Pattyjane’s Weblog

My last ejournal is intended to be a reflection on the end of the course and final project. I’m sad that the course is ending. As I said in the beginning, I expected my learning curve to be huge, if not humongous and that has largely been true. What’s nice about this is I’ve started noticing that people are sort of perceiving me differently in regards to technology. I’m getting compliments on my computer ablilities and even my daughter doesn’t really know what a wiki is, so I’ve learned a few things that even digital natives don’t yet know or use. And I’ve found this to be true at work also. 99% of the people at my district are not aware or not using many of the digital activities and skills we learned in class. This gives me the feeling of having an edge in technology, something I surely didn’t have before. I have also noticed that district computer people are far more willing to work with me on technology related projects because I know a fair amount and I know what I want to do and accomplish with the technology. So now, I can present a project (as I did in our last class) and get it going and my computer tech person helps me teach it and helps me work out the kinks in the lab.

At work, we have extended the students’ writing to include a piece written about the Tanglewood environmental camp experience we had last week. We have requested that the computer tech director for our district authorize a link to the site from the main SAD #34 site or the Nickerson School site, so parents and students can visit it. Hey, this is so exciting–and I’m the only one doing it! This prospect does bring to mind a problem that exists in most districts, which is, the computer tech people will fix things, tell you what you can and can’t do or access, and/or they’ll teach simple things in the lab to your students. But we are not learning how to really use technology as part of our teaching. That important part of the technology in education piece is definately missing. I think you called that job a “technology integrator” (as opposed to a technology coordinator). Now that I have a sense of what I can do with technology and my curriculum, I want someone, more like a technology integrator to teach me more useful and helpful things I can do so I don’t always have to come up with it on my own. Also, we need to get more technology for the teachers to use in their teaching, like an LCD player.

One thing I underestimated about my class’ web site is how motivating it would be for students and their attitude toward writing. Having a site on the web is extremely cool to them, provides them with the illusion of having a large cyber audience–sort of like a MySpace page. Now they want to put more on the site than I was going to require. What I need to learn, now, is how to upload pictures onto the main page and their links. Our site needs illustrations and pictures to make it look more exciting and “professional.” If you get a chance, please check it every now and then to see the changes and if you have any advice, let me know. Over the summer I will probably be taking more computer classes, create some power point presentations, and create some lesson plans using online videos. Thanks for everything. It was a fun, great class and I learned a lot.

I visited two sites on Google and their links: Zeitgeist and googlenotebook. Both sites were very interesting. Once again, I didn’t know anything like that existed. In googlenotebook, I took the notebook tour and learned that I can access Google Notewook and all its functions without having to leave the web page I’m on. It’s very convenient. I love the fact that I can add clippings of web content (including images, text, and links) with my own text. My daughter and I plan to start our own cookbook of recipes collected from everywhere–but it will be our reference. I like that I can organize the notebook, so I’m trying to think of it like a binder with dividers. But, if I can’t find something, I can always find what I’ve put into the notebook with a search. An important feature, right in line with 21st century skills, is the ability to collaborate within the notebook. Friends (anyone I care to admit) can come into the notebook and edit/revise the content and add their own thoughts. The notebook can be shared with others by putting it out on a public web page with its own web address. I really wonder what will come of this new idea. Will it become as popular or even replace something like myspace? I can see how valuable this could be in education. Teachers could start notebooks in different curriculum areas or on topics concerning education and gather recent articles in one location. They could add text and additional references. It could become a personalized reference tool.

I also went to Zeitgeist. Zeitgeist is something of a current information site (though it has some archival information, too) on trends. It’s a quick way of checking out what web sites/information people are going to. Paris Hilton still seems to hold some fascination for web surfers. So, if I want to know what are people checking out online I can go to Zeitgeist and find out things like the top news queries or 100 hot trends though I’m not sure why the Creature of the Black Lagoon is number one. It must be made into another movie or something. I found the links with graphs interesting. I compared the presidential candidates by quarterly months to see which ones were being checked out the most frequently online at google. I think I liked the link for Google around the world. It lists countries. I clicked on Afganistan and then went to the city of Kabul. While at the site I saw a beautiful recent picture of the city and I was amazed to find out that there’s a popular hostel there visitors can stay at. There was also recent information on the city as well as links to other sites, like wikipedia. I’ve heard Wikipedia might go bankrupt and will have to shut down–they don’t permit advertising–Google Zeitgeist may be another source if that happens. I see this site as may be the beginning of a bigger thing in terms of providing information on new trends. I wouldn’t be surprised if this site caught on with researchers and the information used in various ways. Some of the information could be accessed eventually by topic. So for educators, a question might be, what are the most frequently looked into sites concerning education.

In class Larry, Diana, and I set up a google doc and together got our feet wet with co-revising the document we wrote. I can see that this could be extremely valuable in many ways. I could see developing a lesson plan with another educator, for example.

Instead of writing two ejournals, I decided to do one for checking into my school/district policy and for cybersafety. The district I work in has each student sign an intenet acceptable use contract which has been approved by the school board. Every student has to sign it each year before they are allowed to use the computers at school. The computer teacher discusses the policy and has a cyber safety information night for students and parents. Few parents attend but I think it’s still good to offer it for interested parents. As colleagues we share our concerns and information on cyber safety at staff meetings and through our anti bullying program. In order for a teacher to use a program, like ePals, we have to check with the technology director first. Most of our computers have extensive blocks so students and staff can not access anything not approved. Since I work at an elementary school K-5, we have very tight controls with no access to lap tops as yet.

For the rest of this ejournal I will write about some of the sites I visited concerning kids and cyber safety. The first site I went to was called Stopcyberbullying.org. At this site I learned about the concept of cyberbullying and that sites for combating it existed. The site gives children an easy to remember motto, “Stop, block, and tell” There was also a a Call for a “bloggers code of conduct” by Tim O’Reilly whereby the blogger would own their own comment and take responsibility for the tone in which the message is conveyed. I also learned that March 30th was “Stop cyberbullying” day and that the purpose of it is to mobilize a global conversation about various forms of online harassment and how to combat it. I thought this was a really great idea. We have a bullying program at our school and many of these ideas were extended to cyberspace. It obviously needs to be defined and talked about to raise awareness of the issue and make it clear that it is wrong and has potential negative effects on the target and consequences for the bully. I think I would use a cyber survey to find out how my students use the internet and find out what sites they go to. I’d include some questions about cyber bullying, the same way we take a survey each year on “regular” bullying. The next site I went to was cyberbullying.org. At this site I found a defintion which I liked: “cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm.” by Bill Belsey. I thought it helpful to get a clear definition, one I could use with students. At this site there was a link: www.bullyingcourse.com which I went to that discussed the fact that a lot of educators (even those new to education and right out of teacher ed programs) do not know much about how to teach their students how to be safe online, so there are course parent, students, and teachers can take online to learn more about it. The next site I went to was Staysafe.org. There were links to staysafe for kids, teens–where you could find out what’s hot/new in cyberbullying and how to avoid being a target. I went to the link for elementary kids. At the teen site, there was a short movie called, “Predator” made by a 14 year old Utah boy named Trevor about online predators. It was about 6 minutes long and showed a boy meeting someone he met online who he thought was a girl. Instead a man pulled up and lured him into his truck. The boy manages to escape and call the police. The movie was very well done and and by acting out what can actually happen made a very important point about the hazzards of meeting someone met online. I also went to the Cybersmartkids.com.au site. I went to the educator link as part of the info on “protect your family.” I checked out the cyber rules list for kids, with the thought of using them with my own students. I went to “Chat danger” and read the story of “what happened to one family” which I think took place in England, but the girl was lured by a sex predator to meet with him 4 times and he made indecent sexual advances toward this very confused girl. She eventually told her parents who helped her and called the police. Also at this site I took a Chat room quiz. The format of the quiz is that it give you different senarios and you have to provide a response. I chose some of the least safe responses to see what would happen. The quiz gave me answers which provided advice and then listed some consequences. It was written to make the participant think critically about choices regarding meeting someone from a chat room. This was an interesting foray into cyberbullying and cybersafety. I picked up a lot of ideas to use in my teaching, including surveying my students’ use of online communicating. One thing is that I’ve never been to a chat room. But now I feel as though I am in a better position to advise them, than I was before whether I go to a chat room or not.

Lesson Plan for students about Online Safety (Adopted from Cybersmart Survey and Cyber rules)

Lesson Plan Title: Cyber Rules for Students

Concept/Topic to Teach: How students can become Safe and Cyber smart

Objectives: Students will be able to tell what it means to be safe and Cyber smart. Students will learn to identify potentially unsafe cyber situations. They will know when to ask for adult intervention and or advise.

Required materials: Access to a computer at the school lab with a link to cybersmart.

Step by Step Procedures: 1. Tap students prior knowledge or understanding–use an informal survery to ask: Who thinks they are a computer wiz? What sort of things do you like to do online? Who goes to chat rooms and uses email and ICQ? Why is this cool/not cool? What friends have you made online? What risks are there in communicating online? (Has anyone had any bad experiences?) How would you define cybersmart? Why is it important to be cybersmart? 2. Introduce the activity: Students will turn on their computers and go to www.cybersmart.com au. Have them read RU cybersmart. (Independent Practice) Then they will take a 15 minute quiz using the information they just read. Teacher will circle the class helping students as needed. Have students turn in their score when done. 3. Have an open discussion–Ask: Who thought the characters did the smart thing? What would you do if… What do you think being cybersmart means? Why is it important to be cybersmart?

4. Closure – Reflection: End by developing cybersmart rules with students. Check it against Cyber Rules from the Cybersmart site and suggest rules they may have overlooked. (eg. Ask parent before giving out name, address, photo, personal details, to anyone on the internet; Meeting people online may be fun, but they might not be who they say they are; Keep your password a secret; Don’t fill out any forms or give out any credit card information; Tell your parent if anyone says anything rude or upseting to you online or sends nasty pictures; Don’t accept any offers that seem too good to be true – they probably are.

5. Extension: Students make posters for the computer lab on some of the cyber rules they’ve discussed. Students could plan a cyber safe awareness day and make presentations to younger students.

This ejournal is an entry on interactive white boards in connection with polyvision group work that Vicki and I did. I went to the sight you sent us, “Interactive Whiteboards in the Classroom” and discovered a great article listing some basic definitions of variations on interactive whiteboards, or smart boards. Essentially, I learned that interactive whiteboards are replacements for traditional classroom whiteboards (which I have in my room) which permit teachers and students to show anything that can be on a computer desk top–and more. IWs allow teachers and students to save, store, record presentations. Which is a great way to save a lesson in case it will be reused again or needed for review. The best way for me to get my mind wrapped around this incredible teaching tool is to think of it as a computer screen, in which anything on the computer can be presented on the white board screen. The interactive white board, like a computer, comes with its own software or programs in the hard drive ready to use, like the jeopardy game stencil Todd showed Vicki and I. I really enjoyed getting my feet wet with our class introduction. But it went so fast. There is so much that Todd showed us that we can do with an interactive white board that I’ve already forgotten some of it. I think a course on just using an interactive white board would be necessary for a teacher who has one to effectively be able to use it. Also, some information on grants or funding sources would be necessary. While visiting this site I went to jeopardy games and played a few of those and saw how they are set up. I also went to: “How to: Use an Interactive Whiteboard” by Jefferey Banzburg. The article, along with the jeopardy presentation Vicki and I did in class, highlighted some of the best uses for interactive whiteboards. For examples: Presentations and projects, Web streaming and videos (Teachers can show streamed or downloaded video clips while using the interactive features of the whiteboard to pause, circle, annotate, highlight, parts of the video. DVDs can be connected to the LCD projector and showed on the whiteboard.) Printing and Saving notes. Anything written on the whiteboard (computer) can be saved–I think to the whiteboard???–Teachers can put notes in a file or a shared server for students to download or post. Another way interactive whiteboards can be used is to encourage critical thinking. Students ideas can be added on the whiteboard or to a presentation. The different (large fonts) and bright colors make a difference to students who are visual learners *(who isn’t?) The variations in font and color and items presented can help keep their interest. I can see that this would be essential way to keep students engaged and the kinestetic feature of touch writing on the board will also help. All in all it’s a new way to present information in a more interesting and varying way. I think classrooms of the future will need to have them and soon they will be seen as an essential learning tool. I like the freedom of being able to do something like that in my own classroom–if I can ever get the equipment. Right now, I have to rely on my computer tech/librarian person to help with any presentations involving using the LCD projector because we only have one for the whole building. The links I went to from the site at Education World (a great resource site) were “Whiteboard stimulate Student Learning” which discussed individual student held whiteboards and how they can be used in the classroom. I didn’t find this article too helpful, though interesting. The “Speaking of Electronic Whiteboards…” article was more focused on interactive whiteboards. This article further clarified some of the important improvements that electronic whiteboards have over the computer and projector, like highlighting an important statement, add an interesting fact label a graphic. Teachers can also go to other web pages, save, and send what has been written to students’ computers. White boards can respond electronically to the touch of a finger or special marker to interact with the information on the displayed on the board. I can see where this would be so helpful in teaching math, like coordinates and geometry, in an interactive way. Right now I rely on my overhead projector and the limitations with that are obvious. It does seem to me, that with the unfortunate attention competition resulting from students playing video games, the interactive whiteboard is good in that it follows and uses the kind of stimulation that students are accustomed to at home, which for them, is engaging. It makes learning with the interactive whiteboard more like the “games” they are use to at home. When students are allowed to manipulate the board themselves, an educator, Pamela Solvie (from Minnesota) noticed that students’ learning and interest rose dramatically. Lastly the article looked at costs of electronic whiteboards–I was surprised to learn that they start at $250, not a small sum, but perhaps manageable. After all, when computers seemed essential, lap tops arrived for middle schoolers in Maine– maybe this argument should be used to get electronic white boards in classrooms–with sufficient professional development–so teachers will really start to use them in their teaching. I did notice grants are possible to obtain from some of the companies who sell electronic whiteboards, such as Mimeo and Smarttech. Smarttech offers online videos so teachers can see how they might use an electronic whiteboard.

About Wikis and their Use in an Educational Setting. One of the articles I read online, “Teachers New to Wikis”, covers many of the basics like, “What are Wikis?” “How can teachers use wikis?” “Appropriate spaces” “How can teachers introduce wikis to students?” “obstacles” and “getting started”. I learned something new about wikis in every sub topic and some assumptions I had were validated. So in “What are Wikis?” I learned that wikis are free online writing spaces that anyone can use and read. Anyone who writes a wiki has to accept the fact that someone may edit (I prefer the word, “revise”) (add, delete) anything they’ve written. In this way wikis are collaborative and can be a creative writing experience. I didn’t know that wikis can show a history of previous writings and edits. This is much different than the usual word processed document, where teachers usually only see the final draft, because teachers can go back and see the process of writing. Another important distinction is that no one author can claim the wiki as all their own writing. Instead, it is acknowledged that the wiki is a joint effort of the participating community of writers. In addition I learned that a wiki is all about writing, really. It’s not suppose to be a presentation space (like power point) or a blog, where no one edits but comments back. As I become more familiar with wikis, blogs, web sites, links, etc., I realize the importance of these differences.

I was most inspired by the part, “How can Teachers use wikis to facilitate teaching, writing development, and learning?” First of all, providing an alternative space for students to write will encourage them to write in the first place. It can also provide a space where students can carry on a debate or share information on a current events topic, subjects studied in class. I might use it to document debriefing of a unit or study where students take the K-W-L chart to reflect on what they’ve learned and continue to build on each others ideas. In the past, I’ve had the class write poems together with me at the overhead being the scribe. But with a wiki, students could go up to the poem and write when they are inspired or edit to make it better. One year, I had students put together a “text” book on the solar system. But with a wiki, students could collaborate on writing another kind of text, let’s say a “Civil War” joint diary where groups of students take on the persona of a few people effected by the events of that time. I could see as students learn more, they could inject period details creating a first person historical fiction account. Soon I will be doing a “service learning project” and I like the idea of students using the wiki format to jointly build a web site on the project. I like the ideas presented for introducing wikis to students, but for myself, I would first try it out on a project like one of the ones I mentioned above, and then wait and see. Though, I could see the possibility of some students getting upset over revisions made to their writing. When I do peer response groups for in class writing projects, I always leave it up to the author’s choice, whether or not to act on revision advice. A wiki would diverge from that writing protocol. I could also see students still claiming some ownership of the piece and keeping mental track of what they’ve written. I can hear them now, “I wrote that part!” or “Grace wrote that!” It’s a possibility that some students might deliberately sabotage others writing. And there would always be the question, How public should our wikis be?, to ensure student privacy. In this article, I journeyed to a link on wikibooks. I especially liked two ideas discussed in this article: One is the idea that wikibooks could replace or augment the traditional textbook in the same way that wikipedia has augmented the encyclopedia. Teachers could get online free (open source model strikes again!) “texts” in curriculum areas. They could also edit the wikibook and customize it to their teaching and student learning needs. A second idea I liked is the notion that wikibooks could augment the traditional academic publishing model. Usually academic authors have to wait for peer review before publishing, but the wikibook approach, permits the author to publish it online and make it available.

This week I became very involved with the readings for class and that’s a great start but I’m time challenged and didn’t get to experiment with some of the tools listed. In our text, Web 2.0, I read through chapter 5, largely because as I was reading I became so intrigued with the new tools discussed in chapter 3, that I wanted to go ahead to better understand how these could be applied in a school setting. I also read up to page 127 in The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman. About mid-way through chapter 3 in Web 2.0 I felt like I was Alice in Technology Land and twice as confused, amazed, and frightened! Everything I was reading about new Web tools was new, except for our discussions in class, and for me, some brief visits to Wikipedia for research. Reading Thomas Friedman helped assuage some of my fear because of the discussion on the evolution of the internet and Web 2.0. Somehow getting the background on how these cyberspace systems developed helped fill in some gaps. I was discussing this feeling of being lost with a friend of mine and she said that some of the background is good to know, but it’s like driving a car, you can drive it without needing to know how a car is made or which part in the engine does what it does.

Chapter 3 focuses on describing the new tools available to all of us with an internet connection. The open source movement allowed the Web to not only be a source for information to be transmitted and consumed to being a platform where information is created, shared, edited, revised. The beauty of it all is that it is available and free. The more I think about it the more I think how lucky we all are to have this abundance of information in our lives. Not only that but we can use it, work with it, use it to communicate and collaborate on creating and solving problems. What a great gift the originators of the World Wide Web gave us.

I like how chapter 3 outlined the tools available on the Web. I’ve discussed tags in a response to Vlad and thought it might be good to do some work on that in class. I still need to get more of a handle on RSS–I understand it–information I want will come to me, but I would like to set up at least one subscription for myself and use the RSS technique. I’m not sure what to do with the XML code and how to get it to an aggregator. Thank goodness blogging has been demystified since we set up our blog sites. One really has to do some of this stuff–I mean use these tools–to get a sense of what they are. It’s all so new and by default, confusing. Example: I’m on the board for the Theater at Monmouth. Our last board chair set up a blog site and invited board members to blog about the theater’s productions 2 summers ago. Well, I think no one on the board knew what blogging really was so no one contributed to the site. Until people of my generation develop their understandings about some of the new web tools like blogging, a whole huge group of people will be out of the loop on this kind of communication and collaboration. Again, there is so much out there to be aware of it is overwhelming. It’s so hard to get my head wrapped around this…so I’m really glad I’m taking this course so I won’t be on the ignorant side of this kind of literacy. I am fascinated by podcasting. I plan to go to teachertube.com tomorrow to checkout a teacher’s video someone mentioned in Vlad. I’d like to learn how to make a podcast in the near future and use it soon in my teaching. I’d like my students to make a podcast as a demonstration of their knowledge on a particular topic in social studies or science. I love the idea of wikis–it’s one of the easiest things for me to understand of all of these web tools. I like how on Wikipedia, for example, anyone can add information or edit what’s already there. Just the other day, I looked up an obscure 14th century English Duke, and sure enough plenty was written about him. I know that I’d never have found that information before the creation of the Web. I’d like to use a wiki with my students. Though I plan to wait until I’ve read Classroom Blogging and checked into how other teachers have used it as a learning tool successfully. I’ve read the pages on social bookmarking, but I still feel like I don’t understand what it is, so I might need a tutorial on this tool. My daughter does photosharing all the time, but I don’t know exactly how she makes it happen, so I plan to get her to show me this when I visit her this weekend. For video showcasting, I’ve visited YouTube.com to watch the videos of some music I like. As for making my own, I need to learn how to upload videos for class projeccts.

For most of the rest of chapter 3, I made notations of the sites listed for the new tools that are out there. What I’d like to do is find the time to go to them for the different educational purposes listed, like the site mentioned for 3D modeling, and for geography Google Earth. That’s what I mean about being overwhelmed. Now that I know what is out there, I need time to go in and try to use it and figure it out.

The article I read, “Blog On” coincided nicely with chapter 2 in this week’s text reading in Web 2.0. Both the article and chapter 2 make the point that our students are advanced in their understandings of how to use technology, that technology engages students, and as a result can promote learning. Why? My asumption, based on our readings and my experience is that it’s because it gives students some ownership of their writing and an audience both of which are motivating. Everyone likes to be heard and have choices and control.

Some interesting facts are outlined in the text that support the notion that our students are active computer users, such as, 65% of 6-12 grade students use email or IM everyday. Many of my 5th grade students play video or educational games on their home computer. When I looked over the reasons why people use the internet, I realized that I’ve looked for information in those areas (checking news, weather, etc.). I email all the time for personal and work related use and have found this kind of communication is so much easier and logistically convenient than memos, phone calls, or visits.

I like the idea that students are strong believers in the power of technology to enrich the learning experiences. This was explicitly stated in our text and was the main theme in the article I read. “Blog On” focused on how blogging can support learning. I was intrigued by some of the examples that were shared, such as, augmenting the reading response journal to blogging about a classroom literature book. Students also blogged giving advice on how to decode words. I especially liked the idea where students shared their opinions on award winning books they read. They were weighing in on which books they liked best from a set of nominated books. When students can share their ideas, not just put things down on paper for the teacher, their motivation to write something reflective about literature increases. The article claims that deep thought and dialogue are engendered by blogging. I can see where this would be the case. Right now I’m teaching US government with a focus on the executive branch. It’s tempting to set up a blog so that students can share their opinions about the powers of the presidency and/or what’s going on in the primaries. I also liked the idea of collaborative blogging with other classes or with experts in their field. I could see doing this with another 5th grade teacher’s class that we are doing environmental education with. Right now, our computer system is not set up to allow students to blog and I am not yet that adept to teach these skills to others or set it up.

I discovered this when our computer tech person came in to help me update my lap top, (which up to now I haven’t really used). He helped me navigate my way through some of my homework, such as, changing my presentation and editing my profile. I realized that I didn’t really know how to go in and make those changes. In the future, I may have to come to class early to ask questions and get a tutorial, or higher a tutor to walk me through how to do some of our assignments. I need hands on learning just like my students. But for classroom blogging, I plan to see if I can work something out with the technology staff so I can start experiementing. I suspect that students will be excited to share their ideas through the venue of blogging.
One of my favorite parts of the readings this week in our text was, “Understanding Learning.” I studied Bloom’s taxonomy in college and I was impressed with the changes made by the cognitive psychologists to update Bloom’s with revisons that reflect students as active users of technology. I especially appreciated how differentiated learning, constructivist learning, and project based learning was connected to students using technology. I also appreciated that the authors articulated one of my biggest concerns in education which is we have moved from a constructivist pedagogy to standards based educational focus. I am forced everyday to coordinate a constant emphasis on working toward high test scores with engaging, indepth learning. Technology may be one link in being able to keep learning engaging.

Finally, the piece by David Jakes on “Digital Storytelling” was interesting because it involved so many aspects of captivating technology–the narrative itself, video, music, images, and author’s voice. It definately takes storytelling or journalling to a whole other level. Outside of some videos on myspace and youtube, I haven’t seen a true digital story. But I would like to, as well, make one myself and perhaps have my students make one. I like how students would continue to use the writing process which allows them to build their literacy skills, but also by integrating aspects of technology, it allows them to be creative. Also the notion of sharing is still there, just not on the traditional bulletin board.

Why I love “The Tempest”
Posted by rainbow9 under Deliberate Creation, Homeopathy, Poetry, Uncategorized | Tags: Homeopathy, inspire, magic, Poetry, positive thinking, revenge, Shakespeare, The Tempest |

I recently completed a university course on Shakespeare. My favourite lines are from the Tempest. Prospero, the magician, and Ariel, an airy spirit under Prospero’s control, are coming to the end of the play. Prospero has orchestrated a ship-wreck of the boat his brother-in -law, the King of Milan, was on in order to exact revenge upon him. The plan is nearing its climax……..at which point, Ariel will be given his freedom.

ACT FIVE SCENE ONE
Prospero: Now does my project gather to a head.
My charms crack not, my spirit obey, and Time

Goes upright with his carriage. How’s the day?
Ariel: On the sixth hour, at which time, my lord,

You said our work shall cease.
Prospero: I did say so,
When first I raised the tempest. Say my spirit,
How fares the King and ’s followers?

Ariel: Confined together
In the same fashion as you gave in charge,
Just as you left them; all prisoners, sir,
In the line grove which weather-fends you cell.
They cannot budge till your release. The King,
His brother, and yours abide all three distracted,
And the remainder mourning over them,
Brim full of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly
Him that you termed, sir, the good old lord,
Gonzolo.
His tears runs down his beard like winter’s drops,
From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly works
‘em
That is you now beheld them your affections
Would become tender.
Prospero: Dost though think so, spirit?

Ariel:
Mine would, sir, were I human

It is upon this line and Prospero’s decision that the entire play pivots. For Prospero has ample reason to want revenge: many years before, his brother- in -law had put him and his infant daughter Miranda in a leaky boat to their death- instead, they were ship-wreaked upon the island.Many of Shakespeare’s plays focus upon this theme of the misuse of power and revenge. No one up to this point has provided any alternative to our cultural predisposition to exacting this revenge- our high hopes in Hamlet were dashed.We hold our collective breathes and then read:

Prospero: And mine shall

He chooses to forgive, and the world is transformed as a result.

He decides to:

break my staff
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
and deeper than did ever plummet the sound,
I’ll drown my book