Unit Plan Canvas

     It was not easy creating my canvas for the unit of the Changing Ideologies of Race, Culture, and Demographics. I thought it was important to create a unit dedicated to these kinds of topics because they can be overlooked when an overwhelming amount of historical information is incorporated into the lessons. This unit will allow students to define race, culture, and demographics, know the differences between each, and how they have been changing society throughout history. The video on my canvas, "Lakewood is Changing," is from the lesson plan that I used in Interactivity #3 and is what helped me create this unit. As a summative assessment for the end of this lesson plan, I would have my students create a video about their community and how the demographics and attitudes towards different races and cultures are changing. By doing a video like this, students can take what they learn from the unit and use it to address their own community so it becomes more relatable.    
     In my canvas I included images that would show the different aspects of race and culture and that would be powerful for someone to view. A couple of images showed the differences in race, the other showed many people representing different cultures around the world, and the final two showed different ways to graph demographics. Along with the images, extra sources were included that discussed the definitions of the key terms of the unit and examples of discrimination. I feel this will be a successful unit for a social studies class since it can teach students about important historical characters and events, while also teaching them the true meanings behind race, culture, and demographics and how they influence society.  
http://www.play.annenberginnovationlab.org/play2.0/challenge.php?idChallenge=2216&mode=view

Prezi over Powerpoint in the Social Studies Classroom

     The power point presentation has been very important to social studies teachers over the more recent years since it has been the best way to present historical information. This factual information must be organized and clear so students can understand it and write it down successfully. I do agree that power points are important for social studies teachers to use because students are used to seeing this kind of format and it has been the only thing recently that has been sufficient enough to present the information. I just recently have learned about Prezi, which is a new type of presentation format that seems to be more engaging than the power point presentation. Even though power point presentations have accomplished the task of presenting the information, it has lacked the aspects that engage students so they remember the information they are being presented. Social studies classes need to be more engaging and creative and I think Prezi can help accomplish these goals.
    When I was looking at the Prezi website to start my own account and to learn more about the software, a quote by Rob Campbell, who is the founder of power point, is displayed. This quote states, “Prezi has a marvelous approach to the visualization of information–the freshest I’ve seen since the 1980s.” I thought it was interesting and compelling for Prezi to use a quote from the power point founder to show how effective this software can be. Prezi allows the user to use 3D in the presentation, to use the presentation anywhere online, use 3D templates, store the presentation on or offline, insert videos from the web, and most importantly, sync the presentation with the iPhone or iPad. I thought it was most important that this presentation can sync with things like the iPhone or iPad because it can be easily accessed. Technical difficulties can occur at any time so by having Prezi available on something like a cell phone and being able to rely on it almost all the time is a beneficial aspect to have.
      Overall, I like both power point and Prezi but I feel that Prezi may be the new way for teachers to present their information. For social studies especially, we are trying to find new ways to get our students to love the subject and engage in classroom activity.  I think that Prezi is the next step in presentations for both teachers and students in not only the social studies classroom, but all other subjects as well.

Technology and Pedagogy

Spreadsheet:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av5-K1lPKZSWdDhiaklyS3lRR3Rzc2lFdlVYc3VIN1E&usp=sharing

       The lesson plan called Documenting Communities through Interviews and Film is very unique since it requires students to use skills to socialize with the people in their community. This is not a typical lesson plan where students sit down in front of a bunch of notes and listen to a lecture, which is why I liked this plan so much. I thought it was a really great way for students to learn about their community and how it has been changing, whether that change be good or bad. With the skills they learn in the social studies class, like research, discussion, surveying, and reflection, the students will have a great opportunity to create a video that shows the use of all of those skills. Also, students will learn how the demographics and attitudes of the people in their own community have changed throughout history and why these changes may have occurred.
       The only gap that may occur with this lesson plan is that students might not focus on the social studies ideas of the lesson plan like civil and social justice issues in the community and focus primarily on just creating a good video. Even though they will really be involved with technology, the actual content may be less focused on due to the freedom of creativity. Other then that gap, I feel that if this lesson plan is accomplished correctly, the strategies, standards, and technology will all flow very well. The teachers using this plan will be able to see how the students are using their interview and discussion skills, while also being able to create useful questions that address the content. Also, by being able to record themselves, they can look back and reflect on what they did and other students can comment on their approaches which will hopefully develop into a discussion on the information. The standards that students should meet by the end of 12th grade involve many things about reflecting and understanding human rights, culture, and people and how historical events shaped these things. I feel that if students address their community issues or changes, students can make a connection to their own community and see how history has affected something so relatable to them.

Blogging in the social studies classroom

       I found a really interesting website that discusses different types of ways to use technology in a social studies classroom. The first part of the article really grabbed my attention because it dealt with blogging, like we are doing in this class. The teacher allowed the students to use "coveritlive," which is a blogging tool. This blogging tool is used in correlation with the textbook to liven up the lesson and get the students more involved. A teacher explained in the article that students are allowed to blog through this "coveritlive" program while the lesson plan is occurring, so they can discuss what the teacher is presenting. Like most people, when I read the beginning of this article I was thinking that the students would be talking about other unrelated topics through the blog and would not pay attention. Fortunately, that would not be a problem since the blogging is monitored by another teacher.
       The "coveritlive" program does not allow students to discuss anything but the lesson plan and what is being said in the social studies class at that moment. Students have to submit these comments they leave on the blog to another teacher monitoring the program and that teacher has to approve the comments. This allows the students to stay on task and talk about appropriate things in reference to social studies or specifically the lesson. The entire class is not involved daily, a few students would rotate with the laptops. The article explains that "coveritlive" acts as almost a chat room for the students since the comments are posted right away. Since it is like a chat room, students can engage in the material quickly and more often since the everything is posted instantly. I really love this idea of blogging and the interaction students will have with each other in the classroom.
        I would love to use something like this in the classroom for my students. Rather than students just sitting there being lectured to, students will have opportunities to interact with each other and with the social studies material. I think that it is important for students to not only use new forms of technology to enhance their educational experience, but also to use it during a lesson so they can express there ideas, questions, and opinions while it is happening. I also like the idea that only a few students use the "coveritlive" program at a time and it rotates. I feel that this will inspire students to want to use it and develop a curiosity about what the technology is all about and what other students are saying in the blog. Also, if these comments could be saved, a whole timeline of comments can show the students by the end of the year what they were learning and how they were learning the information. These ideas and questions can even be used as a study guide for students when a test or quiz is coming. Some other technologies were mentioned in the article as well but I feel that this blogging tool would be the most useful for interaction of students.

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-social-studies-lessons

The Smart Board

         Technology has really helped expand opportunities for students regarding the content area of social studies. The use of smart boards has enhanced the classroom experience. Picture, videos, and power points are important for a social studies class because visuals enhance the learning experience. The power point may contain notes for the students, and the pictures and videos help the student see the perspective of that time period. A smart board allows the teacher to show all of these things together. Since the smart board is linked directly to the computer, there are so many more opportunities for the teacher to show visuals. By having access to the internet a teacher can show their students the process of accessing websites or getting to primary sources that may be important in history. Also, showing historical pictures will help students visualize history rather than just take notes and read textbooks. The smart board inspires discussion and class activity, which is promising for a social studies classroom because many students see it as a boring subject without much creativity involved. Interaction between classmates, teacher, and the use of the smart board will take the traditional note-taking, text reading social studies class to an interactive class.
          Another aspect of a social studies class besides history is geography. With the smart board, looking at maps and investigating areas will become a better experience and help the teacher greatly. The internet allows the teacher to have access to tons and tons of maps. With the features of the smart board, the teacher can interact and manipulate the maps to show students different aspects of the areas. Bringing up the website Google maps on the smart board is an example of how easily many maps can be accessed and shown to the students. Like the history content, students can find this boring by just looking at maps in the textbook or reading about areas. With the smart board, students can get a better visual of maps and landscapes and interact with the maps. The smart board has become a very useful tool for social studies teachers and is helping them make history interesting and relevant to students. The smart board is turning the social studies classroom into an interactive classroom instead of just a note taking and reading class.

History of Technology in Social Studies

The overhead projector: changing the view for students in social studies.

http://photovalet.com/76656