Overview
If you are an English teacher trying to get the most out of the one computer in your classroom; if you are an English teacher working with networked computers on a daily basis; or even--perhaps especially--if you are an English teacher wary but curious about the power that technology can have in mindfully engaging the readers and writers in your classroom, then The Tech-Savvy English Classroom is for you. This thoughtful guide does not value technology use as an end in itself, but focuses on pairing the right task with the right student and the right tool. Just as technologies are examined critically as a means of extending, enriching, and empowering student learning and understanding, Sara Kajder also explores those moments where technology isn't the right answer. The book supports teachers and helps them become critical, reflective practitioners who ask difficult questions of technological resources, regardless of how technology-rich or poor the environment.
Grounded in the author's experiences working with a broad cross-section of middle and high school students in schools with an equally broad variation in available technology, the book features examples of student projects throughout each chapter; setting the discussion in a real and practical context. It will help you:
- evaluate your students' and your own level of technical knowledge while determining appropriate starting points for projects;
- use a variety of tools in addition to traditional word processing and presentation software to organize, enhance, and present student writing;
- explore effective uses of hypertext in the English classroom;
- discover the value of WebQuests in the context of the English curriculum;
- extend the classroom community through telecommunication tools;
- create a class Website.
Synopsis
If you are an English teacher trying to get the most out of the one computer in your classroom; if you are an English teacher working with networked computers on a daily basis; or even--perhaps especially--if you are an English teacher wary but curious about the power that technology can have in mindfully engaging the readers and writers in your classroom, then The Tech-Savvy English Classroom is for you. This thoughtful guide does not value technology use as an end in itself, but focuses on pairing the right task with the right student and the right tool. Just as technologies are examined critically as a means of extending, enriching, and empowering student learning and understanding, Sara Kajder also explores those moments where technology isn't the right answer. The book supports teachers and helps them become critical, reflective practitioners who ask difficult questions of technological resources, regardless of how technology-rich or poor the environment.
Grounded in the author's experiences working with a broad cross-section of middle and high school students in schools with an equally broad variation in available technology, the book features examples of student projects throughout each chapter; setting the discussion in a real and practical context. It will help you:
- evaluate your students' and your own level of technical knowledge while determining appropriate starting points for projects;
- use a variety of tools in addition to traditional word processing and presentation software to organize, enhance, and present student writing;
- explore effective uses of hypertext in the English classroom;
- discover the value of WebQuests in the context of the English curriculum;
- extend the classroom community through telecommunication tools;
- create a class Website.
Christine Sanderson - VOYA
This guide for teachers who wish to incorporate technology into the fabric of their lessons contains a wealth of information ranging from how to effectively use a search engine to joining an online community. It is not a how-to manual. Although examples from the author's classroom projects abound, she does not offer a blueprint for recreating these projects. Rather, this book is a discussion of available resources and their relevance for teaching English. Believing that "student thinking is empowered when the right tool is joined with the right task and the right student," Kajder introduces the tools and leaves it up to the reader to determine how and when to use them. In an effort to reach teachers with different levels of expertise, technical information is often rather simplistic, "the Internet is a worldwide network of networks." But the use of educational jargon is more complex: "Teachers must learn not only the ways to work with equipment but also skills for facilitating learning in a technology-rich, constructivist learning environment." Much of what this book offers is not new information. For all but technology novices, the discussion of Boolean operators and search engines will not be particularly enlightening. The book's strength lies in its suggestions for classroom management and for integrating tools such as hypertext into the curriculum. The Web site that accompanies the book (http://www.techsavvyenglish.com) is also one of its best features, offering a more in-depth discussion of ideas introduced in the text. Index. Illus. Biblio. Further Reading. Appendix. 2003, Stenhouse, 150p,
Editorials
VOYA
This guide for teachers who wish to incorporate technology into the fabric of their lessons contains a wealth of information ranging from how to effectively use a search engine to joining an online community. It is not a how-to manual. Although examples from the author's classroom projects abound, she does not offer a blueprint for recreating these projects. Rather, this book is a discussion of available resources and their relevance for teaching English. Believing that "student thinking is empowered when the right tool is joined with the right task and the right student," Kajder introduces the tools and leaves it up to the reader to determine how and when to use them. In an effort to reach teachers with different levels of expertise, technical information is often rather simplistic, "the Internet is a worldwide network of networks." But the use of educational jargon is more complex: "Teachers must learn not only the ways to work with equipment but also skills for facilitating learning in a technology-rich, constructivist learning environment." Much of what this book offers is not new information. For all but technology novices, the discussion of Boolean operators and search engines will not be particularly enlightening. The book's strength lies in its suggestions for classroom management and for integrating tools such as hypertext into the curriculum. The Web site that accompanies the book (http://www.techsavvyenglish.com) is also one of its best features, offering a more in-depth discussion of ideas introduced in the text. Index. Illus. Biblio. Further Reading. Appendix. 2003, Stenhouse, 150p,— Christine Sanderson