Rationale:  As a teacher, you will develop (or already have) opinions on what constitutes good pedagogy.  Teachers are sometimes asked to articulate those opinions and beliefs during interviews and for principals, board members, parents and students.  Professionals are not only able to articulate those opinions on those occasions, but are also willing to share their opinions with others in the profession.  Papers for publishing in scholarly journals or for presenting at conferences are the mediums for sharing.  For this course requirement, you'll create a conference presentation enhanced with technology.

In order to meet the target goals for the conference paper presentation, you should:

• demonstrate understanding of the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and apply those principles in practice

• make meaningful connections between the ELA curriculum and developments in culture, society, and education

• demonstrate knowledge of the range and influence of print and nonprint media and technology in contemporary culture

• demonstrate knowledge of research theory and findings in ELA

• use apt references to and support from scholarly research and/or classroom practices (future or current)

• show evidence of technology use throughout his or her writing process

• contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning in the profession

Steps for Successful Completion

• Respond to the "Call for Proposals" (below).  See the sample proposal for an example.  I will respond to your proposal and return it to you well before the first draft of the presentation is due.

• On a scheduled date, you will turn in a draft of your paper as well as a reflection on your progress.  The reflection should discuss how you have drafted your paper to meet the needs/expectations of your audience.  I will respond to it and return it to you.

• On a scheduled date, you will turn in a second draft of your presentation as well as a reflection on your progress.  The reflection should discuss how you have revised your paper to meet the needs/expectations of your audience. There may be peer revision, and I will again read and comment on your presentation.

• On a scheduled date, you may bring in a draft of your presentation for editing as well as a reflection on your progress. The reflection should discuss how you have revised your paper to meet the needs/expectations of your audience.  There may be class activities involved here.

• The final draft as well as a reflection on your paper will go in your portfolio.  The reflection should discuss how you have written your paper to meet the needs/expectations of your audience.  See the portfolio rubric for more details on the assessment of the presentation.

Call for Proposals

The state affiliate of the ISTE is seeking proposals for presentations on legal, ethical, cultural or societal issues in teaching English Language Arts with technology at the secondary level.  Suggestions for presentations include

• teaching ethical use of technology (internet plagiarism, Wikipedia, Facebook/Myspace)

• Millenials' use of technology in education

• the growing “digital divide” in educational settings

• expanding definitions of literacy to include technology

• national and state standards in literacy and their assessment

• other numerous topics. 

Proposals should include a working bibliography as well as main points to be discussed in the presentation.  Final presentations should be about 1500 words in length and include a works cited "page" in proper MLA or APA format.  This will take the form of a seven-minute PowerPoint/SlideSix presentation with recorded narration.

Questions?  Please ask them in class so that everyone may benefit from the clarification.