My experience in technology class

I am not going to lie and say that I was absolutely thrilled to be taking a technology class. I was totally satisfied with what I knew and was sure I would pick up a few more things along the way. After taking this class I am surprised that I thought I could go into the teaching world without knowing about all of these tools. I thought I was overwhelmed the first day of class when I had to sign up for a twitter account...then to find out all the other accounts and tools I would be learning about! There is so much out there that can be helpful to me as a teacher and I am so excited to use it in my classroom.
It was really great being able to learn from my fellow classmates about the different technological tools that are available to me to use in my classroom. It was a great way for each of us to get familiar with our one topic and share it with the class. I had the pleasure of teaching about podcasts and itunes U, which before my presentation were pretty foreign to me. I now know the usefulness of these tools as well as an array of others. I really enjoyed the tools that are hands on and can be used as alternative assessments for the students in my class. History can be a very boring subject when it is all lecture and essay based. The tools that I learned through technology have taught me how to bring history alive. I really enjoyed the Glogster project as well as the little things like creating a class blog or wiki page.
It was also very interesting and useful to me to learn about basic and effective teaching. What makes teaching meaningful? How can you create networked learners? What is a teacher leader? These are questions that I had never even thought of and now understand the concepts and importance behind them. I now want to take what I have learned and become a teacher leader and a networked teacher. I now know the importance of teaching my students technology. And not only how to use it, but how to use it effectively and properly.
I wish that I had more time to play around with each and every tool that was provided for me, but am glad that I have a delicious account and the netvibes learning center to refer back to when I am looking for ways to implement technology in my classroom. I will continue to attempt to bridge the digital divide by educating my future students and helping them to be more digitally literate. It is such a crucial role for a teacher to take in students lives.
I will most definitely need to continue more research on the resources available to me and my future students as well as refresh myself on what I have learned. I just know that it is important for me to get my ideas out there to my students as well as to other teachers. The teachers that I have begun following on twitter have provided excellent resources for me and I hope to someday be providing some for them.
I think the biggest thing that I will take away from this class is not just all of the tools that I learned, but I now have a motivation and determination that I never had before. I want to continue to learn and spend more time researching so that I will be prepared to implement what I now know in my classroom. This class has been very beneficial to me in giving me this desire to learn more and I am so excited to further explore the world of technology!

Space Race Timeline

Nichole S. on Dipity.

Bridging the Digital Divide

This class has completely changed my view on the importance of technology in the classroom. Due to the fact that I have never been the most technology advanced person and have still made it through life just fine I just never say why so many people though it was so important. After taking this class as well as most every class I am currently in I see that it would be holding my students back to not implement technology into the classroom. This generation as well as future generations have access to these amazing tools and it is my job as an educator to help them become a part of this digital world. Even today we can see how having access to the internet is at times crucial in order to partake in certain class projects and even outside of the classroom the internet is not only used to communicate with people around the world for leisure purposes, but companies will hold interviews via the web. Technology is going to continue to develop and become a crucial part in all of our lives and therefore it is very important for students to begin feeling comfortable with these tools at a young age.
In order to help students gain this comfort level it is important that they have digital access in the classroom. It is one thing to learn how to do something, but I find that students will grasp the information better if they are able to interact with these tools in order to understand the wide variety of ways to use it. If the school that I work at is unable to provide the technology that I would like to have my students use during the year than I would like to work with the school to acquire such equipment. There does not need to be a computer or any other device I might be using for every single student because they can work in groups, or I will create stations so students can partake in different parts of the assignment using different equipment. In order to obtain more digital access for my students I would start by asking the school what the issues with acquiring it is. I will then write a grant asking for the equipment at my school. I also would try and work with parents and the PTA to see if there are any connections I can find there or maybe set up some sort of fundraiser to earn money for the school.
The teachers that I follow on twitter have shown me how they are trying to bridge the digital divide. It was difficult to find explicit information on how they attempt to get technology into their classrooms if they do not have it, but they do post information to help fellow teachers use technology in their classrooms and apply it to their content. So using this information and putting this information out there to help other teachers is a way that they are working to get more technology in their classrooms. One teacher has provided a link to his blog "free technology for the teacher" when I went to this site it provides a virtual tour of the Lincoln Memorial. Many schools are not able to travel to see these historical places, but having access to the internet can provide students to still get a feel for what it would be like to see it in person. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/11/great-virtual-tour-of-lincoln-memorial.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
http://techlearning.com/blogs/22558 I thought that this was interesting to bring into the idea of bridging the digital divide because it is Ten Ideas for Getting Started with 21st Century Teaching and Learning. The first thing that is said on this is that having the proper equipment which involves the laptop and projector that we are concerned we will not have access to in our classroom. It is also showing how important it is to obtain these things and hopefully someday we will gain access to them.
This also was a really cool website that intrigued me and made me think about the digital divide that we not only see in our classroom, but between us and the rest of the world and this is a website that brings everyone together. This site helps students and teachers collaborate with others all around the world using this technology which we all hope to have. http://iearn.org/
It was difficult to find websites about how people are actually attempting to bridge the gap, but I found a lot of ideas to use in classrooms. All of these sites are further proving my point on the importance of technology in the classroom because there are so many cool things you are able to do like this story about how students used cell phones to map the slums of Brazil. Things like cell phones might be easier to gain access to because you do not need a lot of them to do projects like this. http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2009/11/using-mobile-phones-to-map-the-slums-of-brazil311.html
http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/408
This website was also very interesting in how important it is to bridge the digital divide across the world. But it also acknowledges that having access to this technology is not enough, one must also know how to properly use the tools. This is important and this is why it is important for teachers to educate students how to use technology.
I hope that someday we all have access to these tools and in the mean time there are many sites available providing great ways to bring technology into the classroom even if you are not equipped with a variety of tools there are still ways to help teach your students. It is important that we continue to work toward bridging the gap and knowing that teachers are out there working together to do that is very helpful to us pre-service teachers. There are so many ways to bring these ideas into a social studies classroom such as the virtual tour of the Lincoln memorial. Things like this are important to a history classroom because it can help to bring the content alive. This makes it more interesting for students.

Teacher Leaders

A teacher leader is someone who is organized and can work well with others. They have an innate leadership quality that the school community benefits from. These teacher leaders are able to be helpful and active members of their school based on many qualities that they possess. They are open to other people's opinions and suggestions. Teacher leaders are also creative people that are able to come up with exciting new ideas for the school. They are willing to work with the faculty, parents, and students so as to better the classroom learning environment for the students.

http://www.teacherleaders.org/about/who
this is a teacher leader network which provides resources to teacher leaders and also connects them to one another to become better teacher leaders. This website provides teacher leadership resources as well as news about upcoming events that will bring teacher leaders together and give them ideas to become better teacher leaders. This site also provides links to fellow teacher's blogs that provide useful information for teacher leaders.

http://www.leadershipteacher.org/
This site uses information from a variety of people and offers assistance to teachers to become leaders in their schools. They hope that teachers can be a positive change in their schools and this website provides links and workshops to enhance those skills that the teachers already have. This website tries to organize and inform teachers on how to be a positive impact not only on your student's lives but also in the whole school community.

I feel that I could possess the qualities to become an effective teacher leader in the school that I teach at in my future. I want to be a positive impact not only on my students but in working with faculty, parents, and the community as a whole. It might be hard at first to gain all the skills necessary to be a teacher leader, but with hard work and the resources available to us I believe I can build on my skills and become a teacher leader in my school.

How will you use your skills to become a teacher leader in your future schools? Are these resources necessary or is it a quality that you already possess?

Networked Learning

The human network is this idea that we are all connected together and technology has made this more possible and easier for us to navigate. Due to the fact that we have access to these tools and are able to contact people all over the world how we learn is changing as well. We are relying less on our teachers to give us the answers and are being motivated to use the tools that we have through technology to find the answers ourselves. This is the idea of the networking student. It is someone that takes what is available to them and conducts their own research while connecting with experts on the subject.
Digital literacy is important to the networked student because in order to be an effective networked student you must be able to use the technology available. The networked student needs to know how to navigate through the internet and be aware of fraudulent information that might be trying to pass as the truth. The student also needs to know how to use different social networking tools as well has have the understanding of other individuals in order to communicate with other experts they are researching. Basically the networked student needs to be able to use technology in functional, useful ways.
While the teacher takes more of a backseat approach in the networked student's life the instruction that is provided by the instructor is very important. The teacher has a huge responsibility in providing the student with the proper information on how to use the tools in order to be the most effective in using them. The teacher also helps the student to organize the information that they come across. I think that this is a very important for for a teacher and I could definitely see myself taking this role in my student's lives when necessary. We have spent a great deal of this semester discussing how important it is for us as teachers to do exactly this and let our students take on responsibility and learn how to properly use the technology that is available to them. I do not think that I would want to take on this role all the time and would probably start off with smaller projects in order to see if my students benefit from this method. I think it is a good idea to have a combination of networked learning and a more traditional style of in class time.
This slideshare is cool and similar to the ideas that Professor Drexler shared with us. This actually even uses an image that is hers. This focuses on what the teacher does to create his or her own personal learning network which I thought was a cool twist on what we were talking about for our future students! It is good for us to create our own if we are going to encourage our students to create a learning network!

Your Personal Learning Network Cc Day T2 09

View more presentations from Stu Hasic.

How do you plan on encouraging your students to become networked students? Do you think that the traditional ways of the student teacher relationship will become obsolete because of the importance put on the idea of the networked student?

Service Learning Notes

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AQfeRlHDvyT3ZDU5bXRxal8yZmZrYzc0ZGc&hl=en

Glogster

Service Learning Lesson Plan

Title of Project: Working together to bring joy to underprivileged children

Author: Elizabeth Hanley

Area of Service: Sharing the joy of the holidays with underprivileged children through Operation Christmas Child

Subject/Grade Level: Middle School or High School World Cultures or Geography

Sunshine State Standards: (SS.6.G.2.5) Interpret how geographic boundaries invite or limit interaction with other regions and cultures.

(SS.912.H.3.3) Identify contributions made by various world cultures through trade and communication, and form a hypothesis on future contributions and changes.

Goals: Students will learn about a variety of cultures and apply what they learn on a more personal level

Students will get a better understanding of how important it is to help less fortunate people

Students will work with their community and learn what options they have to be an active part in helping people around the world


Unit Description:
-Students will already be aware of the struggles that people in third world countries face today
-Students will further their awareness of others needs especially those less fortunate than them
-Students will be required to familiarize themselves with what the organization Samaritan’s Purse orchestrates through their project Operation Christmas Child
-Students will study a variety of cultures that the Samaritan’s Purse organization sends gifts to through Operation Christmas Child. This will include locations in Africa, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe

Research:
-Individually or in small groups students will research locations and delve deeper into the cultures and traditions that take place in the third world countries
-Students will have to critically think about the religions and beliefs that the people from these countries practice
-Students will understand what traditions people from these countries do at the time we celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and etc.
Service Project:
-Students will put together Operation Christmas Boxes to be sent across the world
-Students will locate centers where they can volunteer with others to make Operation Christmas Child possible
-Students will be required to conduct an interview of volunteers that have been working with the organization for a few years
-Through this interview students must learn more about the organization and the people that they are helping in third world countries

Blog:
-Students will be required to use the information they learned from their research, interview, and personal experience from Operation Christmas Child to create a blog
-Students must include:
-Qualities about the cultures and lifestyles in the country they studies and how they compare and contrast to their own
-Important traditions and beliefs that these other cultures practice
-How fellow volunteers got involved in the program
-Why they think that it is important for people to help people in underprivileged countries in times of need, especially during the holidays
-Students must also comment on four of their fellow student’s blogs analyzing their experiences and research compared to their own.

Assessment:
-Students will be assigned a reflection paper or podcast in which they will have to look back on their experience and explain how it made them feel to be doing something to help someone they had never met
-Students must use the information they learned through research and to apply that to how it made them feel when they were working with Operation Christmas Child
-They will be asked to think and answer these questions specifically:
-Do you think you would have had a different learning experience if you hadn’t done research on some of the locations and people living in these horrible conditions?
-How did knowing this information make working with the organization a more personal experience?
-Is this service project something you would want to do again?
-With these guiding questions students will create a reflection containing an overview of what they learned throughout the entire experience

Technologies/Web Applications:
-Internet resources will be used to research varied people and cultures that are located in Africa, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. This will give students responsibility to conduct their learning experience. Students will learn how to use the resources available on the Internet.
-Blog – this will give students a chance to be creative with the research they have accumulated about other cultures and their traditions. It will also give students the opportunity to learn about other countries from their classmate’s research.

How Can Social Media Make History

This video was incredibly interesting to me and I really enjoyed the stories he told in order to provide examples of how media has changed the world we live in. Over time technology has been changing and through that we are able to connect with people all over the world with the touch of the button. Even in my daily life I have noticed the way classrooms and companies operate is all online or via text messaging. So many companies and charities are also on twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and link (and I'm sure a variety of other social networking tools I am unaware of).
After thinking about this it make me think about different groups of people throughout history that have come together and made a change by working together, whether it be for the good or the bad of the world. Some examples of this are the Nazis, slaves, mobs, and feminists.
How crazy would it be if these groups could have created Facebook groups for people to join that were for or against their cause. Pictures could be posted of union strikes put on by women hoping for better working conditions. They might have been able to speed up the process and gain more protection if there was a specific place everyone could go to speak up and assist one another. The way charities use these sites today in order to gain help and support could be a way for these groups to reach out to family, friends, or fellow fighters for the cause that are afraid to speak up or are unsure what to do in the situation.
Thinking about these groups having and providing them with a different way to fight for change or create devastation to the world could have been both helpful and more harmful. What other groups throughout history do you think could benefit from having these social networking tools and how so?

The Machine is (Changing) Us

Wow!! I really enjoyed the video and it gave me a new perspective on the media world. I am not one that is super involved in social networking through all types of sites, but I am on facebook, and used to be on livejournal back in high school. I really think that these social networking tools are great to connect to people all over the world. It is also a great place to vent and get your feelings out. Sometimes it is easier to write things out or video tape yourself rather than sitting down with someone and making them listen to you. I think that for these people that are using youtube as a way to get their feelings out there, they like the privacy and not having someone staring back at them ready to hand out advice, but they do want their story heard. Some people feel more comfortable having people outside of the situation listen to what they have to say because they aren't looking for a solution but rather an open ear.
The examples that Wesch used were incredibly important to inform people on what is so relevant in our lives today. Even if you do not partake in this it is something that needs to be known because it is becoming more and more prominent in our society. I also think that the role of "self" in social networking is being able to truly be yourself without having people looking and judging you. You are able to choose what you do and how you act. There is the fear of the whole world being able to see this "self", but maybe that is the thrill of it. You can talk about what you really want and be who you want to be and not know who is actually listening.
I think using social networking in education will excite students a great deal. They will be able to be creative and connect with people all over the world. There is always the danger with what information should and should not be seen or shared. But other than that this technology doesn't seem like it is going anywhere so we should embrace it and use it to educate our students. Either way they are going to learn about these social networking tools and maybe not use them correctly it is our job to monitor and teach them.
Do you think this tool will slowly die out? Or do you think that it will continue to be a huge part of our lives? Should there be specific classes to educate students on these social networking tools and how to properly use them?

iTunes U in the classroom!

Louisa and I put together a collection of podcasts called the Underground Railroad. We are both extremely interested in American History and know that this is an important topic that is discussed within middle and high school classrooms.
Many of the podcasts we found were videos and students created a few of them! I figured that this could be a fun way to introduce podcasts in the classroom and show students that they too can create one of their own.
The podcasts we found on iTunes U are very helpful, but could become too drawn out and boring for certain students. I would make sure to go through each podcast and make a note of useful information it provides so as to only show certain sections. This tool is so handy and much easier to get a hold of than videos on the topic. It is also great because you are able to get a wide variety of perspectives on each topic.
While looking for other ideas on how to teach about the Underground Railroad I came across a webquest. http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/ath/library/webquests/underground/default.htm After looking at it I would have to spruce up the materials and questions asked in order to make it more challenging for the students. I think that a webquest on the Underground Railroad would be fun for students and give them different perspectives.
I also found a neat lesson that I thought might work and be a fun hands on activity. http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/450.shtml It deals with calculating the distance of the Underground Railroad on a map. Students would be required to know information about the Underground Railroad and give certain characteristics pertaining to it. This will give students a chance to look at the determination it must have taken for slaves to obtain freedom.

Service Learning Lesson Plan

I chose a history service learning lesson plan that is an alternate assignment to the final exam. After looking over the lesson plan it seems like a great way to get students involved in their community. The student's goal for the lesson plan is to gain experience working in a community with whom you have had limited contact. To identify preconceived ideas about the community with whom you will be working. And also to compare your preconceived notions with your direct experiences gained during this project. This project forces students to use critical thinking to recognize and respond to present-day parallel historical factors that contributed to the Holocaust (racism, stereotypes, peer pressure). The students must be committed to their volunteer services by seriously and conscientiously fulfilling your agreement with this organization.
The teacher has included a list of organizations as well as a website with additional options. At this organization the students must complete 10 hours of volunteer work and keep a journal logging about one page per hour of work. This will help the students to reflect on their experience. The students then have to write a 4 page essay that they will turn in with their journal.
For the essay the students much describe the organization, its mission and core values. This includes its history, what services it provides, how it is funded, and how the organization plays a role in the larger community. They then have to describe their activities and role as a volunteer and what their activities include. They also must tell what contact they had with the community that the agency serves. The students must also discuss what they learned about the community from their experience and if the experience helped them to connect classroom learning to the larger community. They also much tie in what present-day parallel historical factors that contributed to the Holocaust that they encountered. The students must also include what preconceived notions they had about the community and if the experience affected them. Then to tie it all together they must reflect on what they learned about the community and compare it to what they are learning in the class.
This service learning lesson plan reflects a great deal of the ideas on the social studies concept map. This project puts the responsibility totally on the student, which motivates them to learn on their own. Through this assignment they are able to connect what they have learned into their daily life because they are out there interacting with people in order to learn more about them. Because the students are looking to how racism and other prejudices are prominent in the community they are dealing with very controversial issues. They also have to use critical thinking in evaluating their volunteering and writing their essay. The best method for this lesson plan is to assign students individual tasks to observe, record and communicate so they can better understand the historical context of the lesson at hand. There are two practices that work with this lesson that are on our concept map. Students get to work hands on at their own place to create meaning to the project. It is also an essay, which will require critical thinking. There could be problems with this because it is so student dependent and therefore it may be difficult to get everyone to participate. It is a good thing that this is an alternative assignment so hopefully the students that choose to do this will be excited and willing to work on the project. But as a teacher I think that they should be readily available for any questions on the project because this can be difficult to get the students to stay on task. Maybe have them turn in the journal after each time to make sure they are getting what they should out of the experience.
http://www.servicelearning.org/slice/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=461

Using technology in a social studies classroom

From the articles I read it seems like the idea of having students participate in WebQuests is very effective. This is also something that can easily be applied to a social studies classroom. I especially enjoyed Zahra’s article, Web-based inquiry learning: facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests by Ikpeze and Boyd , because it gave me ideas of how useful this tool can be in the classroom. These WebQuests are great in getting the students to be engaged in what is being taught as well as using technology to find more information. The students are able to take on roles and scenarios of the people that are being discussed in class and therefore become more aware of the time period and conflicts at hand. In a social studies classroom there are many different WebQuests that students can participate in. I thought it might be fun and engaging for students to look at specific cultures, look up more information about the locations and ways people live within these cultures, and come up with their own conclusions. After they complete the WebQuest it is important for them to apply it to their lives by comparing and contrasting it to the world they live in. This technology-based lesson is a great way to get the students to think outside the box and become apart of inquiry learning. Students need to learn how to use the Internet, as it is a great source of knowledge. As the article states the Internet can be quite overwhelming and students might have difficulty distinguishing between what sites are reliable. This is a great way to teach students how to use the web and be able to determine which sites to trust and pull information from. This activity is an effective way to promote critical thinking while learning useful tools. The students are able to work together and share ideas which from research seems to be a great motivator for students.
Boyd, F.& Ikpeze, C. (2007). Web-based inquiry learning: facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests. The Reading Teacher, 60 (7), 644-654.

What ideas for a WebQuests do you have to implement into a social studies classroom?

Technology supporting meaningful learning

Technology is a great tool to ensure meaningful learning in the classroom! Meaningful learning is active, constructive, intentional, authentic and cooperative.
I was able to find a blog on wordpress that was made for an 8th grade social studies classroom. Each day the teacher posts a synopsis of what was covered in class, as well as required materials for the class at the beginning of the year. This blog caught my attention because the teacher is using examples of characters from the matrix to engage the students in a discussion about Aristotle and Plato. This technique makes the students more likely to want to learn and it is something that they can relate to more easily. After looking around the blog page I also found that the students are also connected to one another and their teacher through twitter. His idea of creating this blog and teaching the class the way he is is definitely an example of meaningful learning because the students are contributing and are able to be connected to the classroom and discussions on the internet. This site encompasses meaningful learning because the students and the teacher are working together as well as students are actively trying to learn and are using this website in order to find more information. This also shows that his class is building on prior knowledge to understand more about the past. http://ljhs.wordpress.com/author/ljhs/
I was able to find a great podcast that touched my heart. Mrs. Miceli's 6th grade social studies classroom was asked to help collect crayons and coloring books for orphans in Peru. This class took this opportunity to also look deeper and learn about Peru and the people that they were helping. Their podcast shows the students reflecting on how they felt after being able to help these poor children in Peru and learning a great deal about the people and the place. http://mabryonline.org/podcasts/archives/student_podcasts/social_studies/index.html This website also provides many other podcasts that connects students and teachers to what they are learning in a more personal way. The students are respobsible to go on and listen and learn from these podcasts. One podcast is from a teacher that is traveling to Japan and is making podcast while traveling for his students to learn from. This makes the learning authentic because it is meaningful and helpful for his students to get a closer look at what they are studying.
Most of the wikispaces I found were created by teachers for their classrooms. This promotes meaningful learning because students are encouraged to look at the site for information. They have to actively be looking to learn when entering these sites. I found Ms. Brown's wiki that is there to also help keep her students connected to what they are learning and to stay organized. I feel that this is an example of cooperative learning. The page also provides fun facts for what happened on that day in history. The site provides links to other sources and powerpoints which promotes intentional learning by the students. Due to everything offered on this page it is authentic in that it is helpful in getting knowledge to the students. This wiki is also constructive because of the extra resources provided it is building on the prior knowledge the students have gained in class and allowing them to have acess to further learn about the topics.
I had no idea how many teachers take advantage of these tools on the internet. It seems like it is helpful to them to keep things organized in one place, and it is a great way for students to stay caught up. Having the materials online through blogs, podcasts, or wikispaces is a great way to promote meaningful learning.

When entering the technology class on Thursday I was very overwhelmed by technology and am excited that this course will better prepare me for my classroom. I have not had the opportunity in my own classrooms to become acquainted with everything that there is to be offered by the new technology and therefore am confused and frustrated with everything that there is out there. I know that I need to become more aware of all the tools available in order to be an effective teacher.
After reading the book and the article I realize how much information there is and how important it is to be connected to it for the benefit of my students. The article and the book states that students today are very involved in the technological advancements that have taken place over the past few years. They are constantly texting and engaging in social networks to communicate with their friends.
It is also important to inform my students how to differentiate between useful sites as well as sites that are very misleading in their purpose to educate. This was also shown to us through examples of the Martin Luther King Jr. page that had been put up by a white supremacy group, and the site about the fictional tree octopus. These sites seem to be accurate, and it is important to know how to double check your sources for factual information.
Blogging is another way that people share their ideas with others. It was interesting to read that students become more interested in learning and doing there work when there is a chance that other people will see it.
The RSS is another useful tool that will be important as a teacher to get immediate updates with the world and with students blogs.
I will have to work at becoming more comfortable with technology, but I can already tell that this class and the materials provided will help me with this process. We are lucky to have so many sources of information at our fingertips in the social studies world such as the National Archives. These materials will help students to get a better grasp of the information which will hopefully also encourage them to engage in topics.