Reflection

    This novel kept the students interested throughout the six weeks that we were working on the unit.  By incorporating the audio version of the book and allowing the students to follow along, it brought more life to their reading.  If the students would have read the book on their own or had to complete their reading quietly in class, many would not have completed the novel.  Most of the students became so interested in the novel that they did not want to stop reading at the necessary points to do response journals or character maps, they wanted to find out what would happen next.  When I witnessed their enthusiasm about the novel it generated an excitement for me as well.  The initial goal was to capture their interest in reading early in the school year, and The Outsiders certainly did this.  Many of the students purchased their own copies of the book and DVD to enjoy at home. 

Yolanda working on her response journal.	Josh, Kyle, and Quest are trying to finish their character maps before the deadline.
Kyle is looking for an example of loyalty to write about in his response journal.	Michael is engrossed in reading.

    From a technological point of view, the students were more engaged by using the various forms of technology that we had available.  Which lead to our "ah-ha" moment and the realization that many of the classroom management incidents other teachers on our academic team experienced, we did not.  By using different technologies and a variety of instructional methods we were able to keep their attention, thus, creating a more successful learning environment.  The students did not become bored with lessons that were primarily lecture and note-taking but could actively participate in their education.

    The idea of creating an entire website on their own was frightening to many of them, yet, it created a tremendous amount of excitement knowing that they were going to work with the computer.  It was an opportunity for students to express themselves in a professional manner, and every student had an equal chance to be as creative as possible.  This was a project that could accommodate students regardless of their learning abilities and see them excel, which was important for our special needs students.  This tended to be the favorite part of the unit for most of the students.  

     This was, for the most part, a successful unit.  Many of the students complained about the amount of writing that was necessary in the response journals and character maps.  If it had not been for this part of the unit many of the students would not have completed the website within the allotted amount of time.  It also took longer that anticipated to read the novel during class time.  Some of the deadlines had to be adjusted to accommodate for completing less of the reading, to allow for time students to complete journals.  Although the students should have been completely prepared to work on their websites in the computer lab, many had not kept up with the journals and others did not manage their time wisely during class.  It would be necessary to monitor their progress more closely in the future and not create pressure to finish by the deadline.       

Co-teaching with a special education teacher allowed us to make the necessary accommodations for our special needs students.	Working on the computer created a professional atmosphere for the students.

    I do not think there is much of this assignment that I would change.  After reading the letters the students wrote to me reflecting on the unit (Your Opinion Counts), I found that the majority of them enjoyed the project.  This also created a way for me to evaluate how successful the unit was and gave me the feedback to critically determine what may need to be adapted for future use.  Many of them did not enjoy writing the response journals or doing the character maps, but I am not sure I would change that if I teach this novel again.  I may alter the way the students complete these elements, but they are necessary preliminary information to easily complete the website.  Without these critical elements they would not have been as successful constructing their website.  This entire unit was a great learning experience for the students and myself, yet still being engaging and entertaining for everyone.     

The student's opinion is an important part of my reflection.

     At first I was a bit apprehensive to have students create a website.  Partly because of my own lack of knowledge of Microsoft Publisher.  After working with it and realizing that it was quite simple, I felt that I was able to comfortably show my students how to use the software.  Watching the students work in the computer lab and seeing them change their behavior from typical middle-school students to professionals in front of a computer was amazing.  This unit made me realize how important technology is to my students and what an important part it plays in their everyday lives.  Many students who were typically passive in class could not wait to get in the lab to work on the computer, and this enthusiasm transferred to me.

     It would be important to me in the future to find as many different ways to use technology in the classroom.  I found that it allows differentiation of assignments and addresses the multiple intelligences that are evident in the classroom.  Finding different software that students can use and adapting previous assignments to better use technology would be beneficial.  Exploring different workshops and in-services devoted to technology in a language arts setting could also expand my ability to create lessons.  My use of technology in the classroom will only continue to increase after witnessing all of the positive influences that can occur.