As the course as gone on, I have began to explore a variety of tools and tried to use some of these tools every now and then in my classes. One tool that I have become acquainted with is the website making tool Weebly. When I first became interested in having my students build websites, I tried to use Google Sites in order to accomplish this. However, I soon found out that the school that I'm working at blocks Google access for my students. This made it nearly impossible for my students to create websites on Google unless they did it all at home - and this created other issues of whether the students had internet access or not.
I then browsed through the Weebly site to figure out if it was something my students would be able to use. After several hours on the site, I found that it is a very useful tool for students and myself. I like Weebly because it is tremendously easy for the students to use. They can easily add descriptions, headings, and pictures to there sites. It also has tools that allow students to embed YouTube videos as well as Google maps and a variety of other multimedia resources. Students can also easily change the format of their sites as well as add a variety of pages in different formats.
The one major issue that I have run into while using Weebly is one that is common among "free" services. I have found that Weebly limits the number of pages that a student may create and publish. Now there are obviously ways that students and myself can get around this dilemma, however, it makes it more difficult and inconvenient when working on some projects. I have yet to find another site to replace Weebly for free website hosting. It will have to do for now...
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Basic Project Sketch
As we begin to get closer and closer to finalizing our projects, it would probably be a good time for my to start getting some specific ideas down so I can begin whittling away some of the garbage in order to get a solid idea of where i want to go. The basis for my project looks like this:
Driving question: How did westward expansion of the United States affect those areas that were being settled and what challenges/benefits did settlers experience as they traveled to west? Who were important figures that were involved in settling western regions?
Content standards:
8.2. Evaluate continuity and change over the course of Unites States history, by analyzing key people and constitutional convention, age of Jefferson, industrial revolution, westward expansion, Civil War.
8.3. Examine social, political and economic factors that caused westward expansion from American Revolution through reconstruction.
8.6. Use and interpret documents and other relevant primary and secondary sources pertaining to U.S. History from multiple perspectives.
8.10. Interpret maps to identify growth and development of the United States.
NETS Standards:
1a. Students apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, and processes.
1b. Students create original works as a means of individual and group expression.
2a. Students interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
2d. Students contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
3b. Students locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
4b. Students plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
5b. Students exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
6d. Students transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
Student Knowledge and Skills:
Students will be able to...
… explain which areas of the United States were settled during westward expansion and by which groups.
… compare reasons for moving west by various groups.
… analyze the impacts of westward expansion on groups migrating to and existing groups in a particular area.
… decide whether the risks and rewards of the trip made the journey worth the risk of traveling and settling the given territory.
Elements of Project-Based Learning:
Students work collaboratively with other students and teachers.
Builds on prior knowledge and creates new knowledge via problem solving.
Fosters persistence, adaptability and mindful inquiry to bring about a more sophisticated understanding.
Student centered - student focused.
Enriched by technology.
Driving question: How did westward expansion of the United States affect those areas that were being settled and what challenges/benefits did settlers experience as they traveled to west? Who were important figures that were involved in settling western regions?
Content standards:
8.2. Evaluate continuity and change over the course of Unites States history, by analyzing key people and constitutional convention, age of Jefferson, industrial revolution, westward expansion, Civil War.
8.3. Examine social, political and economic factors that caused westward expansion from American Revolution through reconstruction.
8.6. Use and interpret documents and other relevant primary and secondary sources pertaining to U.S. History from multiple perspectives.
8.10. Interpret maps to identify growth and development of the United States.
NETS Standards:
1a. Students apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, and processes.
1b. Students create original works as a means of individual and group expression.
2a. Students interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
2d. Students contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
3b. Students locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
4b. Students plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
5b. Students exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
6d. Students transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
Student Knowledge and Skills:
Students will be able to...
… explain which areas of the United States were settled during westward expansion and by which groups.
… compare reasons for moving west by various groups.
… analyze the impacts of westward expansion on groups migrating to and existing groups in a particular area.
… decide whether the risks and rewards of the trip made the journey worth the risk of traveling and settling the given territory.
Elements of Project-Based Learning:
Students work collaboratively with other students and teachers.
Builds on prior knowledge and creates new knowledge via problem solving.
Fosters persistence, adaptability and mindful inquiry to bring about a more sophisticated understanding.
Student centered - student focused.
Enriched by technology.
. . .
This is just a rough sketch of the project but it will give me (and you) a better idea of where I am headed.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Troubles with Technology
During my last blog post I mentioned that I would like to get into Google a little deeper and explore all of the possibilities it had to offer for me and my students when thinking about project ideas. While I was doing research into the technology, I discovered a variety of tools that would be helpful in doing projects with my social studies students. The Google documents feature would allow students to work on material in class and at home and help to prevent issues of students forgetting homework at home or school and not being able to work on it because they do not have it. The Google sites resource is a valuable tool and would allow students to work on websites at school or at home and is an easy-to-use source for website building. Also, Google provides easy access to video that can be implemented into work, Google Maps is a useful resource for making and implanting maps into documents, and blogger allows students to add blogs into their work.
However, as I have begin trying to implement some of Google's technology into my classroom, I have hit a roadblock. At the school where I teach, Google account access is blocked to students to avoid issues with e-mail and chatrooms. So when I began to try to use some of this technology in my classroom I found that students were not able to get into the Google applications. I read of these technologies being used in other schools and classrooms and wonder what the difference is between those schools and mine. Do other schools not have issues with students using technology inappropriately? Are their ways to prevent student abuse that my school doesn't know about?
Whatever the case may be, this denial of access to these resources has made it more difficult for me to use technology in my classroom...
However, as I have begin trying to implement some of Google's technology into my classroom, I have hit a roadblock. At the school where I teach, Google account access is blocked to students to avoid issues with e-mail and chatrooms. So when I began to try to use some of this technology in my classroom I found that students were not able to get into the Google applications. I read of these technologies being used in other schools and classrooms and wonder what the difference is between those schools and mine. Do other schools not have issues with students using technology inappropriately? Are their ways to prevent student abuse that my school doesn't know about?
Whatever the case may be, this denial of access to these resources has made it more difficult for me to use technology in my classroom...
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Exploring New Technology
There are a couple pieces of technology that have really struck my interest since we have been exploring technologies to use over the last few weeks. The first thing that intrigues me are wikis. I understand the value of using wikis in class but in a school that has very limited computer access for students I wonder how I might incorporate one into my classes. I think having students discuss projects or answers over the internet throughout the course of the assignment is valuable. I just need to come up with some ways to use them in my class.
The other technology that has really caught my attention, particularly lately, is Google. I honestly did not understand that there were so many uses of the Google website other than searching. I had always used Google as a search engine or for maps and that's about it. I would like to incorporate some of the tools Google offers, such as documents, presentations, websites, etc. in some of my projects in the future.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Getting Started on the Project
The entry below will cover the questions on page 57 in our text.
1. Important/Enduring concepts in US History: As people began immigrating to the United States, they eventually sought independence and eventually earned it through the American Revolution; As Americans began expanding west, they encountered problems and conflict with people already living in newly settled areas; several factors resulted in the Civil War and the United States was drastically changed as a result of this war.
2. Why do these concepts matter: By studying these events and their outcomes, students will have a better understanding of how our society and culture have been shaped.
3. Who cares about these topics?: Obviously, historians care about these events and the ways that they have impacted our history. Native Americans, who were directly affected by westward expansion, care. Also, people in areas that were acquired by westward expansion should also have some interest in the events. Also, people who enjoy the outdoors may be interested in the expansion as these areas were explored by Lewis and Clark, among others, after the acquisition of territory. As far as the Civil War is concerned, African Americans and southerners were greatly effected by the events.
4. Interdisciplinary application: Focusing on the westward expansion concept, many other disciplines could apply. Language arts would apply in reading/writing diary entries of those exploring along the trails. Geography (another branch of social studies) would apply in the maps and other tools used in navigating across such terrain and distance. Art may be applied in the pictorial documentation of certain animals and environments along the way.
5. How might higher-order learning be incorporated?: Students may analyze the routes explores took and evaluate whether these routes may be the most efficient routes that could have been taken. Students might also create their own route and evaluate the benefits and downfalls of this route.
6. 21st century skills involved: Students will be involved in collaboration with the peers within their groups. Students will use digital tools such as powerpoint presentations, online primary source libraries, and other possible tools to enhance their projects such as blogs or wikis.
7. Details that will interest students: I think students will be interested in observing the routes of explorers and, probably more so, coming up with their own route and seeing the benefits of that route in comparison to the older route. I think they will also be interested in the events that happened along the way during these explorations.
8. Learning dispositions cultivated: I want students to pay attention to the possible reasons why the United States expanded to certain areas as well as why explorers decided to take certain routes. Also, I would like student to focus on how their routes might be different from early routes taken and why the routes early explorers took were necessary. Students should also take interest in learning the specific details of the explorations that took place by studying primary source documents.
If any of the above solutions does not make sense, or you have ideas about how to make the project more interesting/effective, please chime in!
Sean
1. Important/Enduring concepts in US History: As people began immigrating to the United States, they eventually sought independence and eventually earned it through the American Revolution; As Americans began expanding west, they encountered problems and conflict with people already living in newly settled areas; several factors resulted in the Civil War and the United States was drastically changed as a result of this war.
2. Why do these concepts matter: By studying these events and their outcomes, students will have a better understanding of how our society and culture have been shaped.
3. Who cares about these topics?: Obviously, historians care about these events and the ways that they have impacted our history. Native Americans, who were directly affected by westward expansion, care. Also, people in areas that were acquired by westward expansion should also have some interest in the events. Also, people who enjoy the outdoors may be interested in the expansion as these areas were explored by Lewis and Clark, among others, after the acquisition of territory. As far as the Civil War is concerned, African Americans and southerners were greatly effected by the events.
4. Interdisciplinary application: Focusing on the westward expansion concept, many other disciplines could apply. Language arts would apply in reading/writing diary entries of those exploring along the trails. Geography (another branch of social studies) would apply in the maps and other tools used in navigating across such terrain and distance. Art may be applied in the pictorial documentation of certain animals and environments along the way.
5. How might higher-order learning be incorporated?: Students may analyze the routes explores took and evaluate whether these routes may be the most efficient routes that could have been taken. Students might also create their own route and evaluate the benefits and downfalls of this route.
6. 21st century skills involved: Students will be involved in collaboration with the peers within their groups. Students will use digital tools such as powerpoint presentations, online primary source libraries, and other possible tools to enhance their projects such as blogs or wikis.
7. Details that will interest students: I think students will be interested in observing the routes of explorers and, probably more so, coming up with their own route and seeing the benefits of that route in comparison to the older route. I think they will also be interested in the events that happened along the way during these explorations.
8. Learning dispositions cultivated: I want students to pay attention to the possible reasons why the United States expanded to certain areas as well as why explorers decided to take certain routes. Also, I would like student to focus on how their routes might be different from early routes taken and why the routes early explorers took were necessary. Students should also take interest in learning the specific details of the explorations that took place by studying primary source documents.
If any of the above solutions does not make sense, or you have ideas about how to make the project more interesting/effective, please chime in!
Sean
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