Google Books for the History Classroom

      I think that a textbook is necessary for students to have in a Social Studies class. The textbook can give the students the big picture of historical events, important terms and definitions, and simple language that may be easier for some students to understand. If an entire middle school or high school class was taught through primary sources, the language and content may become confusing. Having a textbook as a reference is important for students that are in those kind of grade levels. This does not mean the teacher should make the textbook the only kind of reading that the students do. In a history class, it is important to get students to think critically about the content and by only reading the textbook this becomes impossible. This is why I think Google Books would be a useful tool in the Social Studies classroom because of the easy access to a variety of books for students.Students can simply type into the search box any topic that they are interested in or may be researching and many different types of books come up. For example I typed in "The Great Depression" and tons of books became available. Everything from books of essays to books of interviews with people from the Great Depression came up. This would give a student a ton of information on different perspectives of this event. Thousands of books and documents have been scanned on to Google Books for the public to view and students could access them very easily and get important information.
      I think the most important aspect of having a technology like Google Books is the variety of books that are offered and can help my students learn the information through different sorts of texts. Even though the textbook is important, reading a biography or first hand account of a war can open up a students mind to the perspectives of that time period. I also think that for research this gives students so many more opportunities to find interesting and useful information. If I were to assign a research paper or project, I would suggest for my students to use Google Books to find different kinds of sources that may not have been available in the library or on a website. Google Books is a very useful technological tool that can be easily integrated into the social studies classroom since research is such a main part of studying history.

XTimeline

     I  recently came across a website called "Xtimeline" that I think can be a really useful technological tool for Social Studies students. This website allows users to create multimedia timelines that can include text, images, and videos. With all of these aspects, students can create there own historical timeline rather than just reading them in the textbook. Not only will this allow students to be more interactive with the information but they can also become more creative when presenting there timeline. In the Social Studies class creativity is never a main priority for teachers, and that can sometimes affect how the students learn the information. Boring, factual information can be transformed into interesting and interactive information with "XTimeline" and the things it offers.
     Students will have the opportunity to learn the information the way they feel most comfortable. If a student learns better visually then they will have a chance to use images to remember people, places, and dates.  The website that presents "XTimeline" is free and easy but does require an account. I think to make it safest for students, I would have the account under my information but allow my students to use this one account. I think for the classroom it would be best to have groups create timelines together. For example, if I were to be doing a lesson on the Civil Rights Movement, I would split the class into groups and have each group focus on one specific event that took place. These events could be the March on Washington, the Freedom Riders, the Sit-Ins, and the Little Rock Nine. Each group would take these events and create a timeline explaining what happened leading up to this event, what happened at the event, and what occurred after the event to affect the entire movement. I think that by breaking up the entire movement into separate timelines, students can get a better sense of what actually happened in each event that made the entire movement successful. I also think these "XTimelines" can be useful as study guides at the end of the unit. Because the students are creating these timelines, it may make more sense to the students how each event is broken down. Hopefully these kinds of tools become more popular in the social studies class since it is not only incorporating technology but also creativity in the social studies class as well.

E-Sheets for the Social Studies Classroom

     I came across a website that directed me to a strategy to integrate technology in the classroom called "E-Sheets." This strategy is based around the research students would do in the classroom and how to make sure they stay on task. This strategy will help students use technology in a useful way with social studies rather than getting distracted by all the other things on the internet. This website broke down the "E-Sheet" process, what the sheet would look like, and the best ways to use it in the classroom. The E-Sheet is broke into two different parts that consist of "one to three websites" chosen by the teacher and a series of questions that the teacher creates "to guide the student through the information on the selected websites." Even if the material were to be historical, geographical, or political, the students can still work on their literacy skills and reading comprehension by getting specific information from the websites. The website continues to explain that an "E-Sheet" can be distributed in three different ways that are the most successful. It explains that it can be given to the student as a printed worksheet, a website, or a Microsoft word document. On this website the sheet is called an "E-Sheet" which stands for an electronic worksheet but it may also be referred to as an interactive worksheet or web worksheet.
      The website also addresses why it is useful to use a sheet like this in reference to integrating technology in the classroom. There are about 5 different reasons why it is important but I think the most important reason is the last one. The website explains that, "the e-sheet teachers information literacy skills such as how to critically read websites for useful and appropriate content." I feel that it is important that students can learn how to use technology to their advantage while also increasing their literacy and reading comprehension skills. If a student has to answer specific questions that the "E-Sheet" would provide then students are consistently thinking about the content, learning how to manage websites, and developing their literacy skills. I think this is particularly important in the social studies class because the content can become blurred if other things are being used while learning the information. Since there is so much factual information involved in the social studies class, students can get preoccupied while working with the technology. With an "E-Sheet" students can have a better opportunity to stay on task and learn the content and how to use technology. I think "E-sheets" can be a really successful teaching strategy for not only Social Studies teachers but all content area teachers as well.

http://www.bama.ua.edu/~rmayben/tim/esheetws.htm

YouTube and History

      In the history classroom, it can be hard for students to visualize anything historical, making it complicated for them to understand the information being presented to them. YouTube can be a great way for students to visualize history so they can understand that time period better. Not only is YouTube easy to access, but they have so many options to choose from. Before writing this blog, I went on to YouTube and simply typed in "virtual tour" and tons of options came up. Things like "virtual tour" of Rome, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Mayflower became available in the search box. When I saw these kinds of options I thought it would be a perfect way for students to visualize important historical topics without even leaving the classroom. Technology like YouTube has made it so much more convenient for both students and teachers to get information in all different forms so it becomes easier to learn and teach the information.
    To get a better idea about these virtual tours that YouTube provides, I clicked on the Ellis Island and Rome tours. Even though both were very different from each other because different users created them, they both seemed to be so useful for students in a history class. Instead of the boring pictures in textbooks that barely give the students the idea of that time period, these videos would take the students through each part of Rome or Ellis Island. The Rome video had narration along with it to explain to students what they were flying over when seeing Rome from above. The Ellis Island video gave a tour of the area as well as an explanation of the process of going through Ellis Island. When I was in elementary school, I was lucky enough to go on a field trip to Ellis Island and experience what it was like for immigrants. For students that can not go on field trips or are not in a close proximity to Ellis Island to be able to go, this can be an excellent way for students to still get that same experience. Technology has transformed the way students learn and I think one of the biggest transformations has been in the history classes. Technology like YouTube allows students to jump into that time period and understand that perspective so much better than just reading through a textbook and listening to a lecture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAgA6G75XsI (Virtual Tour of Rome)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rredHTyKaQ (Virtual Tour of Ellis Island)

Accessing Databases for Primary Sources

When I was in my high school social studies classes I was never exposed to primary sources and the importance of these types of sources. When I came to college and began studying history, I was exposed to so many different databases that provide primary sources that would be helpful to write papers and develop a thesis for these papers. For example, Montclair State provides databases like the New York Times and New York Times historical so students can have access to historical and recent newspaper articles. This allows me as a history major to find articles throughout history from the New York-New Jersey areas. It was unfortunate that I was not able to use databases like these in high school because it can make a historical topic so much more interesting. By being able to see the actual article or document, students can get a better idea of the time period through the language and possible pictures that may be available. I think it would be very important to expose my students to these kind of databases so they can have access to primary sources.
As a future Social Studies teacher I feel that it is necessary for students to learn how to use databases like the ones I have used throughout my education. Thinking back to the remixed canvas' that we recently just did, I think it would be really useful to collaborate with a technology/computer teacher to develop a unit that allows students to work with databases but in reference to finding historical primary sources. When thinking about a unit that would be useful, I would assign my students activities throughout the unit asking them to work with the databases to find specific information that could only be found through a primary source. At the end of the unit as a summative assessment, I would have my students write a paper that could be based on any historical topic they found interesting, but they would be required to use a certain amount of primary sources that they got through using the databases. This would allow the students to show both their understanding of the historical topic and how successfully they can use the databases and primary sources.

Collaboration Canvas

I really enjoyed remixing the unit on clay animation with a social studies unit. Usually, social studies is not seen as a creative subject area because of the factual information, lectures, and writing. I thought it would be a good idea to take a unit plan that would not normally fit into a social studies classroom. As soon as I saw the clay animation last week when commenting through classmates canvas', I knew that I would be able to take this unit and collaborate it with a social studies unit. I thought it would be interesting to have students create an important part of the Civil War through a clay animated video. I thought of this collaboration as more of a summative assessment where students would have to use the skills they learned in art class and the information they used in the history class. Some examples that students could use would be any battle involved in the war, one of Lincoln's speeches, the lifestyle in the North vs. the South, etc. With this collaboration, students will be able to use creativity to show their understanding of the Civil War.
I did not remove anything from the original unit. I added the Civil War aspect to the unit to collaborate the social studies class. I thought that it was important to keep the basis of the original unit so students would know how to create clay animation. I really hope one day I can do a unit like this so my students can understand that creative classes can be collaborated with more traditional classes.
http://www.play.annenberginnovationlab.org/play2.0/challenge.php?idChallenge=2693&mode=view#network6

Google Maps in the Social Studies Classroom

         In my READ411 class, we began discussing technology and its influence over the classroom. As an example of how technology can help students in the classroom without distracting them was Google maps. As a small assignment, we were required to place a marker on a map created by our professor to show that we could use the technology and how it can be helpful for students. I saw this helpful for myself as a student but also as a social studies teacher. Whether it be for the geography portion of class or for the history part, Google maps can be an interesting way for students to become interactive with the material. It was very easy as a student to go into Google maps and place a marker on the map with a description and a link to a picture of the place I was marking. Since I would like to be a middle school or high school teacher, I think that using Google maps will be an easier and better way for students to understand maps and destinations.
         I saw Google maps particularly important for the geography portions of a social studies class. For example, Google maps allows the person to move throughout the map themselves, at their own pace, as well as manipulating it to any position that they would like. By having complete control over the map, the student can get a sense of the destinations surroundings. Also, the map is clearly colored and easy to read, as well as the option of zooming in and out to get a better idea about what each section says. Rather than having a boring worksheet that just shows one perspective and may be hard to read, Google maps gives the students more opportunities to understand the map and all the places on it.  I think that is important for the geography part of a social studies class for a student to have full control over the maps they are working with so they can manipulate and interact with it anyway they need to.
          As for the history portion of a social studies class, maps are just as important as the geography part. When discussing wars and locations of big events or specific battles, Google maps can be very important to show the students where these took place. Google maps will allow me as a teacher to move throughout the map and it will give students perspective on distance between battles and and attacks involved in the war. Maps have always been an important aspect of a social studies class but technology has helped maps become a more interactive concept for students.