To all sound studio listeners! Do you want to learn what you can do with students to help out in your community? Well here's some ideas! As other students in my class have made their own service projects, I have posted a link to them so you can get some ideas! Have fun with them! Until next time, Obaratone signing off!
Service Learning Unit Project Ideas
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
A Larger Version
If you sound studio listeners want to see Obaratone's Glog on Napoleon I up close and personal, I added the link to it below. Au Revoir!
http://obaratone.edu.glogster.com/NapoleonI/
http://obaratone.edu.glogster.com/NapoleonI/
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Service Learning Project: Let's Clean Up Those Parks!
Title: Making the World a Better Place to Live In
Area of Service: Environment
Grade Level: 8th Grade
Subject Area: Social Studies/Geography
Summary and Description:
This project is focused on having students go to a local park and help clean up the excess trash and make it a cleaner place. Students will pick a local park that may not be up to standards in cleanliness. They will then band together in an effort to pick up trash, clean dirty bathroom areas, clean out sides of ponds and lakes, and make sure the whole park can be enjoyed by everyone, humans and animals. In the process of cleaning up the place, students will learn of the human impact on the environment and on the world around us. Students will help the local wildlife enjoy a more pleasant habitat and will also learn of ways to keep parks and other nature areas clean. They can work together with other classes, and even have people from the community help them as well. The work cannot be done all at once, and not everything will be cleaned. But if students do as much as they can, and there are many students involved, then the project will be a huge success. After each clean-up session, the students will post a blog of the work they did that day and how it can help another human or animal. In the end, students will create a video about environmental cleanliness and ways to reduce it. The video will show the students working in the park in order to raise awareness about this issue. The video can air on a local TV station to tell the community what work the students are doing and what they can do as a community to help. The goals of this project are simple: to clean up a park and raise awareness doing it. The students will learn conservation ideas and will help spread their ideas to other people.
Standards Met:
SS.8.G.5.2: Describe the impact of human modifications on the physical environment and ecosystems of the United States throughout history.
SS.8.G.2.2: Use geographic terms and tools to analyze case studies of regional issues in different parts of the United States that have had critical economic, physical, or political ramifications.
SS.8.G.3.2: Use geographic terms and tools to explain differing perspectives on the use of renewable and non-renewable resources in the United States and Florida over time.
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.
-b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
-b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
Technology Used:
Video: Making a public service video showing the students' effort at cleaning up a park and also raising awareness about environment conservation.
Blog: The students will contribute to a blog to dialogue their activities at the park and also what they learned and how they can use that to help promote conservation and cleanliness.
Assessment: The students' blogs will be graded for accuracy, participation, and usefulness. Taking part on the clean-ups will be graded on active participation (meaning no loafing around while everyone else does the work.)
Area of Service: Environment
Grade Level: 8th Grade
Subject Area: Social Studies/Geography
Summary and Description:
This project is focused on having students go to a local park and help clean up the excess trash and make it a cleaner place. Students will pick a local park that may not be up to standards in cleanliness. They will then band together in an effort to pick up trash, clean dirty bathroom areas, clean out sides of ponds and lakes, and make sure the whole park can be enjoyed by everyone, humans and animals. In the process of cleaning up the place, students will learn of the human impact on the environment and on the world around us. Students will help the local wildlife enjoy a more pleasant habitat and will also learn of ways to keep parks and other nature areas clean. They can work together with other classes, and even have people from the community help them as well. The work cannot be done all at once, and not everything will be cleaned. But if students do as much as they can, and there are many students involved, then the project will be a huge success. After each clean-up session, the students will post a blog of the work they did that day and how it can help another human or animal. In the end, students will create a video about environmental cleanliness and ways to reduce it. The video will show the students working in the park in order to raise awareness about this issue. The video can air on a local TV station to tell the community what work the students are doing and what they can do as a community to help. The goals of this project are simple: to clean up a park and raise awareness doing it. The students will learn conservation ideas and will help spread their ideas to other people.
Standards Met:
SS.8.G.5.2: Describe the impact of human modifications on the physical environment and ecosystems of the United States throughout history.
SS.8.G.2.2: Use geographic terms and tools to analyze case studies of regional issues in different parts of the United States that have had critical economic, physical, or political ramifications.
SS.8.G.3.2: Use geographic terms and tools to explain differing perspectives on the use of renewable and non-renewable resources in the United States and Florida over time.
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.
-b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
-b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
Technology Used:
Video: Making a public service video showing the students' effort at cleaning up a park and also raising awareness about environment conservation.
Blog: The students will contribute to a blog to dialogue their activities at the park and also what they learned and how they can use that to help promote conservation and cleanliness.
Assessment: The students' blogs will be graded for accuracy, participation, and usefulness. Taking part on the clean-ups will be graded on active participation (meaning no loafing around while everyone else does the work.)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Tweets!
Ciao sound studio listeners! Welcome again to the studio where Obaratone is feeling like some Italiano! In this week's studio jam, we are packing our bags and heading back in time to the time of the Roman Empire. That's not all we're packing though. We're taking all of our computers, cell phones, iPhones, Blackberries, and awesome technology with us! After watching Clay Shirkey's lecture about how modern technology and social media can make history, the sound studio has decided that we're going to change history with our technology! In his lecture, Shirkey discussed the different points in history where media has changed and allowed for more communication: the printing press, telegraph/phone, recorded media (records), and television. The printing press allowed for typed, written word to be mass produced, the phone allowed for 1-to-1 communication, recorded media and TV allowed for one to many communication. The current age we live in is with the internet, which connects many to many. Not only can we communicate with certain individuals, we can communicate with groups of people, with the whole world, in an instant!
So that us thinking: how could history have been different if this technology and means of communication were available at anytime? Well grab your sunglasses and follow the road to Rome, where in Obaratone's new Roman Empire, 21st century social media is everywhere! At the great Colosseum, some gladitorial games are taking place. Gaius Julius Caesar is in his box watching along with the crowd. The fight comes to an end, and the fate of the loser comes down to the people: let him live, or kill him? Caesar shoots his hand out in front of him...and clicks open his Palm Pre. The jumbotron ("The Coloss-o-tron") puts up a new message to the crowd: "If you wish to see the gladiator die, text 'YES' to XVIII. If you wish to see him live, text 'NO' to the same number. Grazie." After a few hesitant moments, the poll comes in to Caesar's phone. He posts the results to Twitter and it is shown on the Coloss-o-tron: DIE.
How else could social media be used in Ancient Rome? Well we all know those pesky blogs would be all over Caesar and his dictatorship. The talking heads would be having a field day with that! But of course Caesar doesn't read any of that. One of his friends sends him a text: "yo, JC, i rlly dont thnk u should hit up da senate 2day. been readin lots of blogs. lot of bad stuff out there bout u." Caesar merely laughs off his friend's warning, replying: "Don't worry, I got this. They can't touch this!" Later that day, the Twitter feed is loaded with tweets saying "RIP Caesar" and "Caesar got pwned!" He should've listened to his friend. Social media could have saved his life if he read those blogs and took his friend's text seriously. So concludes another recording at Obaratone's sound studio! Give the studio some feedback! What else could have been done in Roman times? Video chariot races on the iPhone? There's an app for that. Perhaps the other text Caesar should've listened to, from Brutus: "i got ya back ;)"
-JPO
So that us thinking: how could history have been different if this technology and means of communication were available at anytime? Well grab your sunglasses and follow the road to Rome, where in Obaratone's new Roman Empire, 21st century social media is everywhere! At the great Colosseum, some gladitorial games are taking place. Gaius Julius Caesar is in his box watching along with the crowd. The fight comes to an end, and the fate of the loser comes down to the people: let him live, or kill him? Caesar shoots his hand out in front of him...and clicks open his Palm Pre. The jumbotron ("The Coloss-o-tron") puts up a new message to the crowd: "If you wish to see the gladiator die, text 'YES' to XVIII. If you wish to see him live, text 'NO' to the same number. Grazie." After a few hesitant moments, the poll comes in to Caesar's phone. He posts the results to Twitter and it is shown on the Coloss-o-tron: DIE.
How else could social media be used in Ancient Rome? Well we all know those pesky blogs would be all over Caesar and his dictatorship. The talking heads would be having a field day with that! But of course Caesar doesn't read any of that. One of his friends sends him a text: "yo, JC, i rlly dont thnk u should hit up da senate 2day. been readin lots of blogs. lot of bad stuff out there bout u." Caesar merely laughs off his friend's warning, replying: "Don't worry, I got this. They can't touch this!" Later that day, the Twitter feed is loaded with tweets saying "RIP Caesar" and "Caesar got pwned!" He should've listened to his friend. Social media could have saved his life if he read those blogs and took his friend's text seriously. So concludes another recording at Obaratone's sound studio! Give the studio some feedback! What else could have been done in Roman times? Video chariot races on the iPhone? There's an app for that. Perhaps the other text Caesar should've listened to, from Brutus: "i got ya back ;)"
-JPO
Monday, October 12, 2009
I Love Me Some Me!
Welcome again to the sound studio, where today we are talking about socializing electronically! That's right, it's social networking. Now before we get in too deep, let's talk about social networking. What is social networking exactly? Well, I don't know if there is a specific answer that clearly encompasses everything involved with it. My slimmed down simple version of social networking is it connects everyone in the world to everyone else instantly. If I wanted, I could hook up my webcam and talk to someone in Japan. I could see them and connect with them. Now there are some older senile people who see that and say, "Well, why don't you just pick up the telephone? It's the same thing! Or write a letter! Or send a telegraph! Or send a carrier pigeon! Or the pony express!" And I would say to that person, "Well older senile person, by using a webcam, it's free of charge and I could actually see them and their surroundings. I could see their home, their workplace, their family. I could actually connect with them. And also, pigeon's couldn't fly that far and the pony express has been dead for a few hundred years."
Now there are some weird effects of social networking and the current young generation in general, besides Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. The current young generation is in love with itself. Of course, we could look back in time and say that about every young generation. But back then, those young people didn't have the ability to tell everyone what they're doing at that very moment. For the first time, you could announce to the whole world that you are going to the bathroom. And you actually think they care. For some more issues and sociological aspects of social netowrking, check out this video by KSU professor Mike Wesch.
So why does social networking matter? In case you missed it in the video, it states that it is not controlled by a few people, it is not one-way, created for networks and not the masses, "transforms individual pursuits into collective action," and it makes group formation really easy. If you noticed in the video also, it talks about the sense of self and what it means. Social networking lets you be whatever you want to be. Everyone acts a certain way around certain people. We do not act the same way we would around our parents as we would our college roommates. We have a different self alone with our significant other than we do in public with them. Social networking allows us to be whoever, without the constant glare from society, without someone always looking right at you to tell you differently.
Now what does this all mean with say, oh I don't know, education, to pick a topic completely at random? Well, listeners, here's what it could mean. Kids nowadays know technology. They know it better than anything else. Make them use it for school. Assign a video post of something. Have them give a speech online through Skype or some other chat thing. Have them blog about an issue. These are great things for students because it's a way for them to get their opinion out there without having people watch them do it. It lets them remain quasi-anonymous. It lets students be themselves and not act for anyone. Or perhaps it lets students act out in a way that lets them get their point across in a way that would not have been so elsewhere. Watching the above didn't really change my views on social networking in education because I already shared a basic sentiment with it. Social networking is a good thing, and if you don't believe it, well it's here now, and it looks here to stay, so we better get used to it and use it for our advantage instead of trying to fight it. So concludes another feature in Obaratone's sound studio. Make yourself a great day. I am going to the bathroom.
Now there are some weird effects of social networking and the current young generation in general, besides Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. The current young generation is in love with itself. Of course, we could look back in time and say that about every young generation. But back then, those young people didn't have the ability to tell everyone what they're doing at that very moment. For the first time, you could announce to the whole world that you are going to the bathroom. And you actually think they care. For some more issues and sociological aspects of social netowrking, check out this video by KSU professor Mike Wesch.
So why does social networking matter? In case you missed it in the video, it states that it is not controlled by a few people, it is not one-way, created for networks and not the masses, "transforms individual pursuits into collective action," and it makes group formation really easy. If you noticed in the video also, it talks about the sense of self and what it means. Social networking lets you be whatever you want to be. Everyone acts a certain way around certain people. We do not act the same way we would around our parents as we would our college roommates. We have a different self alone with our significant other than we do in public with them. Social networking allows us to be whoever, without the constant glare from society, without someone always looking right at you to tell you differently.
Now what does this all mean with say, oh I don't know, education, to pick a topic completely at random? Well, listeners, here's what it could mean. Kids nowadays know technology. They know it better than anything else. Make them use it for school. Assign a video post of something. Have them give a speech online through Skype or some other chat thing. Have them blog about an issue. These are great things for students because it's a way for them to get their opinion out there without having people watch them do it. It lets them remain quasi-anonymous. It lets students be themselves and not act for anyone. Or perhaps it lets students act out in a way that lets them get their point across in a way that would not have been so elsewhere. Watching the above didn't really change my views on social networking in education because I already shared a basic sentiment with it. Social networking is a good thing, and if you don't believe it, well it's here now, and it looks here to stay, so we better get used to it and use it for our advantage instead of trying to fight it. So concludes another feature in Obaratone's sound studio. Make yourself a great day. I am going to the bathroom.
Monday, October 5, 2009
1,2,3,4, I Declare a Holy War!
Hello, my friends! Welcome once again to the sound studio, where today we will be talking about one of Obaratone's personal favorite topics, the Crusades! Well, we won't actually be going into detail of the Crusades =( But we will be talking about ways to teach it! Yeah! For our iTunes project of making a podcast list about a topic, Angie and I decided to choose the Crusades since they are in interesting part of our history, and we believe students would be very engaged with this topic. Our collection is called "Medieval History and Crusades." The podcasts we found are rather lengthy, so we agreed that we would only have the students listen to select portions of some podcasts (the most interesting ones of course!)
Now of course we couldn't just let them listen to the podcasts alone. That would be far too boring! I'm not saying that I would be bored with that (maybe), but we all know how kids are nowadays. They have the attention span of 160 characters. So what we need is something else to give them to have them learn! First we have to make sure they actually know what the Crusades were and when they took place. How about we start them off by showing them this website and letting them take a look at it! It gives a good short summary of the Crusades and also makes it easy to read than some of the other sites. After letting the students have some fun on this site and going through the different parts of it, we should give them some primary documents from the era. Going to this website will give the teacher some good documents that can be used and read to the class and explained to them to give them a firsthand account of how things went down back in that time, through the eyes of the people who lived it. Also, it would be wise to give them some maps of the Middle East, and maybe some of Europe at the time so they get a picture of where things were taking place.
For a little activity for them to do, give them a blank map of Europe and the Middle East, and have them draw the different Crusade routes on the map. Then, after analyzing the maps and maybe after some background, have the students write a reflection piece on what kind of trials the Crusaders would have gone through on their way to the Holy Land. These could be physical, geographic elements or political/people elements. Ask them if they would have made the sacrifice to go on a Crusade, and what they would need to bring with them if they did. If you're feeling a little adventurous, you could also have them think about what might happen if they did not go (political backlash, religious backlash, public humiliation.)
All in all, I think this lesson, or any lesson, about the Crusades can be very useful and also very entertaining to the students. You could also find ways to relate this to the current situations in the Middle East and see what the students' are in that spectrum. I also highly recommend watching (at least parts of) the Crusades special as shown on the History Channel. It is a personal favorite of Obaratone! It lets students really get a great visual look at the Crusades. So until next time, this is Obaratone, bidding you, in the words of the great Dave Mishkin, a fond farewell and a pleasant good evening. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a refrigerator to crusade...
-JPO
P.S. Thanks goes out to the University of Texas, USF, Internet Medieval Sourcebook, Middle Ages Sourcebook, and of course the wonderful History Channel for providing the above materials free and online.
Now of course we couldn't just let them listen to the podcasts alone. That would be far too boring! I'm not saying that I would be bored with that (maybe), but we all know how kids are nowadays. They have the attention span of 160 characters. So what we need is something else to give them to have them learn! First we have to make sure they actually know what the Crusades were and when they took place. How about we start them off by showing them this website and letting them take a look at it! It gives a good short summary of the Crusades and also makes it easy to read than some of the other sites. After letting the students have some fun on this site and going through the different parts of it, we should give them some primary documents from the era. Going to this website will give the teacher some good documents that can be used and read to the class and explained to them to give them a firsthand account of how things went down back in that time, through the eyes of the people who lived it. Also, it would be wise to give them some maps of the Middle East, and maybe some of Europe at the time so they get a picture of where things were taking place.
For a little activity for them to do, give them a blank map of Europe and the Middle East, and have them draw the different Crusade routes on the map. Then, after analyzing the maps and maybe after some background, have the students write a reflection piece on what kind of trials the Crusaders would have gone through on their way to the Holy Land. These could be physical, geographic elements or political/people elements. Ask them if they would have made the sacrifice to go on a Crusade, and what they would need to bring with them if they did. If you're feeling a little adventurous, you could also have them think about what might happen if they did not go (political backlash, religious backlash, public humiliation.)
All in all, I think this lesson, or any lesson, about the Crusades can be very useful and also very entertaining to the students. You could also find ways to relate this to the current situations in the Middle East and see what the students' are in that spectrum. I also highly recommend watching (at least parts of) the Crusades special as shown on the History Channel. It is a personal favorite of Obaratone! It lets students really get a great visual look at the Crusades. So until next time, this is Obaratone, bidding you, in the words of the great Dave Mishkin, a fond farewell and a pleasant good evening. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a refrigerator to crusade...
-JPO
P.S. Thanks goes out to the University of Texas, USF, Internet Medieval Sourcebook, Middle Ages Sourcebook, and of course the wonderful History Channel for providing the above materials free and online.
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