Sunday, September 6, 2009
Blogs, podcasts, and wikis: Has school become extremely fun?
I found some great podcasts, blogs and wikis that made it seem that the students involved were actually enjoying the assignments; what a crazy concept. The first podcast was a little dated but I thought it was worth mentioning. Two students, one acting as an interviewer and the other a expert, had a great discussion about the differences between Sec. Clinton's health care proposal and Pres. Obama's proposal. This must have been done during the primaries. Nevertheless, the discussion required the interviewer to ask very pointed questions which obviously had to be researched before the podcast. On the other end the student playing the expert had to answer the very specific questions and she really laid out the differences very well. This example made both students do relevant research about a modern issue. I thought this method was more effective than making the students do a paper or simple presentation. This podcast was done by the Springfield school district in Pennsylvania last year http://ssdcougars.libsyn.com/. A class wiki that I stumbled upon was actually part of a larger international collaboration called Flat Classroom Project. The class created wikis about numerous subjects with help from a class in Germany. This network allows teachers and students to team up with students from all around the world to discuss various topics and work on projects together. I did see there are Flat Classroom workshops where teachers can learn how to use this type of technology. A social studies blog that I found was by a middle school history teacher. He used the blog to communicate assignments, study sheets, and relevant information, such as links to all sorts of history websites, to his students. The students also had an opportunity to respond or ask him questions. I had difficulty finding student blogs. It seemed like they were not open to the public, which makes sense to me. The podcasts, wikis, and blogs all look more interesting than the type of assignments I had to do in social studies classes. I think teachers are definitely making learning exciting by using these methods.
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Election years are such exciting times for social studies teachers so I'm glad to hear that teachers out there are taking advantage of technology during elections. That way, students can not just watch debates, but make their own debates and see just how multifaceted the issues can be. Your example of a class wiki presented a great idea that I haven't seen yet - joining forces with another class in a different location. A wiki doesn't just have to be restricted to a single class, but they can unite classes who have never even met each other.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that the technology that students have access today makes learning seem like so much more fun! I feel that with these sites they tend to have so much more pride in their work by being creative with it. These tools allow the students to express themselves. Things such as the blogs are also great for teachers to keep things organized for themselves and for the students. I thought it was really awesome that you found that wiki and that students can get a better understandings of culture by being connected to people all over the world! I must say I'm pretty jealous we didn't have these opportunities!
ReplyDeleteI think the podcast, though "somewhat" outdated, was a good find! Election time is a great time to get students involved, and using some of their critical thinking skills. Its a great idea to have the students discuss it! Muchhhh more interesting than writing papers, because students get far more excited about projects like that!
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