Online Presentation: Mountains

The online presentation allowed me to see how there are many other ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. This activity could be adjusted to fit any curriculum standard and can be surprisingly fun. I enjoyed coming up with my own topic: a PowerPoint presentation about the world's tallest mountains. I thought that finding the pictures and the facts that would accompany them really solidified the information in my mind. I think that the same would be true of any class that I would teach in the Social Studies. I essentially did a Geography lesson with my mountain presentation, but I could have chosen the Emperors of Rome, the artists of the Renaissance, the battles of the American Civil War, or each of the Amendments of the Bill of Rights. The flexibility of the online presentation is really what gives this activity such bravado in the teacher's planning arsenal.

Scavenger Hunt

I thoroughly enjoyed the scanvenger hunt because it gave us an opportunity to get out of the classroom and do something hands on. I think it was an excellent break from business as usual, and yet was still highly relevant to the course as a whole.

I can easily see how an activity such as this can be altered and made into a really effective lesson activity for any classroom, regardless of age or ability. Not to mention, it can be a really fun activity that students can enjoy and look forward to doing again. If students are excited about school activities they are more likely to get something from it.

Inquiry Based Activity

I actually thoroughly enjoyed researching and creating the Inquiry Based Activity. To me it was something that I could easily see myself using in classes that I will teach. I did mine on the Peloponnesian War, between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. This particular episode in history was an excellent choice. I first provided a websites that compared and contrasted the two cities. This was to give students background information (or a refresher course) on the two participates in the conflict. After answering a series of questions from that website, the students were directed to another website which discussed the basics of the Peloponnesian War. The students were required to answer another four questions. The last question took all the information they had learned through the course of the activity and write a paragraph as to which city they would rather have been a citizen (or member) of. I could easily use this same template to talk about topics throughout Ancient/World/US History.

Reviewing Websites

I found the process of reviewing academic websites to be an easy exercise, but that may have been the consequences of picking a really wonderful website. Due to my social studies background, I decided that I would use the Digital History website to review. I am really glad I did. It had tons of resources for both teachers and students alike; it was really interactive as well.

I can see why reviewing websites will become even more crucial as time goes on. My generation (I was born in 1989) was perhaps the last generation that will be able to remember collecting books and magazine articles to include in your next research paper. This is because we can all remember a time, though vaguely, before the internet. As the internet continues to grow and continues to increase the size of its digital library, it will become important for students to know how to navigate the internet to find appropriate sources for their own academic papers. Hopefully, we as teachers can do our part in assuring that our students do not believe everything they see on the internet. 

Course Expectations

I want to use this course to get a more concise understanding of how I can use technology to enhance my teaching ability. With this knowledge, I will be able to engage the next generation through technology, something that they have grown up around.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog: Clicking through TPTE 486!

Through the Summer semester of 2013, I will use this blog to reflect on my time taking the TPTE 486 course at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville. Enjoy!