Social+Studies

= = Learning, Lessons, and Links in Social Studies

__Learning __
With the advent of the Classrooms For the Future (CFF) program and its transformation into Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT), we as a staff were challenged with the task of improving our students education through the use of technology.

What follows are three examples of lessons that went from low tech to new tech.

In addition, you will find many links to other useful educational tools. Any programs that are mentioned are intended for use on PC.

__Lessons __
From a Poster > Glog Description: I would often ask my students to create posters that depicted some aspect of American history. I found that the students felt limited by their artistic (in)ability. It was necessary to alter our approach to the project. After viewing elementary students use of glogster, I felt that 11th graders could easily incorporate images, text, audio, video, and animations into a meaningful examination of a U.S. President.

Stock images and animations, along with the use of videos and photographs eliminated the student complaints of artistic inability.

Also, this assignment has allowed students to examine primary sources in a variety of medium and make connections with the decisions often faced by our national leaders.

Lesson Plan:

Student Example: [|JFK Glog]

From a Journal > Blog Description: During my first year of teaching, I had students write a fictional diary based on the experiences of western trail travelers in the 1830s-1850s. It was a fun assignment, but it prevented many students from sharing in the process. It did mimic the diaries of these western travelers, but the process felt incomplete as a learning activity.

Since most people today use blogging like older generations used journals or diaries, the use of blogs seemed like a logical extension of what we were already doing. Students can now produce a "fictional journal" AND share that journal and the learning experience with many classmates.

Lesson Plan:

Example: [|Josiah Blaze on the Sante Fe Trail]

From a Broadside > Digital Flyer Description: Similar to the poster to glogster transformation, the creation of digital flyers moved my students from paper, scissors, and markers into a digital space. Students who previously produced 81/2" by 11" broadsides now create digital flyers that can be distributed to classmates electronically and posted on the class website for others to see.

Lesson Plan:

Student Example:

__Links __
Moodle: Moodle is a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is a Free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites.

If you wish to have an online classroom or component of your class online, moodle is the most efficient option. It is frequently updated and supported by a vast community of educators. [|Moodle]

Links to manuals, tutorials and other multimedia documentation produced by moodlers all over the world. []

Sample Moodle: []

Glogster: (A Glog is an online, multimedia poster.)  A Glog is created using a very easy to understand, drag and drop interface that is relevant, enjoyable, and scalable for students of all ages and learning styles. A Glog is an interactive visual platform in which users create a “poster or web page” containing multimedia elements including: text, audio, video, images, graphics, drawings, and data.

In order to use, a teacher must register on the site. From there, you have a number of student accounts you can assign, monitor, and manage for your class(es). media type="youtube" key="80NISdsoouE?fs=1" height="365" width="460"

[|Glogster]

Sample Glog:

media type="custom" key="7204831" width="80" height="80"

Blogging: Edublogs - Easily create and manage student and teacher blogs. A nice option for teachers who want whole classes to blog or even districts who would like to manage entire schools. No email necessary. []

Blogger - Just as easy to use and provides the option to use a Google account when signing up. []

Podcasting: Audacity - A free, open-source audio recorder and editor. [|Audacity]

With this software, you can:
 * record live audio
 * edit mp3, wav, and other sound files
 * cut, copy, splice, or mix sounds together
 * change the speed or pitch of a recording.

Visit the software Wiki at [] for more information about this software.

Buzzsprout <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - Create and publish your own podcasts. []

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Podbean <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - Free podcast hosting. []

<span style="color: #10108e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Digital Storytelling with Web 2.0: Xtranormal - If you can type, you can make a movie. Each movie can be a one-of-a-kind animated masterpiece. Or just a fun way to tell a story. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Blabberize <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - Upload a photograph, create a mouth, and add a sound/song. Tell a story in these three easy steps. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Pixton <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - click and drag comic strip creator <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> []

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">ToonDoo <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - another click and drag comic strip creator. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|http://www.toondoo.com]

<span style="color: #10108e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Digital Storytelling Software <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Windows Movie Maker: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">PC based software to create, edit, and share movies. Sometimes 'cranky' with lower spec PC's. Students should have no problem making watchable movies with a little effort and patience. []

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Photo Story: Create slideshows using your digital photos. With a single click, you can touch-up, crop, or rotate pictures. Add stunning special effects, soundtracks, and your own voice narration to your photo stories. Then, personalize them with titles and captions. Small file sizes make it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail. Watch them on your TV, a computer, or a Windows Mobile–based portable device.

More than a PowerPoint, Photo Story allows students to tell a story in a digital medium. Easily presentable to a class instead of having students do oral presentations or post them to Youtube so students can speak to an audience beyond the walls of your classroom. Just be mindful of fair use requirements when posting to Youtube.

Follow the link to a free download of Photo Story 3. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="color: #10108e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Wordle: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wordle is a toy for generating "word clouds" from the text you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. []

I have used them in class to assist my students with focusing on the main topics/ideas of a speech, primary source, or secondary source reading.

Sample Wordle: media type="custom" key="7204951"

More Mr. Genovese created Wordles: []

<span style="color: #10108e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Digital Timelines: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">xTimeline <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">is a free web-based timeline. Students can easily create and share information. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

Student Example: [] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Timetoast <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">is another free web-based timeline. Just as easy to use. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Example: []

<span style="color: #10108e; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Google Earth/Maps Tours: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">A great way to utilize the high quality satellite images on Google Earth and Maps is through virtual tours of different historic locations. Some of these tours incorporate great detail on a single location (ex. the White House), while others display a progression of events (ex. the Pacific Theater of war in World War II.) In each tour, points of interest launch primary and multimedia sources. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition to tours, historical map overlays can be used in Google Earth and Google Maps. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some fine ones can be found at []