While I was searching around this week for a new history related website I cam across Interactive Maps which is a website that has tons of interactive maps which can be downloaded for free. I thought it was really cool. Its downfall is that it focuses solely on the US but could still be used when talking about different states or in a political science/geography course. When you click on the map of the US you can click on any of the different states and then find out a ton about each state like its economy, political standing etc. I think that if you were teaching a class on the different states in a geography course it would be fun to assign a state to each of the students and then have them research it and do a simple presentation. I thought it was pretty cool. Enjoy
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Great Khan (storyboard)
For my video project I am creating a short video on the rise and accomplishments of one of the most feared leaders of all time, the Great Genghis Khan. Feel free to look at my storyboard and let me know what you think!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Copyrights
I was able to learn a lot from the three copyright videos that we watched for this assignment. First according to the third video there are some CONFU guidelines that help teachers be more responsible about what media they show in class and post on educational websites. Some of these guidelines include the use of only 10% or 3 minutes of a video whichever is smallest and 30 seconds of a song. Now this is related to songs and media that they acquired legally but do not necessarily have permission from the author to use in its entirety. Also the first video explained that the copyright laws were not used to protect the author financially rather was suppose to help science and information spread and increase and improve. Copyright laws help encourage people to produce their own good work not simply copy others all the time. Finally, I learned that if a video is going to be showed in history class, for example, and it was bought and used for educational purposes then its okay to show the whole thing but if you are showing it for a reward our extra filler time then it is prohibited against copyright laws.
In this first video that I found Mr. Johnny Williams offers the students the chance to look at what might happen if the United States were to change drastically in a short period of time into a northern confederation led by a charismatic but then oppressive leader. He poses questions to the students to think about whether they would fight back or simply go with the flow under such conditions. The presentation is well done with music playing in the background and pictures. The problem is that at no point does he offer the viewer any reference for how the music/pictures were obtained or how they could be found. Since it is for educational purposes and non profit this may be okay if depending on how he obtained these media sources but he should still offer a works cited page at the end or footnotes during the presentation demonstrating where he obtained the media sources and giving them their rightful credit.
In this second video done by Isaac Rosete, a junior in high school, he presents a rather interesting conspiracy theory to 9/11. In a history class I think it would be interesting to show a class a short clip like this and see how they respond. My experience in the past tells me that most students would immediately accept this as fact. It sounds convincing to some if they have not studied the facts and I can't point to any of his facts and say that they are necessarily false but I do doubt his presentation for one main reason. He does not site his sources! Not only do we not know where he got the music, although he does mention the titles in the abstract on the youtube blurb, or his pictures but his information as well. As a historian it is critical that one sites their sources to add authority to the paper. It shows that proper recognition is given to others who are more informed than we or who may have a greater voice. Similarly giving recognition to media sources is important. It shows that we acknowledge the work of another. To help this presentation the student should have added a list of where he got his information and where he found his media sources. Without it he loses credibility.
The first video sources can be found on at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwX8pSTWqlo and the second at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcxVvZq0REc
In this first video that I found Mr. Johnny Williams offers the students the chance to look at what might happen if the United States were to change drastically in a short period of time into a northern confederation led by a charismatic but then oppressive leader. He poses questions to the students to think about whether they would fight back or simply go with the flow under such conditions. The presentation is well done with music playing in the background and pictures. The problem is that at no point does he offer the viewer any reference for how the music/pictures were obtained or how they could be found. Since it is for educational purposes and non profit this may be okay if depending on how he obtained these media sources but he should still offer a works cited page at the end or footnotes during the presentation demonstrating where he obtained the media sources and giving them their rightful credit.
In this second video done by Isaac Rosete, a junior in high school, he presents a rather interesting conspiracy theory to 9/11. In a history class I think it would be interesting to show a class a short clip like this and see how they respond. My experience in the past tells me that most students would immediately accept this as fact. It sounds convincing to some if they have not studied the facts and I can't point to any of his facts and say that they are necessarily false but I do doubt his presentation for one main reason. He does not site his sources! Not only do we not know where he got the music, although he does mention the titles in the abstract on the youtube blurb, or his pictures but his information as well. As a historian it is critical that one sites their sources to add authority to the paper. It shows that proper recognition is given to others who are more informed than we or who may have a greater voice. Similarly giving recognition to media sources is important. It shows that we acknowledge the work of another. To help this presentation the student should have added a list of where he got his information and where he found his media sources. Without it he loses credibility.
The first video sources can be found on at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwX8pSTWqlo and the second at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcxVvZq0REc
Monday, October 11, 2010
Youtube applications
When I returned home from my mission in Brazil all of my friends told me I had to check out this great website called youtube where I could watch just about anything from comedy bits to TV shows. One of the great things about youtube is that anyone can make a posting. This does lead to some concerns however in the academic world. Although youtube supposedly monitors new videos that are posted for inappropriate materials they cannot catch everything and what may be appropriate in their mind may be unacceptable in the mind of another viewer. Partly due to these reasons many school districts have placed a blocker on youtube in the classroom. It is a shame because there are several good short clips that could help in the classroom. Luckily there are ways to pull youtube clips off the website and post them in different formats that would be acceptable in the schools. A history teacher and more is a website where a teacher has posted several different ways to download and store these video clips online for school viewing purposes. To download the video off the site he suggests using KeepVid or Oyoom. After looking at these different sources I would suggest Oyoom since it allows you to do more with the video and is more informative. After the video has been downloaded you can return to A history teacher and more to check out how to convert this file into a variety of different files for storing purposes or embed it on a powerpoint. I think this is a useful tool. There are a lot of good sources to be found on youtube and if they can be taken out and placed on a powerpoint I think it makes it a safer tool. A teacher can also have students use this process when teaching mini lessons as well. They can download clips and place them in powerpoint presentations or place them on blogs etc.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Lesson Plans
One of my main concerns for teaching is being able to think of interactive lesson plans for my students. One of my education professors told me that rookie teachers need not feel like they need to invent a whole years worth of lessons. Online there are thousands of great lesson plans within a click of a mouse that offer new teachers great lessons and interactive activities. One website that I have used and think is helpful for aquiring lesson plans and other activities on a variety of history topics is edtechteacher. This website offers a ton of free lesson plans, interactive maps and games, and other cool activities. Some of them may be better for the junior high level but can be applied to high school as well. For example the other day I was talking to my wife about gladiators and showed her a game on this website where you are given a slave and then in a certain time period have to equip him with the correct weaponry for his style of fighting. After the battle is over you can continue and then read more about which gladiators were favored and why. It is just one example of the types of activities that are on the web for new teachers to use. When I find good, free lesson plans online I like to save the websites for a future date because I know there will be busy times my first year of teaching where I will need to draw from other sources to stay ahead.
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