Pinterest in the Classroom

    Throughout the few education course I have taken at Henderson, I've learned that one of the most challenging things to do as a teacher is create fun and engaging lesson plans for students. As a student I did not appreciate the amount of effort that went into creating each assignment. Now I know that teachers spend hours thinking about, coming up with, and outlining every class project.
   
     Even though it can be a challenge, there are certainly tools that a teacher can use to assist them in the process. One of the most helpful tools I have used is Pinterest. Pinterest is simply a website that is designed to help you bookmark other websites  so you can easily find the website that you need in them future. What is unique about Pinterest is that it uses pictures as a basis for an entire website. It saves a picture from the website as a way for you to remember what was on that website without having to go and spend a lot of time trying to figure out what you liked about a particular website and how it can be useful to you. In addition to saving websites through pictures, Pinterest also allows you to see other websites that other users have pinned. You can search a random topic, or follow a particular person to see what they have pinned. Pinterest also allows you to save your pins in group or categories to your choosing so that everything is not one big jumbled mess. It's organized, and easily accessible.

     Pinterest is a great tool for the classroom! It allows you to search lesson plans, projects, and even techniques for teaching based on your subject. You can follow other teachers and see some of the things they are doing in their classrooms, or even what websites they have marked as useful for the classroom. In a way, Pinterest acts as a collaborating tool for teachers.

     Personally, I have found Pinterest to be a great tool, and I have used it to find lesson plans and academic projects that could be adapted to fit whatever I will be teaching. Specifically, I have recently created a project based learning assignment through suggestions from various websites I found through Pinterest. Using the two Language Arts Framework, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.4 , I designed a project that puts a twist on the typical book report. This assignment is one that is designed to follow a discussion over modern classic novels. Prior to this assignment, a lecture/discussion will take place where the class decides what a modern classic is. For the Project Based Learning Assignment, students will have the opportunity to explore some of the modern classics and also be introduced to some in a way that is both informative and intriguing.

     

A Quick Overview

Step 1: Choose a modern classic

               - Student needs to be familiar with the work (something they have read)

Step 2: Write a general synopsis of the book that you can use in your video. 

               - It is your job to get people interested in the book. DON'T SPOIL IT!!!

Step 3: Research the major themes of the book and the relevance in real life, then and now

Step 4: Research the author of the book.

Step 5: Create your video

     Please note that this assignment will require class time. Students will need access to technology for creating a video as well as in depth instruction on how to create and edit a video.

    I hope you have found this lesson to be a unique alternative to a standard book report. It is an assignment that I believe students will enjoy doing and also one that will encourage them read more modern classics. Below I have posted my example video as well as a pdf attachment to my written instructions that I would hand out to my students. 

-Peyton Harris 

Book Talk Assignment pdf

Web 2.0 Tools

     As a college student striving to become a teacher one of the things I constantly do is discover new ways to integrate lessons in new and exciting ways. One way to encourage students is to introduce them to fun tools that they can use to complete an assignment. Below I am listing ten tools that I have discovered and that I think are both neat and incredibly useful. Whether it is your goal to teach or not,  as a student this list could be beneficial to you in your various class assignments. I hope you will take a moment to review my list and discover some of the cool tools on the internet that can be used for free!

Prezi





   
     Prezi is a free online presentation site. With this site you are able to create a presentation that can be accessed anywhere that the internet is available. Prezi also allows you to not only type any information into one of the many slide formats but it also allows you to embed pictures and videos directly into the slide in anyway you choose. Prezi is a good tool for group or individual presentations on any assignment. This web tool can be used as a way for the members of groups to all be able to work on a presentation even when they are not able to meet.

TeamViewer

     TeamViewer is a web 2.0 tool that is designed for collaboration for people who are unable to be with one another. This tool allows others to have remote access to another person's computer for easy collaboration. This tool also allows up to 25 people to meet together online. This is a good tool for the classroom because students are not always able to gather together to work on group assignments; this tool enables them to collaborate while not being in the same room. This tool can also be helpful for students who are having issues navigating a particular online assignment. By being able to remotely control another's computer, students are able to help each other.

Corkboard.me

   
     Corkboard.me is a cool web tool that allows a teacher to make an online bulletin board. With this tool a teacher can write messages and organize them in any way. This tool also allows you to insert images directly onto your customized cork board. This is a good tool for the classroom because teachers can continually update it with important information that a student can assess at home. A teacher could use it to post important dates, school information, assignments, and exams.

Dropbox

   
     Dropbox is a free online tool that provides a secure way to turn in documents. Dropbox also works as a way to save documents; a person can access a filed document on any device. Dropbox also allows people to share documents. This tool would be helpful for teachers to obtain online assignments from his or her students. This will also be beneficial to students because instead of having to print out a document, they can easily upload it as soon as they are finished with it.

Edmodo




   
     Edmodo is a free online tool that allows teacher and students to collaborate online. This tool enables teachers to send alerts, assignments, files, and even links to each other. Edmodo requires that a teacher create an account and then add his or her students to the group so that everything remains private and classes are separated. Teachers can use this tool to communicate with their students and students are also able to communicate with the teacher. This tool can be used as a way to clarify assignments and even provide assistance to struggling students.

SchoolWAX TV





   
      SchoolWAX TV is a useful tool that enables teachers to create accounts and upload or link videos to. All videos on this site are educational. This is a free online tool that students can use at their own leisure. Students can use this tool if they are struggling with homework and need additional assistance to complete an assignment. Teachers can dictate which videos they want their students to see and can direct them to this site if they need clarification on a topic.

FreeSummarizer




     This web 2.0 tool is one that summarizes texts. Students can upload any text on the internet, and this tool will summarize it for them. This tool also enables you to put in an estimated sentence count of your preferred summary length. Students can use this tool when researching in order to figure out if a document is going to be useful for their assignment. Students can also use this tool to learn information quickly if they do not have time to read a lengthy article.

PaperRater

   
     PaperRater is a free online tool that enables students or teachers to upload a written document. This tool works to detect grammar and spelling errors, as well as detects plagiarism. This tool also provides free proofreading for students before they turn in a document for grading. This tool could be beneficial in the classroom for students who need to have their spelling and grammar checked. Teachers can also use this tool as a way of making sure her students are turning in original work and are not plagiarizing.

EasyBib





   EasyBib is a free website that generates citations or bibliographies. Students simply type in the correct information and EasyBib will cite it according to your preferred format. EasyBib also allows you to copy the bibliography directly from their website into your document. Students can use this website to make sure they are correctly citing their documents. Teachers can also use this website to teach their students how to do proper citations.

eQuizzer





   eQuizzer is a free online tool that allows teachers or students to customize quizzes. This tool provides a variety of quiz styles such as multiple choice, fill in the blank, true/false, and even short answer. eQuizzer also allows teachers to monitor how often their students are utilizing the quizzes and how well they are doing on them. This is a good tool for the classroom because teachers can see a student's true progress. This is also a really good tool for students to use in order to prepare for an exam and to learn in material in a quiz-like manner.

   
     It is my hope that you will use these tools to benefit you. These are my favorites, but I would love to read below in the comments what your favorites are!!

Halloween Prank Wars and Roommates

     As October comes to an end and the last hours of my favorite holiday tick by, I find myself reflecting over not only this month but also on my college life thus far.

     When I first enrolled at Henderson State University I did what most high school seniors do; I signed up to room with one of my friends. The thought of leaving something as important as who I would sleep in the same room with for the next year up to someone in admissions was scary. I had images in my head of Lizzie Borden taking an axe and giving her mother forty whacks. Getting murderer would be just my luck. (Okay, so not really....but I still didn't want to take the chance of getting someone I wouldn't get along with.) And it was good. It really was. I know you've probably been told that friends shouldn't live together, that you'll end up hating each other before Christmas break rolls around. And in some cases that's true. But not in all. Mine wasn't like that. We got along great, or as well as anyone can while living in a confined space. 

     However, for my second year I chose a different living arrangement. It had nothing to do with my old roommate. We are still really good friends, and I go to her apartment every Thursday to eat really unhealthy food and watch Grey's Anatomy, a show that we are both equally addicted to. My reason for the change was pretty simple: dorm life wasn't for me. I hated eating in the cafeteria and I didn't really like living five feet apart. Sometimes a little alone time is all anybody really needs. When you spend hours surrounded by people, the one thing that you really want to do is go put on your pjs, climb in bed, and binge watch Netflix. That's hard to do, though, if your roommate has friends over or is playing music. It's not like you can tell them what to do; they pay as much to live there as you do. So being able to cook my own food and have the ability to shut my own door when I want to were two very important luxuries that I realized I had taken for granted while living at home. So I moved out. I now live in an apartment and I cannot fully express to you how much I love it. I am ten times happier than I was last year. Living in a dorm is great for some people, but it just wasn't for me.

     In addition to living in a new environment, I also live with three people that I didn't know existed a year ago. One of them I became really good friends with my first semester here, one I had met a handful of times, and one I didn't meet until the day I moved in. But it has been an AMAZING experience. One of the things that brought us together has been bonding over the silliest and the simplest things. For instance, with the arrival of October, the Halloween Prank War began. Honestly I don't even really know how it started, but we have all enjoyed playing pranks on each other. We have a creepy skeleton, as well as a bloody hand, that have both been found in clothes baskets, the refrigerator, hanging behind one of our doors by fishing line, dangling from our shower heads, in the pantry, in the dryer, under the couch, in our drawers, and even in a large fruit snack box. I can't tell you how many times we have screamed and then threatened to kill each other all while laughing so hard that tears ran down our faces or we got the hiccups (yes, Kaitlynn, I'm talking about you!). We have so much fun together, and I hate to think about how life would be if I hadn't made the decision to branch out and take a chance. 

     I know how you feel. You don't know anyone. You want a little bit of comfort, some type of familiarity in this crazy new life. So you're more than likely going to sign up to live with the person that you've known your whole life, and that's okay. Maybe it works out for you, maybe it doesn't. But just know that you won't always be lonely. You're not always going to feel like you don't know anyone. You're going to make life-long friends and you might eventually decide to live with them. And it may not be because there was anything wrong with your previous roommate, but simply because it's the best thing for you. 

     So I leave you to think about what you want to do when it comes to your living arrangements. Are you going to be bold and hope for the best, or rely on comfort and move in with someone who you already know every detail about? The decision is yours. And while you ponder that, I'm going to sit out the remaining hours of my favorite month and drink coffee, as I patiently wait on my roommates to return home and find the skeleton in one of the bathroom cabinets and the severed hand in the freezer.

     Happy Halloween!

Social Networking: A Two-Sided Controversy

 

  Social networking is something that we are all familiar with. As college students we are all really familiar with sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. We are constantly posting a status, uploading a picture, tweeting about the newest movie, or snapping goofy pics that will disappear in ten seconds or less. But while we are doing all of that in between our classes, have you ever stopped to think about the long-term effect social networking is going to have on not only you, but also on the entire world?

     After a little research, I found two articles that discussed this very topic. In the first one, a New York Times essay by Sherry Turkle , the negative effects of social networking were brought to light. In this essay The Flight From Conversation Turkle states that "we've become accustomed to being alone together". She mentions how people are constantly surrounded by other people, yet they are in their own bubble. They are so focused on what is happening online that people are forgetting how to have a simple conversation with one another. Turkle also states that this way of life is causing more and more people to become disconnected and to feel alone. The next article that I found Social Media's Small, Positive Role in Human Relationships by Zeynep Tufekci discusses the positive effects of social networking, and even contradicts Turkle's claims. In this article Tufekci states that the world is constantly focused on social media. However, he insists that people are in constant connection with other people. Instead of spending a bus ride blankly staring out the window, people are seeking other people out for conversation. Social networking is also a way for people to connect who have been separated due to random circumstances in life. Instead of holding a small, insignificant conversation with the person waiting in line with you at the grocery store, you are continually expressing your valuable thoughts to people who are going to impacted by them. Tufekci also states that this way of communication is one that hasn't been possible in the past, and that we shouldn't be frightened by it simply because the times have changed. Tufekci closes by saying that people have never before been as connected as they are now, and that social networking is the cause. 

     Even though we are all entitled to our own opinions and there is no right or wrong, I agree with Mr. Tufekci. I am an active person on social media. After coming to college I am still able to keep up with my high school friends regularly, even though I may go months without seeing them. Although I agree with Turkle when it comes to the fact that people are constantly in their own bubble, I would have to say that it is a healthy bubble. I enjoy social networking because not only do I get to express myself to a lot of people at one time, but I also get to see the opinions of my peers. I think social networking has more positives than negatives. What do you guys think? 

WELCOME!

     Hi! First and foremost, thank you for a taking a moment to visit my blog. The purpose of my blog is to showcase my real life experiences regarding everything I encounter while on this wild ride commonly known as college. As a high school senior, one of the most daunting questions that weighs on everyone's mind is what college will really be like. If you're like me, then all you really have to go on is what you've seen in movies and / or what your teachers have told you. In my case, they tried frightening us into believing that high school was truly a great experience in comparison to what we had awaiting us. It is my hope that this blog will be used primarily by high school students who are about to embark on their college journey. Of course, it doesn't matter what age you are or what stage of life you are currently in, this blog can still be used as a source of entertainment.


     My name is Peyton Harris and I am a sophomore English major at Henderson State University. That statement is one that you will use over and over again throughout your four (or more) years at a university. Whether you're meeting your soon to be best friend or introducing yourself to your advisor, those three pieces of information (name, rank, and major) will be a vital part of your identification. Aside from that, I am the only girl as well as the middle child in my family. I have two brothers and very loving parents. I am from Camden, Arkansas where I attended Harmony Grove Public School. While in school I was very active in the FFA program. My family bred and raised show pigs for 12 years. This hobby was one that my family really enjoyed because it was something that all five of us could partake in. In addition to this, I was a varsity and competition cheerleader, and I graduated Valedictorian of my class. I also love to read and write.

   


   

      Even though I am majoring in English at HSU, I am also pursuing my teaching license so that I can teach at the high school level. My mom is a teacher, as well as many of my aunts. Teaching is in my blood. When I was little, I would always come into my mom's classroom after school and pretend to teach. Furthermore, I have had many teachers who have gone above and beyond to not only teach me their subject, but also to guide me through life. Their influences will never be forgotten, and I hope to one day provide that to a student in need. There has never been a doubt in my mind. I know teaching is the career path that I am destined to take.

     It is through this blog that I hope to not only entertain and inform others, but also to begin teaching others the knowledge that I have gained. As a college student, it is my belief that sharing my experiences is the perfect way for me to do this. I also hope that you enjoy reading it, and thanks again for visiting!