Tech Play 4

I was glad that for this final Tech Play session we were able to seek after things that would help in our Field of study. Since I am teaching both World History and US Govt., I chose sites that would be helpful to me and my students.  I also separated my choices into three different sections.

History Apps.:

The first app that I investigated was Timelines Eons for iPad. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/timeline-eons-free   This was a cool app. It is a timeline of all of the known History of Earth. Each entry on the timeline has an in depth description of an event or a person. The down side of this app. ,  is that it is only free on the  iPhone/iPad  version. If you want it for an Android platform devise it is $9.00. This App registers at the TCK range of TPACK.

The Second App was iAmerica– The Pocket Guide to United States History and the Presidency https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iamerica-pocket-guide-to-united  This app is a pretty good source for US History.  It has articles about Historical events and Archive pictures of the Presidents. There are two down sides to this app, some of the Articles are biased towards a specific point of view not written neutral. The second is that it is only available on the I Pad platform.  This App could include all of the sections of TPACK.

History: Maps of World is the third App https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/history-maps-of-world

This Map is also designed for the iPad platform. This app has various Maps collected from different times and places in the world. It is easy to see where borders have shifted over the years.  This app applies to the TCK area of TPACK.

Constitution app on  GooglePlay  This App is an annotative US Constitution that includes the Articles of Confederation and other Documents. This app has everything that you need on the Constitution. Only on Android Platform. Touches all sections of TPACK

The Second Section is for Websites:

American Museum of Natural History http://www.amnh.org/ Is a pretty good site for history buffs. Although some of the site is for paid membership only there is enough in this site to interest just about anyone.

Smithsonian institute website http://www.si.edu/  The website is the next best thing to being there. You can almost access everything that you could if you were in DC. No real downside to this site except for the banner that said that the Smithsonian was closed due to the shut down. This site hit all of the TPACK areas.

The History Channel www.history.com  This website gives you all of the programs that are presently on the TV. These are good programs on History. The only downside is that the Archives are limited and do not go back very far. PCK area of TPACK.

The last section is for teaching tools:

My Homework App. https://myhomeworkapp.com   This is a cross platform app that can be used on almost all devises. This is a student organizer that can be shared by the whole class. Once every one is signed up the whole class is synched into the class schedule. It gives alerts about upcoming assignments and due dates. Downside it has ads. Hits TPK on TPACK.

Eduport -  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.synqroid.eduPort&hl=en 

This app allows teachers to view and save educational videos from youtube channels like TED, or Khan Academy.  I only found this for the android platform. Covers TPK area of TPACK

Tech Play 3:Creativity Tools

This has been a hard week. Trying to keep up with schoolwork, six week grades and a trip from Texas to Nebraska and back has been difficult.

However, I did have some time to visit several sights. I was trying to pick sites that could help the students exercise their creativity and build upon their past knowledge.

Khan Academy:
https://www.khanacademy.org

I originally read about Khan Academy in a magazine on education. It was little more than a start up but it has turned into something quite interesting.  This site can help students improve on their academics for free. The extensive library and on line interactive assessments can take students beyond the boundaries of public education. It could even help me in Math... This hits the Technological content knowledge as well as the Technological pedagogical knowledge side of TPACK

 Evernote:
https://www.evernote.com


Ever note is a productivity software. Ever note allows the user to keep notes, build projects, bring together data over different media and sources. Ever note is not limited to one device but can be  synchronized and shared with all of the machines the student might have access to.  This program is not limited to use on the ipad it can be used with windows and other Operating systems.

 Magisto Movie Editor:
http://www.magisto.com/

I was looking for a movie editor that could create YouTube videos. My criterion was simple it had to be assessable to smart phones and help students extend their educational reach. It also had to be free...  Magisto can be used on both the iPhone and android platforms. A student can create a movie with their phone and edit it to make a reasonable product to share with classmates or the world. 

Google Docs:
https://drive.google.com

 I wanted to add at least one tool that could be used for collaboration with other students.  In google docs documents and projects can be opened by different students and edited in real time. Groups can be set up allowing several students the opportunity to collaborate on a single project. Google Docs includes various templates to start projects also. It can be accessed through Google drive

Glogster
http://edu.glogster.com/

I wanted to add something fun. I ran across Glogster and thought that it had potential. Since I have been grading projects all week, some made the walls of my class room, I was thinking about ways of creatively doing presentations in class. This program allows the student to do interactive projects and reports. Students can create online multimedia posters using text, photos, videos, graphics, sounds, drawings, and data attachments.


     These are a few of the tools that I played with this week. These tools reach the upper levels of Blooms scale and cover the technological content knowledge as well as the Technological pedagogical knowledge side of TPACK. These tools help our students analyze, synthesis, and be creative in the ways they approach learning. They also integrate knowledge in a way that is more digestible for our students. it is a great vehicle for delivering content and instruction.
      The down side to technology is that it could become a gimmick that may well keep instruction and learning to a shallow level. I already see students use technology as a substitute for learning only looking things up to fill in blanks with out internalizing any of it. These tools could substitute entertainment for learning.  
  I already use Google Docs but I intend to use these other programs in my class. I can't wait to read some of the other posts to get even more ideas. Even with a down side these are pretty good tools.  

No more King!

     For some Colonists, they would always be a part of the Crown of England. But for many the Cry for independence was ever in their ears. After King George leveled the Stamp Act against the Colonists the First Continental Congress was convened expressly to decide what Relationship they would continue to have with England. In response King George doubled the taxes in what would be called the Intolerable Act. Within three weeks the second Continental Congress would convene taking over the role of the Government, Creating an Army and Navy, and Appointing George Washington the commander of the Continental Army.

Play tech 2

     This weeks assignment was particularly challenging.  I have been taking apart things and putting things together since I was very young. Once I got my first computer I was all over the place there was not a place that I did not explore. And yet when it came to putting together an E-portfolio I was drawing a blank.
     I explored several programs for creating E-portfolios but somewhere I was missing the mark. Even Google Sites that I have used in the past was not a help. I am a kinesthetic / audio learner and though there were examples of finished E-portfolios there were no good step by step examples on how to build a portfolio. While reading one of the posts this week I saw that the writer had used the Portfoliogen site to build her portfolio. Through it I was finally able to build one of my own. Afterwards i spent time connecting it to last weeks blog. If you are having trouble, try Porfoliogen they have some pretty good templates  for building an E-portfolio.

http://www.portfoliogen.com/robertives/ 

Play tech 1

      The blog site that I am creating for is an attempt to integrate the classroom setting and augment the learning environment to include technology to improve the learning experience. The dynamics of the site include specific content that is to be taught, (In this case U.S. Government Text book )  I will be using Text as a starting place to Generate the primary boundaries for discussions. Hopefully, the blog setting can be used to illicit discussions about current events from the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches of Government. 

     My intent is to include a place for students to actively brainstorm different topics for discussion and post differing views on the subject. Through the use of YouTube style video clips, video blog entries, and forums I intend to get the students interested in their local, city and federal Governments also giving them a place to voice their ideas.  In this I am giving a nod to the constructivist movement of teaching in that I would like to foster a collaborative approach that gives student an opportunity for hands on experience with our Governing bodies and how they work. 

     Word press blogs seemed like the best hosting site for the things that I was looking for to accomplish the outcomes I wanted. This blog site allows the use of various video downloads as well as having the capability to use polls and survey as well the capability of being used as a place for discussions. Students also will be able to download links to sites that correspond with their views. Starting out I do not see many shortcomings to using this technology. I can however see that the future for using this technology is pretty much open and can only get better as the technology grows.   

     Unfortunately, The Wordpress blog that I had chose for my blog is not working out very well so I have gone back to a more familiar format with blogger. My Blog can be found there.