English+Lang+Arts

English/ Language Arts "Young learners currently are members of a participatory learning culture who can and should be contributing to the knowledge-building process rather than merely passively consuming prepackaged information." --Curtis J. Bonk //The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education// v **Writer’s Notebook (for daily writing):** To replace the traditional pen and paper daily response/reflection with a format that adds authenticity and a new level of accountability, set up forums in ning (or other web hosting site) **Ning** example: []

v **Writer’s Notebook (for weekly writing):** To provide the students with an authentic audience and real-world purpose, have them consider blogs they have read (or would be interested in reading), their own interests, hobbies, talents, skills, etc. Then have them create a sustainable topic for weekly writing. Follow them and encourage others to follow them as well. Remember to teach responsibility in posting to a public forum. **Blogspot** example: []

v **Collaborative Writing:** For students to learn to write collaboratively, have them create a Google doc. They may all contribute to and edit the writing piece without being in the same class period or working at the same time. Consider students taking roles (one is vocabulary leader, one is punctuation leader, etc.) in the editing process. [] also allows for collaborative writing and even identifies contributors with color coding--helpfing for determining who is doing what work.

v **Multimodal Personal Essays:** Students take the personal narrative a step into the future and tell their story or analyze a central aspect of their personality through the use of technology. Students can use **Windows Movie Maker**. Use **YouTube Downloader** [] to download video. To edit, you can use **Tube Chop** []. Examples: []

v **Photo Story:** Students can use still photos and their own narration to bring their narratives, reports, or analyses to life. []

v **Digital Storytelling:** Students can use video to augment reports, persuasion or argument pieces, analyze an issue, or tell a story. []

v **For classroom presentations:** To replace poster board or PowerPoint presentations, have students create a wiki. Each member of the group researches and adds to the wiki. Students do not have to be in the same room or class period. Presentations can be made using the wiki, and the material is now accessible to all students for study or reference purposes. **Wikispaces** example: http://anglo-saxonliteraryperiod.wikispaces.com/ Can also be used to provide mnemonic devices, including embedded video, for difficult vocabulary. http://apenglishlanguagerhetoricalterminology.wikispaces.com/

v **Podcasts:** To create an authentic, potentially world-wide audience for students, have them consider who would want to listen to a review of a book and what that audience would want to hear. Have students write their review and them narrative them into **Audacity** []. After creating the audio files, upload them to a **Podbean** [] site you created, and then invite others from the class, from the country, or from all over the world to listen/critique. Students will be delighted to see who is listening. example: []

v **AudioBooks:** To spice up the stale, crusty, boring (student descriptors) classic (my descriptor) novel, have students download an audio version onto their computers and/or their MP3 players. Appeals to auditory and kinesthetic learners (they may listen while they run, exercise, work, drive, etc.). Visual learners may read while they listen (to help with vocabulary and fluidity). Students can even volunteer to read chapters of books for some of the sites.
 * o Librivox: []
 * o Community Audio: []
 * o Loudlit: []
 * o Learn Out Loud: []

v **Wordle:** Use this tool with student writing to determine controlling idea or repetition in writing, or just provide a creative visual representation of a work. []

v **English Companion Ning**: One of the most helpful forums for English teachers. Book clubs, student and teacher reading recommendations, lesson plans, and very specific group settings make this country and world-wide resource essential. []

v **Kentucky Council of Teachers of English Webpage**: Offers statewide and nationwide writing contests for students (looks great on college resumes) as well as lesson planning, reading recommendations, and networking opportunities for teachers. []

v **Surveymonkey:** Many uses for you, such as gauging student interest, understanding, use of a technique, etc. Students can use it for projects such as proposals or analyses. []

v **Poll Everywhere:** Students can use their CELLPHONES for class! Create multiple-choice questions or poll students regarding dates available for projects/events. []