Article #1
The article “What if Abraham Lincoln had a Facebook page?”
illustrates how educators can introduce the subject of history to students while
incorporating technology and social media to help classroom engagement and help
them learn important facts, historical events, and the people involved. Educators
can ignite students’ interests by incorporating technology and social media
into their lesson plans. This article demonstrates how history can utilize
Facebook to sustain students’ interest and attention while also making the
learning process more interesting by creating an assignment in which students make
a Facebook page for a particular person in history, such as Abraham Lincoln.
The activity of constructing a Facebook page for a specific person in history has
students learn biographical information, important historical events they are
involved in by developing Facebook posts, viewpoints, preferences, and hobbies
by “liking” certain pages, and posting photos and videos of paintings or movie
scenes with captions to portray historical or personal events in history.
Another activity students can perform is to generate a Facebook page for a
specific person or country involved in a historical conflict, such as the Cold
War or World War II. Students could start by researching and filling in the “About
Me” section of the country’s history, economic, political, and social atmosphere,
government philosophy, and then illustrate views and interests through what
they “like” on Facebook, and even “friend request” other countries to show ally
relations. Further action could be taken by “personal messaging” specific
countries to show important historical events that required communication
between other countries such as the Warsaw Pact or German-Soviet Nonaggression
Pact. Overall, this article illustrates that lessons can utilize technology,
while also keeping students’ attention and interest during the lesson.
I think this is a great example of how to integrate
technology into the classroom. By using students’ interests and what already captures
their attention, educators aren’t fighting an uphill battle to keep their
attention during lessons or making sure they are staying on task. Also, using
technology within the lesson can benefit students academically. Students truly
want to learn and develop skills for success, but it is up to educators to use innovative
methods of teaching that will capture students’ attention and motivate them to
want to learn. I believe the learning process should be fun and interesting,
and by integrating students’ interests and technology within a lesson,
educators will reinforce the learning process and information presented. Although
technology may be distracting in some circumstances, I believe educators can
successfully integrate technology into their classroom by using different
programs or applications that help engage students and reinforce collaboration
within a lesson.
The ideas in the article of integrating technology into
the classroom by utilizing social media connect with the NETS-S indicators. The
first indicator this activity uses is Creativity and Innovation, by having students
create a Facebook page for either a person or country. This activity combines
the existing knowledge they have of Facebook and the information from the
lesson, while exploring ideas and creating an original idea. I also believe
this assignment uses the concept of Research and Information Fluency. Students
must not only research their person or country in depth to create a Facebook,
but they also analyze and evaluate the information from a
variety of sources. Students need to then process the data from multiple
resources to create a resulting product, a Facebook page. Students also use the
concept of Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Decision Making by
identifying specific questions to investigate in their project. They must also
make informed decisions and use multiple processes from a variety of
perspectives to explore their topic successfully. If an issue arises, they must
develop a strategy to successfully develop a solution for the issue. In this
activity, students are also using the concept of Technology Operations and
Concepts by demonstrating an understanding of the technology concepts, systems
and operations by creating a Facebook page and updating the Facebook page
regularly. This illustrates they understand how to navigate through the page,
edit, and connect with other users. Integrating technology and social media
into lessons engages the students, while also helping them develop the skills
they need to become successful in their academic careers.
References
Glover, B. (2013). What if Abraham Lincoln had a Facebook
page? Learning and Leading Through Technology, 40(8), 38-39.
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteThis is great post. I read an article that used the same concept of utilizing Facebook as a means for teaching and learning about a certain topic. I think that the author has an excellent idea that students can show how countries were allies during certain wars by displaying their friendship online on Facebook. I also think that by using Facebook, you are correct in saying that it will hold the students’ attention because it incorporates learning with something that they enjoy, which is the social media sites. Reading about how teachers can use social media sites, like Facebook to help there students get excited about learning has also sparked in my head an idea of incorporating another popular social media app, which is Instagram. Maybe for history, students could create Instagram accounts for various people in history such as a president and then post things that Lincoln, or Washington would post if they were still alive. All in all, I think that this is a very informative post and it has given me some ideas of how to be creative in my own classroom one day.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteIt’s a bit funny I had read Kristen’s post and joked about what Lincoln might have posted on his facebook; I must have seen your title and had it in the back of my brain. Yours and Kristen’s articles have very similar notions about utilizing social networks and technologies in the classroom to light the student’s glimmer of interest in history and literature. I also like the idea of using the student’s current interests to maintain their attention and motivation. Whatever it takes right? This concept really makes the students go beyond just knowing the cookie cutter answers, and designs itself around critic thinking and problem solving. It also seems much in line with common core, and the creativity of it is something that I’d love to use one day while teaching history. What would Admiral Nimitz have posted on twitter after the battle of Iwo Jima? I’m sure it would have been “Uncommon Valor was a common virtue”. What a way to connect the learners to history bringing it alive through social media.
Don