Technology, Social Studies Education and Concept Mapping

Technology is becoming a force that must be reckoned with. Not only is it becoming increasingly more difficult to be successful without some sort of technological competence, but technology allows us to create a powerful world bigger and more meaningful than ever before.
Through technology and the use of the internet, we can help our students develop strong academic skills through engaging them in new and exciting ways that stimulates curiosity and increases motivation. If we can use the internet effectively like this, we can increase the ability of our students and their achievement in so many ways. We can approach education in a way that may further facilitate student learning and comprehension, as well as help them develop the skills needed to be good researchers, to formulate well articulated ideas, and to be good writers and speakers.
As social studies teachers, we should always strive to give the least subjective view of history; however, we all know that this is inherently impossible. Having the internet and access to people around the world through effective web skills and networking allows our students to gain access to multitudes of perspectives. This can help them get the most out of their education, and promote the development of "citizens of the world" who find value in being informed; which in turn will hopefully bring about positive change in the world.
We are far from a perfect world where technology is used to its greatest potential and increases student learning and achievement. It does, however, provide a limitless amount of opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning experience.
The biggest thing I think I learned from this class is that technology is much more than I ever thought it was, and can be an extremely powerful tool when used correctly. This doesn't mean bringing technology into the classroom because "that's just what should happen," but because it increases our access to the world and to knowledge in a way like never before. As I read in an article for one of my blogs, "Being disconnected in the Information Age is not like being deprived of a Mercedes or some other luxury. Being disconnected means being disconnected from the economy and democratic debate." Having technology in the classroom is useless if we do not use it wisely and successfully.
Furthermore, I got an understanding of the vast amount of amazing resources that are out there that can help make technology integration into the classroom a meaningful learning endeavor.
If I could make any suggestions for the course, it would be that participation in and contribution to the different internet mediums would be more strictly defined so that there is less room for subjectivity in grading. Other than that, it definitely changed my perceptions of technology in a positive way, and I do feel a lot more prepared and confident in using technology in my classroom.

response to Jeremy

I really like how you mention the fact that access is not enough, I mentioned this too. Computers aren't going to help improve our students' learning experiences unless WE are using them to their full potential as well as teaching our students how to. There are so many amazing things on the internet, but if we aren't trained and our students aren't either, then it becomes a mere luxury that has no substantive purpose.

Bridging the Digital Divide

I think the internet and the world wide web are amazing technologies that allow people to expand their knowledge and connection with the rest of the world to an unprecedented and powerful degree; that is, if it is actually used for this purpose. I believe that having computers in the classrooms is extremely necessary, and that teaching students effective and efficient use of technology and digital literacy is vital for the progress of our society. I have learned so much just from my little blackberry; I am frequently in the position where I want to know something, locate some place, etc. and all I have to do is pull out my phone and look it up. I can say that much of the stuff I look up is trivial, but I am still learning new things, (even if it is just about the birth process of baby kangaroos). My point is, the internet has inspired me and enabled me to learn about whatever I want, and this is an extremely powerful notion. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of people don't use technology to its full potential, even if they have it. From what I have read, the access to computers in the U.S. is exponentially increasing, and I believe that it won't be an issue for too much longer, but this is very contingent on continuance of government and private contributions and funding. Even with access, however, there is still the issues of what Jakob Nielson (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/digital-divide.html) describes as the usability divide and the empowerment divide. It isn't enough for people to be able to afford computers; once people gain access, they don't know how to navigate or search or utilize the technology in a way that will allow them to reach maximum potential. Additionally, many people, even with access, are at low literacy levels that make much of what is on the web incomprehensible to them. What that means is that not only do we have to strive for universal accessibility, but technology education for people of all ages should also be a goal in order to bring credence to the argument that technology and the internet are a valuable and necessary asset to society. In the edutopia source I found, Executive Director of the Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy, Mark Lloyd, comments on this point: "Being disconnected in the Information Age is not like being deprived of a Mercedes or some other luxury. Being disconnected means being disconnected from the economy and democratic debate." Lastly, Nielson's idea of an empowerment divide touches on the notion that people many times don't see the full potential and have not mastered the web in a way that motivates them to use it in better and more powerful ways. He specifically mentions things like participation inequalities- most people don't contribute to the networks they subscribe to very often; they do not know how to effectively and efficiently utilize search engines or understand the concept of "sponsored links;" and they often stick to a default page that came with their computer instead of picking one that better suits their needs. This gets back to being educated in technology. Which leads me to my next point....
What does this mean for me as a teacher? Well, all I can say to begin is that no matter what, I will have to work with what I am given. Ideally, I would love for my students to have access to technology; furthermore, I would love for them to have access to a technology class where they learn the ins and outs. This would make my life easier for several reasons. First, I would being able to use the internet fairly easily for assignments. There is so much information out there; so much one can learn about any particular topic. I don't want to be the only source of information for my students because I recognize the inability for any one person to be completely objective; I don't want my students to have only my perspective, I want them to learn to think for themselves. I believe this is my job as a teacher, and I think the internet can be an extremely helpful tool in accomplishing this task. I think it is more realistic to believe that a school will have more access to technology than individual students, and I would have no problem allotting time in class to internet research.
Having access to technology in my classroom/school will also give me the ability to give projects and assignments that allow students to research their own topics of interest that may stray slightly from the direct subject at hand but still promotes student learning and engagement. For example, I could have students in a government or U.S. history class pick a particular supreme court case that interests them that they must write about, or in a sociology class, have them research and write about a particular social issue that they find interesting (gender, crime, socioeconomic status, etc.). Furthermore, there are a lot of great interactive resources out there that can help our students get more engaged and motivated in learning content material.
If my classroom/school does not have great or sufficient access to technology, I will do what I can to changing that. From researching about the digital divide, I found that there are a lot of organizations and programs that work to alleviate this issue. One website I found, (http://www.ed.gov/Technology/tool_kit.html), gives a "toolkit" to bridging the gap that I found very useful. It talks about what teachers can do in their schools; some of the things included are gathering information about what is needed, and what is out there that can help; building a coalition of people to support the cause; setting goals to be accomplished; planning; and grant writing. From what I understand, sometimes teachers can rally up enough support to get a grant for technology in their classroom- this is what both the teachers I worked with in my practicums did.
If my students just simply don't have access to technology and the internet, I myself will still be using it as an asset in my teaching. It allows me to connect with teachers around the world, gain useful ideas for lesson planning and infinite amounts of resources to provide a thorough and meaningful learning experience for my students. I will not hesitate to provide printed copies of internet sources I have acquired for my students (copyright laws willing of course).


Resources

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-divide-where-we-are-today


http://www.useit.com/alertbox/digital-divide.html
affordability getting better, but usability and empowerment are low.

http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-858537.html

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/contents.html

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/tool_kit.html

Service Learning- Meeting the Needs of your Community

Title: Meeting the Needs of your Community
Area of service: civic responsibility
Grade level: high school
Subject area: Civics/government
Unit Description: This unit is designed to get students involved in researching and understanding public needs, specifically in their own community, and to instill in them civic responsibility by having them create their own organization that meets a particular need they identified.
The students will have already been given a lesson in digital literacy, and how to effectively research on the internet.
The students will pick their own group members to work with on this assignment. They will create a portfolio of all of the information they gather throughout the project. Their first task to do research on the following items: the public needs of their community- this means using the internet, as well as going out into the community (churches, stores, events, etc.) and asking various types of people what they believe are issues of concern in their community, what they think can be done, etc. They can do this by oral interview (with notes on every person they talk to), survey, or whatever else they deem necessary. Each student will be required to talk to at least 30 people outside of school, and will be encouraged to gather information from people of varying age, ethnicity, etc. They will also have a time frame in which this must be done.
They will reconvene in class to discuss the issues they uncovered, and will decide one issue they will focus the rest of their project on- this can be homelessness, employment, education, housing, etc.
They will then do more research on their particular issue-general information, and information on it specific to their community- news articles, websites and organizations, etc. dedicated to the issue.
Once they are well rehearsed on their issue, they will do further research on creating a non-profit organization and will create one of their own that does something to alleviate the problem- ex., starting up an organization that brings prom dresses to disadvantages young girls for free or at a discounted price; also, something like creating pamphlets to make the public aware of the issue that could realistically bring about change.
They will identify structures and responsibilities needed to successfully carry out the goals of their organization.
At the same time they will need to establish networks (and hopefully collaborations) with already existing organizations in the community that coincide (at least somewhat) with the objectives of their organization- essentially, they should strive to team up with another organization(s) in efforts to serve the public more efficiently. This will also entail that they provide at least one person and their contact information that they have spoken with- example, president/coordinator of an organization. I have no doubt that these people will be completely willing to help out; after all, that is what they do! (I might also get in contact with many of different organizations prior to assigning this project to assess their willingness to contribute and collaborate). One or 2 students in the group can be responsible for taking on this task, and part of their assignment in networking with these people is to gather information on how that particular group/org is organized and how it's goals are carried out. This will create a mentor type relationship that can help the students better establish their own organization. They will have to take notes/write a summary of their interaction with this contact that will be included in their portfolio.
They must also provide ways in which they expect to raise money for their organization.
Next, or simultaneously, they will be required to make a website for their organization. It must include a mission statement, services offered, staff, volunteer opportunities, events, donation opportunities, contact information, and personal anecdotes/accounts related to the organization and/or their goals; example of the latter would be personal quotes from the people they surveyed/interviewed, or their own personal reasons as to why they picked this particular issue. They must also, with permission, provide a link to their collaborating organization's website if possible.
Because of the general logistics and issues of money, time, etc. they will not be required to actually implement their organization, but will be required to do at least 5 community service hours at their collaborating organization. Any group that is capable of doing so, however, may earn extra credit.
Lastly, they will present their organization to the rest of the class, who will come up with and turn in a constructive critique of each group's presentation- ex. strengths and possible suggestions for improvements. This will also be part of a class discussion about the project that will take place at the closing of the unit.
This unit plan will probably take several weeks, and there will be assigned days in which students will be able to work on it in class, but will also be required, for obvious reasons, to spend time outside of class. The students will be given the directions and requirements of the assignment in its entirety at the very beginning, and may break up the work load in anyway they see fit. The teacher will give guidance and support whenever needed.
This project is designed to accomplish several objectives: to hone internet research skills; bring awareness to the students about public issues, needs, and civic responsibility; to instill in students their ability to make a difference; to further develop critical thinking, decision making and interpersonal/group collaboration/cooperation skills as well as organizational and leadership skills.
The students will be evaluated on their group portfolio that contains all the resources they used in gathering information, the surveys they conducted and/or the notes they took from interviewing people, the contacts they established, and their critiques of the other groups' presentations. Their resources will be evaluated on their reliability, and each student must include an account of the 30 people they talked to. The latter as well as the critiques will be assessed based on completion. The portfolio will also include a document containing the details of their organization, which will be evaluated in its organizational structure, accuracy of information and a realistic application of the information they researched and compiled. They will also fill out a group evaluation form of the members in their individual groups.
This project requires extensive proper use of the internet and well developed literacy in technology in order to be a meaningful and useful assignment. Also, it creates the ability for students to use technology as a way to network within their community and beyond.
I think, if done well, it could be an extremely awesome service learning project.


Standards: Civics and Government 9-12
SS.912.C.2.2: Evaluate the importance of political participation and civic participation.
SS.912.C.2.3: Experience the responsibilities of citizens at the local, state, or federal levels.
SS.912.C.2.5: Conduct a service project to further the public good.
SS.912.C.2.8: Analyze the impact of citizen participation as a means of achieving political and social change.

Standards: NETS
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship

Some resources used/considered in coming up with this lesson plan:
http://www.stfrancishousegnv.org/
http://managementhelp.org/strt_org/strt_np/strt_np.htm
http://www.texastoolbox.info/needs.htm

Teacher Leadership

From what I understand, there is a wide variety of ways in which a teacher leader can be defined; from the very formal, comprehensive and/or broad level in which they have specific titles and tasks, to the idea that each teacher should be considered a leader. Also, the way in which a teacher leader is defined by various school districts can differ greatly.

"The Way to Find a Teacher Leader-Just Ask"
What I liked about this website is that the author talks about not just "higher level" people in the education system that presume the roles and duties specific to administration, but rather promotes the idea that every teacher should be considered a leader and should constantly strive to enact the best practices and get involved in transforming the educational experience through various mechanisms.
The author lists several programs that were designed to promote teacher leadership in several different ways. For example, the Sparks program is one that recognizes qualities in a fairly new teacher that shows promise of leadership capability, and specially train these people to realize this potential.
Also, it talks about National Board certification, and how this can help teachers feel more comfortable in taking up more leadership responsibilities. They define the expectation of leadership as "judged by the quality of evidence the teacher provides of having mentored other teachers; shared new knowledge with others; participated in or led curriculum work teams, assessment committees, or site based decision making teams; engaged in professional organizations, policy making efforts, or conference presentations." Essentially, by getting involved in the process of improving education and learning in schools.


http://www.newhorizons.org/trans/raichle.htm

Evelyn Cortez-Ford archive
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/columnists/cortez-ford/index.shtml

I really liked this woman's website because not only does she do a thorough job at talking about teacher leadership, but provides several different resources that include lesson planning, professional development, technology integration, school issues, etc.
What I found most intriguing about her ideas was the fact that she mentions the hierarchical structures that are often in place in school that create a barrier to successful implementation to teacher leadership. Additionally, she talks about treating teachers professionally, having their opinions and ideas matter, as well as giving them opportunities to develop their leadership skills. Finally, I found it particularly useful when she mentions teacher leadership being a collaboration that needs to include the input of all teachers, especially so as to not reinforce a system of hierarchy.

If we were to make it mandatory for every teacher to take leadership training and to participate in some sort of leadership activity, do you think that this could create teachers who hold themselves to higher standards and thus become more effective teachers?

The Age of the Networked Student

Education, I believe, is on its way to finally changing. As we learn more and more about teaching in a way that allows students to construct their own knowledge, using the idea of the networked student I think fits perfectly into this frame; granted that it is used properly. I may not be the most technologically literate person, but I get better, and I know that my students will most likely be better off than me.
The idea that the students can use the internet to pick a topic of interest (within reason) and take it so far as to get professionals from around the world to personally contribute to their learning is so profound and makes the learning process to much more meaningful that I would sacrifice control in my class to accomplish this. I believe that when we allow our students to take an interest in something that means something to them, then they can find the value in learning so much more and on such a higher level.
The internet allows us to connect to so many people, so many different perspectives, that we are not just trying to make good American citizens, but aware citizens of the world- I cannot see an endeavor being more worth it. Whether its talking to someone in a different part of our country, or someone half way across the world, there is much to learn from connecting with these people. I can't believe how much potential there is out there!
This would not be worth it if we didn't have some sort of supervision/guidance, at least part of the time, in doing this and being taught proper digital literacy (everything we have been taught in this class). I can totally see myself participating in this kind of learning for every reason I mentioned above.
I found this website called Support Blogging! and it connects a lot of different educational blogs to each other, and I think this is really cool. Its got blogs from teachers, administrators, students, classes as a whole.. I think it is really cool that there is a website that makes networking a little easier.
http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers

Do you guys think that there are things that could happen that could hurt our students, possibly emotionally? I could see being networked with some people as potentially damaging if they dont network with people who are mature or respectful.

Service Learning Projects

(I copied from Liz J up to Allison's project)

Chance: Civil participation – movie to serve as a public service announcement over some controversial topic, create wiki and/or petition, contact government official through letter

Zahra: Voting rights – students research minorities and their progression towards voting rights, choose a topic pertaining to this (ie. Key figure in women’s suffrage) and work in small groups to create a online voting rights museum, info should include photos, primary documents, interviews with local people, Skype lessons to younger students

Michael: Oral history – interview people in retirement home, record interviews and create digital storytelling presentation, add sounds and images, upload to youtube

Adam: Voter registration – Students create resources to motivate people to vote or inform on the issues, pre-register voters, inform the school/students on issue, try to get on local news or community event with booths and information

Meg W: Human trafficking – learn about Reconstruction amendments, inform students on current human trafficking, current legislation, use any form of digital media to present research information, overall goal is to do a letter writing campaign to Congress

Jennifer: Military letter writing – Students create wiki for different military personnel, allow military to communicate in return, helps build relationship for those who don’t receive many letters

Josh: Veterans – research war, interview a veteran about war, create podcast, blog about research and experience with Veteran, share with vet, 2 or 3 more blogs, then compile all together

Jeremy: Drug war awareness – media sends mixed messages on drugs, research war on drugs and legislation and incarceration rate, create wiki, write representatives on a topic relevant to them involving the drug war

Megan G: Military contact – support a soldier, work through school and community to get donations to send to military troops, have a specific pen pal with soldiers from the community, write and film video monthly, also send care packages

Elizabeth H: Operation Christmas Child – research a variety of cultures on their ‘holiday’, help the less fortunate, volunteers at centers and interview volunteers, students then blog about research and experiences

Eric: Elderly/psyc – students visit local retirement home, have people complete questionnaire on happiness, teach residents how to use email and instant messaging in order to communicate with family, give them a questionnaire a month later, write paper discussing problems of home and the difference in their data

Mallory: Habitat for Humanity – Pair up with Habitat and determine costs in building homes, research cost effective methods of building, create wiki on information, interview families that have received homes

Louisa: Elderly – Oral history, nursing homes; interview residents about life at that age, create video podcast, compare and contrast worries, experiences, etc with their own, then have a ‘viewing party’

Mark: Active political participation – Choose local, state, or federal government official and create a short bibliographical sketch, try to contact the individual, create a wiki for each individual, interview person in the community, use knowledge gained from step 1 to lobby for the needs they discovered through their interviews, expose students to political progress

Jeff: Environment – students do thorough clean up local park, learn of human impact on environment, learn ways to help keep places clean and lessen human impact, blog each day with pictures, create video on environmental cleanliness

Katy: Civic responsibility – students look how historical events affect people’s lives personally, reflect on one historical event that has occurred during their life, interview residents at a nursing home on an even that occurred during their life, create a video that compares the events and each person’s personal experience

Megan P: Media and voting – research voter trends and elections, visit retirement home, interview residents about past experiences with elections and voting and media, create podcasts, show residents final product, write thank you letter to the residents about the things they’ve learned

Brittany: increasing voter turnout – lecture of voter trends (young people), generate survey with self-created questions, each student sends a certain number of questionnaires out, present data to class and how they reacted to the information, will raise awareness of election issues

Nicole: Voting – students learn about voting and campaigning, during election students create own campaign, use google motion to look at past trends, use wiki blog or podcast to present information and reach a certain demographic

Angie: Individual Rights – analyzing (Declaration of Independence, Supreme Court cases, Bill of Rights, etc.) primary documents and current events, students select a topic pertaining to individual rights, research topic past and present, put info into class wiki, organize a “get it right” fair, during school day and outside for community, students create a presentation

Trisha: Pen pal – at-risk students have pen pals with students in Japan, compare related topics being taught (War war II), contact through letters, emails, video podcasts, create a showcase for the school, also create a wiki for all the content

Allison:

Perceptions of muslim-americans after 9/11

NYtimes- A Day of Terror and other articles

tradebook- ask me no questions- experience of a 14 yr old girl

US Patriot Act

project- create a class questionnaire and interview people in their community- their relationships/perceptions with muslim americans, their knowledge and opinions of the Patriot Act, and reactions to 9/11.

Students create wikis about the Patriot Act incorporating primary resources that are their interviews.

Carrie W:

"Your community through the ages"

unit on the Cold War- students pick someone who lived through this time, or a mural or landmark that was erected during this time and do research on it

They create an article based on the info they gathered

A wiki is created with all of their work.

Invite other classes and community to add to the wiki

Working with local newspaper so that articles can be published to bring awareness to the community.

Griselda:

Students study history/geography of Haiti and network with a school from Haiti

They will discuss issues on tuition, transportation, etc. to diminish stereotypes they may have.

there will be a class website that tells what they have learned

podcast that tells community and school what they have learned.

They will collect funds, etc. to help students in Haiti.