Social Studies Software

I found a program online called Armchair Travel Co. which has a specific section called World Heritage Traveler. They had a preview of the program online where you could take a tour of the Taj Mahal. You started inside the Taj Mahal but could choose directions to walk in and had places you could click to hear more about certain things such as the artwork on the walls or the archways. In the downloaded version, they said they had text that could be integrated in for hearing impaired students. The company who made the software was based out of London so there are many places to explore within England as well such as Parliament or the Westminister Abbey. There are videos and music incorporated into the different places.

It reminded me somewhat of a game I played when I was younger, Maya Quest, which I think could also be used in a Social studies classroom. It is an interactive way for students to explore Mayam ruins and learn about their civilization through what remains. It is also a game so it would be engaging for the students.

Webquest review

The Webquest I reviewed was interesting because it was actually created for an English classroom, but it seemed to fit almost better into a Social Studies classroom. By looking at the web address http://teacherweb.com/CA/ProspectHighSchool/AllQuietontheWesternFront/index.html, one might think it is based on the book All Quiet on the Western Front. However, I saw little connection to the actual book within the Webquest. The Webquest has to do with perspective and what it would be like to be invovled in conflict. All the sites that I went to from there seemed to be historical and have little to do with the reading comprehension goal included in the SOL. From the standpoint of a Social Studies lesson, I think it would be much more valuable in the context. The most thought in design was put into the first page, while the other pages are just plain text. The introcduction was just a couple short sentences and I think could have done more to hook the students into the project. One last problem with the Webquest was that some of the links they had to other sites did not work or could not be found. There were a number of links that worked for each category so students would still be able to gather lots of information but this is a definite shortcoming.

There was a lot that I did like about the project though. I think the idea of perspective in history is an engaging and important topic. The students were to look at four different groups of people that are involved in war and then make a group powerpoint. Each person would focus on one group and write about it as if they were experiencing that perspective in the first person. With all these combined together, it would make a cool portrayal of the different perspectives. I also like that for anything that she expects of the students she has an explanation such as the power point. She has a couple links on how to use power point included as well. She also includes the rubric of what she expects for the project. I think these are all valuable things to consider in making a webquest. I also thought it was interesting, because at the bottom of some of the pages she included a "safe search" by google for the students to use. I tried searching and it come up with a number of results. I think you would still have to be careful in included this because not all of the soruces that came up were reliable such as wikipedia.

Daycare in Schools

There was an interesting article in the news in Harrisonburg about having daycare programs in schools. http://www.dnronline.com/details.php?AID=40677&CHID=36 For the last three years there have been daycare programs from teen mothers so they can continue to attend school. The debate on having a daycare was interesting to me. One side stated that in doing so the students would not know the entire consequences of having a child. The other side stated that it was more important for the students to continue to receive an education. I think there are many issues like this in education such as teaching students about birth control. In doing so, we are saying that we can get rid of some of the consequences of your actions and we support doing so. Others say this is something that students are already doing so let's help them do it safely. That is a completely different issue so I'm not going to go any farther with it.
I am torn on day cares though. I think it is important that we don't put in daycares just expecting students to have babies. I think when there is a high percentage of students who are getting pregnant then it can be looked in to simply because I believe in the importance of education. I would rather have a student that has already gotten pregnant to keep the baby and continue to be educated then getting rid of the baby or raising a child and not getting a chance for education. It seems as though it would be an opportunity in certain communities where teen pregnancy is high to break that routine by educating people. There is a correlation between education and having babies later and having fewer babies. If the community continues to have a chance for education, it could mean a break in that cycle. I think it is important to be careful where daycares are put in to schools and what options the students are given.

Assistive Technology

A common problem in high school classrooms is dyslexia. While many cases may be mild, there are also very severe cases that exist. So what can be done for the students who struggle with reading because of dyslexia? I was fascinated by this question because I have close friends who have adopted children from Russia and many of them struggled not only with learning a new language but also with dyslexia. It was especially difficult for one daughter. She said it always appeared as though the letters were jumping off the page and she could only read very very slowly. My mom and her mom researched different things to help her with this problems. I realize today that they were researching assistive technology. They tried a number of different assistive technologies but finally tried simply reading through different colored transparencies. Suddenly she could read smoothly when looking through certain colors. She started crying because she was so excited about how much easier it was to read. I later practiced reading with one of her sisters who had a milder case of dyslexia. We went through the different colored transparencies and again there were a couple colors that made it easier for her to read.

There is some research that suggests that dyslexia is a problem at the back of the eye which cannot rely visual images because of light sensitivity. However these studies remain controversial. I have seen the colored films or Irlien lenses as they are technically called to work for some students and it would be an easy option to have in a classroom. It would not be as disruptive in the classroom as tools that read text outloud to dyslexic students where they often would have to be seperated from other students. I read some teacher blogs on the idea of colored transparencies and they kept them available in their classrooms to students who wanted to use them. I think it would be interesting to have a day where all students can practice reading with different colored lenses. A student may have difficulty reading that they haven't approached anyone about.

Technology in the Classroom

AS I was thinking about technology, I tried to consider the fact that while a lot technology is banned in the classroom it is something that students have easily accessible at home. I think it would be important to teach the students how to use these things appropriately. As a history teacher, I want to teach students how to find information and how to think about it. It is unlikely that they will be able to remember specific people and events but if they know the context in which to find it and use it than I have succeeded.

I think the most common source for history facts that people look up on the go is Wikipedia. In most of your history classes they will have told you not to use Wikipedia for a research project or whatever it is that you are doing and there are good reasons for that. However they will probably continue to use it in the future anyway. I think there are good activities you can use about wikipedia in the classroom. One day you could find a wikipedia article that relates to a topic that you are discussing. Ask the students to compare the article to the information they have learned from a textbook or your lecture etc. Ask them how accurate the information was? How can you tell if the information including has been reviewed? Who is the author of the article that is written? Is that information trustworthy? You could intentionally find an article that has some mistakes and have the students figure out what the mistakes are and then as a class go on Wikipedia and edit an article. Then even as groups or individuals go and find another related topic to review and ask them if they think anything needs to be changed or addedd in that material. I think it also an opportunity to discuss how history is written. Is Wikipedia going to be what the majority considers the truth because it is what most people use and how will that relate to what other history books record as the truth? How is bias a part of history? How do we know if bias will not exist in other resources? I think that doing a study of Wikipedia can get at some fundamental questions about the study and recording of history as well as giving them some practical knowledge about how to find historical facts they think are interesting in the future.