There's this stigma with History classes that you can simply
give lecture after lecture and powerpoint after powerpoint and that will
suffice for the kids. This simply will not do. Many classes have been
implementing technological advances rather easily for quite some time. Computers and iPads have been used for module type activities in math. Reading and
English (as well as Math) lend themselves easily to using SmartBoards and other
interactive boards. Students can come to the board and write their answers and
erase correct each other and it can be fun. History, however, seems to be stuck
in the Stone Age. It is so refreshing to see Blogs like HistoryTech by Glenn
Wiebe which chronicles all kinds of technology he uses in his History classes.
Wiebe uses tools such as Google Classroom to digitally share and upload information for his whole classroom. He is able to share YouTube videos and resources as well as have students collaborate together as a class. He uses podcasts to make the information less dull and Tumblr to encourage more collaboration and interaction with ease. My favorite piece of technology that Wiebe used is something called Zaption. I had never heard of Zaption before reading this blog, but it is fascinating. Basically, Zaption is a way to take a YouTube clip, or other video clip of some sort, and add interactive pieces to it. You can add multiple choice questions, text boxes, drawings, and many more things I’m sure he didn't even think of. The students will be much more engaged while watching these informational videos. From my experience, when a teacher assigns a video to watch for class, I immediately go brain-dead. My head shuts off and my mind wanders. These interactive pieces would keep me interested and awake for a lot longer, and can even be kind of fun if done right.
Wiebe uses tools such as Google Classroom to digitally share and upload information for his whole classroom. He is able to share YouTube videos and resources as well as have students collaborate together as a class. He uses podcasts to make the information less dull and Tumblr to encourage more collaboration and interaction with ease. My favorite piece of technology that Wiebe used is something called Zaption. I had never heard of Zaption before reading this blog, but it is fascinating. Basically, Zaption is a way to take a YouTube clip, or other video clip of some sort, and add interactive pieces to it. You can add multiple choice questions, text boxes, drawings, and many more things I’m sure he didn't even think of. The students will be much more engaged while watching these informational videos. From my experience, when a teacher assigns a video to watch for class, I immediately go brain-dead. My head shuts off and my mind wanders. These interactive pieces would keep me interested and awake for a lot longer, and can even be kind of fun if done right.
Again, I find it very refreshing to see someone successfully
incorporating technology into a class like History, which many students find extremely
boring. This helped me realize that even I can find a way to integrate
technology into my classroom, as tech-illiterate as I am.
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