Friday, November 28, 2008
First of all,Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!! Thanks for those last comments about the relevancy of history. I think that what we all landed on was that the presentation of what we want students to learn is really the key. Whether it is math,history,english,etc. if it doesn't "make sense" then we loose the battle right away. The other part of the experience is to use something that brings the students world into play. I have really been encouraged by exploring the different forms of information transfer that we have studied in tech class this quarter. Looking at Kurt's Google map,for instance, made it very clear about his personal knowledge of what he could teach someone about Iraq and the "history" of that time. I believe that what we have learned is one of the most powerful things that has been taught to me in many years.
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7 comments:
Hi HJ,
I'm with you on the power of technology to improve information transfer. I love how these technologies underscore the fact that knowledge creation is a collaborative and constantly evolving process. I also am into the way these technologies can work for students with different learning styles. Wikis are great for the reading/writing types, Google Maps for visual learners, and Voice Threads for auditory types.
One of the other things I really like about a tool like Google Maps (especially for mapping one's neighborhood) is that it provides an opportunity for students to build new knowledge upon existing community knowledge (I'm borrowing the term from Eric Gutstein who writes about math education). Acknowleding the fund of community knowledge that each student brings with them to school can level the playing field somewhat.
Ava
I agree that google maps is a great tool that gives students a sense of context. I personally will not be doing a google map for a project, but I could see how it would be applicable to language arts. Since so many authors worked in circles, a google map would be useful in showing where writers were born, where they met other writers who influenced them, and where they were when they wrote certain things. I am looking forward to using it in the classroom.
It is amazing the flexibility that technology gives us as teachers today. Google maps is a great way to connect students to lessons taught. People always feel like they know something or someone better when they know the origins or have a location that they can connect with.
The other technological tools are great as well. Blogs are an incredible way to share your thoughts with others in your field. I feel like I can have such rich discussions on topics of education that I never even thought about.
I am in total agreement on the power of technology to ease/encourage the transfer of information. In our adolescent development class we have been talking about how everyone brings something unique to the class. By having all of the students put 4 or 5 places they have been into the google map they would probably see their collective footprint on the world is much larger than they might have thought. Do you think this would be a good way to get the students to open their minds about how interconnected the world is now? How something that may happen elsewhere can impact them indirectly.
I am clearly biased on this point, but I think there are numerous uses for Google maps for a teacher. You can use it to show where a story took place (with pictures added to the various locations) or to show places you have been. You can use it to explain the movement of a people (the Cherokee Trail of Tears, for example) or the extent of a kingdom (the extent of the Islamic world over time, the extent of the Roman Empire, or the British empire). I think that many of these technologies are only limited by the imaginations of the users themselves. Which should include students. They may find a use for a technology that you would never have thought of.
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