Language Arts & Technology Goals

Welcome to the first session of You're On the Air With Miss Klahm!!

This blog is an online forum designed to facilitate my first graduate level course, EDT 610A (Technology & Education). Thanks to the help of Mason City Schools and Miami University, I am online and ready to share my professional and pedagogical experiences with the world at large.

Today's post involves a reflection on my personal goals for this graduate level course. I will be discussing all types of goals-- both technology and Language Arts-related, both goals for myself and for my students. As a second year Language Arts teacher (with eighth grade students as my collective "audience"), there is still much I need to learn. And the goals that I have set for myself overall are too numerous to count. However, I shall try to limit my goals (for posting's sake) to just a few, and they are outlined below.

For reference (particularly, for those who are non-educators), my Language Arts instruction is aligned with the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Academic Content Standards. When I discuss my instruction in terms of technology and/or technological standards, I will be speaking primarily to the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). I will also be referencing the 21st Century Skills that many educators are currently aligning their instruction with.

Goal #1: Assist students in establishing strong, constructive relationships with peers (and adults).

Part of the general middle school level curriculum is designed and structured around the concept of teaming. I am actually one of eight subject area teachers on a team (Team Fusion) at Mason Middle School, and we are always trying to help our students work cooperatively and interactively with one another.


I would like to facilitate this type of group instruction more frequently in my classroom, and in addition, I would like to enhance the quality of the group work that currently exists. (You can find this goal under "Social and Cross Cultural Skills"on the Life and Career Skills Section of Welcome to Route 21.) I think it is imperative for 21st century success that my students know how to effectively communicate and work with others. I believe that this goal applies not only to student-to-student relationships, but also to student-to-adult relationships.

I believe that technology can be a definite scaffold in helping me achieve this goal, as technology naturally engages students, and it also easily and efficiently facilitates group work. I think that technology-based curriculum also creates a natural, common thread between students, where they can set off on the same task to obtain new information and research. Once the instructor's set goal has been achieved by the students, they will feel a unanimous sense of accomplishment-which, if felt as a group, will create a sense of unity and community within the classroom.

Goal #2: Assist students in creating writing that is both raw, authentic, and real.

After speaking with Mr. Fred Reeder about our different experiences in the English/Language Arts field, I thought about some of the goals he mentioned for his students' writing. Though Fred teachers Honors English II to sophomores, and I teach an integrated curriculum to an inclusive Language Arts classroom of ALL levels (ranging from IEP to gifted), I believe that this goal applies to both of our classrooms.

I want my students to become more vested in their own writing-- not to just write for the sake of writing (or for the sake of getting an 'A'!!). I want their prose, their poetry, and their analyses to become meaningful works of writing that have purpose, meaningful connections, and personal significance.

Although I might not be able to incorporate blogs and wikis the way a high school level teacher might in the classroom, I believe that electronic means of communication (both inside and outside of the classroom) will make my students more vested, interested, and engaged in their writing. Hopefully, it will also make them feel more ownership over their works as well.

Goal #3: Assist students in becoming both comfortable and confident in public speaking situations.

I have already spent a lot of time working on this goal with my students at the eighth grade level. However, this might be one of the most crucial 21st Century Skills that is outlined, and I would feel morally remiss if my students left my class without a solid introduction to public speaking.

I believe that I have strength for teaching my students how to write persuasively (and how to construct convincing arguments), but I need more knowledge and assistance in the area of research so that I can better aide my students. The more effective of a researcher I can be, the stronger the researchers my students will be. I also want to be able to show them the most state-of-the-art technology in terms of researching tools and tactics. Finally, on the tangent of research, I want my students to learn how to CITE THEIR SOURCES (without using Wikipedia as a reliable source!!).

Not only do I have a strength for teaching persuasive writing, but I truly excel in the area of oral speaking. Thus, I believe that I am a strong oral speaking teacher. However, I struggle when trying to teach my students how to incorporate technology into their oral presentations. (This is probably because I struggle with this skill when incorporating technology with my oral presentations.) I want to show them that integrating technology into oral speaking does not have to be cumbersome and awkward; in fact, it can be a tremendous asset to any oral speaking presentation.

Goal #4: Create a learning environment where my students are more engaged and vested.

My last goal is more or less a summation of the first three, but I think it is valuable nonetheless. Every teacher wants their students to be more actively engaged and vested in their OWN education, and I am no exception. I realize that my students love technology, and most of them use it better than I do! :) Thus, I need to get my classroom in 21st Century shape in order to maximize my potential and meet my students' best interests.

I would like to incorporate the following technologies more frequently: Overhead Projection System, EdLine, YouTube, TeacherTube, MicroSoft PowerPoint, and MicroSoft Publisher, EdLine's Virtual Classroom.

I would like to incorporate the following technologies (period): Document Camera, Embedded Videos into PowerPoint Presentations, AirLiner, Digital Cameras (for student use), Online Blogs, and Online Magazines/Journals... and I'd like to learn how to use a flash drive (because I don't own one). :)

I realize that I will not fully achieve these goals this semester, and I might only reach the tip of the iceberg on some of them. But I believe that if I make any steps towards accomplishing these goals, that true progress will have been achieved.