VIRTUAL FIELDTRIP

starring:

GOOGLE EARTH

While I really enjoyed working with Google Earth, and this project, I must say that it did not enjoy working with me...  I have had nothing but bad luck since I started it, between my school district blocking it from use in the general class (something about it taking up too much memory on the network) to my home modem getting fried when a gas truck hit a power line near our house.  Nothing like working from McDonald's (free wi-fi) on my wife's tablet to try and get this done!

Anyhow, here it is.

I set this up originally as a field trip to look at architectural styles around the world.  I then realized that was too big of a scope, and tried to narrow it down.  I worked with ancient civilizations and their architecture instead, choosing four major sites: two in Africa, one in Mesopotamia, and one in Greece.  Each pre-BC by anywhere from 500 to 3,000 years, yet each clearly marked with Google Earth, and with a large quantity of extras to look at.

Primary instructional goal?  How did ancient civilizations build these massive structures, and why?

How does this fit into the five mind parameters?

The Disciplined Mind:

This one is easy, and faily obvious.  "The facts, ma'am, just the facts".  It is easy enough just to send people out to determine where something is located, how big it is, and when it was built.  Also, how it was constructed would fit into this genre.

The Synthesizing Mind:

Look at the structural design, and what made them unique.  What has made them last for millennia and still be a major part of many cultures?

The Creating Mind:

Why were they built?  What that specific design?  Not just what is found in a textbook, but put  yourself in the proverbial shoes of the people of that time.  If you were the ruler or architect of that time, how would you, with the design and construction knowledge that you have, create and build such a monument?

The Resepectful and Ethical Minds:

What motivates a society to construct an artifact that is as large as a mountain and lasts for thousands of years?  No mockery here.  Explore the cultures beliefs and come to terms with how they thought and what they believed.  Compare it to today's society... other than technological advancements, are they really that different?

My plan for this originally also included using Glogster to set the theme, so I am including both projects.  I would like to note, however, that when I checked this out after loading it through Google Docs, my bullets and information did not always appear in the GE program.  I don't know what I did wrong, but here it is...

Direct open through Google Docs:
Ancient Architecture

Open in Glogster:
Glogster: Ancient Architecture

CULTIVATE

the

FIVE MINDS

Before viewing the video blog for this assignment,

I would just like to briefely explain exactly what I did.

First, I created a Prezi to supplement visually what I was talking about orally.

Second, using a software called CAMTASIA, I recorded what was on the screen, including my verbal dialog, thus making the video stream which you are about to watch.

Simple, yet effective.

I would also like to quote General George S. Patton:

"Give me five minutes, and I can talk for a day.

Expect me to talk for only five minutes, and I will need a week to prepare."

I could easily fit my entire audio presentation into the two minute maximum as posted, but with the visual enhancement, it took about seven seconds too much.  After multiple editings and re-recordings, I finally said enough...

Here is how I would cultivate the five minds...



The Respectful

and

Ethical Mind

Developing a student's ethics and respectfulness of others is a major challenge in today's society. There are constant news (media) stories about how people have made the wrong choices, and are paying for it. These range from sports issues (the Saint's injury bounty) to illegal or pirated music, videos or games, to politicians and the government. Many students look at these incidents, and agree that it is wrong and at least verbally condemn the perpetrators. Almost as many look at them and admire their audacity or try to figure out a way to do the same without getting caught.

How do we, as teachers, help to develop a positive, respectful and ethical mind within today's students?

Unless a student is already the evil genius who is intent on taking over the world, leading by example, and making students aware of the illegality of such sites as PIRATE BAY, BEEMP3, LIMEWIRE and others is the first step. Also make them aware of the penalties of being caught.

How?

Look to the news. Many examples of the use of these sites, and the penalties for doing so, are posted and touted on by the media. Whenever something of this nature arises, bring it to the attention of the students and discuss the issue. Make sure that it is in the open, not something to be swept under the rug...

How do we use digital media to do this?

I am in a unique situation this week.

I am currently at the Pennsylvania Technology Student Association leadership conference. There are almost 2,000 middle and high school students here (including 20 of my own) competing in over 80 different events. I took some time and interviewed several different groups of students as to what they felt were problems with respectability and ethical issues within their schools, and within the digital media which they participate in.

The top five responses were:

· Bullying

· Piracy / Plagiarism

· Racism / Religion

· Environmental

· Workplace / school ethics

The next question that I posed was a little more difficult. I asked what teacher's could do in the classroom, using digital media, to make these issues more public, and to enforce proper responses / insights / behavior towards them. These responses were, for the most part, a little more ambiguous. Some suggested making a PowerPoint, some suggested playing news articles when they occurred and having a classroom discussion. Some suggested leading by example. One person, however, thought outside the box. They suggested making a game, or even a right / wrong web quest.

What an idea!

Here is a general idea of how this could work:

1. Have a classroom discussion on respectability / ethical issues

2. Have the students list & choose 4-5 major topics

3. Split the class into groups, with each group covering a different topic

4. Each group must come up with 4-5 serious questions (i.e. What would you do if...)

and 2-3 negative responses and at least on good one

5. Using Glogster (or similar), students create a page with the primary question

and all answers. Each answer takes the viewer to a new

link / site which expounds the positive or negative aspect

of the choice made. Negative aspects could include news

or video clips of negative consequences. Positive aspect

will move person on to next question / level.

6. Each of these question pages would be linked through a main page created by the teacher, and the number of links needed to get through

the questions could be recorded, with the lowest score

being the winner, and the most ethical person...

A good bit of work, definitely, but something that could probably be done in a 5-10 class rotation, and definitely something that will not only expose the students to moral and ethical questions, and the results of those questions, but also to digital media development. The intensity of the questions could be regulated for almost any grade level, and the simplicity of Glogster would make it a project for almost any grade level.

One last comment to make.  Something to remember.  We can teach the basics of morality, respect and ethics, but we can not make the student conform to them.  We can lead by example, put our best foot forward, and preach to the choir, but that does not mean that everyone will sing the same song.  Even if they give the answers that are considered correct, that does not mean they will abide by those answers.

REFLECTIONS ON A...

While I have used Glogster before, I still had fun with this.  Taking a lesson from my Architecture unit and developing it into a Glog was a challenge.

There are four primary links within this Glog:

Realtors.com / Anatomy of a House

This is the primary learning focus for the students.  It is an awesome website designed for first time home buyers to educate them on the basic terminology of a house.  And guess what?  It also works great when teaching students the basics of architecture!

Google Docs

At one point in time our school district worked with Blended Schools, which is an online curriculum development system. It was totally awesome!  However, our district, due to budget cuts and lack of use by the general educational staff, closed the account with this company.  Since then I have taken to using Google Docs as an alternative to printing worksheets. 

Wordle

Wordle is just a fun way for students to be creative while reviewing their vocabulary.  When printed it makes for great posters, and a good reminder of what they should be reviewing.

Discovery Eduction

While Discovery Education has almost no video or other works dealing with basic, functional architecture, I still managed to design and produce a short quiz for the unit.  I will say that there are other quiz making links out there that I like more (Easy Test Maker for example), but not all of them are free.  Once again I was spoiled with Blended Schools, which allowed the incorporation of mathematical problems, charts and graphs, pictures and other items with it's testing system... unfortunately, I don't have access to that anymore, so make do with what is out there...

CLICK HERE TO VIST GLOG!

A couple of comments about using Glog...

- It is relatively simple, thus easy to use...
- If you want to use multiple font sizes or colors, you have to use multiple text boxes and layer...

-  Ditto with making text larger or smaller within quote boxes or paper sheets...

-  It is simple for students to pick up...

-  The link circles are great guides! You don't have to watch your mouse...

The link on the left will take you to my Architecture Glog.  I took the time to enter everyone (yes, the instructor too!) from the current EDIM 508 class in as students for the Discovery Education quiz. 

• If you are interested, your login will be the first three letters of your first name, followed by your last name. 
• The password is "edim508". 
• There are three exceptions to this:  Michelle, Amy and Rebecca - add the number 1 between your first three letters and last name

CONTENT CREATION

and

CREATIVITY in the CLASSROOM

Coming back from Easter Break with only one day to really talk to students, I had a hard time with this assignment.  I did, however, have two in-service days during which I talked with several teachers in my wing of the building about how they incorporate creativity into the classroom.

Out of fifteen co-workers that I talked with, only two used digital media for more than a testing base (Study Island) or the occasional movie (Discovery Ed).

The remaining teachers try to incorporate creativity in the forms of posters, small skits, presentations and the occasional Power Point.  Only three teachers had ever even heard of "Wordle", and eight actually felt that students spent too much time with electronics as it was.

Depressing.

When I talked with students about being creative in the classroom, most felt that many of the teachers at our school would not know how to make an assignment (or lecture) creative if it bit them... and those that do know how to be creative are the favorites of almost everyone...

When we discussed how to make both the standard classroom, as well as the day-to-day assignments and major projects more interesting, most agreed that some form of computer-based assignment would not only be more enjoyable, but would also make them put more effort into the project with less threats (grades) and wheedling from the teacher to get the job done.

When prompted to give examples of projects that would meet these criteria, creating blogs, Wordle posters, and mini-films were among the more enthusiastic responses. Most of the time the idea of making a Power Point was met with a groan, as this format has been "made as boring as a textbook" by many of the instructors who use it... 

• In this aspect, I asked the classes how many had ever made a blog, and got a response of about one in six.  Most of these also commented that while they had made blogs before, they no longer do so because facebook is a "much easier" media format to communicate on.  Once explained to everyone however (for those who were not familiar with blogs), nine out of ten students agreed that they would rather write a blog / do an online discussion about a topic than read and write a report.

• I also asked how many students had used Wordle.  Only about one per class (fourteen to eighteen students) even knew what a Wordle was...  guess what I am going to do for an upcoming project?

The biggest thing that students wish they could change in regards to media use in the classroom is the availability of media.  Currently, the school district blocks students from blogging to image searches (even though there are those who can circumvent the blocks put in by the district).  Many students commented that making Power Points (which were listed as boring earlier) would be more enjoyable if they had access to some alternate contents or even video clips.

Even students who are familiar with many methods of creative content do not bother with it at the school because they are blocked from it.  While often times the teachers are not blocked, I could guess that they opt not to use these forms of media due to the fact that the students can not access it as well.

First step to enrich the creative content of the classroom:  allow access to images, videos, and creative content learning platforms.

Second step: educate the educators. 

Instead of discussing student's grades for four hours, do demonstrations on using some of the content platforms, and require projects.  The more that you use something, the easier it becomes.  If you never use it, it will always be an enigma.

Third step: student participation.

Allow and encourage students to use this media for not only viewing, but for creating their own reports and presentations.

The

DEATH

of

CREATIVITY

According to Sir Ken Robinson, "Education is meant to take us into this future that we can't grasp".
Unfortunately, many views, techniques and goals of our current educational systems are stuck in the past...

I believe that schools (at least most public schools) are destroying the creativity of future generations...  although I do not put the blame entirely on them.

Look to the politicians and lawyers who determine what needs to be taught...

Look to the people who believe that every student should be taught the same, no matter their abilities or interests...

Look to those who only focus on numbers, not individuality...

Look to those who only value knowledge, not how it is used...

We have seen the death of creativity in movies and novels for decades: from movies such as "1984" to books such as "Fahrenheit 451", and we say that that will never happen to us - that it is only fiction.  Yet, here we are, following a set regimen of data-only acquisition in the classroom, teaching students only how to recite information, not to creatively develop and understand it.

To illustrate how far back this has gone, watch the following advertisement for Apple:

Almost twenty years ago, Apple / Macintosh recognized what was happening to our society.  Whether in the classroom or out. 

What can we do to help prevent this, yet still follow the mandates set down by those in power?

Just using such environments as Power Point or Prezi as a teacher is not enough. The student needs to be able to pick up the hammer and use it.  To break the bonds of "oneness" and express their own views and designs.

• In math classes, assign projects where students must chart the steps of an algebraic equation using Prezi...

• In history, have students create a Jeopardy-style PowerPoint relating to past Presidents, leaders, or states/nations/capitols...

•  In science, have students make a weekly blog on questions posted...

• In English / Literature, have students team up to create a Glogster site that retells a classic story (Huck Finn, the Scarlet Letter, Romeo and Juliet)  in their own words...

The tools are available to use. 

It is up to us as teachers to ensure that students do more than just recite information. 

It is up to us to present them with the hammer to break the mold...

MEDIA INFUSED PRESENTATION

Media infused presentations are efficient, tactical ways to provide information without the drudgery of simply copying notes written on a board or in a PowerPoint.  They allow the insertion of animation, video, music and sounds to emphasize a specific point or to make a given point more memorable.  Take a simple statement or fact, and add a picture, noise, video or music to it, and more often than not, people (students) will remember that point more easily, as it sharply draws their attention.

Depending upon the nature of the presentation's creator, and what they are trying to portray, media-infused presentations can reinforce a disciplined mind by simply providing facts in written or pictorial formats, much like a standard PowerPoint presentation can do.  In addition, the Prezi style format can help to develop a synthesizing mind by creating "boxes within boxes".  The outermost, or largest box, can be a general summarization of the concept, while each subsequently smaller box creates more detail.

Another style to support the synthesizing mind is the pathway.  Much like a board game, a student would start at the beginning, then take subsequent steps to travel the path to the conclusion of the game... this is the style which I used within this Prezi.

In addition to being a good tool for teacher-to-student presentations, the Prezi system can also be used by multiple students to create a team-based presentation without the usual problems of transferring files and like-time on the same computer.  One of the options with the Prezi system is the ability to simultaneously edit online from multiple computers.  This flexibility allows students to collaborate and synthesize their work from their own domains, thus taking the classroom or library out of the picture.

My presentation, based upon the forces of flight, is an entry-level design with the purpose of introducing people who know that aircraft fly, but not how, to the concepts of gravity, lift, thrust and drag.

Select the picture below to visit my Prezi on the

Forces of Flight.