The image above was taken on the first day of class. I took it with my iPhone, a device millions of times more advanced than my family's first Tandy Color computer. I remember the day my dad brought home our new computer, I was the first kid in my school to have a computer in my home, and dad was just so happy to provide it for us. He told us that this was the future and we would be able to do so many things on this new and magical device. He may have exaggerated a bit, but It was an amazing technology for the 1980s. Now we all walk around with highly advanced, tiny computers in our pockets. We have come a long way since that first computer. If I want to take a picture of some delicious meal I have just been served and post it on Facebook or Twitter (aka food porn), I can just whip out my phone and do it right there and then. I don't know the name of that Humphrey Bogart movie where he plays a private detective, just take out the phone and look it up on IMDB.com. We really do live in an amazing time. We are now going through a technology revolution that makes the industrial revolution look miniscule by comparison. New technologies are being developed and utilized at an exponential rate. As teachers, we need to make sure that our students are able to thrive in this ever changing world. We need to teach them skills that they will need for technologies and jobs that haven't even been created yet. To do this we need to use constructivist teaching strategies. Students who have higher-level thinking and reasoning skills will be the ones who will succeed in the future. Students need to know how to research in order to discover answers to problems and issues. They need to know how to work collaboratively and to create useful and informative presentations and projects. The most important thing, however, is that students need to learn how to effectively use technology, everyday of their lives. As a teacher, I must guide my students to become successful in all of these factors in order to help them become successful in the future. My fist step is to learn how to effectively use technology in my classroom. After taking Instructional Technology Applications, I now realize how important it is to utilize technology in my lessons everyday. I have also seen first hand how a constructivist approach to education is the most beneficial to the students. I will design my history class as a constructivist/inquiry-based classroom. My instructor, Garth Holman, has shown me that this is not only possible, it is the best way to approach History lessons. This is one of the most important things I have taken from this class, which has been the most inspiring and beneficial class I have had in my graduate-school career so far. The other important idea I have taken from this class is that I need to continue learning about new technologies. There is an endless amount of free technology out there that can help me create a technology rich and engaging classroom environment.
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Wikispaces will allow teachers greater freedom in creating lessons for student that can be accessed anywhere. Teachers and students can work together to make great learning pages. Teachers can create lessons that integrate technology into the Wikispace. Students can go to the site and then create their own Wikipage to go along with the lesson and create their own project, using their strengths and learning styles. It also allows teachers to create lessons that can be started at home and finished at school, or vice versa. There are some design issues with Wikispaces though. It does not give you a lot of freedom to create a visually appealing site and some of the tools are a little complicated the first time you use them. I created a 10th grade American History lesson using Wikispaces. My Wiki lesson can be found by clicking here. The students will start on the WWII Propaganda Homepage. Here they will view a screencast I made explaining what they need to do in order to complete the lesson. I also included a few website links that the students can use in their research. My calendar is also on the homepage. The students are able to see what is coming up and due dates. I think it is extremely important to keep the students informed of everything, so I have also included my lesson plans along with the SLOs and standards we will be covering. This includes students in the learning process even more. Next the students will go to the WWII Propaganda page to start the lesson. Here they will begin their research on WWII propaganda. After they have researched what propaganda is and why it was used, I want them to begin to analyze different forms of propaganda. The students then will need to create a presentation to demonstrate what they have learned. Along with facts, I also want to students to form educated opinions and share their thoughts and feelings on WWII propaganda. Finally I want the students to think of some propaganda used today and if it is as effective as it was during WWII. Students will create their own Wiki page with their "blogs" on the information they are learning. This will act as a collective place for students to go to and learn more from each other. I also want the students to post their presentations to this page. The final part of this lesson is the Lesson closing page. I want my students' opinions on the lesson. I want them to have a say in their own learning. This information will help me create better lessons in the future. It also helps the students own their learning by allowing them to have input in the lesson. I chose this lesson because I have always been fascinated with propaganda throughout history, but especially during WWII. I also prefer to focus on the human focus on WWII. I understand the importance of learning about the war, and all of the politics behind it, but it is the human stories that actually shape history. I want my students to learn this too, so I put the emphasis on how propaganda is supposed to influence and effect people. I will share my grandfathers' stories to make this lesson even more personal. My Grandpa Shirey (my father's side) and my Grandpa Houck (my mother's side) were both in WWII. My Grandpa Shirey was a pilot in the Army Aircorp and flew bombers. My Grandpa Houck was an infantryman and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Making connections to history is also very important and I want my students to see this as well. This video discusses the benefits of flipping a class. This video gives basic instructions on creating a Wikispace for the classroom. Always use a tiger in Inquiry-Based Learning. Calvin and Hobbes was created by Bill Watterson
By Michelle Nolte and Danielle Judy Technology is emerging at an exponential rate. Technology reaches into every facet of life: Agriculture, Biomedicine, Electronics, and Neuroscience. We cannot even begin to fathom the technological advances that will occur in our lifetime. Here are a few examples of the technological innovations that are currently being developed. In Agriculture, a robot, or an agribot, is being developed to help with the fall harvest. In biomedicine, artificial uteruses are being developed so that every woman has an opportunity to reproduce. An electronic nose is being developed in order to detect spoiled food. Scientists are learning how to harvest energy so that our phones will never need recharging. In transportation, airless tires are being developed. How wonderful it will be when we do not need to worry about having a flat tire!! Emerging technologies are also being incorporated into the classroom. Teachers are utilizing phone and tablet applications in order to engage students. There are numerous phone applications which cover several subjects. Some links to consider are: www.apple.com, www.itunes.com, www.tabletapps.com, and www.appcrawlr.com. Stack the States, for instance, is a wonderful tool to teach young children the geography of the United States as well as state capitals. Keeping with a social studies theme, Social Studies Friendzy is another way to engage students in learning. This app allows students to challenge classmates in a game of answering social studies based questions. Another phone application is Today in History. Students will receive information regarding an event that happened on that day in history. Teachers could assign small reports detailing those events. There are also applications for tablets. Sketch Book Express is a great tool for artists on the go. Quick sketches or digital painting can be done in a flash. Another tablet app is Duolingo. Duolingo uses small lessons to help students learn a new language. Languages include German, French, and Italian, among others. This is great for foreign language teachers and those students who have a more difficult time learning. Emerging technologies not only benefit students, they can also help teachers manage their lessons and classrooms. There are a number of excellent apps for tablets and phones that can track student progress, help with class management issues, and common core guides. Teachers can start dedicating more time to teaching and learning and less of the managerial chores they are required to do day to day. 50 Fab Apps for Teachers is a great site to find a variety of useful apps, but there are also quite a few that will help teachers. One app that may prove to be useful is MasteryConnect. This helps teachers deal with the Common Core more easily. They can search standards, track students mastery, and even connect with other teachers in their same grade and subject areas to collaborate all over the country. Watch the video to see how beneficial an app like this could be. TeacherKit is another app that will make the everyday tasks a teacher must perform more painless. This app allows teacher to quickly manage all of their classes all in one program. They are able to record attendance, grades, classroom behavior issues, and lesson progress with just a few finger strokes. The possibilities with this app are endless. Again, please watch the video to get a better idea of all the features this app offers and how it will help make classroom management tasks easier. There are even apps that can help teachers manage behavior issues in their classrooms. ClassDojo is a highly rated app that can assist teachers in the daunting task of maintaining proper behavior. It keeps track of students’ progress, provides instant feedback to the students, and creates reports that can be shared with parents. This app is more appropriate for younger students, but it looks like it could be tweaked, so that it can be used with higher grades as well. Overall, new technologies are making learning and teaching more accessible to teachers and students. Students can become more engaged in their learning through these apps and “smart” devices and teachers can manage their classrooms more efficiently, which will allow them to dedicate more time to teaching their students. Using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom is a great way to bring all learners to an equal playing ground. Teachers can create engaging and effective lessons by incorporating these tools into their classrooms. Students will be able to become more involved with their learning and be able to take ownership over their education. There are hundreds of sites where teachers can go to find free tools, so they do not even have to use their own money to create their lessons. Follow this link to one list of online tools available for teachers to utilize. I plan on using a variety of technology and web tools in my classroom. These will help me to differentiate my teaching in order to become a more effective teacher. Below are a few examples of some tools I tried out recently. Prezi is a cool new way to make presentations. It is more interactive than PowerPoint and will help to keep the kids in your class more engaged. Students can also use this easy tool to create their own exciting and creative presentations. I plan to have the students in my class take over the role of educator often and Prezi is a fun and easy way for them to do this. Here is a screenshot of Newsmap. This is a site that would be beneficial to any History teacher who ties in current events to their lessons. I plan to try to tie in current events to my Social Studies lessons as much as possible. It helps the kids see a connection between history and their lives today. Below are two screenshots of survey monkey. You can go here to take the survey.
Visual learners learn and utilize their knowledge through visual means. They benefit greatly when teachers use visual aids, such as graphic organizers, maps, videos, pictures, diagrams, and other types of aids. Visual learners can create detailed images in their mind when they read and learn new information. Teachers need to be aware of what type of learners they have in class so that they can differentiate their teaching. In order to accommodate the different learning styles, teachers should present the information in several ways, including visual aids. When I become a teacher, I plan to use a variety of visuals, because I am a visual learner and know how important these are. I also hope to have a laptop or tablet for every student so that they will be able to create their own visual aids, or whatever they need to help them learn. Richard Byrne has a website, Free Technology for Teachers, filled with a variety of free technology sites for teachers. Here teachers can find a number of helpful resources for making useful visual aids. Below are a few examples of visual aids and graphics that will be helpful in any classroom. Tagxedo I made from Pennsylvania State University's Visual Learner information page. Tagxedo can help students see what information is most important or comes up repeatedly, since those words are expressed lager and bolder. Here is a graphic organizer I made usingbubbl.us. Students could organize their notes, breakdown papers, brainstorm, or use this site in a number of ways. Maps are also a valuable asset to use when teaching visual learners. This is especially true in history classrooms, which I plan to teach in the future.
The Constructivist Approach allows students to become independent learners and critical thinkers. Teachers step out of the traditional roles of lecturers and become more involved in the learning process. Students work together, along with the teacher, to solve problems, investigate topics, and create projects to share their new-found knowledge. I will use this approach when I become a teacher. Traditionally, Social Studies courses have utilized traditional lecture style teaching practices. This is one reason why kids have grown to dislike these classes. They are viewed as boring and unnecessary, but this does not need to be the case. In my Social Studies classroom, students will take an active role in earning. They will investigate various aspects of history through the methods of the Constructivist Approach. I want my students to be interested in history and find the relevance by making connections to the present. They will form sound opinions on different historical events based on their research. My students will become critical thinkers, a skill they will need to succeed in the future. To learn about the constructivist approach, my partner, Michelle Nolte, and I researched each aspect of this teaching method and created a presentation through Google Drive. We then added a lecture to the presentation through Screencast-O-Matic. The Screencast presentation is below and the regular presentation is below that. Screencast-O-Matic is a free program which allows you to add video or voice to a presentation. It then allows you to upload it to the site, and share it to other locations as well. This will be helpful when I begin my teaching career. I plan on having a webpage so that my students have a place to access any information I present in class, or that I feel is relevant to the subjects I am teaching at the time. Screencast-O-Matic will allow me to upload presentations and lectures to my webpage so that I will not need to waste time in class going over this information. I think that class time should be reserved more for the research and collaboration instead of the traditional lecture and note-taking. If my students need to review all or part of a presentation it will be available to them at all times. Before once a lecture was presented, it was over. If you forgot to write something down, or the teacher was talking too quickly, then that information was gone. Now students are able to pause and rewatch the lecture over and over until they got all they need. I think this would be a wonderful asset to any class. Here is the actual presentation so that you can go back to watch the videos and review on your own. Standards and More Standards Knowing the standards will help me become a better teacher. I want to integrate a variety of technologies into my lessons, and knowing the technology standards for teachers and students will help me do this. The Ohio standards seem to be more detailed and cover a wider area of technology use and how it impacts the world, but the ISTE standards are also helpful by giving more concise standards on which that teachers and students should focus. The administrator standards were interesting because I am just now seeing these come into use in the high school where I work. Principals seem to be the slowest on adjusting to this new technological world, but at least they are starting to come on boards. In the future I would like to take some professional development to help me further understand these standards and how to more efficiently integrate them into my future classroom. As a history teacher, I want to show my kids what an important impact technology has had on the world, but that we need to be careful. While the Luddites may have been over reacting in a number of ways, they still had many valid points about the dangers of technology. I want to use technology in many ways in my class, but I want it to have a purpose, and the standards help to give me that purpose. Ethics and Copyright Netiquette and copyright laws are two major parts of technology ethics. I have learned that if you know how to act in a proper and responsible way in your every day life, than that is the way you should behave when you are using technology. The number one thing that stood out for me when I was reading about netiquette, beside the cool new term, is that you need to remember that you are interacting with other people when you are online. We need to teach this to kids. It is way to easy to bully someone you are not face to face with. Cyber bullying has become a huge problem and we need to address this with our students. We also need to teach them that they must represent themselves well online at all times. It is too easy to post things and forget they are there. Teachers and students need to be careful with the words and images that will be forever associated with their names. Copyright laws are also something that I need to be more aware of when I am a teacher. It is very easy to find and use things from the internet. I need to be more aware and give others credit for their work. I also need to make my students aware of this as well. Google Docs is a great way to create and keep track of all your documents, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. You can create different documents and share with others in order to collaborate, edit, or share the information with a number of people. It is also helpful to have access to your papers and projects anywhere. If your home computer crashes and burns, your work will be safe on Google Drive. Editing is easier too, since it will change no matter where it is posted. Having another person read over and edit your work is more productive as well, since they can add notes instead of simply changing your work. This will be extremely helpful in the classroom. Teachers can create presentations and share them with the students. Students can collaborate on a variety of projects without having to meet in person, which is helpful since students have busy lives after school nowadays. Students can also more easily peer edit each others' essays and projects. A presentation on the Wives of King Henry VIII I made on Google Presentations Here is a quiz I created using Google Forms https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Epyg8ty2RtzhqM4IZTdYiOO2a6ardEeYjCIcaXL5lD8/viewform Like many people, I thought Twitter was simply another social media site. I never realized the potential to aid education that Twitter truly possesses. By searching for hash-marks to find topics and following valuable sources. like other educators and specialists in certain fields, Twitter can be helpful in a variety of ways. In the classroom, teachers can use Twitter to keep in touch with students and share information with them. Teachers can also find interesting information and real life examples and experiences to use in their lessons. I pan on having a classroom Twitter account so that students can share information and collaborate no matter where they are. I will also require my students follow a variety of useful history sources on Twitter. On a side note, I know that the bird in the picture is not the typical Twitter icon. I choose a better blue bird, my blue Quaker Parrot Rocket. If you would like, follow my on twitter @danijudy75. Here is a Twitter Tutorial by Garth Holman. To help make Twitter a little more practical, you can use a third party site to help organize the information. Diigo is a wonderful internet tool that allows you to save your bookmarks to a cloud, so that you can access them from any computer or device. A user can also highlight text or add notes to any webpage and save those as well. This can be an extremely valuable tool to teachers and students. The highlighting and note features of Diigo will help teachers differentiate their lessons making them more accessible to all their students. The notes will allow teachers to add more to the webpage and make connections to students lives and the lessons they are presenting. Students will be able to research more efficiently by saving their websites, highlights, and notes with Diigo. I plan on taking advantage of this site from now on. I will use it as a grad students and once I am a teacher. Click document to see examples of my Diigo and a saved and highlighted page with a note attached.
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