I am a student at Valparaiso University, and this is my professional website for Teaching with Technology. I am not a teacher yet, but I am thinking hard about how I can be the best teacher I can when the time comes.

Here is a visual introduction of myself that I made on Glogster.

This course is for 11th grade students. We begin study in the Puritan era with writings from Smith and Bradford, and finish with 20th century writers Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Study of literature is conducted in discussion format and integrated with writing and research skills.

Videos:

After reading Bradford and Winthrop, watch this excerpt of a speech by Ronald Reagan! How much has really changed from the 1600s to today?

This quick video contains background information on Benjamin Franklin. Watch it before you read the excerpts from his famous Autobiography.

For a tour of Mark Twain's house, watch this video!

Woman Poets 2012: Each year this class gives a presentation on American Women Poets for Women's History Month. Here I reveal my picks this year. Drum-roll please...!

This course is designed for 9th grade students. Students will learn basic research skills and learn how to professionally integrate research into compositions. Students will write two research papers of moderate length, one using MLA and one in APA format, on a topic of their choice.

Videos:

If you need a brief refresher on MLA citations, watch this video.

For help in deciding whether or not you can trust information found on the web, watch this video.

The central idea of language arts is communication. I believe that students need to be prepared to communicate in a variety of settings. Texts should be taught in a discussion settings to gain an appreciation of the array of ways different people respond to texts. Students should learn strong research skills and learn to frame logical arguments in writing. In this way students learn to be confident in their ideas and are prepared to communicate their ideas effectively in the real world.

Helpful links:

NCTE- National Council of Teachers of English website
KDP- Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society website
Web English Teacher- A website for lesson ideas and Language Arts education theory
MediaEd- The Media Education Foundation website has media education lesson plans and scholarship.
EdWorld- Education World, a general resource for all teachers.
A.Word.A.Day- Students of all ages like to learn interesting new words. This archive contains advanced vocabulary that will not bore high school students.

Techtorials:

I integrate technology into my classroom. These techtorials from EdWorld will get you started using this technologies.

WikiTorial- For wikis
SocialBM- For social bookmarking

For more on wikis, check out my WikiGlog!

Adaptive technologies:

Here are some technology aids for students with disabilities.

ILA: This website sells aids for the visually and hearing impaired including Braille keyboards and personal amplifiers.
LD OnLine: This website has useful articles about learning disabilities and discusses ways technology can be used to accommodate these students.

Valparaiso University
Kristen Menke