[etni] fwd: English classes enter Facebook era
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- Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2011 08:45:36 +0300
English classes enter Facebook era
Instruction incorporates social-networking model and improves scores
San Diego News - May 31, 2011
Tapping into the deep interest that students already have in social
networking, some North County schools are bringing a Facebook-like
experience to English class to help improve student writing
performance.
Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in the San Marcos Unified School
District create web pages on a password-protected district site to
showcase their essays, poems and book reports, as well as post photos,
videos and audio clips to augment their presentations.
Classmates can see each others’ work, from early drafts to finished
products, and are encouraged to offer comments and suggestions to
other writers. Assignments no longer are just read by a single
teacher.
“With social networking, they share their work with a whole class.
They care a lot more about it and are willing to do things to make it
special,” said Allen Teng, a Woodland Park Middle School teacher on
special assignment who provides classroom support for the program.
Using a $1.15 million state grant, the district bought more than 300
netbooks, a handful of digital cameras and camcorders and other
equipment and trained 33 English teachers at Woodland Park, San Elijo
and San Marcos middle schools how to use the new tools to stimulate
interest and improve writing. The program, which was put into practice
in early 2010, is credited with boosting test scores and last month it
was recognized with an “impact” award from the Classroom of the Future
Foundation.
*** To read the whole article, go to -
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/may/31/english-classes-enter-facebook-era/
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