Content+Area+Resources.

=The Effects of Technology on Secondary English. =

** Concerns: **

Concern 1: Students using online summary resources (SparkNotes, Cliff Notes) in substitution of full readings.

As a college student, I have seen many students choose to substitute full reading assignments in exchange for SparkNotes, Cliff Notes or even Wikipedia summaries. I have found that this a weak substitution and truly derails the learning process in any language course. Students only hurt themselves by slacking off with reading, and there is no better way to be prepared in a class setting than being well-read. I am concerned that by assigning online readings or encouraging use of the internet, my high school students will resort to these summaries.

Concern 2: Plagiarism.

The internet has opened a lot of doors in education. However, it has also made the job of a teacher much difficult in a lot of aspects. I believe the biggest of these new challenges is the accessibility students have to others' essays and academic papers. This accessibility has made it easier for students to turn in work that is not originally their own or copy analysis from sites such as SparkNotes. This easy way out for students really concerns me and I fear that I will have an inability to spot plagiarized work.

Concern 3: Students relying on autocorrect and spell check instead of learning proper spelling and grammar.

The invention of autorcorrect and spell check on applications such as Microsoft Word Office is amazing. It has made grammar and spelling so easy, but that is also worrisome for a future English teacher. We want our students to understand the basic functions of grammar, at least. Using technology in the classroom could possibly encourage students to forgo learning something that a computer could easily fix for them. I am afraid this will make for an illiterate generation.

** Suggestions: **

Suggestion 1: As an educator, stay well-versed with websites such as SparkNotes and Cliff Notes.

By staying up to date with what information these websites are offering, I will be able to make quizzes and tests that exclude the information handed to students on these websites. I will be able to test students over content not present on these websites and content that causes them to think critically, rather asking them miniscule questions that require rote memorization. Furthermore, I will encourage students to use these sites for refreshers, which is what they are intended for. These sites can be useful for sparking ideas for critical analysis, but should not solely be used.

Suggestion 2: Use www.TurnItIn.com for essays and other writing assignments.

Turn It In is an incredibly useful websites for language arts teachers. This website offers a dropbox that scans the internet and any other paper on their site for plagiarism. Teachers are given the ability to change the percent of plagiarism allowable for their classroom, while being able to monitor their students online research. This will also be useful for students without access to a printer and will reduce a paper trail.

Suggestion 3: First drafts will be hand written.

By encouraging to hand write first drafts and then edit them manually, I will be encouraging them to notice grammatical and spelling mistakes on their own. After this initial draft they will be more than welcome to type the essay or - using spell check to correct anything the naked eye missed with the first draft.

** Sources and Websites With More Information on These Topics: **

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