Three (3) Web 2.0 Social Studies Tools (5th-12th grade)

Behind the A.T.E. Ball

Before we get to today's post, I want to address the relevant issue of regular updates of classroom computers, and web browser plug ins. 

      Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP, or Apple OS X will upgrade automatically once you affirm consent by clicking "Ok". The problem in most schools is the teacher does not have the administrator's password to perform system updates or browser plug ins. If you do not have the administrator's password the update will not install, and an annoying reminder will persistently call your attention to the necessity to update. This is even more critical with security software.

      If this is your situation, I urge you to contact your on site or district IT personnel and arrange for regular OS, anti-virus, and browser plug in updates. 

Adobe Flash and Oracle's Java plug-ins are essential (along with iTunes and QuickTime) to your web browser's ability to stay current with evolving interactive content. Flash and Java need to be updated every 3 to 4 weeks. iTunes and QuickTime, about 6 to 8 weeks. Anti-virus updates vary, but on average are 3 to 5 weeks. Operating system updates for Windows generally occur every month or so. Apple OS updates happen less frequently.

     So, to ensure a seamless web experience, it is essential your computer and web browser and anti virus software are running the latest versions available.

Edu Glogster: Interactive Video Poster

http://edu.glogster.com is an interactive video blog that allows students and teachers to combine video, images, text, hyperlinks, PDFs, audio and voice into one integrated, interconnected poster for reports, presentations and group assignments. The site promotes media, text, original documents, and web links into a user defined template to construct an interactive poster for blended learning.

        This is a subscription based website; however, for an annual fee of only $25.00, one teacher can supervise 30 individual student projects, or any combination of groups containing 30 students This is a tremendous value that is worthy of your scrutiny. 

      After you register with a username, email and password you are assigned an unique account number that allows you to set up your glogster classroom roster. Each of your students can be arranged individually or in preassigned groups. Once they are logged on, you can track their projects from the Glogster dashboard on your computer. You can choose to assess the project as it develops or upon completion. You can also decide which projects meet your standards for publication either for in class review or embedded into the school website. Below is a sample Edu Glogster poster.

Sample Interactive Glogster Poster

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Edu Glogster conforms to national technology standards so you can rest assured your students are working within approved learning guidelines. Access to the site requires a broadband connection through your local area network (wired), or a 35 Mbps to 50 Mbps (Megabit per second) WiFi connection for smooth video playback. 

Docs Teach

http://docsteach.org is a remarkably powerful interactive site specifically developed to promote inquiry based learning in history and social studies. The creators of the site have worked with the education division of the National Archives to develop a web site that actually promotes critical evaluation of sources, and other support materials to answer questions about historical events or figures.

Teachers use site suggested lesson outlines to promote classroom discussions. For example, the Korean War career of General Douglas McArthur. Was he a brilliant military strategist? Did he risk an intractable conflict by pursuing the Chinese Army into China? Was President Truman justified in firing him?

Students have an opportunity to examine historical documents from the National Archives, and a variety of supporting sources to weight the evidence via an interactive fulcrum (see image below). The site helps students think like historians by exposing them to grade appropriate critical analysis techniques like the preponderance of evidence, original sources and facts based conclusions. Your class will enjoy being "history detectives" with this robust, interactive site.

Docs Teach Welcome Screen

History Wired

http://www.historywired.si.edu

Finally, a few words about a site from the Smithsonian Institution that in my mind is a great adjunct to Docs Teach. History Wired presents a timeline from 1400 to 2000 that is further subdivided by tabs such as "Accomplishments", "Art", "Commerce", "Events" etc. (see sample below). The tabs open up to more details about artifacts contained in the Smithsonian collection.

History Wired Welcome Screen

Teachers can search for other related items in the collection to build a robust, historical artifact rich assignment. Combine History Wired hyperlinks with Docs Teach original documents into a Edu Glogster poster, and you will have an impressive project that demonstrates sophisticated use of the web to accomplish serious inquiries that go beyond Wikipedia, and unsubstantiated opinions.

     These three sites, working in tandem can present your students with invaluable resources (two thirds of which are free). Together or separately they provide an exciting, interactive learning experience that will make your students hungry for the opportunity to challenge and expand their investigative skills.