Mixed Media ISP Assignments

In the senior grades, students of English are almost always required to complete an ISP (or, as some call it, an ISU). Since this is mostly done independently, having this unit online is helpful for both teacher (not having to re-photocopy lost handouts throughout the assignment) and the student (having the entire project and all of its resources available at all times). In this mixed-media ISP, students will complete a reading journal online, a multimedia essay, and a "traditonal" literary essay (but it still uses technology!). To read more, click here.

Boys n' Literacy

It is often thoght that boys lag behind girls when it comes to literacy, and though this is true, recent data shows that the problem is not nearly as serious as it is made out to be. That being said, boys still tend to be behind in both OSSLT results, as well as earning credits in their English courses. So, not to dismiss the matter entirely, a Proposal. (Unfortunately the charts did not translate when put into google docs, but I have filled in the data that the charts represented).

Learning from each other

It's one thing to be able to memorize and regurgitate information given to you by your teacher. It's quite another to be able to take that knowledge and information, and learn it enough to be able to teach it to your peers. In this assignment, used in an ENG 3U course, students take a look at non-fiction writing and are asked to analyze it until they are able to teach it to their peers. This assignment can be adapted for all levels and grades. For more, click here.

Online Learning

With an ever increasing dependency on the internet for our everyday lives, it is no surprise that online learning increases in popularity each and every school year. While this method of learning works for many, it is interesting to look at why it sometimes fails. For more, click here.

Comparing the Curriculum in Alberta and Ontario

In 2003, the Ontario Ministry of Education developed a schedule for revision of all subjects. Most recently, the English curriculum was updated in 2007.

Alberta, on the other hand, claims to have one of the best education systems in the world, stating that "several countries around the world, including China, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, and Thailand, have expressed interest in their curriculum".

This report will examine the similarities and differences between Alberta and Ontario, and evaluate which of the two is more conducive to student success.

Alberta and America... two different looks at educational accountability.

It is interesting to compare the response of Alberta and the United States in response to the push for educational accountability. While both certainly did respond, both on the side of policy makers and educators, here is a look at how the responses differed using Diane Ravitch's "A History of Accountability" and Alberta's Teacher Association article "Accountability in Education"

Accountability in Education- A Canadian Perspective

In Lorna M. Earl's article "Accountability: Where do Teachers Fit?", she examines a Canadian perspective of accountability and the responsibility of teachers. To read a summary of this article, click here.

A History of Accountability

"How to improve our public schools? Many policymakers argue that we can start by holding students, teachers, schools, and school districts accountable for student performance. This approach may sound perfectly reasonable—but it has the education profession up in arms."



For some background information on accountability in education, here is a link to an interesting article written by Diane Ravtich titled "A Brief History of Testing and Accountability". For the summarized version of this article, click here.

Classroom Management and Effective Leadership: A Case Study

Meet Jim. Jim is a new teacher who is having classroom management difficulties. Though he puts a lot of effort into his lesson planning, he never quite gets through his lessons without a problem with one or more students. The issue has been brought to the attention of his Department Head, Diana, who is going to attempt to help Jim through her effective leadership skills. To read more, click here.

Teaching to Prevent Plagiarism

With the answers to all of our questions available at our very fingertips, at every moment, our reliance on the internet for information increases daily. While we can certainly argue how convenient and useful this is, where does it cross a line? Students at all levels use the internet for a number of reasons, including help with their homework. As wonderful as this is as a learning aid, it becomes a problem when the line is crossed and students are letting these internet sources do their thinking for them.

Click here for more.

Mississauga S.S. Policies on Plagiarism

Our school has a strict policy on plagiarism and academic honesty. The English department uses turnitin.com as a means of "screening" assignments for plagiarism from both the internet and peers. See link for site: Turnitin

We also have the policy outlined in the student agenda and the same appears on all course outlines. See page 22 of the PDF link to the 2009/2010 M.S.S. Student Agenda:

A thought...

This course has really got me thinking again on how different it really is teaching in a classroom than it was online. I started teaching online straight out of teacher's college, so had very little experience actually teaching in a classroom setting. Last year, when I found out that I had to move into a classroom, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, it would be nice to get out from behind a desk all day and be able to interact face to face with students. On the other hand, I was faced with new challenges- behaviour issues, lesson planning, pretty much all of the things that come along with being in front of a class and actually having to teach a live "audience".

Near the end of my online "career" I started to feel very stifled. The courses that I was teaching were all ministry created, and left little room for creativity. On top of that, I rarely met my students, and communicated primarily through email. There was never any real connection with anyone, except for the two other teachers that I worked with. As much as I really liked the idea of online learning, we were working with students who were using the online programming as a last resort. Some were ill and couldn't attend school, others chose not to attend school, but because they were not of age, legally had to be enrolled somewhere. I found that often the progress was slow, and our success rates were low. I think that the program definitely had its merits, and the students who were successful I was always particularly happy for, because without the online courses, they may not have finished high school.

So, to sum up that ramble, I am much happier now teaching in a classroom, but there are a lot of really great things that I feel I took from that experience. In those two short years, I learned how helpful that online learning was for students who were already motivated. Online learning took a lot of self-exploration as well as self-discipline. I was also exposed to so many different online tools that I probably wouldn't have known about otherwise. I feel much more comfortable using technology with my classes now.

Anyways, again, it was just a (long) thought.

This blogging thing is neat-o!

The course is now going, and I am feeling pretty good about it so far... it's nice to have colleagues around also taking the course, so that we can have informal chats (and so I have someone to remind me about the deadlines!) I do fear that I am falling behind in my marking though.

Just trying to figure it all out!

Course has officially begun and I have set up my blog (obviously).