school board presentation
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
By Jessica Smith
WHY I’M TAKING ONE STEP FORWARD…
BY MOVING TWO [DECADES] BACK.
How I got through high school:
“Teacher Directions”:1) Open book.2) Turn to page ##.3) Answer the questions
in the back.4) Turn in.5) Continue to page…
Textbooks today offer many more interactive advantages, as the Civics text I am pursuing.
Prentice-Hall’sCivics:
Government and EconomicsIn Action
“This is a high impact program that covers government, citizenship, and the American
economic & legal system” – Prentice Hall
About the book:Aligns to the SAS and Curriculum
Framework through PDE (Keystones).Favorite Features:
• Simulations and debates
• Interactive Constitution and Personal Finance Activities
• “Issues in Law” research activities
• Investigative State and Local handbook activities
• Essential Questions Journals
• Active Citizen Project (can implement with Accelerated Seniors!)
All of which challenge students to seek out, organize and analyze information.
In addition, traditional materials are included:Differentiated worksheetsReading and Vocabulary guidesUp to date informationProvides reviews and tests which cover:
Identifying frame of referencePoints of viewSummarization strategiesIdentifying cause and effectSequencingRecognizing reliable informationMaking valid generalizations
Etc!
Why should this be funded?Old Age
In three years, the current government books will be twenty.
Students spend more time looking for their past teachers than doing assignments with them.
Not to mention how much has changed!
Failure of TechnologyThis is a more serious
issue.Frequent problems
encountered:Full or partially
blocked sites.“GASD” domain is
unavailable.Dead batteries with so
much use.Always Flash Player p
roblems#1 = LACK OF
ACCESS.
Digital DivideIs our school contributing to this?
Textbooks won’t solve this, but could act as a “band-aid” resource that could be accessible, and reliable on a daily basis.
Isn’t there an alternative to textbooks?Sure, I’d love classroom laptops
Prepares students for skills needed in the 21st century.
Allows students to practice accurate researching techniques.
Improves media literacy.FREE material online.
Etc, etc, etc.
This is where our focus should be.
Want Proof?
My RILS experiment…I (rather rebelliously) signed out laptops
for two weeks.
Check out these results!
Don’t worry, I am aware I may be unreasonable.What would my ultimate vision be?
Rewrite the Accelerated Government and Economics curriculum utilizing complete Web 2.0 tools: iGoogleGoogle DriveGoogle Sites (as an online portfolio, essential
question journal and personal finance portfolio)SchoologyPrezi, and more.
Move beyond the “Three Branches of Government”
Active Citizen Final Project through a video and digital portfolio.
Don’t worry, I am aware I may be unreasonable.So my more reasonable proposal is to:
Obtain the books and materials.STILL rewrite the Accelerated Government and
Economics curriculum.BALANCE the Web 2.0 tools with traditional text
to move beyond standard lectures.STILL implement the Active Citizen portfolio, but
possibly remove the video (accessibility) and make it a hard copy.
Books will still guide students in reaching necessary competencies, with me facilitating the process.
“Is she done yet?”While I am here to present my desire for
these textbooks, my message was indeed twofold:
Resources are needed either way, but at the same time
We cannot ignore our contribution to the digital divide.
“Today knowledge is ubiquitous, constantly changing, growing exponentially… Today knowledge is free. It’s
like air, it’s like water. It’s become a commodity… There’s no competitive advantage today in knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn’t care what you know. What the world cares about is
what you can do with what you know.” – Tony Wagner, Creating Innovators (2012)
Thanks for watching!Email
Click here to view my full video of the Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario.
Click here to view my blog on Emerging Technologies.