Julianne+B



My name is Julianne Benedetto. I live with my family in Huntington on Long Island. One of my passions is dancing, primarily ballet dancing. I began training when I was about 8 years old and I studied to become a ballerina very intensely through two years of college as Dance Performance and English Literature double major at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. At Butler I discovered that I am very passionate about ballet as a hobby, but I did not feel entirely the same way about ballet as a career. This life changing decision brought me back to New York (the best city ever!), where I continued to study English Literature at Fordham University. My ballet background drove me to explore teaching, which I have always done on the side. My student teaching experience this past year was phenomenal and I am looking forward to an exciting teaching career.

**My Life as Technology User**
The obvious place to begin here is when the giant dinosaur called a com-pu-ter entered my kitchen. Since I was only about eight or nine years old, I was more concerned about the giant cardboard box I could play in once this weird heavy thing was out. I must say my life did not change drastically by the appearance of this obscure thing with a cute colorful apple on it. Nevertheless, I will always remember that day because what was once so unfamiliar is now an integral part of my life.

This memory recently re-entered my consciousness when Steve Jobs passed away almost a year ago. It was a shock to many of us. He was a man who greatly impacted our lives. At this time I was student teaching 8th grade English at Finley Middle School on Long Island. My cooperating teacher and I thought it would be appropriate to do an impromptu lesson on Steve Jobs. I must admit we both started that day with little to no plan at all. Five minutes before the first period bell rang we were looking through an interactive timeline the NY Times created about Steve Jobs and his technology. We reminisced about our first computers, etc. Shortly after, we began our lesson by asking the students to name prominent inventors that changed our lives: Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, etc. We asked, Who is Steve Jobs? What do we know about him? After a bit of brainstorming, we moved through the timeline showing the students the evolution of the computer, ipods, iphones, and other Apple products. Halfway through the lesson we realized that our students had NO IDEA what life was like without an iPod or a computer. The students were shocked and excited about being a part of such a different lesson. They enjoyed laughing at the picture of my first computer and teasing me about being old. But, they did not connect and reminisce in the same way my cooperating teacher and I did. I guess this shouldn't have been surprising, but for some reason it was. I can readily think of and relate to a time where computers and cell phones were non existent. However, even my sister who is seventeen now, barely remembers a time without these objects. My nostalgia for a past time was fleeting, but I will always remember this lesson because it truly shows the difference between generations.

**__NETS Reflection__**

 * 1) **Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity**
 * 2) Students often see school as a separate from the “real world.” However, teachers must show students how class work is relevant and necessary. This goal calls for teachers to teach students how to apply and transfer technological skills and knowledge.
 * 3) During this course I plan to model innovative thinking in a virtual environment by creating a blog for my Personal Use Project . I rarely read blogs and I have never created a blog. As a former English Literature major, I loved to read, but writing was always a struggle for me. I hope to develop my creative thinking skills through writing. Learning how to use this tool and reflecting on my experience will enable me to teach my students how to use blogs and even use blogs as a medium for assessments.


 * 1) **Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments**
 * 2) During my student teaching experience I taught a unit on William Shakespeare’s //Romeo and Juliet//. After delivering a lesson on Shakespeare’s biographical information, I created an assignment where students had to create a Facebook for William Shakespeare. My students were enthusiastic and in many ways relieved to complete a different, yet relevant, assignment.
 * 3) The assessment had many positive attributes, however, one poorly planned aspect was that I did not show the students why we were doing this activity. After gaining more experience, I realize that this assessment has great potential. I would like to modify this lesson and create others that hook students by sparking their interests.
 * 4) Another goal would be to develop a technology rich classroom that invites students to share their technological knowledge while developing new skills.


 * 1) **Model Digital Age Working and Learning**
 * 2) I have always feared creating a website. HTML language and the simple fact that the site is available for all to see and critique has always scared me. However, I would like to conquer this fear by creating a website to house my technology portfolio for the final assessment in this course. The website would demonstrate my technological fluency and it would allow me to communicate easily and effectively with parents and students.


 * 1) **Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility**
 * 2) I always thought it is essential that students are aware of their moral and legal responsibility to respect intellectual property. There are many citation tools that are easy to use and they are readily available online. I will demonstrate my understanding of copyright laws and show how I can communicate this understanding to my students. On my website I will create a page where students can refer to the proper way to cite sources or connect citation tools.


 * 1) **Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership**
 * 2) During my student teaching experience I navigated various online grading systems. At one school the administration paid for a grading system that was easy to use, yet many teachers (even young teachers) refused to let go of their grade books. I was able to convert a few by showing them the effectiveness of these tools. Unfortunately, I observed many classrooms with very little access to technology and a few with technology that was ignored. During this course I would like to research various technologies and how they may be incorporated into the classroom so that they support digital literacy and effective instruction. Through my Statement on Digital Literacy I will demonstrate my leadership in the professional community by communicating the importance of technology in and out of school.

[|Copyright Clarity Assignment]

I chose to create my first glogster based on what I learned from Copyright Clarity by Rene Hobbes.

__**Statement on Digital Literacy Q & A**__

Based on Dr. Turner's recommendation, I chose to write my statement on digital literacy in a Q & A format. My goal was to clearly and accurately express what skills would be addressed in the classroom and how they will be developed. I thought this format would be easier for my audience (parents, guardians, administrators, students) to understand the material presented.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z8C1CyxRSWXon1mDadOiVZVx9tlD_W364LIbW_LiDmE/edit

__**Final Portfolio**__

@http://technologyportfolio.webs.com/

My personal use project is linked in my portfolio and below.

http://enpointe0.wordpress.com/