Recently I had the opportunity to be a guest on the EdReach Mobile Podcast. Regulars Chad Kafka and Tammy Lind grilled me like rack of ribs on how I have used my classroom set of iPod Touches, how I’ve set them up, and what types of tips and tricks I’ve found on my path to iTouch enlightenment.
Google Moderator is a tool that allows you to easily add to a conversation. You can either submit your own idea or question to be answered, or, ask a question or submit an idea. Pretty easy, huh? The neat thing it though, that you are an active participant in the discussion by voting on other questions or ideas that are “in the que”.
This way, you don’t just ask a question and sit back. You also get a chance to see if there are other questions you might also have or maybe an idea you hadn’t even thought of yet. I think this has a lot of potential in the classroom to incorporate higher order questioning with topics and have students submit their answers to the questions, or, make evaluative judgements on the questions that are being asked.
As a Google Certified Teacher (and soon to be Trainer), using Google Apps is the norm in my classroom. From Google Docs, to Maps, Forms, and Sites, there are a plethora of apps I use.
Some apps, to me, are more important than others. As a social studies teacher, I relish any opportunity to use Google Maps. Sites offers an opportunity to have students create meaningful learning to them by collecting information in a way they can connect with and share that learning with others.
There Can Be Only One Google App!
But above all, I’d be hard pressed to continue running my classroom the way I do without the use of Docs. I use docs is so many different ways to engage students, evaluate and assess students, and to collect information from students. Additionally, it’s incredible to see what learning connections can be made between students when you have them work collaboratively on a document.
What is your Mission Critical Google App? Would the way you teach your students suffer if it weren’t there?
I’ve only ran one marathon and a few 1/2 marathons. Each time I’ve trained for one of these races, I used MapMyRun to map out runs, calculate distances, keep track of when I run, analyze my pace, and monitor shoe mileage. It’s been an extremely useful tool in helping me prepare and train for races, but more than that, it gives me information about myself. I find it extremely valuable to track what my pace was on different runs, how fast my overall time was, whether I’m consistently running on varied elevated terrains, and how many calories I’m burning. As great a service MapMyRun is however, I feel little tied to the computer when I always have to, well, map out a run first before I start off on a run. When I first started using the service, it was exciting to me to map out different routes and see what local trail I could follow via the Google satellite map MMR provides. But after a few years of this, plotting out every point of a 13 mile run becomes more tedious than enjoyable.
Logging runs into MapMyRun
The mapping monotony soon broke for me when I recently received a Garmin Forerunner 210 watch for my birthday as a present from my wife. Read more »
Our social studies department rarely has elective courses to offer our junior high students. I don’t know why, but ever since I’ve been at my school, most of the “unique” elective courses go to other content areas, such as phy. ed and language arts. This year was different, however. All departments were asked to submit ideas for new elective courses. Since I’m always looking for more ways to incorporate technology, increase student engagement, and because I myself enjoy video games, I proposed a class titled: Civilization 5: A History of Empire Building. Here is the description I wrote for our school’s course catalog:
Why do countries make the decisions they make? How do nations relate to each other? What types of resources does a country need to achieve its goals? These are essential questions all nations face to varying degrees. The answers to these ideas and others will be explored using the video game Civilization 5. This class will use Civ 5 as a way to look at common issues all nations face. In addition, students will look at primary source documents and interpret statistical data from around the world. Projects and assignments will be posted on blogs, forums, and class websites.
Every year I try to fit in a Native American unit into my eighth grade U.S. History curriculum. If I were to follow the prepared curriculum out of our mammoth sized textbooks, this would probably never happen. But, I think it’s important to recognize the uniqueness of Native American history and culture alongside the expansion if the United States history, so I make time for it.
Previous years I’ve tried to allow students to work to their strengths and create a final assessment for me that not only demonstrates their understanding and comprehension of the material, but affords them the opportunity to stretch themselves creatively. Students have turned in dioramas, movies, created songs, written reports, and other types of projects, all on a specific tribe they research. While it was very interesting to see what the students came up with, I felt they were placing more emphasis on the finished product, and not as much on the learning objectives. A sort of teaching to the diorama, if you will.
Out with the old
This year I was intent to reverse that trend, by limiting the projects students would do in favor of having them spend more time on research, analysis, and application. Rather than allow students to choose anything they wished, I narrowed the focus and required each group (3 or 4) of students to:
Research a Native American tribe.
Summarize their information in the form of a Google Doc they create and edit together.
Apply that information to a Google Map they create.
Step 1
Students started out by first researching a specific Native American tribe they were assigned at random. There was a pool of about 20 different tribes I gathered ahead of time to ensure enough quality information could be found by each group. Their research packet was split into three categories: Geography, Society/Culture, and Economy/Resources.
Step 2
After they had done their research and filled out their packet, they had to choose one of the aforementioned categories and summarize their research in paragraph form on a shared Google Doc. Since all of the groups information was on one Google Doc, it became incredibly easy for me to give them feedback in the form of comments, and, it allowed them to peer edit each others work.
Step 3
With their research analyzed and summarized in paragraph form, they could now easily create their Google Map. I created a rubric for students to follow, and also provided some simple instructions on how to get started. What was surprising was how quickly most students picked it up. After reading through the directions, the majority of students would shoo me away and finish the map on their own. Each group had to insert Placemarks of the three categories, insert relevant pictures that would help explain their paragraph, draw the area the tribe lived in and, for extra credit, they could insert a YouTube video about their tribe.
In with the new
So..did it work?
Compared to years past, this project was much more successful at having students meet learning objectives. Not only did they have fun and use their creative energy to create a Google Map, but after giving them a reflective final assessment, it was clear to me that they had a better grasp not only on their tribe, but on the histories and cultures of Native American tribes across the U.S. during the 19th century. If you’ve ever thought about using Google Maps with your students, I highly recommend you dive right in and try it out. Especially, if your district uses Google Apps for Education, as mine does.
P.S.
Here’s how you can insert YouTube video clips into a Placemark.
Schools never have enough money. Or so they say. So walk through the wardrobe with me for just a second and let’s pretend we’re in a land where someone wants to give you money. Essentially, a blank check. Now, what do you do with it?
What would you spend your money on?
For me, I’d use it to fund an educational technology initiative. But what exactly? Would I just buy hardware like iPads? More computers? eReaders like the Nook or Kindle? Digital Cameras? Money can get spent pretty quickly if you’re buying hardware, not to mention the ancillary equipment also needed.
Sometimes, it’s easy to get swept up in purchasing as many new and flashy gadgets as we can in the hopes that will improve education. The best way to improve education, to me, is better teaching. So while a teacher may have access to better classroom technologies, if they don’t know how to use it (or use it effectively) it becomes a waste of time and money. Lately I’ve been thinking that it might be time to throttle back on consuming hardware, and start thinking about increasing staff support and the proper teaching of even basic skills to students. So many students lack in basic computing skills and knowledge, does it really benefit them to use an app they might only use once? Beats me. I guess this is a content vs. skills question at its core. In some cases (in a perfect world) you could do both easily. Although I love iPad’s, I struggle to see a future where one of my student’s ability to get into college or get a job will hinge on whether or not they know how to operate an app.
So….back to the original question: someone gives you a bunch of money at your school. What do you use it for?
Recently, our school has waded into the eReader territory by purchasing seventy Nook’s from Barnes & Noble. Our building principal was able to acquire the Nooks through a generous local grant.
Will this help students read more? Time will tell.
Nooks were selected over iPads because the focus was meant to be strictly reading (there are some other initiatives with iPads taking shape, more to come on that in the future, hopefully). Also, Nooks were chosen instead of the Kindle because our school already has done fundraising activities with a local Barnes & Noble, so there was already a relationship cultivated. Plus, from my experience, Nooks and Kindles are so similar in terms of what they actually do and the functions they have, that the differences are negligible.
The Immediate challenges I see are this: What’s the best way to charge them? Unlike iPods or iPads, there is not a convenient eReader cart that will charge multiple eReaders at once. Although the batteries do last for quite a while since they’re using e-ink and not an LCD display, the more cumbersome it is to do something simple like charging the device, the less likely it is that teachers will actually use them with students. Security. How can these eReaders be locked up and secured but still be portable so that they can be shred from class to class? Content. Our Barnes & Noble rep has told us that if we buy one book, it can be put on 6 different Nooks, which is great. Over the long run, this will hopefully save a little money. But what type of structured way will we have to get content on the Nooks that kids will actually want to read? (I suspect ournmedia specialist will hav e a lot of say in this along with the students.) Promotion If teachers never want to integrate them into their classroom, or if it becomes to ineffective for students to check them out and bring them home, they’ll be wasted. So, how can we effectively promote the use of these devices so that they will spark a desire to read more?
Any thoughts? Has your school tried eReaders and if so, what are your successes or pitfalls? Voracious readers want to know!
It’s been a while. I haven’t written a post in a coon’s age, so forgive me if I forget how to do this.
Currently in my 8th grade U.S. history class, I’m teaching students about the Oregon Trail. To tell the story of the Oregon trail, I have found that it works best to tell it as a story (and for that matter, history is always best conveyed as a story, but I digress). In the past (ironic) we’ve taken turns reading journal entries from people who were actually on the OR Trail. True story accounts of the hardships people faced as they made the long and arduous journey west in search of land and opportunity and, yes, guided by the tenants of Manifest Destiny. While we read through the journal entries, I show pictures from the trail from that time period. The goal is to make students understand the experiences pioneers went through while on their journey. A sound objective, but one that has been feeling a bit stale. Typically, a few students love to read the stories while others students zone out. The engagement level can drop.
So, in an effort to regain my student’s attention and focus, place a higher priority on individual participation, and be more efficient with the overall lesson, I decided to change the way I do this lesson and make audible recordings of the journal entries and have students listen to them on our classroom iTouches. This grabs their attention a lot more (especially when Mr. Freeburg does his “voices” of road weary travelers). I used Gold Wave to record the twelve or so different journal entries and then transferred the MP3 files to iTunes. When students finish listening to the stories from the trail and they take some notes, I had students pretend as if they were actually on the OR Trail themselves and create a digital postcard they would send back east. To do this, I used the Bill Atkinson PhotoCard Lite App, which allows you to make digital postcards on an iTouch. I preloaded the iTouches with about 34 pictures from the OR Trail. Students self selected which photo they wanted to use, filled out requisite information using a rubric I had given them. These were then posted to Picasa (using our district’s Google Apps account), and I linked a Picasa album onto my Moodle page.
Westward Ho!
Tales from the Oregon Trail
The end result? Students were far more engaged with this particular assignment then they had ever been in the past. The product they created for me to assess their understanding of the trail was more dynamic and richer than what we had done in the past as well. Student’s loved it, and I had a blast grading their postcards.
To take the to another level, I wish I was able to find an 8th grade U.S. History teacher in Oregon who I could connect with and have their students comment on the postcards my students made and vice versa. Oh well, maybe next time…..
UPDATE
Commenter Nathan makes a great point. I should have allowed them to play The Oregon Trail game. Well….I did, I totally forgot about that part of the day. And, unsurprisingly, the students loved playing it. There’s not enough time to play it in it’s entirety during one class period, but they still love it. What’s more, there is an astonishing amount of real historical facts in the iTouch game.
The Oregon Trail on the iTouch. Student boredom has just died of dysentery.
