Instructional Challenge: Because I am a history teaching major, I am constantly looking for ways to make history fun and engaging for my students. One of the hardest things to help kids learn and remember are the battles in the wars. They can be fun to talk about but it's difficult for kids to really visualize what is going on when they can't see it. I decided I wanted to find a way for kids to see the battles play out.
Solution: I actually came up with a few different ideas for solutions to this problem. The first is a website I found at www.historyanimated.com where each of the major battles of the major wars is put on an animated map with sound effects and visuals of the movement of the troops and the locations of the big battles. This way the kids can really see what is happening in each battle. Another solution I researched is the smartboard. I didn't know a lot about this before so it was really fun to learn about. I discovered that having a smartboard in my classroom will enable me to make my own maps of battles or any type of event and allow the kids to come up to the front to help move things around themselves. They are not only seeing the troops move south, but they are actually touching the screen, moving the troops themselves. It is amazing technology.
Reflection: To learn about the website I just visited it and explored my way through all the battles it has listed. To learn about the smartboards I studied as much as I could online because I don't have access to an actual smartboard. However, I watched numerous demo videos on youtube and read from several different websites about how to use them and what they can do. They will be an extremely valuable asset to a history classroom!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Lesson #10 Assignment
I have used technology to increase my knowledge of my content area through several venues. First, I LOVE historical movies and documentaries. I think they can be really powerful in the classroom as well. I also have found hundreds of really rich sources to use while preparing lesson plans on the internet.
I have used technology to collaborate with classmates mostly through email. Blackboard has been an enormous help for when I need to get ahold of someone from a class. I have also used the directory on route y when I have been desperate enough to have to call someone.
In my classroom, I will use technology to give the kids variety in what I teach. I want to use Prezi, and some other really awesome history websites with interactive maps I've found. I definitely want to show my kids video clips that are short and entertaining as well as educational. It would be really neat to have the resources to also do internet searches with my class.
I actually feel like I've learned a lot in this class that I will definitely use. I definitely want a class website to keep things organized for students and parents. I also want to be able to use all the small tools we learned about like pollseverywhere.com, smartboards, PLNs, etc. In fact, there are not any things I learned in this class that I won't use eventually.
This class has been awesome. Thank you!
I have used technology to collaborate with classmates mostly through email. Blackboard has been an enormous help for when I need to get ahold of someone from a class. I have also used the directory on route y when I have been desperate enough to have to call someone.
In my classroom, I will use technology to give the kids variety in what I teach. I want to use Prezi, and some other really awesome history websites with interactive maps I've found. I definitely want to show my kids video clips that are short and entertaining as well as educational. It would be really neat to have the resources to also do internet searches with my class.
I actually feel like I've learned a lot in this class that I will definitely use. I definitely want a class website to keep things organized for students and parents. I also want to be able to use all the small tools we learned about like pollseverywhere.com, smartboards, PLNs, etc. In fact, there are not any things I learned in this class that I won't use eventually.
This class has been awesome. Thank you!
Lesson #6 Assignment
Downloading a youtube video:
I downloaded a fun educational video to use in the classroom. It is a rendition of "Too Lat eto Apologize," but with different words that describe the Declaration of Independence and the colonists feelings toward British tyranny.
It was easy to do once I figured out how. I didn't really have any problems with it at all. The copyright laws should allow this video to be in fair use.
I downloaded a fun educational video to use in the classroom. It is a rendition of "Too Lat eto Apologize," but with different words that describe the Declaration of Independence and the colonists feelings toward British tyranny.
It was easy to do once I figured out how. I didn't really have any problems with it at all. The copyright laws should allow this video to be in fair use.
Lesson #4 Assignment
Plans for Video:
Well, the video is already posted below, but I will tell you my plans anyway. I knew I wanted to do a sample student assignment for the video. I decided to focus on geography because it is part of the state core and one that can often be hard to help kids relate to. The purpose of the assignment was to help them make personal connections with each of the five themes of geography.
First Frame: Picture of a road map with "Location" written across the top. Audio will say how location relates to me because of my necessity to know addresses on road trips.
Second Frame: Picture of hike with "Place" written across the top. Audio will say it relates because of the natural landscape.
Third Frame: Picture of Lake Powell with "Human-environment interaction" written across the top. Audio will describe how man has changed the land to make Lake Powell.
Fourth Frame: Picture of Thai restaurant with "Movement" written across the top. Audio will say how thai food moved here to America.
Fifth Frame: Picture of Provo sign with "Region" written across the top. Audio will describe how this region is the "Provo bubble."
Finally, the last portion will be a short video with me describing what I learned from this assignment.
Again, this is meant to be an example for the kids to use while making their own videos.
And there you have it!
Well, the video is already posted below, but I will tell you my plans anyway. I knew I wanted to do a sample student assignment for the video. I decided to focus on geography because it is part of the state core and one that can often be hard to help kids relate to. The purpose of the assignment was to help them make personal connections with each of the five themes of geography.
First Frame: Picture of a road map with "Location" written across the top. Audio will say how location relates to me because of my necessity to know addresses on road trips.
Second Frame: Picture of hike with "Place" written across the top. Audio will say it relates because of the natural landscape.
Third Frame: Picture of Lake Powell with "Human-environment interaction" written across the top. Audio will describe how man has changed the land to make Lake Powell.
Fourth Frame: Picture of Thai restaurant with "Movement" written across the top. Audio will say how thai food moved here to America.
Fifth Frame: Picture of Provo sign with "Region" written across the top. Audio will describe how this region is the "Provo bubble."
Finally, the last portion will be a short video with me describing what I learned from this assignment.
Again, this is meant to be an example for the kids to use while making their own videos.
And there you have it!
Lesson #9 Assignment
For this assignment we were asked to blog about our plans for project #3. Unfortunately, I am posting this after I have already finished project #3 so I may end up repeating myself later.
For this project, I have decided to focus my attention on making battles more accessible for the kids. So much of the time when I was in school, I couldn't keep straight which battle was which, who was fighting who, and what ended up happening in any of them. I wanted to find a way to make the battles of war-time units funner for the kids to learn. I will leave the result I found to my post about Project #3
For this project, I have decided to focus my attention on making battles more accessible for the kids. So much of the time when I was in school, I couldn't keep straight which battle was which, who was fighting who, and what ended up happening in any of them. I wanted to find a way to make the battles of war-time units funner for the kids to learn. I will leave the result I found to my post about Project #3
Lesson #8 Assignment
Internet Safety is an issue we need to be really cautious of as educators. There are a lot of assignments that we give, especially in the social sciences, that require research and internet searching.
One thing that we can do to help is guide their research. By giving our students resources they can use, we can help them find valuable websites and steer them away from those that may be more questionable.
If research is being done at school, there are several safety precautions that can be taken. Blocks can be put on sites that are of questionable material. Also, very strict classroom procedures should be taken when dealing with the internet. Make sure the kids know what they are allowed to do and what is absolutely not okay.
One thing that we can do to help is guide their research. By giving our students resources they can use, we can help them find valuable websites and steer them away from those that may be more questionable.
If research is being done at school, there are several safety precautions that can be taken. Blocks can be put on sites that are of questionable material. Also, very strict classroom procedures should be taken when dealing with the internet. Make sure the kids know what they are allowed to do and what is absolutely not okay.
Lesson #7 Assignment
For this assignment, I skyped with my sister Marci and her family. It was actually pretty easy and fun. The quality was good but every once in awhile the screen would freeze up. For the most part it worked well. I'm not sure if I would choose to use this in a classroom setting or not. It is a neat idea but I'm just not sure how I could make it applicable in a history classroom.
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