Blog in the Field

Secondary Worlds: Teaching, Technology, and English Education

This blog is from the perspective of a high school English teacher. What really drew me into this blog was how it seemed like it could be an amazing tool for me to use when I have my own classroom. The blog offers various methods of using technology in an English class as well as step-by-step instructions for using this technology. The teacher also offers a large amount of reading material that will interest even the most reluctant of readers. Because I love reading so much it is just audacious to think that someone could find it a tortuous experience to go through. This is something that has always scared me a little bit about teaching a large variety of students because I feel I do not have an adequate list of novels to pick from for students who just plain hate reading. It also helps that the teacher posted a bunch of pop culture type references and entries which would help me connect more to my students who have an interest in these types of things. An example of this would be video games. I have terrible hand-eye coordination and so video games have never been my forte. But reading this blog would give terrific insight into video games that would help me engage my students and create a stronger bond between us. This is a blog that I could continue to reference since it offers a wide variety of teaching and skills needed to keep up with the changing world of education. 

Technology in Education

Educators Check Out New Technology Firsthand

This article shows how schools are slowly integrating technology into each and every classroom. Even when I was growing up there was not a lot of access to technology aside from the required technology course. This is how students are growing up. They have a higher access to various technologies and are learning even earlier how to use certain technology. At home students have laptops and gaming consoles and unlimited internet access via smart phones and this needs to transition into the classroom. To keep students engaged teachers need to find what interest them and that just so happens to be technology. Learning on tablets and completing learning geared games on a SmartBoard are what keep students attentive and willing to learn. One thing that I have seen in education that is a marvelous use of technology are podcasts explaining lessons for when students are doing homework. If a student is having trouble with a particular concept they can just watch the teacher explain it online and pause and restart the podcast as many times as they need to in order to better master that certain skill. Teachers need to start using technology as much as they can in their lessons because students will be expected to know a lot of these skills in the future job market. 

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is biased because I am an English education major. I believe that there are many different types of learners and each student is a unique individual and will not enjoy the same novels or activities as their peers. I think that learning is student-centered and should be led by students with a teacher acting as a facilitator. In my future classroom I envision students reading diverse novels in small groups or individually and not as a whole class. I think when a whole class reads the same thing at the same time there will be some students who are not enjoying themselves and so they are not getting anything from the lesson. I want students to come away with a stronger ability to read and write after taking my class and if they feel like my class is a chore they will not achieve that goal. Students should also know what is expected of them and what their objectives are and it is my responsibility to make sure they develop the skills to accomplish those objectives on their own. Everyone is a life-long learner and constantly tweaking their perceptions of learning and I want students to leave my classroom with at least one positive activity or novel or poem that they enjoyed and changed how they view a language arts class. 

About Me

Hi! My name is Kasey and I am a third year student at University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh. I am currently going for my bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education – English and start my clinical program next week! I am from De Pere Wisconsin but moved here from Florida when I was ten. I grew up with a younger brother and two rambunctious dogs. Growing up I would read anything I could get my hands on and liked working with people and making a difference in how people perceive language arts which is what helped me decide to become a teacher. My goal is to teach English in either an upper level middle school or lower level high school classroom setting. Like I said earlier I love to read but lately I haven’t had a ton of time to read anything besides assignments for classes. However, in the little free time I actually I have been trying to catch up on some young adult novels. I recently finished Wonder by R.J. Palacio and it was absolutely phenomenal, I would highly recommend it. It speaks about differences and how they affect not just one person but every single member of the community as well as addresses the stigma that comes along with being different.