I went to a conference this summer and learned about loads and loads of new and exciting ways to integrate technology meaningfully into daily instruction! I hope to share much of what I learned in the coming months in this newsletter. The first amazing technology integration I want to share with you is really a mix up of different technologies. It’s called a mashup. If you google mashup, you will find a wide array of websites. Some of them might be a bit overwhelming. The idea of a mashup has been around for a long time. On the radio we often hear remakes of songs where two songs have been mashed together to make a new song. The original music video is technically a mashup of video and music. Even educators are not strangers to the mashup. Content area teachers use reading strategies to help students comprehend their subject. Physical education teachers combine writing in their lessons. I have seen teams of teachers combine all their skills and contents to make one amazing culminating event for the students to remember for a lifetime.
According to Wikipedia, digital mashups are when data from two different sources are combined on one web application. In the simplest terms mashups are two or more of anything combined together to make something new. The term can apply to audio, video, art, or anything else you can think of. The mashups, I want to share are these digital mashups. They are valuable web 2.0 tools that allow novice users to create and display information in a meaningful way and share it on the web. They are engaging for the creator and the viewer. This is really cool because you get to hit many technology standards and vsc objectives in one lesson. More bang for your buck. Working smarter not harder. I am sure there are more cliches, but I think you get the idea. Alice Christie gave an awesome presentation where we used a digital camera, a gps device, Google Maps, and flikr to create a virtual trip.
Let’s imagine that you were taking your students to the Salisbury Zoo. Groups of students could pick a theme and as they traveled through the zoo, they would take pictures of things that fit with their theme. Each time they took a picture, they would mark the place they took the picture with the gps. When they got back in the classroom, they would upload the coordinates into Google Maps. They could insert a picture at the corresponding coordinate and write about what the picture was and why it belonged in the theme. Then the trips are saved and shared among the class, so every student gets to revisit the trip from different view points. Students have an authentic audience. They can share their work with anyone anywhere in the world. Many vsc objectives are met and a higher level of learning is achieved. You have provided your students with a meaningful, engaging, rigorous and relevant activity. I have stewed on this all summer and come up with a few ideas of ways mashups might be integrated into your classrooms. Check them out.
- Field Trips
- Botany – Send students out to take pictures of plants, and mark their location with the gps. Upload information to Google Maps. Have students write about the plants and where they were found.
- Entemology – Same as with botany project only with bugs.
- Creative Writing – Take pictures and have students formulate stories about the pictures. Upload the pictures and stories into flickr or Google Maps.
- Literature Trips – Track the travels of the characters in your favorite books on Google Maps. Add pictures and discussion questions along the way.
- Math – Use Planimeter or Pedometer to calculate distances and area in Google Earth.
- Create a timeline on Dipity. Plot locations of events. Add pictures and video. So much fun! It is new and they are adding new variations soon.
I am sure there are more ideas out there. I feel as though I am barely scratching the surface. I would love to hear your ideas on how to use these cool tools.
Entries (RSS)
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:17 am
Carla,
I love this idea. I’m not sure if something like this would work but I was thinking of a “walk through history”. Students could study an event in history, create pictures that portray the historical aspect of the location where the event took place and upload that to Google maps. Then they could use Google Maps to see how that location has changed. (If this is possible.) Maybe even create a Blog asking questions about the historical event and how it is today? Just a thought. Again, not sure if all this is possible.
Amanda
October 4th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I love your blog (?) I also like the idea of a mashup. Do you know of anything or program where a camera isn’t required? My students don’t all have their own cameras. I’ve seen this is a problem still: kids don’t all have the same options even though adults sometimes assume all kids are digital natives.
Matthew
October 7th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Amanda,
A walk through history is a great idea for something like this!! The tech coaches have done some wonderful things like that using google maps. You are very fortunate to have another tech coach at your school this year. I know Patti would love to work on something like this with you!
Smiles!
Carla
October 7th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Matthew, have you considered having them use pictures from the Internet? Tech4Learning has a great site filled with copyright free photos for schools to use!
Have a great day!
October 7th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Amanda,
Anything is possible if we give it a try. Google Lit Trips are wonderful!
Take a look here:
http://www.googlelittrips.org/
I’d love to work with you and a classroom teacher who would like to use Google Earth to bring more excitement to a story the students are reading.
Patti
October 7th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Thanks!
This blog is fantastic!! It’s so impressive to see such a straightforward one in the glut of super confusing ed.tech blogs out there! I love the web sites and ideas you have all brought up! I will check them out fo sho! Lastly, another question, I have had a ton of time consuming trouble trying to find video files–WMV–in particular that will work with Windows Movie Maker. The AVI files claim that they work but more often than not they do not convert. Where can I find free downloadable WMV video files that could be used in Movie Maker? If any body can help me you guys can!!
Thanks again! Rock On Wiconunty!
Matthew
October 9th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Matt–does your county have a subscription to Discovery Streaming? http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
If not, they have a 30 day free trial. They have absolutely tons of files that work very well in Windows Movie Maker.
Beth
October 9th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Matthew, You can also go to Zamzar.com. They will convert videos into other formats. I think you have to wait a few hours for the conversion, but it might be worth a try.
October 27th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Carmon,
Great work. I appreciate your efforts.
L