Cover Letter

Throughout this semester I enjoyed all of the readings and writings that were required for the class. The two books we read were What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee and Nonfiction Matters by Stephanie Harvey. The book I enjoyed most was by Harvey because I felt it had real strategies that could be implemented in the classroom. I didn’t sell back either book and hope to refer back to these when I am an actual teacher. In Harvey’s book, I especially liked the way she lays out what reading items you need in your classroom and how you might organize your reading section. I think these suggestions will help during my first years. Aside from the book readings we also read 16 articles which I found really helpful. I mostly found the four articles that I read helpful and basically just referenced the others. I enjoyed reading about how to teach writing and I learned techniques that I had not previously considered. I like the concept about having students write about what is meaningful to them. It makes sense!

We also had several writing assignments. The digital document was my favorite although I probably put my most time into that assignment. It was hard to do because I had never made a movie before but I really liked the challenge. I was proud of my work when I was done. I think I felt proud because it was all about something I have learned and a challenge I have overcome. It’s fun to put that together! The blogs and the wiki’s were not as much fun although I didn’t mind writing. I thought the annotated bibliographies were hard as it was something I had never done before. It helped me to have done those in order to finish my memorandum. I enjoyed writing that memo because it made me feel like I was actually teaching and had something important to tell. I think the memo will be useful to me as a teacher because it forced me to look at the important aspects of teaching writing in the classroom. Finally, the last piece of writing we did was our writing sequence assignment. That was great! Although I was a little burned out by the end from the whole semester but it was fun working on something that you might actually use in your classroom. It was nice you allowed us to work in groups because I think my quality of work was much better. Also, being tired and burned out by the end it made it fun to work with friends.

In conclusion, I thought this class was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the environment that was created by our class. We all had fun together and by the end I felt I knew everyone, perhaps because of the digital docs. I will definitely take the things I have learned with me into the classroom. Thanks!

Memorandum Thoughts

I already blogged about the Memo but I will update my blog. Upon reflecting on the blog, I feel that I could have written a better paper than what I produced. By the end of writing it, I had the feeling of being so burned out. I spent 3 hours with my group in the library writing the beginning of the paper and then probably another 5 hours on my own time. SO, needless to say, at the end I was done! I think I could have done this assignment better if I just wrote about the articles I read. I felt like in my memo, I spoke the best about the article I read. When I was writing about the articles my partners read, I felt as though I did not have complete understanding of what I was writing about. I do like how in the end my works cited looked really long as though I was really smart and had a lot of knowledge regarding the topic, hehehe. I like how I was able to use a lot of reserached material throughout the article, but felt like I was BSing at times in the article. Anyhow, I definitly spent a lot of time writing this memo and felt super stressed by the assignment because I felt like I was working just outside my zone of proximal development (as talked about in many articles). I guess it's good to challenge yourself and feel slightly uncomfortable in your writings because then you better yourself.

Memo

The process of writing this memorandum has been difficult. It was interesting how I sat stairing at the blank computer screen, feeling anxious about where to begin and all the while thinking how students feel anxious about where to begin with their writing, as talked about in one of the articles. I enjoy this semesters projects in the fact that they are all different types of papers we are working on. I like the fact that this is a memorandum...I think it's good to work outside your comfort zone a bit. I'm so use to writing regular papers that it's nice to mix it up a bit. I have yet to finish my memo, I think I'm on page six so far with quite a bit more to go. I hope it's not going to be too long. Alrighty, I guess that's all I have to say about the memo. I'm not exactly sure what we are blogging about so I figured I'd just write about my process.

The importance of correctness

After scanning the Rules of Thumb book by Silverman I immediately feel stressed. I have never been good at the rules of grammar. I hate all the rules, such as "do this before this except in this case and that case". I have always been fine at writing papers and have received good grades but have never totally felt confident in my correctness. It was good to skim and look over the pages 2-60 in Silverman to refresh my memory, also now I will know where to turn when I have a question. This book is a good investment because it's something you can just keep next to your computer and have instant access to when needed.

I am nervous about teaching grammar to students someday. I will definitely have to study ahead of my students to make sure I'm teaching it the right way. I hope to have a teaching style that can be fun for the students so they don't dread it like I do. I have no idea how my sister is a high school English teacher, aye!

The Teaching of Writing

I have actually enjoyed reading my articles. I am beginning to feel that I am learning stuff that I will apply to my classroom (hopefully). The main thing I have gathered from reading the first three articles in set one is that when teaching writing to your students it is best to have them be engaged in writing something that is personal and meaningful to them. In the article "Seeing Writing Instruction Differently: Lessons with Lasting Impressions" by Jill Dillard the reader came to understand that having your students engage in writing stories that are personal to them such as past events in their life that the students in turn created better text. Jill, an elementary school teacher, had her students try writing on three separate occasions using three separate prompts. One prompt was showing a picture to the students and have them write a story about it, a second prompt was having her students write about a medieval event that was about to happen at school, her third prompt was to write about a life experience. Throughout her experimentation of this she found that when the students wrote about their life experiences they generated more text and better writing styles. When the students wrote about stuff they were not connected to they produced less text and focused their writing towards what they thought she/Jill would want them to write on. This method also proved true for Brett Elizabeth Blake in his article "Fruit of the Devil: Writing and English Language Learners" where he taught writing to EL's (English learners)in a summer program. He found that when he showed compassion to his students and really got to know them as individuals that they were more willing to open up in their writings. He also had them write about their life experiences which he found also helped them open up in their writings. In conclusion, these readings have been helpful to me and I enjoy thinking about what I am learning when reflecting on them.

Reficiation....

This is a project that I actually didn't mind putting the work into. It was great because it was not a paper and so I felt more compelled to work harder on the assignment. With the digital doc. it seems more personal than a paper as someone will actually be "viewing" your work and "viewing" what you have learned. For these reason, I put more time into this assignment than I would have had I just wrote a paper on what I learned. I enjoyed it, I felt proud of it, and I had fun too. Okay, so I felt proud but also dorky too. I didn't like hearing my voice. If I could change one thing about my digital doc then it would be re-doing my voice over. It really sounds like I am "reading" what I am saying. I am reading it, but it's really obvious. I would have liked to make my voice sound happier and "lighter". I sound too serious but that stemmed from not being sure about how I was using the microphone. When I recorded my voice I had the slide show playing at the same time in order to match what I was saying to the pictures. Let me step back, first, as I wrote my paper, I wrote in what picture would go with what I was talking about. So, as I was talking into the microphone, I had my paper in front of me and... I was also watching the pictures scroll thru. I think I was feeling very serious at the time in order to get all of the pictures to match up with the voice. I also, didn't want to mess up what I was saying caz' then I'd have to start over. I didn't want to start over because I wasn't even sure how I was able to get the program (microphone thing) to start in the first place :). So, actually this is funny....at the end of the video, I'm talking about running my first waterfall in my kayak. I'm talking about my affinity group and how they supported me achieving this goal. I'm suppose to say, "my girlfriend pushed me off the rocks". What I mean by this is that once I was in my boat, she slide my boat off the rocks and into the current to help me align for the drop/waterfall. What I ended up saying was "my girlfriend pushed me off MY rocks". It sounds pretty twisted and I knew I had said it wrong at the time but just went with it. Now, every time I watch the video I start laughing because of what is being said.

I think one thing that was neat but frustrating was that I had no idea how to use the program on my Mac. I have never done this before, so I spent many hours trying to figure out one stupid little thing. Like, the title at the begging of my movie took at least an hour because I couldn't figure out how to make it it's own slide as the words kept showing up over my first picture. This was frustrating but eventually worked out. Another thing that took me forever was trying to figure out how to do the microphone. My mac is a pretty nice new one so I knew that I probably had a microphone, so I'm like picking up my computer looking at it and trying to find the microphone. I think it was pretty dorky because it just goes to show that I don't really know what I am doing. Eventually, I somehow stumbled onto the microphone program in IMovie and so once I opened it, then I had to record because I didn't know if I could find it again. Each time I went into IMovie I found new ways to "tweek" my video to make it better. I was definitely learning as I was going.

So, I had originally planned on doing my video about learning how to be a wife and thought for days that this was my project. I even took pictures of my house being dirty while my husband was asleep (in the afternoon) on the couch. I thought this is perfect because he just sleeps and doesn't care and I could never do that with a mess in the house. Anyhow, then I realized that I didn't know where else I would go with the project. So, then I decided to do it on kayaking because I thought there would be more substance to the video. I wanted to portray that I am learning a sport with a group of professionals and also a group of guys and how hard that was for me. I definitely was "forced" thru the basics of kayaking fast and quickly running very hard/technical water in order to hang out with my affinity group. Of course, their not going to slow down to have me on the river with them. Anyhow, this is what I was trying to get across in my video but I'm not sure that message is portrayed.

In conclusion, I had fun with the project and although I spent many hours working on it, it didn't seem like too big of a deal because I enjoyed doing it. I've even showed a couple of friends so far.... :)

Learning and Action

So, I've realized I have made a mistake which I can justify by saying it's okay because I am learning about the expectation of this class and blogging (hehe, okay bad excuse). The mistake I made was that I accidentally posted on Digital Doc reflection which wasn't due until 2/27. This means I skipped over the Learning and action blog, which I will do now in order to fix my mistake.

I agree with Gee where he states, "The child, through action and reflection, becomes a "self-teacher," "training" his or her own mental networks of associations" (91). For me, someone can always try and tell me not to do something but it isn't until I have done it myself that I realize it to be either a good or a bad choice. It is harder to listen and learn from someone else than it is from your own experiences and associations. It is true that children (including me) still need active teachers to help guide their experiences but it is true that learning for me comes from my own experiences in which I have chosen to create.

Reflection: Digital Doc.

Actually, I am feeling excited about my digital document. Todays class was nice because we had a chance to answer questions. I also enjoyed playing around on windows movie maker. After class, I decided to change what I want to do my digital doc. on. Previosly, I was going to do it on learning to be a wife and had ideas of doing clips from "Leave it to Beaver" and show pictures from our wedding and then pictures of a messy house, etc. But, after class today and talking about the potential to show this digital document to a specific target audience I decided to change mine to learning to white water kayaking. I thought as a teacher that the kids would better connect to watching me "learn" to be a kayaker than learn to be a "wife". I think it will be easier for them to grasp. I also think the footage will be more fun to watch. I am constantly thinking about my digital doc and am getting excited about the prospect of starting to put it together and being able to show friends, family, and someday students.

Situated Learning

When reading about situated learning, it is hard to argue against Gee’s claim, “[….] schools must give children embodied experiences in and through which they can form networks of associations that must continually be rechecked against the world” (94). He compares this type of learning (situated learning) with the traditional learning style. The traditional learning style is one in which schools teach children to memorize facts and grand generalizations. It seems clear to me that the situated learning method far supersedes that of the traditional learning style.
I can’t help but go back to the “teaching to the test” teaching style that “seems” to have developed out of NCLBs plan to ensure curriculum across the US. Unfortunately, teachers are being directed to the “teaching to the test” method of teaching because their schools need results on the tests, their principal get the pressure from the administration and so it trickles down to the classroom and the kids. So how can we get our kids to learn and want to learn? Gee is showing us that kids are learning video games which are extremely difficult and challenging. He is claiming that because they want to learn then they learn. He holds the view that, “[…] humans learn, think, and solve problems by reflecting on their previous embodied experiences in the world. That is, humans have experiences, store these experiences, and make connections or associations among them” (73). Personally, when I can relate to what I am learning then it is easier to learn, for example, going to college as a Freshman and Sophomore is not as exciting as a Junior and a Senior because those years are mostly spent on GE courses whereas in your last two years you are working closer to courses that match your major…match your semiotic domain.
In conclusion, I have to agree with the arguments made by Gee in his chapter on situated learning. I think as future teachers we really need to examine our system for teaching the kids and perhaps be willing to make some changes to how we teach our students, moving away from parts of the traditional method and adding in aspects of the situated learning method

Video Games

I guess I am not completely sure on what we are suppose to blog about; however, it says video games in the syllabus…so I am thinking it is in regards to our initial readings in Gee’s book. I have to be honest, when I first saw the book we were reading I thought to myself, “what does video games have to do with teaching”. I didn’t think there was anything I was going to learn. On the contrary, I have already learned a lot about teaching and learning after just 29 pages. I am surprised that I understand and can see Gee’s correlations with video games and learning. One claim Gee made was that we all read and think differently based off our semiotic domains. Gee states, “since reading and thinking are social achievements connected to social groups, we can all read and think in different ways when we read and think as members of different groups” (3). Although this is a claim I have not totally thought about on my own, I guess it is something I know intuitively and would therefore agree with this claim. Another claim made by Gee was video games are a way of learning. I am pretty anti-video games for kids yet when you really think about Gee’s quote, you can see his stance. He states when talking about the challenge of video games, “wouldn’t it be great if kids were willing to put in this much time on task on such challenging material in school and enjoy it so much” (5)? An interesting point when you think about how video games are very challenging and it can take many many hours to pass each level and finish the game. Often in the classroom, teachers tend to dumb things down because they are now being forced to “teach to the test”. This is an interesting claim made by Gee and one where I can surprisingly say, “yes, I agree”! In conclusion, I am intrigued to continue reading thru James Paul Gee’s book, What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy, and I am interesting in learning what Gee has to teach me about this new concept/theory.

What I am learning

The main thing I am learning right now, besides academics, is being a wife. I was married over the summer and I have had to make some significant adjustments going from fiancé to wife. One thing I had to learn was “the system” in order to change my last name from Bechtel to Robertson. There are many steps one must go thru in order to make this change and it needs to be done everywhere, i.e., bank, insurance, social security, passports, Chico State, etc. The other thing I am learning is to put someone other than myself first. That does sound like I am normally selfish, when I am not, but it is different having to check in with someone about what you are doing and when you are going to be home. Almost like being in high school again. I am also learning about managing our finances, making dinners, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. Although I’ve done these things for myself for the past years, it is different adding someone else’s stuff to your daily duties. I know my role of wife will change over time as our relationship grows and changes. Right now, it’s still pretty fun as newlyweds and I’m enjoying this learning process.

My first posting

This is my first posting to my blog page for English 333.