Concept Map:)

There's so much i learned in EME5432 in terms of why and how to integrate technology into the classroom. Before taking this class i didn't think much about the need of technology in the classroom other than for typing papers or presenting PowerPoint presentations. However, after 13 weeks of being in Ms. Drexler class i finally realize the purpose of incorporating technology into my future classroom, to prepare my students for the workplace, college, and democratic society. Now a day, technology controls almost every sector of our lives therefore, it's crucial to learn how to use it effectively. Unfortunately, everyone does not have access to the Internet or other forms of technological innovations. The "digital divide" is everywhere, it not only exist between countries but also between counties, schools, and classrooms. Nonetheless, many educators and students are advocating for the integration of technology in all classrooms because technology literacy will soon be a requirement or "a most" in all job sectors in order to quality for a position. Technology is advancing so rapidly, widening the gap between the "have" and "have not." For this reason, teachers/educators should do everything in their power to advocate for the integration of technology in all classrooms.
Moreover, technology can be used in so many ways from PowerPoint presentations to wiki pages and podcast. A few of my favorite web-based applications were the glogster, wiki, podcast, timetoast, blogger, google earth, voicethread, itunes, oral history, and service learning projects. These applications can all be used in classrooms to help make the curriculum more engaging and inquiry-based. In addition, students familiarized themselves with technology and grow comfortable enough to use it more effectively and strategically. Students will also learn how to identify personal websites from scholarly or government sites. Internet safety is very important to stress in the lesson plan because it teaches students to be more critical of what they do and read on-line.
I particularly liked how Mrs. Drexler taught us how to read websites, find the publisher, the existence of the site, who else follows the site, and the accuracy and legitimacy of the website. This information is crucial to teach high school students who are more naive than adults because more likely to believe everything they read or see on-line.
Overall, I have learned a lot in Mrs. Drexler's class: Concept Map
It's kind of difficult to say what i didn't like about the class because I may have not liked a certain web-based application because i found it to be insignificant however, this doesn't mean it isn't beneficial to the classroom or other teachers. All of the applications where wonderful, some more than others, but i wasn't amused with a few of the web-based applications such as the concept map and geocaching. But this may change in the future as i get adapt to my new school and classroom.
My advice for this course would be to engage students more in the web-based applications their peer's present. We basically were lecture on how to use a certain application but we hardly created one for ourselves, this would have engaged us more in the presentation and helped us to get better acquainted with the web-based applications. In general, I truly enjoyed this course and learned far more than i thought i would. Now I just plan on implementing every thing i learned from this course into my actual classroom!

Digital Divide

In the last two decades, technology has advanced so rapidly it not only has widened the digital gap between developed and developing countries but also within school districts. Due to lack of infrastructure and capital, many countries and schools are fallen behind the digital world and missing out on the global experience. The advancement of technology has connected the global world like never before. Gadgets like the computer, iPods, camcorders, digital cameras, and cell phones have brought us together as one. Technology is
People across the global are learning about the different cultures and countries that surround them while communicating with people in other countries, in the comfort of their own home. Families are staying in touch with love ones who are thousands of miles away, and reuniting with old friends through digital network. Technology has also made it accessible to network with people across the global in matter of seconds and find almost anything on-line whether you want to find data on studies, people, places, or random items you can find it all on-line with the proper search engines that is.
People can even obtain a college degree on-line and attend class without ever having to step foot in an actual classroom. Better yet, you can campaign for a cause or a reform without having to travel across the country. Companies and organizations are expanding their membership and clientele at faster rate than ever before. So why are schools falling behind?
More than ever, schools need to incorporate technology into the classroom so students can develop the technical and learning skills that will required in higher education and the workforce. Unfortunately, insufficient funds and resources, and under qualified teachers make it difficult to integrate technology into the classroom. However, there many ways schools and teachers can bridge the gap between the digital divided among schools and classrooms by applying for grants or asking for monetary donations or used computers. As a teacher, I would advocate for more laptops/computers in my school and classroom so all students; regardless of socioeconomic status can have access to digital resources at school. If students do not have computers at home, at least they will have access to them at school. Therefore, they can stay connected to the global world, in addition to learning how to use technology effectively.
In my own classroom, I would implement technology-base assignments and activities so my students can become acquainted with technology and comfortable enough to use it for future references. Technology allows students to expand their horizons and learn how to properly communicate with others, in addition to learning about the cultures of different ethnic groups. This allows students to become more culturally sensitive towards the beliefs and practices of other individuals whether at their school or abroad. Digital resources make it feasible for students to research and explore different content areas and sources.
The first few weeks of school I would hand out a survey for my students to complete, regarding their accessibility and familiarity with electronic devices and digital resources.

Survey:
*Circle All That Apply:
1. Which one of these devices have you used before or have created
Computer, iPod, cell phone (Smartphone, itouch, blackberry etc), camcorder, digital camera.
YouTube video, glogster, podcast, wiki, blog, web page, website, other____________?
2. Do you own any of these devices, meaning you do not have to share with other family members? Computer, iPod, cell phone (Smartphone, Itouch, blackberry etc), camcorder, digital camera.

List all that apply:
3. Does anyone in your household own any of these gadgets (who? Relationship to you, brother, mother etc) and are you allow to use it?
Computer, iPod, cell phone (Smartphone, Itouch, blackberry etc), camcorder, digital camera.
4. Are you apart of a social network on-line, such as twitter, facebook, MySpace, blog, other__________?

Circle all that apply
5. On a weekly base, how often do you use a computer to surf the net________, to network with others ___________or to complete a class assignment_________?

How often do you use these gadgets on a weekly base:
Camcorder_________, video games ____________, cell phone__________, iPod__________, and digital camera____________?

6. In your own words, what do you mostly use the internet for?
7. How comfortable are you with using technology on a scale from 1-5, 1 meaning you're computer illiterate, 5 meaning you’re a pro.
8. Do you blog on-line?
9. Do you use iTunes?
10. Do you know what a podcast is, if so describe it, and have you created one before?
11. How far away is the nearest library from your house, is it walking distance?
12. If you need to go to the library do you have a ride?
13. Do you have your own car, or can you borrow your parents or sibling's car?
14. Could you use a friend, neighbor, or family member's computer?
15. Do you have access to the Internet at home?
Etc......

This survey will help me to modify my lesson plan according to student's responses. If more than half of my students do not have access to a computer or the Internet at home I will suggest the following:
1. Students who do not have access to a computer or Internet at home can stay after school to complete their homework whether in my classroom or in the computer lab.
2. Students can come early in the morning, before school starts, to use the class computers or during lunch.
3. Students will be able to use the computers during class; I will also make sure they have the opportunity to visit the computer lab at least once a week.
4. Students will be suggested to use family, friends, or their neighbors’ computers only if it's okay with their parents.
5. I will also make time during class for students to work on their technology-base assignment.
6. Students who own laptops or whose parents have laptops will be encouraged to bring them to class, only if their parents sign a form granting them permission.
Moreover, I will apply for various grants and/or enter contest that provide funds or laptops/computers as prizes; at least enough for students to share in pairs. I will ask write letters to various companies/businesses, organizations, and foundations, such as local electronic stores, universities, government agencies, etc asking for monetary funds or for used computers they no longer use or need. My students and I will also ask for donations around the community and have fund-raisers to raise enough money to purchase at least one computer for every two students.
An additional option would be to present a proposal to my principal or district personnel mentioning why it’s so important to integrate technology into the classroom and the necessity for all students to have their own individual computer. The proposal will include the following:
Technology will help students become productive citizens by developing technical and learning skills that are required in higher education and the workplace. Moreover, students will contribute to the global world through digital networking and development. In today’s world, students must learn more than the basics to be prepared for life. Using technology, students will develop learning skills, such as thinking and problem-solving skills, information and communication skills, and interpersonal and self-directional skills.


Fortunately, many schools and educators are recognizing the importance of integrating technology in the classroom. These are just a few examples of how educators are using and advocating for technology integration in the classroom.
Many districts across the nation rely upon grants, special bond issues, and more often than not, charity and philanthropy to support the integration of technology into instruction. The following sites mention why it’s important to integrate technology in the classroom and they provide useful tips that other teachers have used in order to advocate for computers/technology in their classrooms.

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te4lk22.htm

* The best bet for technology funding is to build community support and to develop funding out of local resources.

* Technology is an ongoing investment and therefore should be considered as a regular expense, not a one-time purchase. Schools or districts should seek school budget line items for technology or should include technology in other existing budget lines (such as facilities) rather than relying upon bonds and one-time expenditures.

* The value of grants can be increased if they are matched by local contributions. Although schools and districts appreciate grant funds for hardware and other infrastructure needs, the grant value is increased if it is matched by local contributions toward ongoing expenses. Therefore, grant requests should always indicate where local funds or other resources will match the requested funding. Further, the local match should be specific about what it will finance and about how the combined grant and local match will fulfill the school or district's technology goals.

* Equipment donations must be critically appraised as a funding mechanism for technology. Some donations are useful, both practically and politically, as a graphic demonstration of local support for a school's technology efforts. Nevertheless, schools must be wary of becoming dumping grounds for old equipment that may need repair or maintenance work. Old equipment may be better than nothing, but schools ultimately need the same level of technology as the business world. In short, schools should neither universally accept nor reject technology donations. Instead, they should critically examine the value of such donations in light of their overall technology strategy.

Furthermore, many schools have started participate in large-scale competes in order to win technology-base grants. In this article, 11 charter schools compete against each other in order to win a large-scale technology grant from their state by participating in a study.

Other teachers like Ariel Sacks have made wonderful suggestions for integrating technology in the classroom and home:

“I'd like to see the government step in and make internet free for parents who send their children to public schools, and provide a laptop--or an easy, affordable pathway to getting one--for all public school students. Once this is the case, schools need to get with the times and create safe and attractive networking programs for teachers and classes to use.”

Like many teachers, Ariel Sacks is advocating for the integration of technology through digital networking. Other educators have advocated in different ways for example, Kathy Benson and Geordie Paulus received the top educational technology award in the state of Maryland. Both of these educators went the extra mile to advocate for the integration of technology in classrooms. Ms. Benson conducted numerous workshops and provided several professional development opportunities for the school district regarding the integration of technology in classrooms. Ms. Paulus on the other hand, was responsible for creating and facilitating professional development activities to increase the use of technology by teachers and students; collaborating with leaders within the school to create a comprehensive technology plan that maximizes the use of the hardware and software provided by the local school system; and modeling the integration of technology into all aspects of the school’s culture to increase student engagement and staff productivity.

Ms. Paulus’ passion for technology extends beyond the classroom to the entire community. She developed and implemented various technology related programs for students in the school and hosted evening parent programs to ensure that technology was being used effectively and safely at home.
You could read more about these women:

Teacher Leadership

It's hard to describe teacher leadership in a few words, there so many definitions attached to it. Teacher leadership consist of teachers who are active in the classroom and/or in the community for the sake of better education and higher learning. Teachers who practice what they preach by not only voicing their opinions and concerns but also getting involved in the decision process of making policies or programs for the betterment of schools and most importantly, students. Teacher leadership are teachers who go far and beyond to improve the quality of education for their students and who don't mind getting their hands a little dirty.

According to this website, ,
"teacher leaders can be describe as coaches or instructional leaders; teachers who serve on school, district, state or national advisory or policymaking groups; teachers who chair departments or school teams; teachers who provide the energy to sustain professional learning communities—and we could cite many more examples".
The website includes a panel of questions pertaining to teacher leadership, for instance:
To what extent do you feel that the public school system is set up to support the development of teachers as leaders?
On what issues do you think it's most important for teachers to assert themselves as leaders?

The website is a great source to use for analyzing the roles of teachers as leaders and it even suggest ways that teachers can become more involved in their schools and community in terms of educational policies and programs.

Another article I stumble across is , the article discuss the various leadership roles teachers obtain:

• choosing textbooks and instructional materials;
• shaping the curriculum;
• setting standards for student behavior;
• deciding whether students are tracked into special classes;
• designing staff development and in-service programs;
• setting promotion and retention policies;
• deciding school budgets;
• evaluating teacher performance;
• selecting new teachers; and
• selecting new administrators.

In the article, the author mentions that "student
learning depends first, last, and always on the quality of the teachers.”
I agree with these statement however, teachers do not always have the necessary training or resources to help all students.

Teachers also shouldn't be blamed 100% for the quality of education students receive because many times students DO NOT want to learn. Teachers cannot force students to learn, they can only teach them as best they can and try to reach out to them. But once again, they can not make them do anything.
It's just like the role of a parent; parents can instill values in their children, establish rules for them to adhere to, set a good example for them, preach to them about the do's and don'ts of life, treat them with respect and give them plenty of love and affection, however, at the end of the day that child will make his or her own decisions & mistakes, no matter what their parents did or taught them, that child will DO WHAT EVER THEY WANT.
I'm not saying these methods are useless i mean they do work the majority of the time but we most recognize that students have a mind of their own and if they want to fail or ditch class they will do just that.
Teachers can try to instill school values in their students but once again, it's up to students to make the correct decision, NOT THE TEACHER.

Moreover, my goal as a future teacher is to become as active as possible in and out of the classroom in order to become an effective teacher leader so that I can directly impact my school, its teachers and most importantly the students.

Q. Should all teachers be expected to become teacher leaders, why or why not? If the majority of all teachers were leaders, will the quality of education improve?

Networked Learning

The human networked is more than connecting with individuals and acquiring new knowledge. It’s also about sharing special moments with family or friends, staying connected to the people and things you love or enjoy, locating people, places, or things, and getting more done at a faster rate. As technology invades and transforms our lives, it’s only right that students learn how to network properly and effectively. Being familiar with technology does not cut it, students must learn how to subscribe to people and networks, bridge cultures and languages together, have good writing skills, learn how to communicate effectively, and become subconscious of what they say.
Networking is also about navigating, locating, organizing, understanding, evaluating, and creating new data for others to obtain and contribute to. However, who will be responsible for teaching students these skills? Eventually the role of teachers will consist of teachings their pupils how to built networks and take advantage of learning opportunities. As the video mentions, teachers will guide students through the process of networked and illustrate how to communicate properly with other individuals and ask for expert’s advice in a respectful manner. Teachers will teach students how to differentiate from good information and propaganda and search for legitimate sources that are creditable. Teachers will also teach students how to organize large amounts of information and use it to navigate and solve world problems or issues.
Hopefully, in my teaching career I will be able to fully implement technology and digital networking in my classroom. I think it’s a great idea for all teachers, not just our generation of teachers, to fully incorporate technology into the classroom, other than for research purposes. I’m optimistic that in the near future, ten years from now, the majority of all students, regardless of social economic status, will have access to a computer at home and school; over 90 percent of all family households have a television set and phone/cell phone in their homes, this will soon be the case with computers/labtops.
I’m definitely for human networked and I’m willing to give up lots of control and responsibility to my students. Social networked is far more engaging and interesting to students than textbooks or lectures because they can relate to it. Not only will students have control of their learning but make new connections with others that will strength their learning process.

Q. Do you think you will use networked learning your first year of teaching, why or why not? What are some pros and cons to this decision?

The following website is an example of networked learning and the wonderful things that come from it. This website is for non-government organizations that foster the network of learning and the exchange of knowledge, skills and information between users. This sources links people to resources, useful organizations, other users, websites and materials.

How would this website be helpful in your classroom or for personal reasons?
Would you use this networklearning site in your classroom, why?

Hope you enjoy!
http://www.networklearning.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1

Glogster

Glogster

At first, I was intimidate by glogster but soon I got the hang of it and it was easier then what i assumed. I would definitely use glogster in my classroom and its a great way to get my students engaged in history while learning about technology. My glogster is about the Chicano movement; a historical topic that is often untaught in schools. I hope you enjoy my glogster and learn something new!
http://gigi22.edu.glogster.com/G-Flores/

Great Service Learning Projects!!!

Everyone had creative and interesting service learning projects pertaining to various social studies topics. These projects will be very beneficial for others to use in their classrooms and get a better understanding of what service learning consist of.

1. Chance- People often assumes that voting is the only way to participate in our society but this is a misunderstanding. Students will create podcasts, wikis, and write to their congressman in order to be aware of controversial issues and learn how to participate in a democracy.

2. Zahra- Students choose a subtopic then create a lesson plan regarding voting rights museum. The students teach younger students about this topic via Skype.

3. Michael- Students conduct interviews (oral history) with elderly people regarding their life experience. The stories/interviews are recorded and uploaded on YouTube.

4. Adam- Motivating people to register to vote and inform them about the current issues in our community and country. Students will observe trends in-school and in the community then present it to their peers.

5. Megan W- Students will learn about the issues concerning human trafficking and the purpose of informing others about this issue. Students will learn about any legislation that pertains to human trafficking, then they will create a podcast, slideshow, and brochure which will be compiled on a website for others to use.

6. Jen- Students will write letters to members of military branches (military letter writing campaign) and create a class wiki to write to military members. The wiki will allow military members to reply to the student’s letters and submit pictures, videos, etc.

7. Josh- Students will learn about war history before interviewing a veteran about his/her role in the war. This will allow students to honor veterans for their contribution and commitment to our country. Student’s interviews will last for 30 minutes and they will be recorded via podcast.

8. Jeremy- Students will learn about the intentions and consequences of the war on drugs. They will evaluate how the money of taxpayers is used to support the prison system. Students will then create a wiki concerning all the aspects of the war, and then they will write to their political representatives about a drug issue.

9. Meagan G- Support A Soldier- Students will create a website where they will ask for donations for soldiers and collect care packages throughout the year. Students will write to the soldiers on monthly bases and learn about the solder's geographical location. Students will manage the website throughout the year and post video updates as well as weekly blog response.

10. Liz- Operation Christmas Child (OCC) - Students will learn about the various cultures the OCC works while working with them. Students will then interview the OCC volunteers about their experiences and their reasons for volunteering. Students will blog about their interviews and engage in a peer-to-peer discussion.

11. Eric- Students will conduct a satisfaction survey with senior citizens then teach them how to use the internet in terms of emails and instant messaging. The senior citizens will then retake the survey and students will evaluate the effectiveness of their instructions.

12. Elizabeth J- Increasing Cultural Awareness- All Americans come from another country with exception to Native Americans; students will poll other students about their personal heritage or country of origin and create a wiki for each country/culture they found. This will increase cultural awareness and hopefully start a multicultural fair for the entire school to participate in.

13. Mallory- Habitat for Humanity- Students will work with the organization and look at the costs of building and financing houses. Students will research cost effective methods of doing these projects and interview families who have received these homes. Students will create a podcast or video blog to document their interviews and share with others.

14. Louisa- Oral history- Students will interview the elderly about their daily lives and record the interviews via a video podcast. Students will share their final product with the nursing home.

15. Mark- Knowing the Avenues- Students will find community members and learn about their needs, and then they find politicians that can help meets the community's needs. Students will create a wiki about the project and make the politicians aware of the issues.

16. Katy- History Affects Us All, examine impact of history in the lives of others, visit nursing home 3-4 times in a semester, pick major historical event in their person's life and interview them about it, students create videos based on their interviews

17. Jeff- Students clean up parks, how do people and the environment interact, teach about conservation and awareness, and make blogs and videos about their experiences and advocating that people take action.

18. Megan P- research presidential elections looking at voter turnout trends, look at how information was disbursed during elections, how the government has affected daily life of citizens over time, visit a retirement home to interview residents about their experiences with elections, students will make podcasts of their interviews and research, students will share their research with the residents, students will write thank you letters to the residents

19. Brittany- increase young people's voter turnout, best done during an election year, learn trends in voting, create online survey to ask questions and collect data, the students will use social networking to encourage people to vote, present to class

20. Nichole- Becoming a responsible citizen: students learn about voting and campaigning, look at historic trends, create wiki, blog, or podcast addressing a certain demographic, and create personalized messages to share their campaign.

21. Trish- At-risk students set up pen pal exchange with students in Japan, students expand their cultural horizons, letters can be related to the content throughout the year, use a wiki to talk about what they learn, what biases there are, write a paper about stereotypes and biases

22. Angie: Students will look at the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Students choose topic based on individual rights and research their topic. Students put information on a class wiki. The class will host a 'get it right' fair and create an interactive display on their topic.

Ali:Rising cultural awareness,
Students will project interviews on the what they know about the patriot act, experiences of Muslim Americans, reaction after 911, how government handed it, what it entails, relate it with what happen with the Japanese internment camps, create questionnaires. Students will then create wikis about the Patriot act and use interview as well to show what happen, spread knowledge of patriot act.

Carrie: Cold war: oral history, digital camera record, create article based on that information, pick a person who experienced the cold war, invite community and school to become apart of the wiki.

Griselda: students will learn about Haiti's geography and history, communicate with students via internet, blog, podcast, video etc Learn about each other, students will collect funds and supplies to send to Haitian students and ultimately present final project to entire school and community.

Service Learning Project: Global Networking

Griselda Flores
October 22, 2009
EME5432
Service Learning Unit

Title of the project: Global networking: Developed Country and Third World
Area of service: Third World Students living in poverty.

Florida high school students will work together to raise money and supplies for Haitian students. Florida students will learn about Haiti’s geography and history while communicating with Haitian students through the internet.
Haitian students lack educational supplies and qualified teachers. Most Haitian schools are private rather than state-funded because of their economic unfortunately, many families cannot offer the school fees, transportation, or uniforms because their too expensive.
Grade level: 9-12
Setting: School and surrounding communities.
Subject area: Social Studies: Geography and World history.
Unit description:
Students will learn about Haiti’s history and geography while analyzing how human actions drastically changed Haiti’s landscape and the consequences that arose from these actions. For example, when Christopher Columbus found Haiti it was dense with tropical forest. Unfortunately, the Spanish and French cleared many forests for plantations and later hardwoods were logged for U.S. and Europeans markets. Peasants then burned and cut down what was left in desperate search of farmland.
Students will also learn about the culture of Haitians, their average wages, their educational levels, their school system, their country’s financial situation, their country’s geographical dilemma, their lack of natural resources, their government system, their history, their relationship with the United States, and their literacy rate.
After studying and analyzing the history and geography of Haiti, students will see the correlation of Haiti’s economy with its educational dilemma and low literacy rates. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with a literacy rate below 60 percent. Students will have the opportunity to communicate with actual students from Haiti and view their perspectives and experiences as students in a third world country.

Students will ask questions like:
1.Transportation: How do you get to school?
2. Finance: Do you pay for school, if so who finances your education?
3. Distance: How far is school from your house?
4. Educational Goals: Do you plan to go to college?
5. Economy: How do you feel about your country’s financial and educational situation?
6. Personal: How you plan to help Haiti’s economy?
7. Resources: How has the lack of forest and trees impacted your life?
8. Personal: Where do your parent’s work, what’s their educational obtainment.

Students will work together to raise money for students in Haiti. The teacher will contact a school in Haiti, before the beginning of the semester or school year that has access to the Internet and an English translator. Therefore, both groups of students can communicate with each other without any language barrier. Students will communicate through emails, podcasts, blogs, mail, and videos. Both groups of students will learn about each other’s cultures, educational experiences, and aspiring goals. Students will be more engaged and interested to learn about Haiti’s geography and history if their communicating with Haitian students.

Moreover, students will be divided into five committees: fund-raiser (planner, organizer), treasure group (economics and math), decorations (visual arts, photography), and food (culinary and math), and social networking (technology). Each committee is responsible for a different task. For example, those in the fundraiser committee are responsible for coming up with effective fund-raisers. The treasure group is in charge of all the finance. They have to calculate and decide how much money they will spend on fundraisers and whether their profits will exceed their cost, as well as asking for donations. The decoration committee is in charge of any decorations or photography for the fundraisers and the food committee is in charge of selling and making food and refreshments.

In addition, each committee is responsible for posting their group’s information on the class’ website so other students, teachers, and community members can view it and stay updated with the final project. For example, the fundraiser committee will post the class’ upcoming fundraiser activities and the treasure group will ask for donations on-line and in person and post their overall expenses and profit therefore donors can keep track of it. The decoration committee will post photos of the actual fundraisers and a few pictures of the Haitian students, and the culinary committee will upload photos of the food their selling, the prices of the items, and the receipts of the food. Every student will be responsible for keeping the website up to date. The goal of this service-learning project is to teach students about Haiti’s history, geography, economy, and educational conditions while learning how to use technology on a daily bases.
By working with other organizations in order to raise money for less fortunate people, students will learn about the importance of giving back and hopefully learn to appreciate and take advantage of their public education.

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards:
SS.912.G.2.4 “Use geographic terms and tools to analyze case studies of how selected regions change over time.”

SS.912.G.2.5 “Use geographic terms and tools to analyze case studies of debates over how human actions modify a selected region.”

SS.912.W.5.7 “Describe the causes and effects of 19th Latin American and Caribbean independence movements led by people including Bolivar, de San Martin, and L' Ouverture”

SS.912.W.5.Su.g: “Recognize that Latin American and Caribbean countries achieved independence.”

Technologies/Web applications:
High school students will communicate with Haitian students through the Internet, podcast, and videos. The school in Haiti will most likely be a private school sponsor by English organizations. Since Haitians mainly speak French or Creole it is more effective to work with a school that teaches English and that has computers. Private schools are more likely to have a set of computers in their schools since their run through private funds. Both groups of students will communicate through technology applications and get to know each other better. Students will share their educational experiences and future goals with one another. American students will have the opportunity to compare and contrast their lives with Haitian students while using technology. In addition, Haitian students will inform their American peers of their economical and educational dilemma. American students will work together to raise funds and supplies for their Haitian peers in order for them to have a brighter future and a better education.
Students will also use technology to submit their assignments, such as responding to the teacher’s blog or creating their own blog and responding to each others post.

Assessment:
Students will present their final project in front of the entire school, as well as the local community. In their presentation they will inform fellow students and community members about their service learning experience. This project and presentation will education others about the geography, economy, culture, history, and educational system of Haiti. Hopefully, this service learning project will inspire other teachers and community members to work together for the betterment of other communities.
Students will also be graded according to their contribution to the class’s website, both individual and group-wise, and the quality of their work.

Students will also be assessed according to the following rubric: Presentation

100-90:
Presentation includes visual illustrations and two or more technology application (power point, internet, web page, posters, podcast, videos, iPods etc).
Presentation includes following topics: what they accomplished, how this experience changed their perspectives of other cultures and towards education, how they communicated with these students, their contribution to the project/committee, the amount of money and supplies they managed to raise, and what they learned about Haiti’s history, economy, culture, and educational system.
Presentation is neat, organize, and concise.
Few spelling or grammatical errors, no use of slang or jargon

89-80:
Presentation is visual and uses two technology applications.
Presentation does not cover two topics.
Presentation is neat, organize, and concise.
More than three spelling or grammatical errors, use of slang or jargon.
79-70:
Presentation is some what visual and uses one technology application.
Presentation is missing more than three topics.
Presentation is a bit messy, a bit unorganized, and not concise enough.
More than five spelling or grammatical errors, jargon used excessively
69-60:
Presentation not visual and does not use technology applications.
Presentation includes less than five topics.
Presentation is messy, unorganized, and not concise.
More than seven spelling or grammatical errors, slang or jargon used excessively



Rubric: Contribution to class’ Web page.
100-90pts
Comment on all of the teacher’s blog, at least two paragraphs (more than 6 lines)
Created more than five blogs
Responded to two classmates’ blogs and comments.
Submitted all assignments on-time via email/internet.
Contribute to group’s page, submitted or changed at least three things from the class website.

89-80pts
Comment on all but two of the teacher’s blog
Created four or five blogs.
Responded to two classmates blogs but only to one classmates’ comment
Submitted all assignments on-time via email
Contribute to group’s page, submitted or changed at least two things from the class’ website.

79-70pts
Comment on all but three of the teacher’s blog and left brief comments, less than a paragraph.
Created three blogs
Responded to one classmates’ blog
Submitted most assignments on-time via email
Contributed to group’s page, submitted or changed at least one thing from the class’ website.

69-60pts
Comment on only two of the teacher’s blog
Created two or one blog
Didn’t respond to classmate’s blog
Submitted fewer than two assignments and they were late
Didn’t contribute to group’s page or class’ page.

week 7: Media Implication in the Holocaust

The holocaust would have been completely different if the media implications that Clay Shirkey’s mention had been available at that time. Electronic devices such as cell phones, digital cameras, lab tops, ipods, and camcorders allow news to travel faster and reach a global audience in only a few seconds, as was the case with the earthquake in China. Cell phones alone are compose of all these electric elements, camera, recorder, camcorder, and internet, that bring people together on a global scale and connects us to the rest of the world.
Therefore, if these electronic devices would have been available in the 1940s then historical events, such as the holocaust, could have been prevented or stopped before it escalated to the point that it did. Americans, as well as the rest of the world, would have immediately known about Hitler’s plan to kill millions of jews and could of intervene before millions of Jews were killed. People everywhere would have had access to the pictures and videos that Jews and Germans would have posted on-line. These visual images and reports would of been shown in every news channel, both nationally and globally. Websites against the holocaust would of immediately developed as well as blogs and tweets regarding the genocide of jews and the need to intervene. This eventually, would have caused Americans to demand that the U.S. government intervene in this genocide and rescue the Jews from furthering mistreatment.

Do you think Hitler would of censor the internet and cellphones so news wouldn't spread, what would Hitler have done to prevent news from spread regarding the genocide of Jews?

Social Networking

Michael Wesch did a fabulous job at explaining what social networking was and how it affects our lives both in the individual and global level. He definitely made me think of social networking in a different light. What I enjoyed the most about his presentation was how he used several videos to support his claims and they made his speech all the more interesting. Before watching his video, I thought of social networking as a way of communicating with people that share your same interest or simply staying in touch with family members or friends. However, this isn’t necessary true, many people network for different reasons whether it’s to express themselves or find their identity; the possibilities are endless. And whether we know it or not, were often networking with people we don’t know or don’t have nothing in common with.
Wesch also explains how the different forms of networking communities, such as YouTube and Myspace, help to create new forms of identities and self understanding for individuals. These social networks allow people to express themselves freely without any constraints on how to act or what to say. People can interact with others without fear of possible consequences (not necessary, it depends how your interacting) and reveal information or parts of themselves they wouldn’t ordinary reveal to family or close friends. Social networking also creates a deeper level of self-awareness and self-consciousness that we aren’t fully aware of on a daily bases. For example, anything we post on-line can be manipulated by others and once it’s posted it’s history because we can never recuperate the copies others have made of it, whether it’s a video, picture, or blog. Therefore, people are self-conscious of what they post on-line because their aware of the consequences that may occur. People are also more self-aware of who they are or how they want others to view them due to the possibility of seeing or hearing themselves through their own creations.
Let’s be realistic here, nobody wants to say or do something they will later regret because there will be many instances were their words and actions will be replayed for them or for others to see. Moreover, the implications for social networking are endless, especially when integrating them into the classroom. Students will be able to express themselves freely, without feeling alienated or marginalized from the rest of the class. Every student, regardless of their social status, will feel a sense of purpose and appreciation through their online community. Social networking also offers students a variety of information that can benefit them now and in the future.

How can you use social networking in your classroom?

Civil Rights Movement--ITunes

The podcast I selected are mainly speeches or discussions regarding the civil rights movement. This is how I intend on using my podcast; my lesson plan will consist of the civil rights movement and the influential leaders that drastically impacted and changed the movement and society in general. For example, figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President John F. Kennedy, and President Lyndon B. Johnson played a critical role in the development and success of the movement. The podcasts are the actual speeches given by all three men regarding their responds and reactions to the movement.

I will play Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech in order to provide a more visual and audio illustration of it. Students will have the opportunity to observe how Dr. King delivered his speech in terms of his usage of words, tone of voice, and body language. This illustration maybe more significance to some students than others in terms of their learning needs. Others may prefer the podcast to reading because it may provide a better understanding of the importance of the speech.

Students will then write a reaction paper comparing both methods, reading the text and hearing and viewing the podcast, and explain why they prefer one method to the other. Some students may prefer to read Dr. King’s speech while others may prefer the podcast depending on their learning needs. Afterwards, students will make their own podcast discussing the importance of this speech towards their lives.

Service Learning Project

The service learning activity I selected is called Senior-Senior Prom for 11th or 12th grade students. This community service activity can be used in a variety of subjects ranging from language arts to culinary art and visual art. The activity consist of high school seniors or juniors that work together to create a prom for senior citizens at a local retirement home. Not only will students engage with senior citizens but they will conduct oral histories where they will discuss the experiences and points of views of the citizens. Through these interviews and discussions students will obtain primary sources such as pictures, letters, and diaries from the senior citizens that will help them better understand the historical events their studying in school. For example, the civil rights movement took place in the 1960s, roughly 50 years ago, many of these seniors were either teenagers or adults when it took place. Students can ask the senior citizens questions pertaining to their own experiences and perceptions of these era. For instance, did they attend a segregated school while growing up, how did they feel about the civil rights movements, did they participate in the movement, did they ever imagine there would be a black president? This will stimulate awareness of controversial issues as well as students’ curiosity and motivation. Students will obtain information that is not covered in their textbooks, limiting the authors and teachers’ biases.
In addition, students will master a variety of skills and learn additional subjects while collaborating with fellow classmates. Students will be divided into communities: decorations [art, flora;], food preparation [culinary arts, mathematics], invitation and prom program [language arts], photography [visual arts], and music and entertainment [music and drama]. Afterwards, students will write and present a reflective essay or project of what they learned about the senior citizens and history in general. Students will discuss whether their views of senior citizens and history has changed an anyway and how. They will also share their project and experiences with other members of the community, teachers, and students and post their final project on-line for others to view and comment on.
The benefits of the senior-senior prom is that it connects social studies lessons to the lives of individuals. This allows students to think and act like social studies researchers and better understand historical texts. Students will conduct interviews, essays, and projects while analyzing, collecting, critiquing, and comparing the information from their textbooks with the experiences of the senior citizens. Students will have the opportunity to sharpen their critical thinking skills and take responsibilities of their learning. Moreover, students will create their own meanings while learning through their own pace.
Possible challenges or concerns that teachers may face with this service learning project is students’ lack of participation and engagement. Students may not take this project seriously or not work productively with other students. There is always the possibility of one students doing more than others or taking charge of the entire assignment. Teachers should make it clear to students that full participation is part of their class grade or requirement such as community service. Teachers can also assign individual tasks for students while monitoring their participation and interaction with other students.

http://www.servicelearning.org/slice/index.php?simple=1&ep_action=results&option[stream][]=122&search=senior+senior+prom&option[state]=

blog 3

Inquiry learning is essential to social studies because it engages students in the class curriculum and helps them better understand the material their studying. It can also be integrated in almost any other discipline such as math, science, social studies, and English. The benefit of inquiry learning is that it allows students to question the material their studying and gets them involved in the lesson plan. Megan Putnam’s chosen article, Creating Thinking and Inquiry Tasks that Reflect the Concerns and Interests of Adolescents, stresses the importance of allowing students to choose the class activity because it often increases their interest for that topic and engages them to the lesson plan. The article states that students tend to learn more when they work in small group inquiry rather than individual inquiry. Group inquiry exposes students to different points of views and they learn from their peers’ experiences and explanations.
Moreover, the article includes a variety of inquiry learning examples that teachers can integrate in their classrooms. For example, as a teacher I can let my students select a movie that deals with historical events then have them research information about that particular time period. Students will have the opportunity to research from a variety of sources such as textbooks, encyclopedias, the internet, and the movie itself. After watching the movie they will compare and contrast the information they obtained from the different sources. This will teach them how and why its important to question everything they see, hear, and read. By comparing primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, students will acknowledge the many different perspectives that people have of the same event and learn why its important to research from different sources. Students can also post what they learned on their wiki or blog and inform other students why it’s important to critic and analyze everything they come across.
The article also gives explicit examples how teachers can use real world scenarios that people come across on a daily base and turn them to educational lessons or relate them to historical events/issues. The benefit of this activity is that students can connect history or any other social studies subject to current events or their lives. For instance, if a new students, from another country or even state, arrives in your classroom you can have your students work in groups to research information about that students’ country of origin. Therefore, your pupils can better understand the cultural differences and similarities of their new classmate, instead of stereotyping him or her. In addition, students will learn more about a different country while at the same time getting to know their classmate better. Students can also recorded their class presentation on podcast or with a digital camera and show their class what they learned from that country. A class party will also be a great idea because everyone will celebrate the new student’s culture and make him or her feel welcome and appreciates in their new class. Other ways students can use technology is by posting what they learned on their class website and sharing it with other teachers and students.

What would you have done differently or how would you relate social studies to students’ everyday lives in correlation with technology?

Memory, D.M., Yoder, C.Y.,Bolinger, K.B., Warren, W.J. (2004). Creating Thinking and Inquiry Tasks that Reflect the Concerns and Interests of Adolescents. Social Studies, 95 (4), 147-154. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier (AN 14222731).

social studies blog, podcast, and wiki

The reason I chose http://civilwarsallie.wikispaces.com/ is because it’s user friendly and educational. This website allows social studies teachers to integrate technology into their classroom while at the same time engaging their students in interesting lesson plans. CivilwarSallie.com is a website about a teddy bear name Sallie Ann who was made in Gettysburg, PA. Sallie travels across the United States in search of museums or schools that are learning about the Civil War. Sallie does not only teach students about the Civil War but she also teaches them how to use technology. Sallie gets invited to several schools around the U.S. where she stays for as long as a week. The purpose of Sallie visiting different classrooms across the U.S. is to gain more knowledge about the Civil War and share it with other students.
Once Sallie arrives to your classroom students are responsible for twittering her arrival and departure. In addition, the classroom must post a blog of what they learned in class and what they taught Sallie, as well as post pictures of Sallie. This website is very engaging for students to use because they can post videos or pictures of what they learn in class, in terms of the civil war, and share it with classrooms all across the global. Moreover, students use technology by creating a twitter account, blog about what they learned in class, and post pictures of Sallie online.


I thought this website was amazing because it belongs to a 5th grade classroom in Medford, Oregon. The first web link is the class’s welcoming page which takes you to the class’s blog, wiki, and podcast. This website is a primary example how teachers can integrate technology into their classrooms, no matter what grade level they teach. If these 5th graders are learning how to use technology then what’s stopping middle and high school teachers from doing the same? Ms. Cosand is the 5th grade teacher who created this website for his class and has posted his students’ work online for others to view. The second website takes you to the class’s podcast episodes where you can hear the students talk about their classroom assignments and research. These are all interesting ideas that teachers can use in their classroom in order to engage and teach their students about technology and social studies.
http://www.dreamextreme.us/Welcome.html
http://www.dreamextreme.us/podcast/

This website illustrates meaningful ways of how teachers can integrate technology into their social studies classroom. For example, Mr. Young is a social studies teacher who uses blogging to communicate with his students. He posts all his classes’ agendas and assignments on his blog page so this students can learn how to navigator the internet and communicate on-line. Through blogging, Mr. Young’s students are becoming aware of their importance of using technology in their classrooms and homes.
Before teachers start to integrate technology into their classrooms or make a class blog they should take the time to teach their students about the pros and cons of blogging or using the internet, in general. Teachers should stress the importance to their students of not providing personal information on any websites for safety reasons. Teachers should also mention to their students the importance of using technology for educational purposes.
http://youngatvanier.blogspot.com/

Technology integration into social studies classrooms

Why should technology be integrated into social studies classrooms? How has the learning from our first session influenced your answer?
Before this class session, I really didn’t make the connection between social studies and technology. I mean, other than using technology to complete assignments and to network, I didn’t see the purpose of integrating it into our classrooms. But now I understand why technology should be integrate into social studies classrooms, so students can learn how to use it more accurately and efficiently. As the National Council of Social Studies (NCSS) mention, technology will teach students how to contribute to the media and become active citizens.

Through technology, students will learn how to navigate the internet and question the content of everything they come across. This will protect students from harmful websites that have misleading information and teach them how to be more critique of what they see, hear, and use. Since technology is already apart of our everyday lives, it is only right for teachers to include it in their curriculums in order to make social studies more interesting to students and relevant to their lives.
Moreover, technology will benefit students by preparing them for college and the workforce since many of their classes and jobs will require them to search for scholarly articles and accurate data. Technology also gives students the opportunity to network on the global scale and learn how to become more open-minded towards different ethnic and cultural groups. This will definitely give students a head-start to “interact with ideas, information, and other people for academic and civic purposes” (National Council for Social Studies, 2009).
As I learned in EME5432, technology is not only a means of communication and entertainment but a source to academics, politics, and social issues. This class has definitely persuaded me to integrate technology into my classroom therefore, my students can learn how to cross-reference sources and weed out inaccurate data.