Stephen W. Zsiray, Jr., Zan Burningham, and Lori McGivern


In order to get their students involved in the hot debate over capital punishment, the teachers used writing and art to express their knowledge and understanding about the issue. They had the students study a current popular case. The two teachers, Zan and Lori had met at an exchange program hosted by the American Councils for International Education and used two-way Internet videoconferencing for discussing lessons and presentations with the students and informally with each other as well. Lori covered the social studies part, while Zan covered the art-collages and gesso art pieces. They had four formal sessions using videoconferencing in class.

Q1:How can I use technology to work with other teachers?
A1: Within school districts and classes, it is very common for teachers to collaborate and even team teach. In this article, the teachers work together to teach a lesson. They use technology to their advantage, not allowing distance to keep them from using each other as a resource. With technology, our limitation of personal resources are becoming smaller.

Q2:What was/can be student interaction in a project like this?
A2:In this case, students used email between sessions to clarify discussion topics, research
assignments and other projects. When they were finished with their projects, they sent them to their peers as well. Interactions in groups and between peers is important, and this project shows that you are not limited to the people sitting next to you. Students learn how to communicate through the web and better realize the possibilities of technology through this project.

Photography Enters the Digital Age

by Laurence Goldberg

This article was written in 2000, when the digital photography age was just starting. Teacher John Wiegand in Philadelphia created a digital photography class for the technology program. Students used digital editing software to edit their photos and create their own designs and "art." They experimented with digital enhancement, cropping, insertion of subjects into different backgrounds, etc. Students learned traditional photography methods when taking the picture and used the editing features to enhance them.

Q1:What are some issues the project brings up?

A1:When working with the photos, especially with public domain photos, there is always the issue of ethics. Some people change and enhance photos in order to deceive their audience. It is important to make students aware of the ethics of digital editing and ask probing questions, such as: What is my purpose in changing the photo? Is the photo mine to use? What am I using the photo for?

Q2:How has this technology advanced since this time?

A2:Technology seems to be advancing constantly as time progresses. There have been changes and new features added to digital editing. Now, digital editing is reflective of a traditional darkroom where you can enhance and change your photos without the chemicals and time it would take in the darkroom. As time progresses, more features of digital editing are added. Digital cameras have also advanced rapidly and are more affordable to a wider audience.

Learning Connections

Jumping into Art History
by Savilla Banister and Rene Steingraber

In East Broadway Middle School students use Photoshop, GarageBand, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD to create a video of their research of an artist. Working in groups, they use these different Mac programs to make a video presentation of the artist's work and biographical information. They scan pictures from magazines, add their voices and "selves" into the presentation. After embellishing it with titling and special affects, they receive a burned final copy of their movie.

Q1: How does this project incorporate technology with other core subject learning?
A1: This project allows the students to creatively create a presentation of their research. The students are learning from the research they find, but by also using the technology to add pictures and special affects to their information, students are spending more time thinking and weeding out the information they want to include about the artist. Also, with all the programs open for the students to use, they are exposed to technologies that many adults have never touched. This project sounds fun, intellectual and technologically empowering.

Q2: Are there any foreseeable "issues" with using this technology?
A2: Whenever we are talking about technology, there is always a price involved. These specific programs are only available on the Mac computer, which excludes schools with PC's from this project. However, since many schools are embracing the Mac, this may not be a problem in the future. Though the article does not state the price for the programs used in this lesson/project, it may be expensive, especially for low income schools. In this case, you can modify the project by purchasing only the essential software. I still believe this project could be fun and creative without the use of all the programs.

Software Review: Learning.com

Web Browsing: Research and Citing Sources Grades 6-8

• This tutorial helped me better understand what the Internet is and how information is transferred. Though I have often used the Internet, I did not know about how a web servers send the information and how the "Web" was set up. It guided me through the different parts to a URL and what each part indicates, such as the web server, domain, etc. I work in the library and enjoyed the tutorial on research. The tutorial helped incorporate research techniques with using technology, information I do not think all college students know and this is for 6-8th graders! Overall, I liked interacting with the tutorial. It made the experience more realistic.
  
• When using this tutorial in a classroom, the only "problem" I could foresee deals with typing in the web addresses. It is easy to miss a letter here or there and could be confusing for a student if the are told the have an "error" and it is only because they missed a punctuation mark. This would teach the kids the importance of accuracy but may keep kids stumped for a long period of time.
  
• I experienced no problems while using this tutorial, however, it is hard to retain all the information given, and there should be prepared materials/activities to help students "digest" it all.

Browsing Basics:
K-12 [5] Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

K-12 [6] Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
K-12 [6.a] understand and use technology systems.
K-12 [6.b] select and use applications effectively and productively.

URLs:
K-12 [1] Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
K-12 [1.a] apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

K-12 [2] Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
K-12 [2.a] interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

K-12 [6] Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
K-12 [6.a] understand and use technology systems.
K-12 [6.b] select and use applications effectively and productively.


Web Searches:
K-12 [3] Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
K-12 [3.b] locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
K-12 [3.c] evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

K-12 [4] Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
K-12 [4.c] collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
K-12 [5] Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

Validity and Sourcing:
K-12 [1] Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
K-12 [1.a] apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

K-12 [2] Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
K-12 [2.a] interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
K-12 [2.b] communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

K-12 [5] Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
K-12 [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
K-12 [5.b] exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

Resources:

(2007). Easy Tech Tutorials. Available from: <http://www.learning.com/>.

(2007). ISTE NETS for Students. Available from:
<http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents
/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm>.

Learning Connections

Amazing Animation: 3D Graphics in the Classroom
By Scott Schonefeld

This article speaks of the advantages of using 3D animation in the classroom. While most teachers have never used 3D technology, Schonefeld expresses how giving the students animation projects not only lets them be creative but gives the kids concrete materials to better learn math concepts. While the kids will come away with a better understanding of the coordinate system, they do not need to know much to start interacting with the software.

Q1: What are some other interesting features of 3D animation?

A1: While using this program, students can change the perceived textures of the objects they are creating. Not only can they choose textures available from the program, but they can also take pictures of interesting surfaces and create their own textures. Also, they can create different atmospheres for their objects and either leave them stationary or make them move. I like how the program blends mathematics, creativity and technology together in this learning experience.

Q2: How can a teacher best use this technology in the classroom?

A2: As the article mentions, there are many effects and features of the 3D program that students which can easily distract students. In order to insure that students stay on task and get their projects done, teachers should keep the projects short and specific. Students can always come in after class if they really want to add more to their projects. Teachers should make sure that the projects they assign are focused and somewhat simple.