Practical Application - Wikispaces

Wikispaces is a useful way for teachers and students to share information they have researched or compiled for a class or lesson. Teachers can create a Wikispace for a class that includes a schedule, syllabus, projects and general class information. Students could be required to, in groups or alone, create a Wikispace regarding a topic or lesson in which they compile information in a succinct format for their fellow students to read. This app could be used to create a digital Jigsaw activity for the class to collectively gather information on a broad and complex topic.

Wikispaces provides free access for teachers and students, with a $1,000 yearly fee to connect a school, district or campus all in one space. Wikispaces is designed for educators and is easily edited, adjusted and promotes an active atmosphere within the classroom, the free version is plenty for any single teacher.

Below are a few images of Wikispaces in action...


Wikispaces is a helpful tool for teachers to keep students involved, including the ability to monitor student progress.
  

Users can customize their pages with ease, including uploading photos, videos or any sources from the web.



Projects and homework can be added with a description, instructions and due date. Teachers can set an automatic reminder when an assignment is due.

Practical Application - Powtoon

Powtoon is a Powerpoint or Prezi style presentation application that is very useful for the classroom. Powtoon uses animations, characters and voice or music to liven up a lecture or lesson. A teacher can introduce a topic or provide a review that keeps the student's attention and enthusiasm. The app can be used in a flipped classroom situation to provide students with the information needed to expand their thoughts in the classroom. Presentations are easily sharable via social media, email or youtube. Powtoon can be used by students for projects and presentations, but the learning curve is a bit steep. The tutorial is very thorough and helpful, but the application can still prove to be complicated.  

Powtoon is a free application with a premium package that allows access to more animations and features. Powtoon Pro is $89 per month if subscribed one month at a time, or $228 a year ($19 per month) if subscribing a year at a time. It is a hefty price for a presentation app, but if used correctly it could be worth it.

The biggest complaint with the app is if a user chooses the free version, Powtoon Pro only options still show up while building the slides. This can create confusion while compiling animations or transitions for a presentation.

Below are a few images of Powtoon in action...

There are many animation options and actions to live up a lesson. Every slide, down to the second of each action, is customizable.


Users can choose to record their voice and speak as the slides provide images and information.


There are a wide array of sharing options, most are free to use without the Pro version.



Users can customize everything in the presentation, including uploading images, music and recordings.

Practical Application - Padlet

Padlet is a very useful presentation and organization tool; my personal favorite teaching application. Padlet allows a teacher to compile videos, pictures, videos articles and other forms of media on a creative web page for students to access. A teacher can create a Padlet for every unit that can includes lessons and further sources of information for students to access. The app can also be used by students to create a presentation or to collectively compile information and sources on a topic or theme.

Padlet is free to use, but offers a teacher package for $45 a year and a school package for $1499 a year. The teacher package allows for unlimited student accounts with the flexibility to keep students records year to year. The school package allows for unlimited teacher and student accounts.

The creative flexibility and simple features allows for quick learning and easy use. If a school does not provide laptops or tablets, Padlet offers both apple and android apps for smartphone use. I have no doubt that I will use Padlet in all of my future classrooms; the $45 will be money well spent.

Below are a few images of Padlet features...    

Users can easily add videos and play them within the window.


Padlets are easily edited and customizable, although some backgrounds and setups require a paid package.



Adding sources and links is as easy as copy and pasting a link, drag and drop a file or picture, or take a picture or video with the computer itself.

Practical Application - Lucidchart

Lucidchart is a great way to help students visualize and organize new information. Teachers can provide a template or structure for the students to fill out during the lesson or as a review. Lucidchart can be shared and collaborated between students and teachers online to help ensure everyone understands a topic or lesson.

There is a free subscription that limits access and templates. For $60 a year, customers receive all templates and documents as well as increased storage. The free subscription should prove to be plenty for a classroom situation.

This app can be very helpful to any social studies lesson. Topics and themes can often be dense and complicated. A sharable, collaborative visual representation of different lessons could prove to be hugely helpful to both the students and teacher.
Below are a few images of the features on Lucidchart...

The base or example template on Lucidchart.


There is an array of shape, format and text options to incorporate into the chart; including the ability to add photos.


Teachers and students can comment on different charts and live chat with each other.

Teens, Social Media and Technology

The Pew Survey - linked below - was conducted in 2015 and observed the forms of social media being used by teenagers. Much of the results are what I expected; boys use their smartphones for games more often than girls do, while girls use their smartphones for visual-oriented platforms like Instagram more often than boys. These results are not surprising considering boys and girls general likes and dislikes in high school.

There are definitely some eyebrow raising statistics in the study. There are 14% more African American teens with smartphones than white and Hispanic teens. I assumed the numbers would be much closer, if there was a difference at all. However, the most surprising statistic is how income effects which social media platform teens tend to use. As income increases, Facebook use steadily decreases. Similarly, as income increases, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram use steadily increase. Pew does not speculate as to the reason for this trend. I theorize that most high schools have a range of wealth within their student's families. Most high schools will have the bulk of their students within a certain income range, with very few schools modeling the exact nationwide wealth distribution. Perhaps the increased use of Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram among more wealthy teens simply shows a trend that has started in the wealthy schools first.

There are a few lessons to be learned in this survey as a teacher. The first is that cultural trends are not just drawn from race and ethnicity, but income and socioeconomics can have a huge effect as well and should be taken into account while teaching. I also think this survey shows that nearly all teens have a smartphone with access to unlimited distractions. As a teacher, I should aim to incorporate lessons and information using their smartphones to combat these distractions. If the students are occupied with an application for class, it will automatically prevent them from wandering to Facebook. Technology can be a friend of the classroom if it is used properly.   

Teens, Social Media and Technology Overview 2015 -

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/

Practical Application - Socrative

Socrative Teacher is a wonderful application that allows a teacher to create entry and exit tickets that can be compiled as data on individual students and the class as a whole. The entry and exit tickets are posted by the teacher and students submit their answers on their computer or tablets. The app tracks each student's progress in the form of graphs and charts. There is also a "Space Race" feature that allows the teacher to split the class into teams who compete in a quiz show style competition. This allows the teacher to track their students progress in a fun and creative way. This application is free for one class setup - but if a teacher has multiple classes it requires yearly payment. The application is also reliant on wifi inside the classroom; if tablets with wifi are not readily available, the application is obviously useless. Below are a few images of the application...

The Home Page for the teacher.




This is the creation of a quiz or Space Race.


In the background is a view of a Space Race - In the foreground you can see options to view the data.



Socrative Teacher also allows teachers to share and reuse quizzes online.

Flipped Lesson

     I had a lot of trouble finding topics that fit my unit on World War I and the rise of the United States globally. I found this video, "World War I in 6 Minutes" could be very useful in quickly explaining a mostly European historical view of the war. For my lesson, the video will show the devastation and destruction felt by all in Europe and why it opened the door for the United States to gain power. The video lesson will give the students a detailed overview of World War I without consuming classroom time. The class will use the new information to discuss and debate the role of the United States, the effects of the war in the United States, and the importance of specific events. The students will debate and discuss in groups what forced Woodrow Wilson's hand - the Lusitania, the Mexican telegraph, or economic motivations. The goal of the actual class period will be to use the time to think critically about motivations, situations and related events. Instead of lecturing or teaching the events and countries involved in the war during class, they can learn outside and use the knowledge for active discussion.
     I think the idea of a flipped lesson is fantastic and TED Ed can be a huge help for a lesson. I think that the options for already made videos in social studies were lacking, but learning how to actually make a flipped lesson video will be necessary anyway. As a social studies teacher I will definitely be using a flipped lesson model for many lessons and topics. This tool can help stop me from continually giving mundane historical lectures class after class. Instead, the students can come to class and discuss, debate and explore the information they have acquired. This would promote more critical thinking and questioning, a main goal while teaching social studies.

Below is a link to the TEDEd lesson about World War I.

http://ed.ted.com/on/xhc9uVq7