Technology for Life

After seeing the benefits of technology to all students it will be impossible to stop using it. With the increased use in my building it will be necessary to come up with new ways share the labs. Since the value of these labs has gone up it will be easy to negotiate a sharing process because all people want to be using the tech. This will also be great for eighth grade teachers when their students will arrive with so much more tech knowledge. Hopefully I can show those not using the labs easy and efficient ways to inspire students through technology.

Sharing Ideas

Coming together to share ideas is a huge plus. Every subject and every teacher has a different style and hearing and seeing those styles opens many doors. There are technologies that one would never find on their own but can hear about from another teacher's ideas. If you use technology in your building make sure you share your ideas to inspire others to try the same things.

Applying Research

Teaching American History involved a responsibility to help students understand valuable research. After you show students the value of effective research then it is time to apply that research. This has proven to be the most difficult part. Technology makes it easier each day to find the information that we want. The hard part for students will continue to be the application. They must take the facts and put together historical arguments. Since history is one large argument about the past it will be important for students to learn this skill. There are also many careers that deal with reading facts and putting together a plan or an argument. The next technology step that I will look for here is a way to share this type of information. I want to find a resource online that assists students in putting together historical arguments. Anyone out there know of one please share.

District Wide Unit Planning

As the district passes out unit plans for subjects it would be great to add a technology piece over time. There are great projects that could be done where eighth graders district wide could work together. By exposing the students to a larger form a technology communication, achievement might increase. We live in a diverse valley and have diverse schools. Connecting our students with educational opportunities could help build this valley into a better place. I will definitely be watching and listening for opportunities to share what I have done with American history in the computer lab so that more students, district wide, can be impacted by the learning.

Self Reflection

Self reflecting has become an important part of increasing technology use in the classroom. Students respond well to certain elements of technology. If they do not know how to use a specific program there can be some negative responses. I think that teachers can end this reaction by giving more exploratory time. As students begin to realize that there is always a fix when it comes to technology they will be more liberal in using the programs we provide. It will also be necessary for teachers to reflect on the quality of the work and the efficiency of the technology based assignments. Without proper reflection the assignments can become stagnant and students will begin to lose interest.

Using Google

Students were preparing for their final and needed to complete research. I did not give them a guide on where to go for their information. After allowing them to begin researching to see what they chose to use it was interesting to see which students used Google and which went to the library website. After approximately ten minutes of watching I began guiding students toward a better source and having them explain why it would work better for them. This is something I plan on doing at the beginning of the year next year. Most students have the idea that Google is the best way to find information. The problem is that when you know what you need to find there are better ways to find that specific information. Just a little guidance here went a long way with the quality of their research.

Tech Collaboration

Meeting today with other teachers to finalize our work is very helpful. It is nice to share ideas and get suggestions. The colleagues are also going through some of the same struggles and have come up with some solutions that maybe I did not think of. Moving forward, the best way to continue using technology will be frequent discussion with colleagues.

Student Games

There are some free games that exist for students to practice many social studies skills. Some of them are too easy. I want to take a class to check them out but there is no consequence on the game for being incorrect. This allows the students to guess whatever they want to finish the game. It still has the benefit of allowing them to explore the information in a different manner. Games like these will require a log for students to record the information they are covering and how they are doing with that information. If I use a piece of paper then it seems to defeat the purpose of being in the computer lab. At the same time it seems unnecessary to create blogs or wikis for a quick assignment like this. Something that I will have to figure out a solution too.

You Tube

You Tube has such a wealth of information. This website has been a great place to go when trying to find video clips about political events. Some of the student projects I have found have worked great when teaching a lesson. The students are always excited when they see that I have found the video from You Tube. The video I play is sometimes very dry and the students seem to be much more engaged than if I had found it on discovery education. I will continue to use You Tube to supplement lessons and soon want to give the students a chance to explore what it has to say about a historical event.

Voice Thread 2

Brought my students back to the lab over the last two days to use voicethread again. The second time around went smoothly and students really got into the discussion. They seemed more willing to record voice and overall their comments were more intelligent. There were also more cases of students challenging view points in a polite and strategic manner. By the end of the second day it was clear the students needed more. The next time will be to show them video recording and possibly how to create their own voicethreads. I need to find time for them to explore all of the options and see some of the projects created that they are allowed to view. I am glad to be using this program.

Back to voicethread

Due to popular demand I decided to bring the students back to voicethread. Its ability to encourage discussion without students being face to face is great. Students can also use the web browser to discover new information. The political cartoons they created this time have gone up in quality. I expect there ability to analyze and comment to also increase the second time around. Finding a technology the kids enjoy and I can use for education has been great. It allows the majority of students to take ownership of what they will accomplish. This self determination will be a great skill as they move into high school and through life.

Online Games

Working through states and capitals with my eighth graders has been full of excitement. Near the end of the unit the kids were becoming bored with my classroom activities. You could tell that a once exciting activity had started to become mundane. I decided that an online game that accomplished the same thing as flash cards would be a great solution. Today I brought the students to the lab to practice their states and capitals using games. The games varied in level and style. The students were invigorated with spirit and gained their excitement for states and capitals learning back. The different levels allowed students to explore the states and capitals and a personal learning level. The most difficult level stumped even the most advanced students and the easiest level was easy enough for the lowest students to accomplish. Although I will not be able to allow the students to play games every day this was a great way to show students a fun website they can use at home or in their free time at school.

Voicethread

My students are using Voicethread to comment on political cartoons. The cartoons were designed by students for this assignment. All of the cartoons deal with issues in the American Revolution. As students make there way through the cartoons they are analyzing the purpose of the cartoon and sharing their insight as to what the cartoon might mean. The kids seem to be enjoying their work. With 100 students commenting on 12 cartoons there is some great discussion building. These discussions will be finished tomorrow with one more day in the lab. Hopefully this final wrap up assignment will help the kids to better understand the idea of a political cartoon and the debated ideas of the American Revolution.

Civics Games

Students in my class participated in a great FREE online game. Thanks to the help of our Librarian/Tech Specialist they were able to learn about the Bill of Rights and the Supreme Court through an interactive game. The website is http://www.icivics.org/games/argument-wars. Students are able to choose a court case and then become the Lawyer for whichever side is of most interest. The cases all explore constitutional issues. I have played my self a few times and the game is academically demanding and fun. While the students go through the game they have a log sheet where they record the arguments and the constitutional issue at hand. At the end of the lesson students will have a chance to reflect on the issue or issues they learned about and how those issues apply to their everyday life.