DATE conference -- Session 2

The second technology session I attended was Georgia Peach's "Addicted to Dickens." I introduced Georgia, and I was interested in the way she used the internet in her Dickens book curriculum.

Georgia's school was fed up with the traditional approach to teaching Dickens (worksheets, vocab books, quizzes, etc.) So she decided to take the historical approach, just like Dickens did, and serialize the chapters.

She set up a web site so that every week the students received a new serialized installment of the novel. The students were able to view the chapter on the web, and they were given assignments based on the reading.

The Dickens novels, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, are more appealing to students when they can read them in serialization, since the novels themselves are typically very long and laborious for students to digest all at one time.

When Georgia posts the chapters to the web site, she puts notes in the margins for difficult words or historical references the students may not know about.

Overall, Georgia uses the internet instead of giving out the novels like she traditionally did so that she can grab the students attention as well as involve the community. Since the internet is available to all people, anyone in the community can receive the installment chapters. Also, the parents get involved since the assignments are through the internet, and Georgia has had parents contact her regarding the assignments if she has not posted it yet on a Friday afternooon (everyone seems so excited about it that they can't wait for the chapter to be put up).

The novels are done from September through May, with every Friday devoted to Dickens.