I really enjoyed the Bright Ideas Conference yesterday. The three sessions I attended all tied together with using the Internet and technology to teach. The first session, Virtual Worlds for Teaching, was all about using the Internet to create virtual worlds. Students have the opportunity through these virtual literary worlds to step into, and embody a character through role playing. Through this, they explore the cultural, historical context, and setting of a particular book or play.
The second session I attended was “macBeth.” This was another very interesting session for me. I had actually been planning my lession plan as a multi-genre writing assignment after reading and discussing Macbeth, to have students explore characters through writing. I was thinking about changing my mind because it’s coming down to the wire and I really don’t have anything done…which is so not like me! This session re-motivated me to use MACBETH. The teacher leading this session used a Power Point production to create links to characters, again, allowing students to embody and analyze these characters through their writings and interactions with other characters. Through textual intervention, they are able to recreate scenes and bring to life, even very minor characters in the play. Another teacher who led this session had her students write scripts through a characters point of view. They brainstormed and planned these scripts in groups, then recorded them using iMovie, garageband, Google, network drive, and a video camera. Both of these sessions were a great lead in to David and Bethany’s session “Whose Space is it?”
David and Bethany did a great job explaining the benefits of Myspace, and how to use it productively in a classroom. Unfortunately, most schools have Myspace access blocked on their computers. That’s where we need to step in as future educaters and teachers to convince school boards and administrators of the benefits of using Myspace as a learning tool in classrooms. In a digital age, where students are attached to cell phones, computers, Facebook, and Myspace, we may as well take advantage of this writing tool to get students actively involved in the Literature they are reading. I love the idea of using Myspace as a social network for characters! What a great way for students to embody the character and make the text relevant to today. I was very impressed with David and Bethany’s presentation and, hopefully, as secondary English teachers, we will be able to use Myspace as a teaching tool for Literature and writing in the near future.
