I have to say that I was impressed by The Social Networking in the History Classroom presentation that I attended today. Two teachers collaborated with their curriculum and their classrooms to create an impressive Edmodo network site for their students. You can tell by viewing their work that they had put a lot of effort and time into it and are also getting the results that they were looking for.
This presentation from Mary Helen Diegel and Kelly Eddy made me proud of what teachers can do when given the rights tools and permission to use them. I had to write this impression down because I wanted to include their ideas on this blog. They also handed out a large handout filled with digital source material for teachers that also included informational pieces and testimonials from the teachers who use them.
I hope to include this large link list here so that it may be accessible by anyone wishing to partake.
Monday, November 8, 2010
MCSS Presentation
Here is the presentation that I have been working on for the MCSS Fall Conference 2010. The Title of the Presentation is Convergence: Teaching History in the Digital Media Age
Powerpoint of Convergence and The Digital Age
Powerpoint of Convergence and The Digital Age
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Media Convergence in the Digital Age
There is a lot of ground to cover when speaking to that title. Although, many of us are aware that my first statement really does not conceptualize the terms Convergence and Digital, we still understand what the underlying meaning is. You simply cannot mention those terms without having to give more validity to how we understand our world today. This posting cannot cover everything that went into making our digital age what it is. You have to first list the items that contributed to it such as WiFi, 4G, and the Internet. Then you have to get into the other work put into those items by the people, countries, and companies that made them possible.
The internet is not a series of tubes as some senators would have you believe. The before mentioned items are not recent developments in technology, they are simply the most recent ones made available to the general public for consumption. Many of these items have existed for more than 20 years but have just gotten better with age. What is said, pictured, and written can be found on almost any device with access to the internet. This type of information is not only available to those in North America, it is available and taken from all parts of the world.
How does this apply to today's student? A valid question when thinking about how to teach them. There is a lot to consider when you realize that many students have way more access than our schools will allow. They have way more spare time when you also consider the amount of time it takes to get this information. Most of us grew up having to look up information in a book within the confines of a school or public library. This was time consuming. Many of us still take delight in this process. Our students do not and you know this to be true when you do a traditional research project.
So, back to the question, How does this apply to today's student? Media is all around our students and sometimes right in their pockets. Should we consider accessing this more often to inform them more on how to use it? Should we also be the navigators of this information so the students are learning what is correct and incorrect on the internet? Should school districts take a good look at their budgets for technology and consider the use of a textbook in the future?
Unfortunately, I do not have all the answers. I just see a real need for Teachers to increase the awareness of the age we live in and use it more effectively in and out of the classroom. Education is within a paradigm whose shift may need a tsunami to effectively catch us up to our students.
The internet is not a series of tubes as some senators would have you believe. The before mentioned items are not recent developments in technology, they are simply the most recent ones made available to the general public for consumption. Many of these items have existed for more than 20 years but have just gotten better with age. What is said, pictured, and written can be found on almost any device with access to the internet. This type of information is not only available to those in North America, it is available and taken from all parts of the world.
How does this apply to today's student? A valid question when thinking about how to teach them. There is a lot to consider when you realize that many students have way more access than our schools will allow. They have way more spare time when you also consider the amount of time it takes to get this information. Most of us grew up having to look up information in a book within the confines of a school or public library. This was time consuming. Many of us still take delight in this process. Our students do not and you know this to be true when you do a traditional research project.
So, back to the question, How does this apply to today's student? Media is all around our students and sometimes right in their pockets. Should we consider accessing this more often to inform them more on how to use it? Should we also be the navigators of this information so the students are learning what is correct and incorrect on the internet? Should school districts take a good look at their budgets for technology and consider the use of a textbook in the future?
Unfortunately, I do not have all the answers. I just see a real need for Teachers to increase the awareness of the age we live in and use it more effectively in and out of the classroom. Education is within a paradigm whose shift may need a tsunami to effectively catch us up to our students.
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