I've already accumulated a whole bunch of lesson ideas for the next school year organized on my new favorite site--EdShelf.
I really SHOULD get some kind of credit for being so industrious, right?
Have a great week!
Image via someecards
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Well, I'm back at school after a VERY restful spring break. While I certainly enjoyed a little "me" time, I also had the opportunity to engage in one of my favorite pastimes--Pinterest! I've already accumulated a whole bunch of lesson ideas for the next school year organized on my new favorite site--EdShelf. I really SHOULD get some kind of credit for being so industrious, right? Have a great week! Image via someecards
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When I teach my research unit, I like to devote an entire nine weeks to the process, since it's important to break up the process into manageable bite-size pieces or "chunks." After first distinguishing among the subtle differences of copyright, public domain, and fair use, we then move on to learning how to properly cite resources. Of course, after that, the students think it's necessarily time to start researching and note-taking, and in the past that would be the next logical step. I mention the past (well, my past) because, back in the day, the only thing we had were books. (Remember those?) Now, as you know, students immediately start Googling for information...and of course grabbing everything they find. What I most remember from those long ago nights secluded in my college library, is sitting cross-legged on the floor of a dank and dusty aisle, surrounded by a tower of books, scanning indexes and tables of contents, evaluating whether or not each book in the pile would be useful for my research, discarding some and keeping others. I repeat this scenario to my students when it comes time to teach them how to evaluate websites. In this respect, I point out to them, the printed word isn't that different when it comes to the Internet. It's all about taking a good look at the information presented and determining if it's useful, relevant, and truthful. As I mentioned in a previous post, teaching kids how to research on the Internet is, in my opinion, one of the hardest things to do, precisely because of our students' belief that the Internet has everything they need (which it does), and that everything is truthful (which it isn't isn't). Which is exactly why I feel the need to teach my students how to evaluate websites for their accuracy and relevancy. Research Chunk #3 How to Evaluate Websites
Usually, that's enough for one day. It's a lot for the kids to process, recognizing that everything on the Internet isn't always what it seems. I always feel like Toto after I teach this lesson, pulling back the curtain to expose the great and powerful Oz as a hoax. Image via Flickr I'm on Spring Break this week--woo-hoo! Don't get me wrong, I still have tons to do school-wise, but I'm planning to enjoy my staycation doing things I don't normally get to do during the school year, like nap and read. Break will end soon enough, however, and then...well, it will be back to reality. If you're on break, enjoy a restful week. If you're not on break, you have my empathy. :-) As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm currently teaching my research unit to students in grades 4-8, and past experience has taught me the benefit of "chunking" the research procedure into bite-sized, manageable pieces for my kiddos. After we complete our opening lesson on copyright, fair use, and public domain, and since the idea of giving credit where credit is due is still fresh in their minds, we next dovetail into our lesson on citing sources. While it may seem out of sequence--as most teachers address plagiarism and paraphrasing before anything else--I like to teach citations before we tackle the concept of note-taking. As I just mentioned, it's a natural extension of the copyright lesson and the idea of resisting the temptation to take what's not yours. I also think it sets the precedent that citing sources as you find them is crucial. All too often, students find information, note it, and then move on. Then, the works cited page becomes an afterthought--something they'll assemble when the research paper is finished. As we all know from experience (having made that same mistake ourselves when we were young and dumb), this is a baaaaad idea. Trying to locate research sources after the fact is like trying to herd cats: you'll end up frustrated, angry, and wondering why you even tried in the first place. Most of you will agree that source citation is a very abstract and outdated idea to our students, and trying to make it relevant to them goes over like a pregnant pole-vaulter. (I'm really full of figurative language today. Sorry.) More often than not, student demand to know why anyone would care or even want the minutia of the details involved in citation. However, saying, "Because that's the way it's done" isn't the most clarifying of answers, and that's why you might want to read this extremely helpful post by K-M the Librarian. She makes the analogy that citations are the addresses where the resources reside, and without them, the reader is left with a set of very unclear directions. Of course, if that analogy doesn't work, I always kindly point out to my students that if I can't read their "address" and get to the correct destination, then it will most definitely affect my "rating" of their "mapping" services. That always seems to drive home the point. :-) Research Chunk #2 How to Teach Citation of Sources
Like anything, this is going to take practice, so be patient with yourself and with your students. Students have quite a bit of trouble citing their sources (or even remembering to) because they're not familiar with citation style guides, and because they haven't had much practice. To ease their stress, it's not a bad idea to collect and comment on their works cited rough drafts in the middle of the research process so that they can make the necessary corrections and learn from your feedback. I'm always open to new ideas when it comes to how to teach citation to students, so if you have any resources that work for you, please share! Image via LiMSwiki I'm still knee-deep in my research unit for grades 4-8, and we just finished up a week of learning how to effectively and properly use the Internet to conduct research. Imagine the condescending looks I received when I mentioned to my 7th graders that they might want to consider using their social studies textbooks as a resource in addition to using the Internet. Sometimes it makes me miss the good old days. Does your school library still have a card catalog? Does anyone use it? Have a great week! Image via Flickr I don't know if this is true of your students, but my students are certainly under the impression that if it's on the Internet, it's free and it's true. Which is why I dread the approach of my annual research unit. Teaching kids how to research on the Internet is, in my opinion, one of the hardest things to do, precisely because of our students' belief that the Internet has everything they need (which it does), and that everything is truthful (which it isn't isn't). In order to overcome these misconceptions, I've made very deliberate attempts over the last few years to create a linear and organized "chunked" procedure for guiding students in grades 4-8 through the research process, and I'll write about each of those "chunks" in the upcoming weeks. The research unit begins with an overview of understanding Copyright, Fair Use, & Public Domain, since this is the lesson that establishes the precedent that we can't take things from the Internet just because they're there. If you're confused about the difference among the three terms, you're not alone, so here's primer: Copyright is the law that protects the works of authors, artists, and composers from having their work copied without permission. Fair use allows the use of a limited amount of copyrighted material for educational purposes as long as the user uses only a small part of it and doesn't use the material for profit. Finally, works that are part of the public domain aren't copyrighted and can be used without permission, although credit should be given. (If you'd personally like to learn a little more about these terms, check out this site from the Provo Library site or this one from Copyright Kids.) What follows is the result of quite a bit of trial and error on my part, as it took me a few years to figure out the subtle differences between these terms AND how I could effectively teach them so my students could discern the difference, too. The best thing I've found? Keep it simple! Don't overload your students with too much information, as they'll inevitably tune you out and do the exact opposite of what you're trying to teach them. Research Chunk #1 How to Teach Copyright, Fair Use, & Public Domain
After all of this, the students generally get a pretty good sense that they have to stop and think before they grab something off the Internet. They also tend to become a bit despondent, asking "Well, what CAN I use?" To make it easier on them, I provide two resources:
If you'd still like to sample more of what's out there, I'd recommend the following sites:
What works for you in your classroom? Do you have any resources to share when it comes to copyright, fair use, and public domain? Let me know! Feel free to share my resources with others as well. But also please remember to give me credit, too! It's only fair. :-) Image created at MemeGenerator Maybe this post should be titled "Monday Moaning" instead. I had a weird week filled with more than one parent excusing or rationalizing missing assignments or assignments submitted after the deadline. So this poster now hangs on my classroom door. :-) Have a great week! Image by YouthChange I was having coffee the other day with a high school math teacher and a "civilian" friend. Joe and I were lamenting our most recent professional development experiences. You've been there, too: spending hours sitting and watching a PowerPoint presentation but never really getting to do anything. Nothing really learned, and certainly nothing gained. Our friend, being in business, couldn't believe that, especially in education, professional development could go so terribly awry. And then I showed him this recent viral video about a professional development session for Chicago teachers being, in a word, infantilized by an educational consultant. He was dumbfounded. Joe and I weren't. While we'd never endured something as humiliating as our Chicago counterparts had, we had, mostly, experienced less-than-professional development. Professional development needs to be better. It needs to be more about development. And it certainly needs to be more professional. Blogger A.J. Juliani, a K-12 Technology Staff Developer, believes that PD "has to start with a quick win," and a quick win is something that will help teachers accomplish the following:
As Juliani states, these three items provide a win for teachers and students. As for the quick part, teachers should be able to accomplish the above during one professional development session. He's right. Something productive should come from a workshop. I'm looking forward to an edcamp I'll be attending in May. As I've discussed in a previous post, edcamps are UNconferences where teachers create the content and collaboration among teachers drives the process. They're gaining in popularity--mostly because they work. And because they provide a "quick win" at the end of the day. And because they put the professionals in charge of their own development. Edcamps are just one way to remodel professional development. What is something you've experienced that's worked for you? image courtesy of Can't Scare A Teacher Most of our students are visual learners, right? Which is why I've always prized any useful graphic organizer I can grab up. The stuff over at Laura Candler's website has always proved useful, especially my favorite: the prized and often-utilized vocabulary foldable. (Hey, just because I'm a techie doesn't mean I completely eschew paper and pencil tools!) But, being who I am, I'll most always choose an online tool over a paper one, especially for older students. Recently, a social studies teacher in my building approached me about "just doing something different" with a timeline poster project she had used in the past. She knew she wanted something engaging, visually appealing, and user-friendly. So, I got busy researching and playing, and instead of sharing my finds with only my colleague, of course I'm sharing them with my global community. In no particular order, here are my three favorites: 1. Timeline This is an interactive from one of my favorite sites, ReadWriteThink. Timeline is a tool by which students can create a visual representation of an event or of a process along a straight line. Images can be uploaded to provide for even more visual clarity, and students have the choice to organize information by event, date, or time. As an added bonus, there's an impressive collection of lessons (grades 3-12) that use the interactive timeline, so feel free to borrow! 2. MyHistro MyHistro was named a 2013 Best Website for Teaching & Learning by the Digital storytelling group of the America Library Association (ALA). If you're a history buff, this is the timeline tool for you. With MyHistro, you can combine maps and timelines together to create a visual story. It is utterly amazing! 3. Tiki-Toki Tiki-Toki has the option of a 3-D display. You can also create sub-timelines for your timelines. (It's too difficult to explain. You have to see it for yourself.) Students can add text, images, videos, and audio to make the interactive appear more like a gallery than a timeline. Applications for Education: Any of these timeline tools can easily replace your current paper and pencil ones. And while any of them are most certainly useful for students, I think teachers could use them as well to supplement lessons and lectures. In fact, take a look at the education page of the MyHistro site to view a slideshow about the best guidelines for teachers to use this timeline tool in the classroom and to see some sample timelines. Isn't it "time" you gave these a try in your classroom? Please share your adventures with the rest of us. Image by ReadWriteThink |
Stephanie DeMicheleEducational Consultant - Presenter - Instructional Coach Educational consultant + coach in Cleveland, Ohio sharing innovative technology ideas for educators.
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