Responses+to+others'+readings

Comments In response to Jenn Jones' Reading Response: Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century Cortny Hannon Wed, 02/01/2012 - 15:00

Exactly!
I think that you've taken the words out of so many teachers' mouths. My district has shoved new technology at us for the past four years, and the consensus within our district is lack of professional development to learn and apply the technology. It seems like such a waste of money and resources. We also received a new, technologically savvy superintendent last year. He's progressive with tech, but once again, we have such little money for professional development. I'm even on our district's Steering Committee, which is attempting to come up with innovative ways to utilize our in-district experts for professional development. The plan/schedule that we wrote up requires time, though, which our Board wasn't willing to allow. It's sometimes unbearably frustrating to accomplish everything asked of us!

In response to Jim Kalmbach's An "Is Google Making us Stupid?" Rant Cortny Hannon Thu, 03/01/2012 - 14:13

I agree. Google is rewiring
I agree. Google is rewiring our brains. Oddly, though, I think that it's been beneficial for me. We have 20-40 minutes of SSR daily in my reading class. I can't ever seem to pull myself out of a book once I'm in it. I have become a better skimmer because of Google, though. My students do become better endurance readers as the school-year progresses, but it is a battle with some of them. Unfortunately, in 6th grade, they have a difficult time skimming, too. They have a tendency to believe that when they go looking for information on the internet, whatever is in front of them must be the answer, no matter what material is presented. They're not thinking about nor even reading the material. It's as if the internet is God presenting them with what they ask. As we all know, it's imperative that we teach the students to read and analyze information received on the internet. The key word being READ!

In response to Tom Waterson's Response to Selfe's Sustainable Computer Environments Cortny Hannon Fri, 02/17/2012 - 20:49

Specificity needed!
I get this, too, yet I felt torn while reading this book. Oftentimes, I found myself skimming through sections that pertained to university level writing centers. It's a long stretch from junior high - specifically, my 6th graders. I'm sure that Selfe had larger school districts in mind with this. I work in a junior high with roughly 275 students, though. There are only around 20 teachers in my building. Therefore, many of us are involved in developing technology initiatives and professional development. I didn't relate to the way Selfe assumes most teachers feel about technology initiatives. Instead, I was on board with you. Where are the ideas and activities?