Truly Historic

What an amazing evening to be a history teacher!  President Obama just announced that the United States was successful in finding and killing Osama Bin Laden.  Events like this are going to be remembered by our generation forever and are on par with Kennedy's assassination and the first moonwalk.  I think Obama did a wonderful job of reminding our very divided country how much things have changed since 9/11.  Hopefully this will bring even a small amount of unity back for a short time.  It is hard to say what this means in the larger scope of things.  I worry that we are entering a very scary time on the international level and for our troops.  That being said, this is a truly symbolic announcement and it will be something I always remember.

I was in my wood shop class in middle school the morning of 9/11 and I can remember a similar sense of fear and confusion as the one I felt when they first announced that Obama was making an emergency address to the country.  I'm currently watching the re-play of Obama's address on CNN which is being played on a split screen with coverage of the celebrations taking place in Washington D.C. and around the country.  This is really amazing.

Hmm..

I thought this video was really interesting! I'm not 100% sure if we should trust all of the statistics because I'm not entirely sure where it came from but it is thought provoking and definitely something to think about - enjoy!

Fools!

Happy April Everyone - you know what that means...watch out for pranks all day! Leave it to Google, who have a monopoly over most things on the internet, to pull a trick on all of its customers. Not that it was super convincing, but fun nonetheless. Google claimed ot have changed their official name to Topeka to honor the city in Kansas that wants to change their name to Google.

Just for fun and in case you didn't know, the history of playing jokes on April 1st is thought to have come from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Check this out for a list of classic pranks that TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers have played on their viewers.

Digital Stories

The History of the Peace Sign on Prezi

This week I've spent some time playing with various different digital presentation programs that are available online. The one I chose to use is called Prezi. In the most basic sense, it is a really creative and interactive version of PowerPoint. You can still give a cohesive and interesting presentation with pictures and text, but it can be controlled by the viewer so it is more conducive to being shared online (such as in a blog) than only for use as a presentation. It makes the project much more entertaining and interesting to watch and explore than a simple PowerPoint.

I chose to put together a very brief project on the history of the peace sign. The idea behind it was for a lesson on counter culture of the 1960s. I really enjoy planning lessons that employ collaborative learning. There is that old adage that you learn more by teaching others, but I really do believe it is true. I like the idea of having students research something specific in groups and then sharing it with the rest of the class. This could be incorporated into a current US History class (usually 10th or 11th grade). I would be really interesting to hear how effective my sample presentation was. Since I know the full narrative in my head, I would like to know if I was able to convey the information with minimal text.

Overall I really enjoyed using Prezi. It was a little bit difficult to get used to the different wants to manipulate text and pictures because it is so different from any other program. Also, there are several tutorials on the site but once you enter the design template there is not much assistance. Some of the sample presentations on the site are really amazing but they unfortunately require a higher (i.e. you have to pay for it) version of the program. I'm looking forward to playing with the site more to see what else you can do with it. I think the future I would make sure I pick a topic that lends itself to using a lot of visuals. The peace sign was an interesting idea but I didn't realize that pictures for it would not vary much.

Interesting Article...

Big tech news today...Google is choosing to not withdraw their company from China but instead route searches through a Hong Kong server in order to go around Chinese censorship laws. This article was really thought-provoking and I will be interested to hear more on the topic. I did know that China had very strict rules regarding internet usage by its citizens but I didn't really realize that something like this would be an option for Google. I commend them on their attempt at bringing equal and fair access to everyone but at the same time it seems to violate pretty serious social norms. It is a very western approach that Google would know better than the Chinese government. I am interested to see what, if anything, is done about this move. Check out the article on CNN.

My Very Own Website!

I just put the finishing touches on my midterm project for CEP 416. So far, it is the majority of my online portfolio including my resume and a potential lesson plan using technology. I am very proud of it considering a few months ago I was happy to be using e-mail effectively! I am really impressed with the amount I have learned and the amount of information I can actually see myself using in a classroom. I would love feedback or input of any kind about my work. Check it out - Lauren's Website

Finally..

Here is the finished project of the presentation I posted the other day. I added a narration using VoiceThread. I can totally see the benefits of using this in more of a business or networking sense but it is harder to apply in a classroom - seeing as how I would be delivering the lecture in person. Something like this really could revolutionize how teachers give students their work for days they were absent though. Enjoy!

TPACK Exploration

As I've mentioned before, I am pretty overwhelmed with amount of information I have access to through the internet. Although it is fraught with complications from human and technology error, the internet gives us ways to view resources that we could never have imagined several decades ago. As a teacher, this prospect is incredibly exciting. With limited funds and the practicality of numerous field trips, we are able to share things with our students in a much smaller time frame with much less planning. Recently, I've been exploring the world of virtual museums and the opportunities that they present for a classroom. These are websites that have been developed in conjunction with an actual museum that allows access to the information displayed in permanent exhibits, traveling displays, and from their research or records. The wonderful part about museums (in any form) is the wealth of information they make available to the public. The purpose of them is to share in the education process and to spread knowledge to as many people as possible.

The idea of TPACK is to integrate Technological, Pedagogical, and Content knowledge into interesting, and useful lessons with a classroom. The emphasis of this theory is that all three are very important but that these types of learning and knowledge can all interact really successfully, and sometimes better than when used on their own.

Two of the websites I explored were from the Smithsonian (http://www.si.edu/) and the Library of Congress (http://www.americaslibrary.gov/) From the technological knowledge standpoint, these sites are fairly easy to use. As long as one has computer and internet access, these websites are available. Although it is an advanced idea, and the sites themselves are complex, they are easy to navigate and search for both myself and potential students. These types of resources can employ aspects of my personal pedagogy because it can assist me in creating engaging lessons. Although I would love to take every single one of my students to the Smithsonian in person, realistically I will be unable to, so I want to be able to offer the next best thing. The content of these sites is geared mostly towards social studies classrooms. Because the SI is home to so much information, it can really be used across many disciplines - or possibly in some type of cross curriculum activites. The LoC site specifically deals more with American history and has a lot of interactive features that would be interesting to incorporate.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

I, personally, am a very hands-on learner. I always enjoyed lessons and classes that incorporated visual components such as pictures, video, or some type of activity to complete. I think in a classroom it is really important to keep everyone engaged. Although lectures may work for some, I think lessons should be planned so that they are broken up by other types of media to remain interesting. Since I plan on teaching Social Studies I think my classes will lend themselves very well to incorporating interesting visual aids.

Flickr

I think that primary documents are an awesome way to incorporate different media into a history or government class. Although all information can be summarized or retold, there is something to be said about seeing the Declaration of Independence in it's original hand writing. Many people will never be able to see documents such as these in person during their lives so technology gives us all a way to share in an experience that we otherwise not have.