Imagine what you could do with this production tool. Say goodbye to trifold English reports, Science projects, and History displays and say HELLO to glogger. Here is one that I created as an example from my trip to Colorado earlier this summer.
Be sure to also check out Glogster EDU where you can see great examples of students work!
Anthony I love this application however you have no idea how bad I want to kill those bugs.
ReplyDeleteAnthony:
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your comment (compliment?)! I have to say that I don't really think I'm creative as much as I am interested in the creative process. I've always held so much wonder about the world we live in, and I want to inspire students (and others) to ask questions and figure out perspectives: others as well as their own. I read a quote recently at this quotes about history website that says "Half the job in teaching history is in getting the students interested in the questions the Professor deems important."
Sidney E. Mead
This really made me reflect about teaching. The classes that I've done the best in are classes where I thought the question that the professor was posing was important. But what about all those classes where I thought something else was more important? Or that a subtopic of the question was an area I'd prefer to focus on? I guess my point is that I'd like to find a way to get students to ask their own questions...to make them realize that their interests are more important than mine. While we'll obviously have to stay "on topic" according to required SWBAT expectations, I think that if educators are creative enough, they can get students interested in their own learning (even if they think they're doing something just for a grade).
I do not have a specific answer to your question "How do I plan to inspire students?" My broad response is just based on the little bit I know about teaching strategies and classroom management. (I know that it'll be a wonderful idea to seek out a local teacher who has excellent classroom management skills to be a mentor. That will make or break the impact we have on our students). Developmentally, I know that students from 6-12th grades need constant shifts to keep their minds stimulated and their attention engaged. This requires lots of activities: reading, writing, collaborating, research, painting or poetry, debates, plays, etc. Students shouldn't always be required to sit still and stare at the teacher all day.
All of this probably sounds really basic, but consider this. When you were in your last history class learning about...say, WWII, when's the last time the teacher asked you what you were most interested in about the war? Maybe I'd ask you to put together your own presentation about that topic. Here is just one more quote from that website that I really like, and I think explains my view about my choice of studying education and history: "Years should not be devoted to the acquisition of dead languages or to the study of history which, for the most part, is a detailed account of things that never occurred. It is useless to fill the individual with dates of great battles, with the births and deaths of kings. They should be taught the philosophy of history, the growth of nations, of philosophies, theories, and, above all, of the sciences."
Robert G. Ingersoll
I think that students would be more open to learning about the past if they realize that it's not really about the names and dates. The names and dates just give us a timeline of recurrent human conditions and attributes. If they realize the role of philosophy and historiography, of globalization and humanity, then they'll better understand the effect it has on them today. So to finally answer your question: I want to present questions to my students that will inspire them to make the future a better place...all under the pretext of "learning history".
I hope this is at least a little of what you were looking for when you asked that question. Like I said, I don't have specifics because of my lack of experience, but I think it's really all about keeping an open mind and to never retire from learning.
Leah,
ReplyDeleteYou're speech above was phenomenal! I copied it into my journal. I checked out the website you mentioned and found myself laughing and awe-ing several times. It has some good stuff! Of all that you said, I think you captured what I believe to be true best in your second to last paragraph.
At the elementary level, we are preparing our students by building the fundamentals necessary for y'all to pour fertilizer on their minds and get them thinking about huge concepts and make connections that (as teachers) we can't even imagine. Learning is about discovering areas of life that need improvement, connecting those hotspots to personal experiences in order to generate passion, and exploring the resources it takes to come up with solutions. I think our job is to expose kids to as many resources, philosophies, and experiences as we can so that they will have more "arrows in their quivers" to draw from when they find their call to action.
I am glad I waited til this morning to finish reading your response. This will have my mind reeling all day!