I have a dream today...

The nightmare that is i photo aside, I am actually a huge fan of picture videos. While I think Windows Movie Maker and i movie are better programs due to the fact that you have more control over what is going on on the screen, the final product is virtually the same. In no other way can you capture the true emotion of history like you can in a photo. While there are many incredible events that could be made into movies, the Civil Rights Movement was the one that I was instantly drawn to. It is still recent enough in history that many people still remember being there, and the aftermath of it still resonates in society today. It remains so much so in fact that people don't say much about it. I remember when I was growing up, my history teacher just grazed over the Civil Rights Movement without going into extensive detail of what happened. My grandmother admits that it happened, and that it was a hard time, but she won't say much more than that about it. She isn't racist, she just doesn't like to talk about it. An older African American friend of mine was only a kid during the movement, and theoretically should have some personal connection to it, but went straight to talking about slavery when I asked him if he remembered it. We should talk about it, however. It was an important part of our history, and it played a HUGE role in shaping who and what we are today. My goal in making this film was to capture the true emotion and hardships of the Civil Rights Movement, and paint a picture for students of what these people had to go through to get their freedom. I chose queen Latifah's "I Know Where I've Been" from the movie "Hairspray" partly because it's a gorgeous song that was written specifically about the Civil Rights Movement, and partly because it is a recent enough song that kids will know it and be able to relate to it. I really wanted to convey what The Civil Rights movement was, and show kids that despite the fact that it happened many years ago, it still plays a part in what's happening today.

Between Burnside and PowerPoint

I had a history professor once who had no technological skills whatsoever. Every time we watched a DVD in class, he had to have one of the students set it up for him, and he had no idea what copy and paste meant. One might think that his class was absolutely awful and boring, but it was actually quite the opposite. What he didn't know about technology, he made up for in content knowledge, and enthusiasm. Not only was this guy an expert on the Civil War and World War II, he was an expert at keeping you awake in class as well. He knew how to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering, "Really? ...What happens next?" Even though you already knew the outcome of the historical situation, you wanted the hear the story again anyway. It was also funny to watch him standing in front of the classroom in his Harley Davidson jacket with his Burnside sideburns fumbling with the overhead projector (The one piece of technological equipment he knew how to use). Many people would say that he was a less than adequate teacher for not caring enough to learn about technology, but as someone who has had little experience with it myself, I kind of admired him. In fact, he was one of my favorite professors. While the concept of copy and paste is an important and simple task to learn, it is such a small part of something so much bigger. Sometimes I wonder if today's students rely too much on the use of technology. They always seem to be plugged in with their cell phones, ipods, computers, video games, and every other gizmo and gadget one can imagine. They seem to have less and less appreciation for doing things without the use of technology. On the other hand, however, I also wonder if teachers rely on technology too little. While I am someone who learns best from a good old fashioned lecture, I do realize that a variety of instructional methods are needed to be truly effective in today's classrooms. Many teachers don't have great technological skills, and many more just use it simply because it is there. My sociology professor for example uses PowerPoint on a daily basis, and while she combines it with in-class activities and videos, she rarely expands on the information on the slides. She just simply flashes through them so quickly that we as students completely miss what she is talking about because we are trying to read and copy the massive amounts of information she puts on the slides. If it weren't for the class participation grade, most of the people in the class, myself included, wouldn't bother going. Recently, I myself had to put together and present a PowerPoint. I had always considered myself to be fairly well versed in the PowerPoint program. I was wrong. I had no idea that the slides on a PowerPoint could be used to hyperlink to other slides, or that you could embed a video onto it and burn the whole thing onto a CD. Actually I wasn't 100% sure that my computer could even burn a CD. It can. Since doing this little project, I have a whole new outlook on PowerPoint. What was once kind of a hum-drum program is now kind of fun. I have also figured out that my computer can make slide show movies. I have always wanted to learn how to make movies movies, so I sat down the other day and played around with it. The result was a short video featuring my cats. It was nothing special, but it was fun to learn something new. I suppose my point is that I have learned that the best teachers are those who can tell the great stories, but can also use technology in a creative, useful, and non-distracting way. I decided to use PowerPoint to put the story into history, and aside from a few minor glitches, I think it turned out alright. I also used podcast (another piece of technology I was previously unfamiliar with) to create a 1920's radio show. Not only was it extremely informative, but it is an activity I would do with my students. PowerPoint would make an excellent storybook type activity as well. While I won't be that teacher who is famous for being a technological genius, I also won't be that teacher who has to have my students help me with the little things. I will be that teacher who is between anti-technology Burnside and that really dull PowerPoint teacher, which in my opinion is a good spot to be. Although I insist on being the keep them on the edge of their seats teacher above all other things.

I come bearing history

One of the assignments for my Abraham Lincoln history class last semester was to write a paper describing a week of Lincoln's presidency using telegrams, journal entries, speeches, and other historical documents we found on the internet. While I would not recommend this assignment for a high school setting, I did find it fascinating to look at history from a perspective that I hadn't considered before. Twenty years ago, the best historical documents available in schools were usually found in classroom textbooks, or library reference books. This left many history teachers with very limited resources with which to teach students about primary historical documents. Then came the Internet, and with it a prodigious amount of historical resources. What was once available only to historical scholars, can now be accessed with the touch of a button. (Rewiring the History and Social Studies Classroom) Now teachers and students can have access to history's best primary documents ranging from the Declaration of Independence, to the Treaty of Versailles, to Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream Speech. The Library of Congress is an excellent website for primary sources of all kinds ranging from political cartoons, to newspapers, and my personal favorite, an extensive collection of documents from Abraham Lincoln's Presidency. The Library of Congress is a website which I foresee myself using a lot in my classroom. (www.loc.gov) There is also a plethora of secondary sources, and ideas for how to teach history. One of my favorite teacher websites is actually a website for civics, but it is a perfect example of what kinds of resources and ideas are available for teachers on the Internet.(Economics) I used a modified version of the Ice Cream Stand lesson for my 8th grade civics practicum. Instead of making sundaes, the students made advertisement posters for their vocabulary words, and were required to purchase the supplies from the other groups. It was a huge hit, and as a teacher I found it to be helpful because I don't know much about economics. The regular classroom teacher actually uses the Internet quite a bit in his classroom for various activities. He doesn't use the textbook at all. I myself am not a particularly big fan of textbooks. They're bulky, heavy, they take up a lot of space, and consume a lot of resources, especially since publishers insist on updating them so often. While I do believe that they are a great source for factual reference, they don't present history in an interesting way. They are completely lacking the story part of history, which in my opinion is the best part. That's where you as the teacher with the help of the resources on the Internet come in. You supply the story, the Internet supplies the historical documents, other stories that you can add to yours, and ideas for how to get students involved in learning.

Why do I need to know history?

One of the most common questions asked by students in subjects like history is, "why do I need to know this?" Aside from the age old answer of, "because if you learn history, you can keep it from repeating itself," (which is clearly ineffective, and becomes increasingly more obvious as you actually learn history) there is the answer of "because you can actually use history in your life." As teachers, we often get so wrapped up in teaching students the content that we forget to tell them about the incredible real-world and career possibilities that can be achieved with the knowledge we give them. My 8th grade history teacher simplified it down to a bare minimum of needing to know history in order to understand historical films and being able to answer the historical questions in "Trivial Pursuit," but I have always believed it to be so much more than that. Having a degree in history can be useful for all kinds of things such as teaching, archeology, museum work, and preserving historical documents. Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. for the first time in my life. My dad wasn't thrilled when I insisted that we stand in line for hours at the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, but he relented because he knew I had been wanting to see it since I learned about it as a child. The interesting thing about the National Archives is that there is more than just history at work there. Unlike the other museums in D.C, the documents on display in the archives have been preserved using the most advanced technology available to preserve them. In fact, historians worked closely with NASA to design the casing, which the documents are currently displayed in. It features special lighting, a helium, temperature controlled atmosphere, and several layers of glass. For students who have no interest in learning history, this would be an incredible real-world scenario for them to relate to. It combines history with technology and science, and is a viable career for students to consider. So next time a student asks you why they need to learn history, don't tell them it's to stop history from repeating itself, or to increase their chances at winning "Trivial Pursuit." Show them a real-world, modern day experience that they might be able to relate to. Kids today love technology, and you are sure to peak their interest when you show them that you can not only combine the new with the old, but also use the new to preserve the old. The Library of Congress also is also famous for its document preservation, and has a lot of interesting information on its website as to how it accomplishes this task.
Document Preservation in the Library of Congress

The 1920's Are Back

1920's News with Lucille and Pearl

ashley bond's Podcast

Two months ago, I had no idea what a podcast even was. Even after it was explained to me I still had no idea, and even now that I've made one, I'm still having trouble wrapping my brain around the concept of what a podcast really is. This new technological phenomenon did almost immediately remind me of an old technological phenomenon, however, 1920's radio shows. I have always found the old radio shows from the early 1900's in the days before TV to be fascinating. I even remember making one as a kid using a cassette player when my class talked about early 20th century history. I tried once to do the activity again with some kids in an after-school program, but couldn't compete with art, games, and sports. I wish I had known about podcasting back then, as I probably would have had more success in getting them to participate. As far as using it in the classroom, I think it's a wonderful idea, especially when it comes to discussing the 1920's. I have always thought that the 1920's were one of the most interesting periods in United States history. It's disappointing, however, that many teachers devote little time to the subject. Or more accurately, they have little time to devote to it. Thanks to podcasts, however, the 1920's are back. The students can learn about the 1920's, while getting a taste of what entertainment was like back then. I also like the idea of using podcasts to do mini history documentaries. I was also able to cover several SOL's in one 6 minute podcast. It seems to be a fairly efficient way to get information across to kids. I do admit that I could have gone into much more depth with it, but all in all, I would use it again, and would give students the option of using it too.
So without further adieu, my first ever podcast featureing myself as Lucille, Brittany Olson as Pearl, and music from the movie Chicago.