Great Ideas for Technology Use!

Throughout the semester, I've been speaking to LOTS teachers and students - from my fieldwork placement and TFL 1 class especially - and trying to pick their brains and soak up all the information they can give me about how to be an effective teacher: what works for them, what they like most, what they dislike most, tips and tricks, etc. Not surprisingly, teachers and students across the board seem to agree that using technology is a great, fun way to engage students in their own learning. Still, I have found that many teachers don't use technology as much as they could. Worst of all, when they do use technology in the classroom, they are doing the same old boring things. If there is anything that I can take away from this class, it is that [as I've said, time and time again] the possibilities are limitless. I feel like I find new resources and websites to use every day and they are sparking some creative ideas for activities and lessons that I cannot wait to implement in my own classroom someday.

While perusing the internet today, I came across a resource that was really exciting for me as a future teacher: edtech VISION's "Got Books? Promoting YA Literature Using Technology." This (article? blog post? website?) offers some innovative ideas for using technology in the English classroom. What I liked most about these suggestions is that I would actually want to do most of them myself! Thinking about how excited I am about them, and how excited my students would be to try something new, makes me want to get in the classroom and try them out right now! I am inspired! In case you were wondering, my favorites are the Book Trailers, Book Awards Ceremony, Wall Wishers, and Poetry Break! I really wanted to share this with you all so you could benefit from it too. Hopefully it will help you generate some ideas of your own.