Helping students to understand the "whole picture".

When thinking about how to halp your student to understand tough content we have to first think about the context in which they will apply the learned knowledge.

Think about it. We want our students to apply the principals of geomatry well why not have them build a model of their dream house. Or think about the concepts of Algebra, Physics, Calculus and Economics why not have them play the game Roller Coaster Tycoon. And what about the great playwrites that all of our students believe they can never connect with in reality. Why not have them write their own ending of the story and then take it a step further to then perform it in their own "short film."

The ideas are endless when linking living and learning to situate cognition all we as educators have to do is think outside of the box.

I love Audicity

Last week I decided to assing my students a project that required them to create their very own podcast. Now this was not just one of those lessons that I spent weeks designing. I woke up the Friday after I learned to use it in my class and designed a lesson.

Although I know that most teachers are not given the technology that the students at my school are privlidged to have and I can not just make up a lesson that incorporates the use of multiple pieces of equipment such as computers, microphones, and the internet I am blessed to be able to do this so I caution DO NOT TRY THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE AT LEAST 3 class periods to give up.

Now as I sketched out how I wanted the class to be structured and what not only the curriculum goals, and the learning objects, I had to keep in mind that there were 21st Century skills that my students had to have. The included:

• The ablility to know what their community will need in the future and be able to know how to fulfil that need. i.e computer program skills.
• Communication skills
• The ability to situate cognition
• The ability to use mutliple forms of media to gather ideas and share material.

This is why I designed the podcast lesson. Although I did have to scaffold knowldege by having them listen to an example of a podcast and show them what the audacity file looked like, as well as give them time to "play" (Vygotsky) with the program and learn the basics in order to make a podcast, it was one of the better lessons that I designed. My students really learned the meaning of time, patience, research, and the need for a great script. They also created a memory that they will have forever.

Here is an example of how creative your students can get.

Using multimedia editting

When incorporating any multimedia into your classroom you have to first think about its affordances. What is an affordance? Well it is the reason why we choose to use one medium over another. Over the years thru this new 21st century Renaissance there have been a huge wave of devises that can be incorporated into the classroom in order to enhace our students learning exprience. The use of multimedia gives a rich learning experience and challenges our students to think outside of the A, B, or C option.

When using mutimedia especially tv, video we have to ask ourselves... What is our student outcome. We are putting content in a context; but what else. Are we teaching them how to work in groups? How to use a new tool? How to think on their feet? What about public speaking skills do we want them to learn that as well? This is the delema that I have faced as I design rich learning expreiences for my students.

When creating a lesson around digital video editting I have to think why is it that they need it; I mean all they really have to do when using a digital camera is delete the last take and do it again. But there is a use for it. Those cool movie enhancements such as background music, incorporating powerpoints, and having transitions between scenes is priceless to intergrate into a multimedia lesson.

When using digital movie editting i my class I found that it requires a lot of time and energy and is best left to an end of the year project after standardized tests.

Podcasts

When we think of podcasts we think about how our students can infuse them into their learning process the ideas can become endless.

Think about it, students could use podcasts to imagine they are traveling back to the past and have an interview with an inventor. Students could design questions that aligns with the overt and covert curriculum.

By having students create to the podcasts of others they are learning thru doing. They are using Thinking words and are truly immersed in the content.

Wiki's in the classroom.

When most educators think of using Wikipedia in their classroom it is a strict no, no policy. The reason for this is because of the definition of a wiki.
     A website developed collaboratively by a community of users, allowing any user to add and edit content via a web browser.

 Although this is the definition of a wiki; this is not it scope. A wiki follows the limits that they designers sets. Yes, text can be edited by anyone; but mistakes can be easily changed. The creator can see a log of who changes the content of the pages and if it is not aligned with the designer wants you can quickly restore previous revisions. Watch lists can be made to prevent vandalism and it allows us to teach our children about validity.

Students thru the use of a wiki in the classroom create a constructivist educational setting in which the students collaborate a synchronously to make a product. This helps them to situate cognition. A wiki also follows the 7 aspects of meaningful learning.

1. It has to be ACTIVE.
2. It has to be CONSTRUCTIVE
3. It has to be COLLABORATIVE
4. It has to be CONTEXTUALIZED
5. It has to be REFLECTIVE  
6. It has to be  INTENTIONAL
7. It has to be CONVERSATIONAL

Blogs

When infusing technology into your classroom you have to think of it's affordance. What is an affordance you ask? Well it is how can the use of a specific tool help of better achieve our end goal.

A blog. When incorporating the use of blogs into your classroom think about how it can best meet your goals. For example, if your students are reading the book "The Crucible" have them take on a character that they can relate to and then have them to blog about the events in the book from that characters perspective. Next, if you were studying Revolutions you could have your students to blog their character analysis and then require them to respond to other students analysis to check and see if they are on the right path.

When using a blog in your classroom remember that it afford student to read, analyze, synthesize meaning, and evaluate the integrity of what is being stated. They also can communicate with writer which helps them to formulate opinions.

Blogs are also useful in a classroom/ school district that does not have Blackboard because you can post assignments, due dates, and videos. So if your school district does not have a big budget you can use this FREE resource to help in alleviating some of the issues.

Who am I?

My name is Antoinette Dempsey and I started my teaching career in the fall of 2004 in Washington, DC. I taught United States History at Spingarn Senior High School in Washington, DC from 2004-2008. In 2008 I began teaching at my current school TC Williams High School in Alexandria, VA. I graduated from Temple University, located in Philadelphia, PA in 2004. Currently, I am working on my master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction at George Mason University. Email: Antoinette_Dempsey03@gmail.com