Presenting "Ning" from a Distance: A Reflection

I had the opportunity to present information about a communication tool, Ning, from a distance. The experience was excellent. While a few minor issues existed at the beginning of the session, the communication between other groups and Serdar was clear and did not inhibit my ability to be understood. I did not like the fact that I could not hear the questions that were posed to me after completing the presentation. This, as well as the fact that I couldn't see the other groups, took away from the intimacy of being in one classroom together. Some of the challenges of meeting on-line are the fact that sometimes the audio breaks up, or there may not be enough microphones in the class for all to use. Additionally, it can be difficult to pay attention if there isn't a person in front of you speaking. I would not use this tool for my future class, because I feel that middle school students would not pay attention if I wasn't there to watch over them. Also, middle schoolers may not have the maturity or technological literacy to handle using this type of communication. Overall, this was a good experience and it provided me an opportunity to become more comfortable with communication technology.

Google Earth, A Social Studies Tool

I reviewed Google Earth, specifically for Social Studies Education. I plan to teach U.S. History, Government, and Geography. Google Earth is an excellent tool for all three of these subject areas, especially Geography. It is an excellent resource for identifying everything from continents, down to specific streets in small cities throughout the world. Having a clear visual representation helps students gain a deeper understanding of the different parts of the world that they are studying. Google Earth's feature utilizing latitude and longitude would also help teach these principles in a classroom setting.

While this program may seem intimidating at first, Google provides an excellent User's Guide that is easy for new users to understand.

Once the basic principles of Google Earth have been grasped, teachers can utilize it in a number of ways. Teacher Cheryl Davis uses Google Earth and images to teach history lessons. Her demonstration provides excellent insight on how to use Google Earth for such a lesson.

Overall Google Earth is an excellent content exploration tool for many different areas of Social Studies.

National Council for the Social Studies: Growing Effectiveness

An excellent resource for social studies teachers at both the middle school and high school levels is The National Council for the Social Studies. This organization provides a variety of resources for teachers such as opportunities to sign up for social studies conferences, as well as suggestions and tips on how to better utilize technology in the classroom.

The NCSS is an excellent way for teachers to improve upon their effectiveness. As previously mentioned, one aspect of this organization is the opportunity to attend national conferences, where the latest and most effective teaching styles will be presented and discussed. This will clearly benefit social studies students. Additionally, numerous classroom resources are available, which could help teachers present information in a way that is more understandable for students.

Edutopia- Improving Effectiveness

An excellent resource for teachers is called Edutopia. It provides teachers with a variety of tools and suggestions as to how technology can be used in the classroom to strengthen lesson plans already set in place. Put together by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, Edutopia is a resource that teachers of any subject, at any grade level, should utilize in order to improve their teaching skills.

Edutopia allows teachers to become much more effective. This site has clear, well defined methods of teaching teachers how to use tools such as virtual field trips, wikis, and video production in their classrooms. Once these skills are mastered, teachers will be able to much more effectively present information, as not all lessons are best presented in the traditional lecture format. These tools will help teachers teach a number of topics, in a number of ways that will greatly benefit students.

Teacher's TV- Enhancement

An excellent tool for teachers to utilize when presenting on a variety of subjects is Teacher's TV. A website where any teacher can post videos that other educators may find helpful in their classrooms, Teacher TV is a resource that no school should go without.

Teacher's TV enhances the educational experience in a variety of ways. Whether teaching social studies, Literature, or Science Teacher's TV may have a video that could demonstrate the information in a clear, effective manner. For instance, if a class were reading "The Great Gatsby" there may be a video where a chapter of the novel was acted out, something that may not be possible to do in a fifty minute class period. Overall, Teacher's TV provides countless ways to improve on the traditional lecture format for any subject!

The Civil War- PBS: Enhancement

The Civil War made by noted documentary film maker Ken Burns for PBS. This excellent website utilizes interactive photos, film clips, and other interactive tools to make the Civil War come to life for students in both middle school and high school.

The Civil War benefits students in a variety of ways. The greatest advantage to utilizing this website is that it enhances the teaching of the Civil War in countless ways. One excellent example of this enhancement occurs through the excellent discussion questions provided by Ken Burns. The teaching of this material is also enhanced through the photos of the Civil War that students are able to closely examine and manipulate. Another advantage to utilizing this web site is that it is free for anyone, which means that the enhancement can continue at home for students.