Service Learning Projects

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASBV1L6FVFF-ZGR6OWcydnNfMGhjNWJoOGc3&hl=en

Here are some awesome ideas if you are interested in implementing service learning projects into your classroom.

Glogster

Service Learning Project: Your Community Through the Ages

Title: Your Community Through the Ages

Area of Service: Community Development and Oral Histories

Grade level/setting: 8th Grade

Subject Area: American History

Unit Description:
During a unit on the Cold War era, students will do a study of its influence on their community by choosing a local landmark or person to research. If a person is chosen, students will conduct a recorded interview of that person using questions previously formulated. Students will then take the information discovered in the interview and create a biographic article based on that person’s experience and the research they will conduct individually. If a landmark is chosen, such as a mural, students will individually research the significance behind it and frame an article comparable to the articles developed based on human experience. If possible, students will video themselves talking about the landmark on location. Students will then take the completed articles and upload them onto a wiki. Articles must include a picture of the person interviewed or the landmark at all costs. The recorded interview or video will also be uploaded. Students from the entire community and beyond will be invited to participate in this service learning project with the intension of expanding the wiki to cover more the community’s history than the Cold War. Through a partnership with the local newspaper, various student articles will be published every day bringing awareness to the existence of the wiki and the request for community involvement on the wiki. This is a truly hands-on way to make history relatable by bringing it to the student’s backyard.

Goals:
 Students will apply inquiry skills to study American History using primary sources.
 Students will research the role of men and women of diverse backgrounds in the Cold War era and the different impressions experienced because of the period .
 Students will better understand the influence and background of the Cold War and its impact still felt today.
 Students will appreciate their local community and its contribution to our history.
 The Community as a whole will connect and acceptance will increase because of the shared experience.

Standards:
SS.8.A.1.1: Provide supporting details for an answer from text, interview for oral history, check validity of information from research/text, and identify strong vs. weak arguments.

SS.8.A.1.4: Differentiate fact from opinion, utilize appropriate historical research and fiction/nonfiction support materials.

NETS:
Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

Research and Information Fluency: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making: Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

Technologies/Web applications:
 Wikis will be used in this project to launch the research material. Wikispaces.com offers an advisement free environment while also being easy-to-use.
 Along with the wiki, students will employ digital cameras, video cameras, recorders, and laptops to complete the assignments.
 Students will also be required to upload podcasts onto the wiki.

Assessment:
Students will be graded based on their wiki participation. A rubric will be provided to explain the wiki requirements. Requirements include understanding of the concept research, thoroughness, and creativity.
The wiki will be a portion of the student’s research paper grade.

Imagine.....

Here’s something to think about…What if the media implications discussed in Clay Shirkey’s talk had been available during the settlement of Roanoke? What if while the settlers were associating with the Indians, teens were Facebooking about new love and the fact that their parents were moving into the surrounding Indian villages? Then, their families back in England could have maintained contact with them and even saw pictures of new Indian relatives. Women might have tweeted of how their new Indian mother-in-laws were overbearing, while men tweeted about life on the land. In the case of starvation, tweets could have been posted on Twitter or placed directly on the Monarchy’s website to send food immediately.

On the other hand, if the settlers had been massacred by the Indians, live video feeds could have been up loaded by cell phones giving ships from England the chance to maybe come to the rescue. The original Roanoke settlement might still be thriving now if today’s media had been around in the sixteenth century?

It’s scary to think of how life would be different today if immediate, global media had existed throughout history. Do you think having the advantage of today’s media will further generate a better world or will it make a difference at all?

The Machine is (Changing) Us!

Michael Wesch’s lecture, The Machine is (Changing) Us: Youtube and the Politics of Authenticity, presents a unique insight into today’s social networking and the social networking movement that is Youtube. Wesch’s depiction of the motives behind the engagement in present crazes like American Idol and Youtube, suggest that Americans and, in particular, young Americans today own a narcissistic attitude and a belief in warranting the right to be seen and heard. These social networks provide just the avenues sought after.

For decades, the media, specifically television, has dictated our conversations, opinions, and even our culture through one-sided communication. Today, like never before, people mediate the media. Social networking can be used as an opportunity in finding ones identity. The film discussed that in certain circumstances, people felt more comfortable revealing aspects about themselves to the world through Youtube than with their close friends and families. Social networking also allows a comfortable way to connect to others, inevitably improving the situations of those feeling insignificant and making bigger differences for causes that might otherwise be ignored.

My opinion of social networking after watching the video has not changed and I believe educators have no other option than to implement some form of social networking into their classrooms. Most students directly or indirectly are involved in some sort of social network and it is our job as educators to teach them to use it responsibly and morally. I think simple classroom wikis or nings and global service learning projects are some great ways to employ social networking into the classroom. Other networks like Youtube can be a great resource for teachers and students alike, when used logically. My only concern with social networking is that genuine face-to-face conversations will be compromised and maybe even lost to the generations coming after us. Does anyone else share this concern or am I being a spoilsport? haha

Sigi Freud

The educational collection I contributed to encompassed podcasts about the life and works of Sigmund Freud. Freud, as most of us know, is recognized for his suppositions concerning the unconscious mind and his unprecedented theories relating to sexuality. Although many of his theories have been discredited, psychoanalysis as it exists today can, in almost all fundamental respects, be traced directly back to Freud’s original work.
To begin my unit on Freud, I would show a preview of a documentary on Sigmund Freud made by the people at Biography. The video found at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1790072718824083699#docid=-7134767319633389506 gives an exciting, engaging overview of Freud’s life. Next, I would separate the students into small groups and have them answer and discuss guiding questions for the purpose of intensely analyzing his major theories including his sometimes absurd presumptions. The collection would be used during this portion of the lesson for the reason that some of the podcasts lecture on Freud’s theories, such as his theory of development. Each group would take turns listening to the podcasts and analyzing his other theories through websites like http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/freud/freud02a.html. This website is unique, in that, many of Freud’s theories are explained along side pictures of his patients, his family and his manuscripts. To conclude, I would wrap-up the lesson by initiating a class discussion about the theories to ensure that all content and objectives had been covered.