chapter 5

this chapter was especially intriguing for me, as it opened and prefaced for teachers of liberal arts. Thus far it has been hard finding information that pertains specifically to me and not to science/ math teachers. And sometimes its hard applying technology to English lit based teaching, usually going any further than a book and paper seems un ordinary. But For example, I learned that teachers can use puzzle builders to create crossword puzzles- something seemingly easy but I have quite a difficult time solving let alone creating one. A lot of these other "publishing programs" are new to me and things i've learned can be useful once i get the grasp of them, for creating magazines, newspapers booklets ect. And in this case technology doesn't take a way or simply reformat education, there is a whole are to news print format, and publishing in general. The last thing i learned seems pretty simple, but I would find it to be one of the more useful tools that a teacher could provide. -an electronic grade book, one that students could access and view their grade privately. nothing is more disappointing for a student than to not be privy to their progress.
The things I've learned really play into how and what i could use for my own teaching. As I read, i was constantly adapting and weaving in this new information into my own plans. IE, I'd like to start creating some cross word puzzles for classes, because the act of solving these puzzles requires a deep understanding of fundamentals of the subject at hand, at least if created properly. The questions could require or could ask of the student points that meet your standards. The same could be said about the publishing programs, a whole lesson plan could be devised around creating a newspaper article for instance, asking the students to draw out the "important" information of any topic, and then re interpret that information on the "news paper" format would require a more in depth approach to the material and a more cognitive learning experience.
One of the main questions i have, is at what point does the "use of technology" such as the ones described in chapter five become obtrusive or imposing? i recognize that the balance is delicate and elegant, but i sometimes fear that too much attention may be laid on these tools rather than, say: teaching literature.