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!

Today's learner is like a passenger on a speeding train...

"Knowledge is growing exponentially. In many fields the life of knowledge is now measured in months and years." (Siemens, 2005)

    The field of knowledge and how one acquires said knowledge is a complicated one, especially now with the advent of technology. George Siemens in his article entitled "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age" explains how knowledge in the past few years has been developed and become obsolete within a very short time frame. He states, "The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD)" (Siemens, 2005). In his article, he compares and contrasts several theories of learning and explains how all of them are inadequate to describe and understand today's learners. To combat this inadequacy, he presents a new theory: connectivism. According to Siemens (2005), "Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual". He further goes on to state that learning is continuously altered as the foundations for learning change, and that networks become the basis for learning. By networks, the author is referring to databases, communities of learning, and the outside world. Learning is no longer an individual state and does not take place intrisically, but within a whole network of learning. As this Video Blogger  states, "In essence, the network becomes the learning; the network that learners create."

   So what does all of this mean for today's learner? In my opinion, today's learner is like a passenger on a speeding train. Imagine yourself on the "bullet" train in Japan, one of the world's fastest land vehicles. Landmarks, geography, and architecture speed by in a blur. For me, this is consistent with what a learner in today's world goes through. Information and knowledge pass by so quickly that we're left with a quick glimpse of the passing platform as we move on to the next.  Connectivism states that what a learner needs next is more important than what a learner currently posesses in regards to knowledge. Just like a speeding train, knowledge moves quickly and without hesitation, one must know the routes and signals to navigate this new world successfully.

We Are Living in Exponential Times

I have seen other versions of Did you Know, but I'd never seen the 2.0 version. I think for me, the biggest reaction I have to this video is how important global connections are becoming. The statistics about how many college graduates are coming from China and India in comparison to the United States is alarming, as many of these countries are more advanced in regards to science, math, and technology. Careers in the United States are becoming much more technology orientated, and if we want our students to remain on the cutting edge, we ourselves need to become technologically advanced. Two of the points from the video that really resonated with me was that there were more than 2.7 billion searches on Google in just one month, and then the video posed the question "To whom were these questions directed B.G. (before Google)?" I think this is an excellent point because there were obviously ways to research and learn before the internet and google, but the scale of learning that the internet has allowed is remarkable. It has allowed people without access to experts to become more informed and make connections around the globe, and I think that is one of the best characteristics of the internet. I think as teachers, we need to understand the power the internet holds for our students and become aware of it's different uses.

In the midst of all of the advancement, however, the video also offered a more disturbing perspective. One in three children in developing countries will never have the chance to finish fifth grade. And while the video did mention that laptops were being sent to many of these students, facts like this still alarm me. I think the internet can do good in so many ways, but it does not replace good, quality teachers. The fact about a computer in 2049 exceeding the capabilities of the entire human race is also shocking!

I do think the video offers critical advice for educators and administrators. To help our students reach their potential, we need to develop them for the changing world.

Safety?

I think one of the foremost concerns of parents, educators, and administrators is keeping students safe while they are interacting on the web. Everyday, we hear horror stories about the internet and safety issues concerning our children. I think it's important for teachers to understand and be aware of the issues, but also to be proactive about discussing those same issues with his or her students and finding ways to circumvent those issues. The internet can be a powerful tool for learning, if used correctly and safely.

For me, one of my most important concerns is monitoring what students ARE watching, reading, and doing on the internet. Websites like "ChatRoulette" allow students to be instantly connected with other users through video, but over the past couple of months I've heard many stories and experience for myself inappropriate use of such resources. I think it's important to set up groundrules and consequences for innappropriate use of the web in school. During open house, parents and teachers should discuss such inappropriate use at home and keep the lines of communication open.

Some other important rules/themes/conversations to have with students about internet safety:

1) Have a class wide debate of the use of the internet in the classroom. How can it be productive? How can it be harmful? What should teachers do to keep students safe? What should students do to keep themselves safe? What stories have students heard about inappropriate uses of the internet?

2) Enable safety mode on YouTube.

3) Enable safe search on google and other search engines.

4) Set up computers in classroom in a way that enables monitoring by a teacher or adult present.

5) Read this post to become aware and understand the signs/effects of cyber bullying: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/cyberbullying-tips

6) Encourage critical thinking with websites such as Wikipedia, where anyone can post information. Have class discussions about why such material might represent biases. Critical media literacy can become an important discussion when using the internet!

7) I think it's also important for students to understand the idea of plagirism, and how it's easy to forgot to give credit to research or ideas found online.

8) Encourgae balanced use of the internet in the classroom and at home.

9) Establish privacy settings for students, but keep a master list of passwords, etc.

10) Be open and honest with students about the internet!

Entering the "Blogosphere".

I think blogs are one of the most effective ways of having our students think, respond, and create. I feel that one of the best characteristics of blogs is that they are cross curricular. Blogs can (and should!) be used within science, social studies, math, and english classrooms. I know elementary teachers who have implemented them into their classrooms, which shows me that they are employable across grade levels. Using tools such as blogs help teachers create students who are well rounded and ready to interact in the real world. As Will Richardson states in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom (2010), "...there is no doubt that blogs have become an influential medium in all walks of life, from politics to personal passions." Blogs give students a chance to express their opinions and experience other's opinions, especially those students who are insecure in their ability to verbalize their thoughts.

So, what are my top three ideas for using a blog within my future classroom? Here you go:

1) Current Events:
     -Students can research and find articles related to contemporary political, social, and cultural events that interest them. They can then post these articles on their blog and compose blog posts based around their opinions and relfections of such events. I think this is a great way to get students ready for the type of interaction with the news and contemporary events they will need to be successful and socially intergrated adults. This becomes especially true when students can continually add onto the knowledge base they've already created as they follow specific events (Richardson, 27). Students could also reflect on other events classmates are posting and find ways to make connections to their own lives and the events they posted. Richardson (2010) states, "...the Read/Write Web opens up all sorts of new possibilities for students to learn from each other or from authors or scientists and other professionals who can now work side by side in digital space even though they may be far away from one another physically" (23). I really like this idea because it allows students to access experts on specific topics they otherwise would have no interaction with. (NYS Standard 1:  use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.; NYS Standard 2: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.)

2) Character Blogs:
    -One thing I've always been interested in doing was helping students find ways to connect and understand how people felt during specific periods in history. In the past, I've seen teachers have students create journals from the perspective of a child laborer during the Industrial Revolution. I think this is something that could be transferred into blogs. Students could choose a character from a period in history that is being studied during the academic year. He or she could take on a woman during the Feminist Revolution, a child during World War II, a soldier during the American Revolution, or a family during the Holocaust. He or she can create blogs in the mindset of their "character" and post it to the blog. The blog as a forum allows students to create easily but also allows other classmates to see, read, and discuss the entries. Students can link photographs, websites of artifacts, etc to their blogs to complement their stories. (NYS Standard 1: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.; •analyze the United States involvement in foreign affairs and a willingness to engage in international politics, examining the ideas and traditions leading to these foreign policies; •compare and contrast the experiences of different groups in the United States.)

3) Literature Circles
    -I am a huge proponent of intergrating literacy strategies into all disciplines. I think that social studies has the unique ability of helping students learn history, while developing their writing, thinking, and composing skills. There are tons of fabulous historical fiction, historical narrative texts, and graphic novels available to history teachers. I'd love to use a blog to create virtual literature circles where students can actively engage in texts they are reading. Each literature circle could choose a text, create a blog, and post reactions, questions, and research related to their reading of that text. This allows quick and easy interaction, but also interaction that can be monitored and feels safe for students. In my experience, most students are more hesitant to talk in group activities but might feel more compelled when they have time to reflect and compose opinions on a blog. (NYS Standard 1: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.; NYS Standard 2: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.; •describe how ordinary people and famous historic figures in the local community, State, and the United States have advanced the fundamental democratic values, beliefs, and traditions expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the New York State and United States Constitutions, the Bill of Rights, and other important historic documents •classify major developments into categories such as social, political, economic, geographic, technological, scientific, cultural, or religious.)