To some it may seem as though the thoughts, arts, events, and stories from centuries past have little actual bearing on the events of our modern society, let alone their own personal lives. However, it is through our inherited and shared knowledge that we know from where our world came, where it currently is, and together, where it is potentially going. From gathering information such as this an individual can locate themselves within the grand scheme of humanity, and as such, develop a whole sense of self. Through a rich education in literature and history an individual can decide the person they are, and whom they want to be; the changes they seek in the world, and how to affect them; communities can be bound in their rich culture; and a society can define the intrinsic values that guide its betterment. As such, a robust education is necessary not only for good global citizenship, but personal understanding of who we are as individuals within our society, and how we can serve the entirety of humankind. This is only possible through sharing our perspectives, research, stories, poems, and media. As such, communication is a founding stone and the crux of our new global world, and a mastery of the English language is without a doubt one of the most beneficial skills in this new 21st century world.
Media and Technology have been prolific agents in the spread of the English Language and its emergence as the new lingua franca. Because of this, it is only fitting to have an emphasis in teaching and creating with traditional sources like novels as well as movies, music, television shows, podcast, radio, blogs, online news, Youtube videos, storyboard apps, and the other mediums that dominate so much of our language use today. Not only does it serve practical purpose for the students’ daily lives, but it is also integral to the SELA specific QEP competencies 2 and 3, and it serves to provide varied engagement for a diverse set of learners. So as a teacher, I see not only using online substitutive and augmentative media like poetry readings from the speaker and full-length movie adaptations of short stories, but digging deeper towards the SAMR ideal of redefinition by having my students engage with technology to create their own media artifacts. As Bloom suggests, by having students analyze, evaluate, and create using the curriculum they are actually learning at higher levels than the rote memorization of yore. Technology offers a cornucopia of opportunities for this hierarchy to be exercised as students re-imagine the great works, or learn to create their own. Finally, I intend to use the breadth of TPACK by incorporating Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledges meaningfully in as many lessons as possible to create authentic learning experiences that appeal to a wide range of students and abilities. To do this efficiently I will have to be always exploring new technology, pedagogy, and my subject specific content to combine from the foundation up in order to maximize this construct’s effectiveness.
Unfortunately, equity is not the norm and not all schools, or individual students, maybe able to access some of these technologies for a variety of reasons. However, with a little effort and cooperation, it is possible for every student to learn to use and understand language on and from differing sorts of media. Whether it is using websites as a group on my laptop, exploring an application in large groups on the available smart phones, or dividing into small groups and pairs for challenging projects, there is nearly always a means or method to incorporate, explore, create in the wide worlds of literature and history using media and technology. This mainly requires an educator to be flexible in their lessons to ensure that all students are included and have opportunities to excel with the resources at hand.
A View to Thrill 