Current Events and Podcasts

I think using podcasts in the social studies classroom is a way to engage students in a study and analysis of current events, but in a fresh new way. For me, as a teacher, I am intensely committed to the use of current events in the study of the past.  Students need to be able to make contemporary connections between what they've learned and what they are experiencing. For instance, BBC Global News recently published a podcast entitled Korean Tensions Continue. In studying about the Korean War and US foreign policy during the late 20th century, I could use podcasts such as this to explain the issues that are still present today. I could start each class with a brief excerpt from the podcast, and have students write down notes to summarize the podcast. I think this gives "current events" a little more of a contemporary look, rather than the traditional find an article and cut it out assignment found in many social studies classrooms. I could also choose a theme of the week and have students complete searches on their own for relative podcasts. Students could posts these links to a class blog and have access to other student's opinions and findings.

ePals

ePals is a collaborative network that allows teachers to intergrate technology into their classroom in a safe but engaging way. ePals, according to the company's mission statement ePals "provides digital content designed for collaboration and self-paced, self-directed learning as well as a safe platform to share work globally". ePals also provides schools and districts the opportunity to combine safe communication tools, like e-mail, blogs, wikis, and other social media tools. I think one of the best features is the networks ability to help teachers connect their students with other classrooms around the world. There are over 200 countries that participate in this network, and teachers can be confident that the atmosphere is safe for productive and intergrated learning. There are many different already designed projects teachers can make use of, and hundreds of classrooms the teacher can make a connection with. It offers an easy to use search engine for teachers to search by classroom, country, or project. I think this is definitely something I could use in my classroom. In teaching about the effects of geography on a country, I could pair students up with a country like Japan or a Middle Eastern nation, where the geography affects the business practices conducted. Students could compare and contrast their own business practices with eachother and discover the diversity in geography. I'm very interested in using inquiry as a unit plan, and students could design their own global questions to research and I could help students connect with other classrooms and students to research and share their questions. I think the possibilites are really endless, and a program like this highlights the importance of global learning and interconnectedness!

Using Flickr in the Classroom?

Flickr offers teachers the great opportunity of using visual images to teach students. Visuals allow students to understand information in a different kind of way, and could lead to more engagement and better comprehension. What is so exciting about Flickr is there are so many subsidary sites that offer tools and applications for using images to create things like puzzles, visual books, comic strips, posters, etc. Big Huge Labs is one site that allows users to create magazine covers, maps, movie posters, puzzles, and much more. I used this site to create an "inspirational poster" of an image from a cathedral in Siena, Italy.

                                                                                Photo by: Philipp Klinger

In the classroom, I could have students create posters for many different assignments. Advertising specific cities we learn about, or as "propaganda" about a specific historical event. I think having students write headlines, tag lines, and find visual images to connect helps them understand the information on a different level. I am really excited to put this activity to use in my own classroom!

Creative Commons Licensing

Flickr is an online community to store, sort, search, and share photos. It allows people to connect through photography and share visual stories. In seeking to protect its' users, Flickr offers various creative commons licensing options for users. Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that gives users an alternative to full copyrighting. The first is Attribution licenses, which allows users to "copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work," and any derivative works created based upon it. These attribution licenses require users to give you credit before using any of your work first. Noncommercial licenses allow users to copy, distribute, display, and perform your work, but only for noncommercial purposes. No derivative licenses allow others to copy, distribute, display your work verbatim, but not derivative works based upon those original works. Finally, there are Share Alike Licenses which allow others to distribute derivative works only "under a license identical to the license that governs your work."

Do Twits have a place in the classroom?

Twitter is a hugely popular blogging site that has exploded onto the social scene. In my own personal life, I have used Twitter for some months to stalk celebrities and update "friends" on the mundane life of a graduate student. Is Twitter just for Justin Bieber though? Can Twitter be used in an educational context? According to some, the answer is yes. Many argue that social learning is most effective for students of this day and age. According to Social Learning: An Explanation Using Twitter, "social learning is about sharing thoughts, experiences, ideas, and more." Twitter makes this sharing very accessible and easy. One can tweet reactions, ideas, responses, links to media, and do all this while staying connected to friends, colleagues, and others who share the same interests. And the best feature of Twitter, according to some, it DOES NOT require a response from those using it. According to Claire Caine Miller, "The truth is, you don't have to post a message to get the most out of Twitter" (Getting the most out of Twitter, No Posting Necessary). By this, the author means that Twitter offers users a way of engaging with a literacy of their interest and the discussions of the moment from their virtual space. Twitter for some can be a seperate RSS feed to follow and "listen" to those who share the same interests and/or hobbies as you. A user can also create personal lists that represent his or her personal interests, whether personal or professional. Twitter offers a limitless amount of opportunities to get in touch and engage with those around you.

So what does this all mean for teachers? It's increasinly likely that the students who sit in our classrooms daily have a Twitter account. Can these be tools for teaching, alongside their tweets of "I <3 U, RPattz?". This user says yes, but with caveats. To quote a fellow educator and Twitter enthusiast, "Adopting a situated learning perspective, I have come to believe that the true power of Twitter and other social networking tools lies in their potential to extend learning beyond the boundaries of the classroom community" (Twitter, Social Networking, and Communities of Practice). I think the power of Twitter is reflected in it's ability to cut across boundaries and give students opportunities to interact and engage with information and people they might not otherwise have had access to. Another feature I am particularly fond of is this idea of 140 characters or less. Students are forced to summarize and reflect on only the most important points. This is a skill that will prove priceless in years to come.

As for my own teaching, I could see Twitter as a part of my daily routine. Students could post brief summaries of the class discussion or reactions to an article posted for homework. These summaries and reactions could be assessments or checkpoints of learning. Students can also interact with eachother and others in the community. They could create "Historical Twitters" and tweet as if they were George Washington or a student in the midst of 1960's protests. As with many other technological resources, there are security and privacy risks. Teachers must always be aware of this in creating assignments. Explicitly explaining classroom and district wide internet policies is a must, and making sure teachers have access to passwords and accounts is another useful precaution.

I think Twitter definitely has a place in the classroom, if it's meaningful. In my experiences with students thus far, if they are bombarded with technology or are forced to use it without a meaningful connection, the engagement is as low as it would be in a traditional lecture. Students need to have reasons for using such technology, and not just be asked to use it for the sake of using it. If Twitter is used right, I think it could change the way our students think.

To Schrute or Not to Schrute

The key to motivation is often elusive to teachers. Trying to find engaging and exciting ways to present materials, while still adhering to standards and teaching students the material necessary is challenging. Cool Cat Teacher Blog tries to tackle this question in a unique format. Her post entitled Why Aren't they Motivated? Does Looking at Dwight Schrute Give us the Answer? discusses the traditional role teachers play in trying to motivate students. She references a friends video featuring the ideas of Alfie Kohn, who discusses that disengaging tasks and meaningless reward systems create a system of failure for teachers who try and engage students. I think this is a really humorous look at a struggle teacher's face daily. In highlighting this post, I wanted to bring the most attention to how this could apply to professional development. Teachers and professionals often complain that professonial development is not engaging and this offers a look into how workshops can be more humorous and attractive for teachers. Personally, the post had me at Dwight Schrute and I think that most teachers would agree!

Ning!

For all of my interest in technology and it's uses in the classroom, a Ning is something I have never used or consulted in my career thus far. I spent a lot of time looking through various educational Nings and those Nings created specifically for teacher's. The one I have found the most interesting and useful for me as a social studies teacher is The National Council for the Social Studies community page. It offers a space for social studies teachers to connect with other social studies teachers, but also a forum for news, events, resources, and a lot more!  I think the feature I like the most is the forum where members reflect and provide commentary on their current teaching and feelings about the profession. There are several posts that interested me right away, with such topics as  Teaching with Textbooks vs. Primary Sources. There were several others related to literacy, resources, and activity ideas that are really pertinent to me as an educator. There is also a section dedicated to preservice teachers, a chat room, and pages devoted to resources and multimedia.

In continuting my education as a teacher, I think it would be very useful to have such connections to current teachers within the field of social studies. I am also looking for ideas for lesson plans, and this community is designed to provide just that! I also like that it has a forum where teachers can voice their concerns and opinions on current issues within the field of social studies. I have already signed up for the community and am very excited to use it as a resource during the final year of my preservice training and in the future as a teacher!