Using the Internet to Understand the Civil War: Final Project

                For this project I chose a lesson that was on the Civil War and integrated technology in many ways. The objective of this lesson is to increase student understanding of the views and motives of the two opposing sides (North and South) during the Civil War in America through creation of a Wiki. Students are going to be able to understand a point in history while learning how to make a Wiki and other activities.

                For the first part of the lesson, I used a cross curricular standard from English/History that has to do with primary sources and understanding their main idea. Students will first respond to an activity on the Smart Board. I will have numbered pictures all of people/images from the Civil War. Students will independently jot down ideas that come to mind for each picture. Students will then read primary or secondary sources and write down the main ideas from each. Technologies I will use are basic, a printer and a Smart Board. The NETS-S standard for this is: understanding and using technology systems. I am using the technology just as a quick tool to jump from the Smart Board to a printed activity. This is basically the warm up activity.

                For the second part of the lesson, I used a Social Studies Common Core Standard of analyzing the different factors from the North and South that led to the Civil War. I will show a historical video capturing battles of the Civil War.  After that students will be given a guided outline and documents of the Civil War (i.e. court cases, diaries) and will read their document and fill out the outline. Then they will pair up and share their responses with a partner. The NETS-S standard I used has to do with using technology that supports collaboration, learning and productivity. The Video is helping with learning and the documents I have printed create an environment that fosters group work. The Think-Pair-Share activity will be my first assessment of the students and can be formative, to see how students are doing with the topic. I will show the video on the Smart Board. The outline can be created by me on the computer and there are many databases online that I can use to find documents for my students.

                For the third part of the lesson, I used a Social Studies Common Core Standard that deals with comparing and contrasting roles of African Americans who lived in Union and confederate States during the Civil War. Students will receive a list of sources by me that will have diaries and other sources for them to see how life was for African Americans in the North and South during the Civil War. They will fill out a Web comparing the two experiences. Then we will make a big web on the Smart Board. Students will then blog with the I-PADS, they will each create a diary entry as if they are either an African American in the Confederate or Union. The NETS-T standard is to use curriculum simulations while fostering critical thinking which will be done through primary sources and creating a blog.

For the fourth part of the lesson, I used a Social Studies Common Core Standard of using maps and primary sources to assess the outcome and strategies of the Civil War. As a group we will look at PowerPoint slides of pictures of people, maps, land battles, etc. As a group we will discuss each picture and how it affected the Civil War. The NET-S standards I believe are fulfilled in this are critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. As a whole we will discuss pieces of the Civil War. I will help the discussion while having students bring up important points that each slide invokes.

For the final part of the lesson, I chose a Cross Curricular Standard from English/History that has to do with using multiple sources and information from different media to address a question. This ties together the lesson, each part we have looked at different sources and students have interpreted them. From each of these and more that they will research they will create a Wiki page that describes the Civil War (perspectives, people, battles, key terms, etc.) They will do research individually and they will create a Wiki Page. They will also present their Wiki Page to the class. I will assess them on their historical wiki page and their presentation. They will use the internet and present them on a Smart Board. The NETS-S standard I chose has to mostly do with research and creativity. This assessment ties all the lessons we have done together.

In the end, students use technology to be creative while learning about the Civil War. My spreadsheet really helps me understand how to use technology and relate it to student learning. 

Civil War Spreadsheet

Another Interview on Technology!

I felt I learned a lot about technology in the classroom from interviewing a Social Studies teacher for Interactivity 5 so I decided to interview another teacher about their views on technology and how essential they feel it is. I interviewed is an English teacher who has been teaching for eight years. I emailed her with three questions and here is what she said:

What technological devices do you have in your classroom?

I have access to/use a computer, a projector, an iPod, iPads (sometimes).  

What do you think the positives/negatives are of using technology in your everyday lesson?

I think it is amazing to have resources at my fingertips, like being able to pull up a YouTube clip, or a song in only a few seconds.  On the other hand, I think that depending on technology is negative, because you never know when technology is going to encounter a glitch!  You should definitely use it, effectively, but not rely on it solely.

How many times a week would you say you use technology in your class?

It depends on what you would deem technology.  Probably 1-2/week?

She has access to great technological devices and feels they are important. She also added that there was one time when her projector was not working and her lesson was heavily dependent on the projector that day. She said that was the last time she did not have a backup. On the other hand, she said using YouTube really gets her students more involved than just reading all class. She said that she has been using technology since she started teaching, but understands why teachers who have not always used it don’t rely on it. I think technology can be complicated and as I have said before teachers should attend seminars to really learn how to utilize technology in the classroom. 

Interactivity 5: Leaning about the NETS

Link to my Spreadsheet! 

        I was able to interview with a 10^th grade U.S. History teacher at the Hanover Park Regional School District in New Jersey.  I first made myself familiar with the NETS-T standards and realized how easily they can fit into lesson plans. They discuss a lot about creativity and I think that is really important especially with students who may not be interested in history. The U.S. History teacher I interviewed was not familiar with NETS-T.  She explained that NETS was not being implemented in her school as far as she knew. After reading through the standards, she felt their school was hitting some of the criteria, but not all. She thought a lot of the standards for grades 9-12 were things that she has done in her class. For example, the online art gallery one was something she had done. She had students create web pages of historical figures. They learned about someone specific while learning how to create web pages. She said their school recently received some sets of IPADS which has been helping her, and other teachers, integrate technology more often. She was not sure if New Jersey was implementing NETS for students. Personally, she felt her school is trying to implement technology as best they can. Many classrooms are equipped with smart boards, and many teachers are encouraged to use their two computer labs and they have over forty computers in their library. She said that at least once a marking period her students do a project that involves work on a computer. On a daily basis, she utilizes her smart board to make learning more interactive. Even though she did not know what NETS-T was she was still discussing many of the things that NETS want to integrate. Using technology to improve critical thinking and make students more comfortable with technology. At their school, they have web design and visual arts classes that she felt aligned with the NETS standards. The school also has the basic computer classes as well. She feels there are many opportunities for the school to hit these standards. Something I was surprised with is how she said that many teachers were not using technology because they were not comfortable with it. Students are the ones who suffer when a teacher never uses technology in the classroom. There are so many ways to implement technology in every subject as we have learned in class. She felt that her power points that she does each day could be improved to align with NETS. Overall, although she was not familiar with NETS she believes that they are important. As a future educator, I have learned so much about technology and how students can really benefit from using it in the classroom. NETS can be aligned with history curriculum easily and by creating projects for students that allow them to use internet, create web pages, or even presentations can prepare them for their future as well as make history fun.

Making Apps Useful

With so many apps for smartphones, why not use them to enhance learning? I have recently seen so many Social Studies/History applications that I can use as a teacher. I know many high schools have been receiving Ipads and tablets that they are able to use in the classroom. Apps like MYCONGRESS, which is basically a Twitter type application that keeps you up to date on issues happening in the United States can be a way for students to keep up with current events. Sometimes you have to make learning history fun especially for students who don’t have a passion for it. Another app I came across was one about the Constitution and the Federalist Papers which makes learning more interactive. Technology can really help teachers make learning fun. There are interactive learning games as well like Stack the States which could help students learning states and capitals.

Games and apps like these can reinforce learning and be study tools for students. When I was studying for my Praxis I used Quizlet study cards constantly. They were a great online tool that helped me and teachers can use them for their students as well. I think all of these study tools and even games can help students study with less stress and having fun.

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The Wonderful World of Assistive Technology

          There are clearly many uses for technology. For many teens, it’s communication with friends and being on the internet. For some people, it can help them do many things that they normally would not be able to do because of a disability. Assistive technology is really helping students with disabilities keep up in the classroom. I have recently encountered a young boy who is autistic. He is nonverbal and has a difficult time expresses his needs. Recently, his school has been training him with a switch board communicator. With this, he can click buttons to express needs he has. He was taught which button goes to what and he can things like good morning or I’m hungry. IDEA defines assistive technology as a device that can improve the functionality of a student with a disability. Assistive technology can be small things like large print books for students who have vision impairments to a computer with a speech output. It is amazing the things technology can give to students who have impairments. For children with communication skills they have text-to-voice software, which I thought was really cool. People that have difficulty with hearing have hearing aids and teachers can use microphones to make certain they can hear what is going on in class. Technology can not only be used in the lesson to enhance students’ experiences, but it can also be used to enhance the learning of a student with a disability.

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Cyberbullying in the High Tech Classroom

        Today, as we know, children are more tech-savy than they have ever been. Many classrooms are equipped with technologies like IPads or tablets and students are most likely carrying a cellphone. Although there are many positives that come with technology in the classroom, cyberbullying is something that has become a big issue. As teenagers are becoming more equipped with social medias and how to use the internet, there are more chances for students to use them for harassment. There are very serious consequences on the children that are being bullied through the internet. "More than 1 in 3 adolescents say they have been threatened or bullied online. Over 80 percent of teens have used their cellphone as a bullying tool."[1] They become depressed and there have been many cases of suicide from students who can no longer stand the harassment. Obviously, using technology in the classroom is not to blame, but the inability of professionals to handle cyberbullying correctly is. As educators we have to watch for certain things when it comes to bullying on the internet. We have to make sure that when we use technology in our classroom ALL kids are using it appropriately. We cannot control the home environment, but the classroom environment is something we have to watch. I read research that many tech companies are trying to find more and more ways to stop cyberbullying through a technological program. Everything is so public on the internet it is a surprise that cyber bullies go unnoticed. Using a cell phone is a private way, but in the end those messages can be found. There is a lot that needs to be done to stop this problem; the classroom environment is something we as teachers can police. Cyberbullying often starts in the classroom and continues outside of school. Teachers need to be equipped with technology as much as the students are so they can to the best of their ability keep students safe!

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[1] http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html

Interactivity 4: The Pedagogical Uses of Technology

        I was intrigued by this lesson because I really enjoy American History. I also thought the debate that the teacher came up with is something that I would want to do in my class. I love interactive activities where students are in groups; I think collaborative learning is extremely effective. The teacher has them do something meaningful with what they are learning instead of just lecturing about the Boston Massacre.  I think the teacher should have used more of the CCCS for NJ because they are content specific. They used NCCSS and cover Time, Continuity, Change and Power, Authority, Governance. The Boston Massacre happened at a time of change in government when the colonists were trying to free themselves from British control. This lesson plan has to do with the new government and the founding of the American Government (change and power). The teacher does a great job of that by having the students view a video of the time period and then researching the history of this Massacre.  I think the teacher integrated as much technology in the lesson as she could. I think that in Social Studies Classrooms the internet is one of the greatest tools. Students can research any part of history and learn a lot about it. The teacher’s goal is from them to research the different perspectives of the event; the students do that by using the websites she gives. I think the video helps keep students’ engaged as well as give them the background information they need to understand the task at hand.

Spreadsheet url:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArdmhY2-JnRedDd3dkFlbjNQLVJ3d05CYnRKc1ZvdlE&usp=sharing