Quest to Balance my Blended Room

          World History in North Carolina is a demanding course.  It asks students to learn information from 3200 B.C.E. to the 1990's C.E. in ONE semester.  Every other state I've worked in has had World History broken up into at least two classes (in the one state it was only mandatory that you take one of the two and you could decide if you wanted to focus on Ancient or Modern).  While I would LOVE to spend days going into aspects of culture, have more hands on projects, and go in depth with the topics we teach, there just isn't time or resources.  So thus far this is my quest for a blended classroom.

         We have traditional notes for half the period (my class is broken into Round One and Round Two so you either start on the iPads or start on the notes side - I have five iPads, thus the need for rounds).  We have graphic organizers, fill-ins (clozes), Q and A's, or mini projects to work on on the traditional side.  The other side of the room, the students have a list of items posted on Edmodo to accomplish as well as the deadlines for them.  By having the assignments posted on Edmodo it allows me to include the information for the assignment, the document (so they can use hyperlinks if applicable), AND they can write me with questions without disrupting the other side of the room (except for the pinging of the iPad to tell me that there's a question).  This semester I have three things automatically going on for every unit thus far; next Unit is so short we will only be doing one and two.  

1) Quizlet - write down their vocabulary and review their vocabulary; I also have Types of Government and Gods and Goddesses on their quizlet for this unit so they can study at home. (They can also put this on their smart phones and study on the bus, etc.)

2) Project - We've done posters and basic things using the technology for research, but traditional supplies for the end product.  Last unit we did Voicethread, this unit we are using iMovie, next unit we're going to be using Key Note.

3) Webquests - This is how I'm getting my in-depth information to them.  They are given a specific set of websites to go to that has information based on the N.C. Essential Standards and interesting facts that might gain their interest further.  They can work as individuals or as a group (individuals come before school or after school or they can work on it from home if they have computer access).  Some of the questions from the test are sometimes taken from them or open ended questions during the traditional side of the room are based on what they're covering in the webquest.

By posting items on Edmodo and having the independent side of the room students are not just working on school work for class, but collaboration for the projects, time management skills for making sure they have everything done, etc.

Learning Teams:

My students are also broken up into learning teams that change every unit to every other unit.  So by the end of the semester, they will have worked with almost everyone in the class (if not everyone).  This semester they put preferences for the first grouping, but have been changed multiple times since then based on my assignments.

Issues Arising from Groupings:

I take their complaints about not wanting to work with someone by letting them know that those types of arguments would not be acceptable in the real world job scenario (you can't go to your boss and say you don't like someone so you don't want to work with them and expect it to happen), so they aren't applicable in my classroom either since I'm trying to prepare them for the 21st century.

So while there are various challenges emerging with a blended classroom I'm still on a quest to make sure it's balanced.   Suggestions? 

Anti-Smoking Ad

     A person's choice whether to smoke or not at this point is considered to be a personal choice as long as they're old enough to decide how to spend their money.  The problem is that more students are experimenting with things like cigarettes at a very young age.  The issue is not whether or not they should have freedom of choice, or whether or not smoking is cool, but the long term impact smoking is going to have on a developing body.  I saw this ad while perusing FlipBoard this weekend and I gotta say, I agreed with the blog posting it was posted on.  It is potentially the BEST Anti-Smoking Ad of all time.  My only question would be is if this was done in the United States,
would there be adults who provide the light???  

iCivics.org

          Four years ago I happened upon a website called iCivics.org and I have been using it ever since.  Even though I'm not currently teaching Civics and Economics, I still find uses for the website.  When we are discussing the Enlightenment and Revolutions in World History and comparing the English Bill of Rights with the American Bill of Rights "Do I Have a Right?" makes for a great interactive review of the rights afforded to citizens of this country.  I was disappointed this year when I received my iPads because they do not work with flash and thus do not work with iCivics.org.  HOWEVER, recently I was perusing the iCivics site when I found they had developed an App for the iPad.  "Pocket Law Firm" is the iPad version of "Do I Have a Right?"

          "Do I Have a Right?" or "Pocket Law Firm" has students put in their name, they get to choose who they want to be their partner in the law firm (choice between two different people representing two different amendments), and then the clients start filing in.  Each new client comes with an issue - students have to decide whether the person's rights are being violated or not, and if they are being violated they need to match them with the correct lawyer for that issue or ask them to come back and try to acquire the right lawyer before the next round.  They also win money for winning court cases.  With the money they need to budget to get more lawyers, fix up the waiting room, spend it on things for the lawyers to make them smarter and faster, etc.  

I'd recommend this site and app for Social Studies Teachers everywhere 

for Middle School - High School Students! 

Check It Out By Clicking Here

Evaluation for the First Semester Thus Far

     So far this semester has been a trivial time of adapting lessons to meet Common Core/Essential Standards demands, while also making engaging lessons for students using technology in a way that lets them learn twenty-first century skills (technological ones as well as social) and lets them delve deeper into the curriculum.  

 

     World History is an intense class already - we cover over 6,000 years of history in one semester.  So I need a way to cover the main points, themes, and concepts while also not staying in one section for too long.  Here are some of the things I've done with my students that have been successful and some that haven't been AS successful as they could have been.

- Webquests - my standard go to at the moment, almost every unit I teach has students going and completing a webquest on the iPads.  This really allows me to have students go research and delve into specific topics, while not spending hours on it at the front of the room in straight lecture.

- Quizlet  - Students who have not been studying well have seen drastic improvements using the Quizlet app on the iPads (please note Quizlet is a Web 2.0 application on a website and the app came later).  Students can access Quizlet not only on their computer at home, or the iPads in the classroom, but on their smart phones as well.  Students have seen fluctuations as big as 30's turning into 100's using Quizlet.

- Fodey.com - I did a previous post about Fodey.com; Fodey.com is another web-based application that does not use Flash so it is perfect for the iPads.  It allows students to create secondary resources for an event, that look like an actual newspaper, and provide not only an activity where they need to research, develop, and create their story to be historically accurate, but it gives them a finished product that looks quite marvy.

- iMovie - I must say my students love iMovie.  We have done two major projects with iMovie.  The first was Greek Gods and Goddesses.  Students had to create an iMovie trailer that showed their God/Goddess without actually saying the name of their God or Goddess.  The videos were then used as a review in class the day before the Gods and Goddesses quiz.  The second and most recent was the Enlightenment Interview making an iMovie Project in which one member was the host of the news program, one was the camera person and the third was the person the group was assigned.  Students then had to conduct an interview about the person's life from childhood to adulthood as well as why they were famous.  This one in the future is going to have a different set up.  They are going to have a generalized fill-in for the interview and storyboarding for their camera shots.  The videos ended up coming in with highly diverse levels of performance.  So it will be edited before next semester.

- Keynote - Keynote (iMovie and Keynote were two apps that I purchased this semester) is like Power Point in certain regards and nothing like Power Point in others.  Students who watched the tutorial were more at ease with the transition into Keynote than those who just jumped in trying to work on their presentations.  We have done Keynote Presentations on World Religions and Renaissance people.  So far I have been impressed with their outcomes.  

     Some random things, students can easily get frustrated in using the iPads when a program isn't immediately working.  If it isn't working just close the program completely and reopen it and 9 times out of 10 it is working again.   When students are doing collaboration projects I have them fill out evaluation forms that simply state... "I Did" with lines available to fill in and "My Group Mates Did" with lines available and students are supposed to write about each member of the group independently.  I don't allow them to talk or exchange papers during the evaluation to see what each person wrote down and see if they match.  If a student didn't participate to the full extent of other group members they do not get the same grade as everyone else.

So far I would say that overall I'm quite happy with where I am thus far and look forward to coming up with more ideas and finding more apps that assist my students in learning more about World History (and hopefully next semester more African American Studies projects as well!).

Fodey.com... I'm in LOVE

     While perusing my usual PLN locations, I had answered someone's post about things I do in my classroom to make innovative lessons.  The next person that posted truly sent an EXCELLENT Web 2.0 application.  Fodey.com allows you to create  newspaper article clippings about events/themes/etc. and make it look realistic!  It only does the one little corner of an article and if your title is too long for your article is will cut it off.  However, it will include anything you typed into the article.  

     My African American Studies class used fodey.com to create Newspaper Articles for the different events in the Scottsboro Boys cases.  We had articles covering from their initial arrest to their initial court case to their retrials and finally the government stepping in to release the boys.

     My World History class will be using fodey.com for World War II and creating articles for main events during World War II which will be upload into a Google Doc to put them all chronologically.  

     This application is quick and easy.  Students can change the name of the Newspaper, the date, the name of the article, and then write the article itself.  Once they are done they click "Generate" and voila they have their article appear at the top of the screen.  They can save it (it is a picture file) by downloading it and then they can either send you the file they sent or they can upload them to google docs and create a newspaper clipping timeline.   

Google Translate... Saves the Day

     Google Translate is not always faithful in its translations of foreign languages, but did you know that it reads English really well?  I have been using Google Translate for my read aloud students who only occasionally want certain words read to them.  Rather than them having to go ask an adult in the library or in another classroom I arm them with an iPad that is restricted from Safari and other programs that might be used to help cheat and allow them to type in what they want read and then they hit the speaker and it reads the words to them.  They no longer need to feel self-conscious about asking, because they don't need to ask anyone, so at least my students, have been more likely to use the program.
   
    Google Translate also came in handy when I was sick with a sinus infection.  My sinus infections come quickly and out of no where.  I went from being completely fine to not having a voice in less than twelve hours.  I had an important meeting on the day I lost my voice though (one I had been attempting to set up for WEEKS) and was not about to miss my parent conference because I had no voice.  Google Translate allowed me to talk to my students during the day without talking, as well as communicating with the parent without saying a word.  It truly saved the day!  Google Translate helps in multiple areas, not just translating :) 

Greek Gods and Goddesses

Idea: Using the iPad iMovie (4.99 in app store) to create depictions of the Greek Gods and Goddesses

Goal: Apply the notes on Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses

Student Need To: Portray the God or Goddess they were assigned without using their name at ANY point in the Movie Trailer

Students Were Graded On: Title of their Movie, Theme they chose to represent their god or goddess (i.e. Hades = Scary, Dionysus = Retro; Aphrodite = Romance), Acting, Subtitles, Costume, and then Overall Depiction of the God or Goddess being shown

   The project took 45 minutes for each group for three days to be working on them.  On the fourth day we spent time watching all of the videos in class, talking about the god or goddess they were portraying and then who they were in the Roman context versus the Greek.  This was not only an great student centered project, but it had students applying the knowledge of the gods and goddesses they learned in class and then also served as a review for them the day before the quiz.