Social Studies and Digital Timelines
Contextual Information and Background Info Questions:
The after school intern provided enough contextual information in the contextual factors section. A very important piece of information included in this section is where the resources to complete the timeline are coming from, instead of making people assume that the cameras are coming from the elementary school specifically. I do not think that the intern is missing any information in this section, she has all of the basic information recorded. There is research provided to show how the technology will help enhance teaching and learning. Using cameras and computers in a fifth grade class to help with the technological literacy of students is very important because they are expected to be able to use technology by the eighth grade. What is missing, is the way that this is going to help teachers teach their students, because it seems to be a very one sided lesson, where the teacher will not be showing students what is necessary or important technologically.
Activity Plan Questions:
This activity appears to be easy to replicate in some ways. It may be harder to do this exact activity plan in another area, where there are not as many artifacts of the Civil War. Other than that factor, everything could be recreated. The activity is laid out in a way that each thing that must be done is broken down enough to give students an easy outline of what they must do.
Technology Integration Rational Questions:
The incorporation of technology gives the advantage of comfort to teaching and learning, by allowing both teachers and students to explore the benefits of doing a timeline on a computer and also giving people the experience they need to find something using a camera or computer. The way that the intern uses technology tells us that the content may be easier to understand if students are given the ability to use something that they are interested in, to learn about a given subject, like the Civil War. The use of technology increases opportunities for student interaction with content and ideas by allowing them to look online or in a museum for something that interests them while also creating a connection to the subject that they are learning about.
Additional Question:
There were not any things in this activity plan that were confusing or misleading, but I would like to learn more about timerime.com and the other wikis that are just mentioned. I've never seen or heard of a timeline that can be created on the computer and am wondering how that would affect the way that information is retained. Also, whether this type of resource is easier to use than a handmade timeline would be to create.
