Chapter 8

Identify authoring tools that offer a multimedia environment for students to express and communicate their ideas.


Chapter eight explores multiple tools that can aid students in communicating their ideas both academically and expressionatively. “In essence students have access to many different multimedia tools to think with, to create, and to communicate what they know and how they know it.” Concept maps, slide-based communication tools, and clip-based communication tools are discussed in this chapter as possible ways for students to learn and communicate within a multimedia environment.  A concept map can help a student organize their thoughts and communicate exactly what they are thinking. Concept maps can also help in brainstorming and to show the parallels between multiple topics and ideas. It is also important to note that a concept map gives a visual display of the topic at hand.

Slide-based communication tools can help a student to effectively present an idea or project through the use of software such as Microsoft PowerPoint. Students create slides that already have built-in capabilities such as “backgrounds, designs, text formatting, and drawing tools;” as well as the ability to add audio and video. This technology can be used both as a way for the students to communicate what they know, but also for the teacher to present students with new materials.

Clip-based communication tools consist of video and audio editing programs that offer continuous motion picture presentations. The process of developing a movie not only displays the student’s literacy on the subject, but also “their literacy with respect to using multimedia in developing their critical thinking and creative production capabilities.”

My question regarding this chapter is one similar to the previous questions I have posed: how important is it to incorporate technology, such as multimedia programs, into a classroom even if it takes away from the lesson, or drags a simple lesson out? I am still very unsure of when I need to use technology and when I can rely on pen, paper, and the student’s mind to effectively engage learning.

I truly enjoy the idea of multimedia presentations in the classroom. I’d like to be able to incorporate multimedia tools in my classroom as much as possible. I think a good opportunity to do so would be when discussing a longer text such as short stories, or novels. The students could use their critical analysis t recreate part of the text, but set in a more modern time or scenario more personal to their everyday lives. Once the project is completed it will be both enjoyable for the class to watch, but also an easy way to assess what the students have learned.

Chapter 12

Objective #5


Identify some ideas for guiding a teacher’s reflections on instructions with technology.

The key to this objective is that as a teacher you need to take time to reflect on the lesson you recently taught. After each lesson a teacher needs to review what happened during the lesson, identify both positive and negative aspects of the lesson, and assess if the lesson was successful in both engaging the students and achieving the goal of the lesson. The text pointed out that Mr. Wyngard (from the Snapshort section) reflected that his transition from a PowerPoint presentation to a spreadsheet allowed for the students to engage in off-task behavior because of the down time. This particular example is something that I often see during my own classes at a university level and furthers the needs that a teacher must reflect on the lesson after it is completed.

After reflecting on the reading from this chapter there is one question that keeps reoccurring in my thoughts: How will I know how to form my lesson plans? Specifically, will my school give me guidelines or perhaps a format to follow? Thus far in my education I have had multiple people throw different lesson plan formats at me to use for class assignments, but all of them appear to be designed to specifically include only what the instructor wants for the specific class. I feel like I am getting better at writing lesson plans for assignments, but I can’t see actually using the lesson plan in my future classroom. Overall, there is a definite area of disconnect for me in the lessons I am developing now and what I will use in the future. Basically, is there a general outline for lesson plan writing, or will I have to change my format each time I change schools?

In regards to my own future teaching I believe that reflection will not only aid my students, but better me as a teacher from year one to year two. At this point in my education I am still completely unsure of what to expect when I am in my own classroom, but remembering to always assess myself as well as the students will aid me in getting through my own uncertainty. I like the idea of making small, immediate reflections while I am conducting the lesson by using marks on my own notes or some sort of sticker or sticky note/tab to mark positive and negative areas. Teachers are often extremely busy throughout the day and it may be hours or even days before there is an adequate amount of reflection time available. By making small notes throughout the lesson or by having a system that can be used during class or subject change to quickly mark areas that need further reflecting could aid in the process. I think that if I can make notes throughout the lesson of areas that need improvement I could also compare that area to how my students perform on that area of their assessment. If I note that I may not have been clear enough on a certain section and then the majority of my students perform poorly in that section I will be able to connect my teaching to their understanding and make adjustments.

Chapter 13

The chapter learning objective I choose was number 2:

Clarify the purposes for different types of assessments and how those assessments support learning in technology-rich environments

To begin, the book states that assessment is the process of monitoring students’ progresses toward important learning goals and objectives. Assessment needs to be interwoven before, during, and after each lesson or unit. In the past, standardized tests or the like have been the preferred mode of assessment, but cultural and societal changes have forced educators to not only alter, but very their modes of assessment. Students are now being confronted by the demands of living in the twenty-first century and studies show these students can best show what they have learned and how they have learned it through different types of assessment.

Preassessments aid teachers in making decisions about what content needs to be addressed during a unit, as well as what can be left out. Formative assessment is a type of assessing that is done throughout the instruction to the check the progress of each student. The feedback gained from this type of assessment can help both students and teachers know where they need to go from there. A summative assessment is given at the end of a lesson/unit and allows the teacher to gauge the overall comprehension of the student.

All of the above-mentioned types of assessment can help support learning in a technology-rich environment just as well as they can in classroom without technology. Using these types of assessment can help a teacher know when to use technology, or when they students may be struggling with the use of technology. I do believe that the more technology that is being used during a lesson/unit, more assessment will be needed to ensure that students are not being hindered by the use of the technology.

After four blog posts it may appear that I am more hesitant to incorporate technology into my classroom than I am excited about the possibilities. I have to reiterate that I am indeed excited about technology, but I question its effectiveness at certain times. My question after reading this chapter is how will technological assessment hinder then less tech-savvy student? If I assign an electronic portfolio to my students (assuming they are in the latter grades of school) will it be easier for those students who are most familiar with technology to complete the tasks than those who have less access to and less experience with certain technologies? Even if both students are able to show that they are equally knowledgeable of the topic does the tech-savvy student earn a higher grade because s/he is able to incorporate more technological examples?

There are many great concepts/ideas regarding assessment in this chapter. It was especially useful since I am also currently taking an assessment class. In my future classroom I believe that I will be able to use multiple ways to assess my students. I am most fond of formative assessment. If my class is reading a novel or a section on poetry I think formative assessment will allow me to gauge how much my class is retaining and what areas still need work. I also like using portfolios as a type of assessment. I can imagine using this as a final project, but as something that is worked on throughout the year. It is a great way for students to showcase how much they have learned and where they have made improvements throughout the time period. Portfolios can take many forms and allows for the students to make choices based on how they can best show what they have learned.

Chapter 4

Upon finishing this chapter my initial response is primarily about “Standards”. There are national and state standards as well as pedagogical standards and now I have been introduced to technology standards. Am I missing any? Don’t get me wrong; I wholeheartedly believe that it is not only important to have such standards, but also to aim my lessons to incorporate these standards because it will improve the education and well-being of my students. At this moment I am just a little overwhelmed with how many standards teachers and I have to follow. Although in the following paragraph I question how much teachers are responsible for teaching students about technology I do feel that it is important. Even as a current college student and a young adult in the midst of the Information Age I often feel behind my peers as far as my knowledge of technology is concerned. As I think to the future I am curious if current education standards will one day merge with the technology standards introduced in this chapter to become one standard.


My question regarding chapter four is fairly general: To what extent is each individual teacher responsible for educating their students about technology. Understandably many schools don’t include a class that aids the students in learning about technology and how it can enhance their education and many curriculums don’t support such a class. I completely agree it is my responsibility to not only use various forms of technology in my classroom and my students must be knowledgeable of how to use it as well. However, how much time do I take away from particular subject knowledge to teach about a certain technology?

Since I am working towards being a future English educator this particular chapter was filled with specific examples of how I can incorporate technology into my classroom. Thus far in my pre-service education I have struggled with incorporating useful technology into my lesson plans. The book says you “want to use technology when it accomplishes something that you could not otherwise do with more conventional tools” (pg. 58) but prior to this chapter I could not strongly identify how to use technology other than the occasional PowerPoint presentation or media clip to aid in educating students. The internet allows students to conduct research on their own and bring it to the attention of the class in a quick and efficient manner. (Naturally students have already been educated on proper internet searching.) I particularly enjoyed the lesson plan where the students were asked to find illustrations or cartoons of Mark Twain. For students who benefit from visual learning, especially to get their imagination going, this is a great lesson plan.

Chapter 3

My initial reaction to the third chapter is what theory will educators use in another 20 years. An educators approach to teaching has changed multiple times over the last few centuries and I am certain that it will continue to evolve. However, it appears that the constructivist approach to learning is spot on with current technologies and focuses. Students are no longer asked to memorize material, but how to find material. With that idea in mind I wonder what “approach” will come next to encompass not just teaching students how to find the material, but also what material to still memorize. Hopefully we are not just teaching students how to open their laptop and search the internet using short term memory, but when they need to process the material and commit to memorizing and recalling it.


A question that comes to mind after reading this chapter is more of a discussion and not a singularly answered question. Why has technology become so very important and will my future students receive less of an education if they are not exposed to varying technologies? In my previous blog I questioned a current professors reasoning for being completely anti-technology, but I have to wonder when students became completely technology driven? Will I be less of a teacher if I don’t incorporate the latest and greatest and will my students suffer because of that? Is there a gray area of teaching with and without technology?

As a future educator it is essential that I am aware of different approaches to teaching/educating. Over time educators’ views on learning have shifted from one theory to the next. I believe that it is important that I can identify these theories and be able to apply them to my students. I don’t feel that the most current theory will always work for every member of my class. However, I strongly agree that student learning has shifted from passive to active learning and I must find ways to engage my students accordingly.

Guiding Learning with Technology: chapters 1 and 2

Upon completing the first two chapters of “Guiding Learning with Technology” I was surprised at how my personal definition of technology does not encompass the broad definition that the book presents. Technology refers to any device or systematic technique that improves the quality of life is a definition that I wasn’t quite ready for. I admit that the first two chapters were not the most thrilling literature, but a generous introduction to why technology in the classroom is not just important, but is becoming more vital to engaging our students.

My question regarding the information presented in these two chapters is…there are many teachers tenured in our school systems that don’t incorporate technology into their classrooms and seem to be resistant to doing so; are these teachers “grandfathered” into not teaching with and about technology, or will school systems urge them to do so? Even in my undergraduate classes I have multiple professors who are resistant to technology. Naturally I am not discussing the use of text messages or the student who checks their email throughout class instead of paying attention, but the use of any technology at all. During class we simply sit in rows of tiny desks while listening to the professor lecture as we attempt to volunteer insight about the topic in order to collect participation points. I even have a professor who went as far as bashing “technology” during the first class…saying that while it may be okay for some classes she still is adamant that learning best takes place “the old school way” and without distraction. I’m not sure I even remember how to give a group presentation without PowerPoint after year of being forced to use it. Overall, how long will there be such a gap in classroom technology learning?


As a future English/Language Arts teacher it is important for me to begin thinking about how I will incorporate technology into my classroom. As I think back to the English classes I had in my K-12 education I can recall very little technology. English was not a place for technology and the only implements that one needed to teach and learn consisted of a book, paper, and pen. As my reading continues I hope to find many useful tools to further engaging my future students.