Social+Studies+Web+2.0

Social Studies 2.0

Social Studies teachers have always believed in collaboration. I’m sure that everyone reading this has had a social studies teacher that could not get enough of group work. Web 2.0 provides a similar online venue for group work. However your work can be seen by people all over the world and people can collaborate from the convenience of the own home. The potential for Web 2.0 continues to grow and it is the purpose of this section of the Wiki is to show you a few examples on how it can be used in the classroom.

1. Documentary Making and blog reflections I am a huge fan of documentaries. I want to learn how to make it a viable option in my classroom by giving kids an opportunity to succeed. Mrs. Hurd has provides many resources for students and teachers to access. If students were to make a documentary, I would have them post blog reflections on the film making process. These reflections will serve as a formative assessment tool for the teacher and it will also require students to be reflective of their work.

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2. Mock Debate. Wikis are relatively new to me but I am beginning to understand their potential. A wiki is unique because it can be easily edited and all invited students have the opportunity to do that. Therefore, one could stage a mock debate between different history classes. For instance, say we wanted to have a debate about the dropping of the atomic bomb, one class could be assigned the pro argument while the other class can have the con piece. I can only imagine how much solid research could be done if 20 students were all focusing on topic. I can see how logistically it could be a problem to have 20 kids all edit the same wiki but I’m sure if you divided the kids into groups and had several rounds in the debate everything would work out great.

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3. Classroom Scrapbook It is so important that students are praised for all their hard work and that there is little disconnect between the real world and classroom. Therefore, students should post things to a classroom wiki. They could post pictures from a recent field trip, an effective PowerPoint presentation or their favorite websites. I think that this collective experience will continue their online development to ensure that they can use these tools appropriately throughout their college and professional life.

http://www.wikispaces.com/examples

4. Time Management It seems that no matter what you teach students are always complaining about not having enough time to do their homework or complete projects. Gradefix prioritizes your time or you. What potential a tool like this has for those sometimes troubled students.

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