Kids really do know how to spell “you”

As somewhat of a technology enthusiast, I love hearing about new gadgets and technologies from Geekbrief.tv and others.  This isn’t necessarily about wonderful new gadgets, but Chris Pirillo discussed the necessity for basic spelling and grammar on the internet on October 13, 2008.  There is a link to Chris Pirillo’s blog entry at the end of this entry, but note that going to his website is a great idea.  He has corresponding video to the blog entry.

I feel like there are so many teachers and parents concerned that instant messaging and text messaging will corrupt the students.  They fear that the students won’t remember “proper English” or how to spell simple words like you.  I would definitely argue that the children know how to spell “you” they just choose not to. However, as a future English teacher I would agree that students need to maintain the basic spelling and grammatical skills in the internet.

If I am going to ask my students to type their papers or maintain a blog, I think that it is necessary for me to supply them with resources to make their blog more polished.  Chris suggests an acronym PUGS, which stands for Punctuation, Usage, Grammar and Spelling.  I think that in a blog this would be important for students to remember, but if they can’t remember all of that or miss some of the mistakes in their review of it they may need some extra help.

This is where Chris suggests Spellcheck.  It is simple enough that grade school children learning to type paragraphs could use it.  All you have to do is copy the text that you want to have reviewed and paste it in the text box provided on the page.  You could also start by typing your work in the box as you go.  Then you press the spell check button and a box pops up.  There are three tabs, spelling, grammar and thesaurus.  You click on the one you would like to have the program check for you and you have options to change things or leave them as is.

I wouldn’t suggest to students that they take everything the program suggests to change, but at least students now have the option of finding some synonyms to use or a way to find some grammatical mistakes.  They can use this with email, papers or a blog.  I would also want to emphasize to students that this does not mean that they do not need to know how to spell or correct grammar, but this is a tool to help you become a better writer.

Link to Chris Pirillo’s website

Link to the specific blog post: Are Punctuation, Usage, Spelling and Grammar Important?

the tip of the iceberg

What a cliche to begin with… the reason I chose that particular phrase is because in this blog I am hoping to find some of the best ways to integrate technology (let it be gadgets, software or technique) into the secondary level English classes.  This first post will hopefully start to shed some light.

I am a technology enthusiast; some may even go as far to label me as a geek.  As a future educator, I am looking for ways to combine the new technologies that students have access to and the more traditional curriculum that the students face.  In particular, I will explore new writing technology, which includes the gadgets that are being used, the software that is constantly changing, as well as, but not limited to, the techniques used to teach such technology.

To help me learn more I have set up my Google Reader to follow a number of different sites as follows:

Education:

The BBC: Education; I follow this in order to stay on top of what is going on in the global education world rather than the US alone

Google News: Education; The ease of receiving all of the major newspapers, plus many others, was the main attraction.

Educational Technology Resources and Tips: A Blog By Ann Bell; This is a blog that covers and explores Web 2.0 and some of the ways that educators can integrate technology.

MSNBC.com: Education; This is another way to get broader headlines.  I am really just hoping to catch some interesting news in education that might not be in the Google News section.

Google News: New Writing Technology; This is a more specific search that should return articles and headlines that are much closer to the topic that I am looking to cover.

New York Times: Education; This is yet another source for major headlines.  What I am hoping to achieve with a large number of feeds from more prominent sources is a large number of headlines that will contain some reliable variety.

EBSCO; My last edition to the education part of my feed is a search on the EBSCO database.  It is a search for all articles about new writing technology.

Technology:

Chris Pirillo; The feed for Chris Pirillo is not directly related to education, but it does help to create a large awareness of what is happening in the world of technology.  I am a faithful follower of his so this choice was a no brainer.

Geekbrief.tv; If I recall correctly, this is where I first learned of Chris Pirillo.  Geekbrief is really known for their video podcasts with their host Cali Lewis.  If you aren’t sure about technology and need to know about any gadgets, I would absolutely check out Geekbrief.  These are the people that sold me on spending the extra money to purchase my MacBookPro. 

MSNBC.com: Internet/Gadgets; I am subscribed to both the feeds in order to hear not only about trendy things, as I might hear about on Geekbrief, but to hear about other technology that may relate more closely to education

To check out these different areas you can check out the links below:

MSNBC: Education

MSNBC: Internet

MSNBC: Gadgets

BBC: Education

Google News: Education

New York Times: Education

Chris Pirillo

Geekbrief.tv