Not Another History Teacher | History and Technology: a Perfect Pair

50 Creative Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom

Date August 22, 2012

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Skype is a free and easy way for teachers to open up their classroom. Meet new people, talk to experts, share ideas and create amazing learning experiences with teachers from around the world. Skype is a wonderful way to bring the world into the classroom. Imagine being able to bring an expert or a guest speaker into your classroom to teach a particular subject. You can even collaborate with a classroom halfway around the world. All of this is possible with Skype in the classroom.

I recently stumbled upon the article on 50 Creative Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom. She lists some interesting ways to use Skype in the Classroom and useful links on how to implement the ideas. I couldn’t agree more that Skype is a “phenomenal classroom tool.” I highly suggest reading her article find out how you can put this cool tool to work in your classroom!

Thank You: 40,000+ Views!

Date August 22, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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I know 40,000+ may not sound like a lot of views compared to other bloggers, but for me that number is tremendous. I got excited the first time it broke 1,000 and now I am averaging that in three days. My hope is that it continues to grow and improve our practice.

I started this blog when I got frustrated when I would share ideas with other teachers and it seemed like no one had time to listen or implement them. I was once asked by a former principal to “change the name of the blog, because it was insulting to other history teachers in my department (which means someone complained).” That blew my mind and you can actually tell when that event occurred because I stopped blogging for almost two months. When I created the name I was never trying to insult any teacher but i thought it was a clever. I NEVER changed the name because I thought it showed that I am a different kind of teacher that’s willing to push the envelop. That was the only time I rebelled against an administrator (to this date).

I started this blog as a professional outlet to share my ideas and reflect on my teaching practice. My goal is that my blog can provide teachers with resources that can excite a student’s love of learning. I have met some amazing educators, fellow bloggers, and people I now call friends due to my blog. I am now MORE excited to attend conferences because I am no longer just improving my own practice but helping to share resources and ideas with other teachers. Thanks for following my blog and here’s to another 40,000+ views!

History for Music Lovers: World History Pop Music

Date August 19, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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I learned about History for Music Lovers by @magisterWarren. History for Music Lovers was created by Amy Burvall and Herb Mahelona. The videos on Amy and Herb’s YouTube channel – historyteachers – have been uploaded over 3.5 million times. They created the videos with the the purpose of making their curriculum fun, engaging, and educational for their students. They have around 50 plus music videos on world history topics. The videos are educational and they are catchy. The learning process becomes an enriching experience when you combine their passion for history and music.

Here’s a sample music video on the French Revolution:

They were recently featured on TEDx. Here is their TEDx project “What I learned from Napoleon and MTV?”

Who are Herb and Amy?

Amy is a 19 year Humanities teacher and is a a leader in educational technology. Her work in the History for Music Lovers project has appeared in Wired magazine, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, CBC, NPR, international blogs and media. Herb has been a classroom educator for twenty years. He is a composer, arranger, musician, web designer, and filmmaker.

Resources Share from Pete Laberge

Here is Amy Burvall’s Own Official Web Page (c/w Biography, etc.): http://www.amyburvall.com/#!
This is Amy Burvasll’s WIX site: http://amyburvall.wix.com/events#!home/mainPage
Here is Amy Burvall’s Tumblr Log: http://amyburvall.tumblr.com/
Here is Amy Burvall’s Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/#!/amyburvall
Here is Amy and Herb’s HistoryTeacherz Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/#!/historyteacherz
Here is their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/historyteacherz
Official TEDX Hawaii, Nov 2011
Ignite Honolulu 4 (Aug 2012) : “PARODY-SO: The Unexpected Lessons of a History Teacher Turned Edulebrity”
The Creativity Salon Interview (With the late great Neil Tepper) Ignore the first 1.5 mins, as it is some sort of commercial
Here is one young lady who was inspired by them to make her own videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/sarahjoygordonpdx She sings some really cool history parodies.
Another good history link (Hip Hughes, Buffalo, NY), not related to the history teachers), is here: Very good USA history, and Civics videos. And animated lecturer, who also does some world history stuff. Hip Hughes Tweets at: @hiphughes
Here is a good math/science link (Mr.Edmonds), not related, either)
Then, there is Dan Rojas at Green Power Science on YouTube (Kids, do not try this stuff at home, ok!)

Create an Infographic for your Classroom!

Date August 18, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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I learned about infographics from Twitter’s #sschat. Before Monday I had no clue how to make an infographic. Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge. Here is more information: What is an info-graphic?

Easel.ly is one of the simplest websites to design an infographic for your classroom, a lesson, for a school poster, and the ideas can go on and on. Easel.ly is “easy to use,” free, and within a matter of minutes you can make an infographic, unless you are a perfectionist like me, in that case it will take you a few hours.

Once you create an account you select a theme, select objectives and shapes, design the layout, add text, and you can create an infographic is a short amount of time. Easel.ly is not the only website that allows users to create infographics, another is visual.ly, which seems to have a fewer resources. I seemed to prefer Easel.ly.

According to Jamie Forshey author of Edutech for Teachers blog, Infographics can be used as a “visual to show students and educators the way that technology is projected to continue shaping our lives, world—and education! What a great way to motivate, encourage, persuade and guide students in post-secondary career planning! It’s also an excellent visual for stressing the importance of exposing students to relevant, real-world tech tools in the classroom setting.”

Here is a sample infographic I made for my classroom. I brought it to staples to enlarge it or you can use the Block Posters web tool to create your poster. I also embedded it on my blog.

Use Splashtop to Remotely Access Any of Your Files Anywhere

Date August 17, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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I discovered Splashtop from @mraabbe on twitter. Splashtop is an amazing program that true makes a teachers life easier and helps you deliever the “best-in-class remote desktop experience.” Splashtop is a remote desktop service. It allows you to remote control your Windows or Mac computer from a mobile device, either via local WiFi or over the Internet.

Imagine the possibilities of using your ipad to control your computer. I am now able to edit/play my powerpoint and play a flash video. It is truly the easiest way to access all of your content from ANY device ANYWHERE! New York Times called it “both a breakthrough and a bargain.”

Splashtop has won the prestigious “Most Innovative Product” award from PC World, the “Best of What’s New” award from Popular Science and the ”Best of 2012 CES” award from LAPTOP Magazine.

Features:

view and edit files remotely (no transfer or sync)
use your favorite Mac or Windows programs
watch videos at up to 30 frames per second
stream music collection from another computer
give presentations with full audio and video to engage your audience
play graphic intensive games and more!

What do you have to install?

All you have to do is install FREEstreamer on your desktop or laptop computer and then download the app from the Google Play or App Store. The app costed $4.99 but it is SOOO worth the money if you want to teach while walking around the room and harness the power of your computer from your mobile device. It is quick and easy- just log in and connect your computer.

Take a 360 Panorama Image

Date August 16, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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Have you ever wondered how you can bring parents into the classroom and make them feel as if they are truly apart of the class? I discovered 360 Panorama at Edcamp Hudson Valley. With 360 Panorama you can capture a panorama image of your classroom. Ways you can use this app: you can take a picture of your classroom to show prospective students or parents, you can use it demonstrating any class activity, demo, or lab. The ideas are endless!

It is so simple to use, with either an Android or an iOS device you can take pictures of your locations from multiple angles. You can see the panorama image being built in realtime as every picture is being added. When you’re done, you can save your panorama or share it using any social media website. Here’s a sample 360 image. View your panoramas as photos or experience them in immersive 360 View. There is nothing else like it!

Use iMotion to display movement with images

Date August 15, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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I love watching Planet Earth and always wondered how the director showed the images and videos in slow or fast motion. Yesterday at EdCamp Hudson Valley, I discovered a basic editing software that can allow you to edit and make images move using time-lapse software. The iPad app is called iMotion, which is a powerful time-lapse software that allows images or videos to move. It is very simple to use all you have to do is take pictures, edit your movie, and export it directly to youtube or play in on the iPad. It is a technique that displays movement. I could see a science teacher or elementary teacher using this app to demonstrate the life cycle or weather patterns to students. Not sure how I could use it in the social studies classroom, but it seems too cool to not share. Check it out today.

Here is a sample Video:

Multitask on the iPad with Side by Side

Date August 14, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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I discovered Side by Side at the Edcamp Hudson Valley Conference. Side by side is an interesting app that allows you to split screen on the iPad. For example while you are reading a website or a PDF, you may need a notepad, email, or facebook at the same time. Rather than flip between two screens you can just organize your ipad using Side by Side. You can also open two similar documents side by side to read and compare. When you want to focus on one side, you still can cover the full iPad screen with one of the panels. It is simple to use check it out today!

IWitness: Personal Holocaust Video Testimonials

Date August 5, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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I learned about iWitness from @ghkcole from #sschat. IWitness is a website for teachers and students that has over 1,000 Holocaust video testimonials of survivors and witnesses. This collection is just a small part of the collection maintained by the University of Southern California’s Shoah Foundation Institute, established in 1994 by Steven Spielberg.

This is a wonderful resource for schools teaching about the Holocaust. According to iWitness, “Students have the opportunity to use technology to become more active learners while encountering survivors and other eyewitnesses talking about their experiences before, during and after the Holocaust. This application empowers them to participate in their own learning by providing them with the tools to think critically, investigate, develop projects, analyze, and collaborate with others.” I plan on having my students go to the website and do a personal history search a couple nights before I teach about the Holocaust. Students will then come in to discuss, share, and reflect on what they learned about the Holocaust. You can watch a short video demonstration of IWitness here.

Flocabulary: Much More than Just a Song!

Date August 4, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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I am always amazed when I talk with social studies teachers who have never heard of Flocabulary. Flocabulary creates hip-hop music and materials to supplement your curriculum. The first time I ever played a US history Flocabulary song my college roommate came in dancing…. little did she know it was about “who discovered it” related to Christopher Columbus. I use everyone of the US history songs as a unit preview. I actually made a powerpoint of images and typed the lyrics to go along with the Flocabulary songs. Through the rap songs we discuss key vocabulary and concepts we will learn with the upcoming unit. Even though Flocabulary is no longer free, it is well worth the money to subscribe to its wonderful features!

Another reason I love to use Flocabulary in the classroom is the Week in Rap. Every week on Friday mornings, Flocabulary puts together the week’s biggest or most interesting current event stories into a rap music video. The week in rap discusses the hottest topics of the week, such as the Travon Martin case, the oil spill, crisis in Syria to name a few. My 8th grade students in White Plains, NY loved the Week in Rap. They actually asked to watch it every week. I was even surprised that after spring break, they asked if they could watch it from the week before!

The best part about the week in rap is not just the music, even though it is good, they love discussing the current events. Yes, you read that right! They love discussing the current events. After I play the week in rap, I ask them if there is anything they want to discuss. Around 18 hands in my classroom instantaneously shoot up. I am often not leading the discussion, but facilitating it. Students respond by saying “oh I heard that on the news,” “my mom was talking about that” “I heard….” The discussions that come from the 3 minute Week in Rap is one of the reasons I became a teacher.

Another awesome feature of the Week in Rap, is that they make the past 18 years in rap for recent high school grads. I always show it at the end of the year, but I also show it at the beginning of the year and introduce the concept: what is history? My students are always impressed with how much history they lived through after watching the past 18 years in rap. It is a great beginning of the school year activity to start the discussion what is history and how we are apart of it.

The Last 18 Years In Rap from Flocabulary on Vimeo.

Flow of History: Reading and Flow Charts

Date August 4, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

Comments0

I learned about the Flow of History Website from @shawnmccusker. The 243 readings and flow charts organized by time period and subject, which makes it easy to navigate. Each flow chart provides a one-page overview of a historical topic with a hyper- to the people, events, and forces that affected different periods in history.

The Flow of History can be a quick reference tool for specific historical topics, the starting point for deeper research, or integrated to enhance any curriculum. According to Shawn the Flow of History is a “great site with helpful flowcharts that connect ideas in History. Great for breaking free from the textbook.” You can even get the iPad app.

Cast: Center for Applied Special Technology

Date August 4, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

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The Center for Applied Special Technology (cast) was designed to explore ways of using new technologies to provide better educational experiences to students with disabilities. Through the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach CAST is looking to innovate the field of curriculum planning, software development, state and national policy, teacher preparation and support, and education research.

Their learning tools page has a lot of resources such as a book builder to support literacy, guidelines, lesson builder, online modules, and tutoring to name a few. The CAST website provides teachers with a library of research, professional devlopment, and learning tools to support the Universal Design for Learning principals. Check it out today!

Teach Civics: Use Project Vote Smart

Date July 28, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

Comments0

Project Vote Smart is a wonderful website for any civic or government teacher. The website is designed to be practical informative, and useful when teaching about Congress, political parties, campaign finance, the Constitution, elections, state government and much more. There are lessons, interactive activities, and so many other resources.

The Voter’s Self-Defense System

Every candidate and elected official from President to local government can be easily and instantly accessed through the Voter’s Self-Defense System:

Voting Records — Project Vote Smart digests key legislation in Congress and all 50 states into easy-to-understand summaries, making it easy to compare what your representatives said during the campaign with how they actually voted on the record.
Biographical & Contact InformationBiographical & Contact Information — From their previous professions, education, family life, and organizational memberships, to their latest e-mail address; we gather it all.
Issue Positions (Political Courage Test) — We test thousands of candidates for President, Congress, Governor and State Legislature with our Political Courage Test. The Test accurately measures candidates’ willingness to provide voters with their positions on the issues they will most likely face if elected.
Interest Group Ratings— See how over 150 competing special interest groups evaluate your representatives. Despite their bias, special interest group ratings can help indicate where an incumbent has stood on a particular set of issues.
Public Statements — Vote Smart is constantly collecting speeches and public comments made by the president, governors, and congressional representatives. Just type in a word, say; ‘immigration’ and all public utterances containing the word ‘immigration’ will appear. Compare what they said while campaigning in California a few years ago to what they are saying now in New Hampshire.
Campaign FinancesCampaign Finances — How much money did your representatives raise and from whom?

First Week Lesson Idea: The Danger of a Single Story

Date July 27, 2012

Posted by melissaseideman

Comments0

The Danger of a Single Story is an interesting first week of school activity that I plan to implement in my classroom. My students will start the lesson by writing three facts, stories, or generations OTHER people see or think about themselves on one side of the post it. We will then watch the TED Video called “Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story.” We will discuss the “single story” stereotypes and what it means in our society.

Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. ” The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story,” Chimamanda Adichie. Lesson Conclusion: I will then have students write three facts, generations, or stories that most people don’t know about them on the post it. I am ideally encouraging them to challenge the single story in their lives. I will then shuffle the post it’s around and have students “guess who” the post it’s belong to. The end of the lesson will conclude with a discussion about stereotypes, prejudice, and the importance of understanding and learning a story before judging it.

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