Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Activity #1
I have used this video in my AP US Government courses before. It is a great way to introduce the concept of the power elite by C. Wright Mills. Mills argued that governments are set up to reinforce the power of the ruling classes. Particularly in America he pointed to how little say or control people have in their government. In the case of voting, most Americans believe the creators of the constitution wanted to have unlimited voting and the right to vote is guaranteed in the constitution. The video does a great job of showing that not only is the right to vote not in the constitution, but many states limit the right to vote in a number of ways. It helps students see the varying views of power in regards to the US Constitution and begins a great debate about who should vote and if there should be limits on voting.
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I couldn't find your reflection post (except on the comments of the Activity 1 page) so I'll just comment here. I agree with much of what you wrote about student blogging...and you highlight the concerns I have about requiring students to create them. However, I am pretty convinced that the benefits outweigh the difficulties, especially when you consider that even activities that students complete grudgingly, can have benefit...even if they don't realize it at the time. Who knows, it may plant a seed that students may benefit from....just not in our particular class.
ReplyDeleteI guess I was supposed to post another post for this week. I forgot so I am putting it here :)
ReplyDeleteI have used blogs in my classroom for about 2 years now. I find that they can be hit or miss for many students. When a student uses them effectively, the kind of reflections you get are great and students demonstrate some real profound and insightful comments. On the other hand, many students treat them as a chore (I know shocking!) And in these cases, the blogs are a pain to read and do nothing really for students. Like many assignments, it often does not seem how much feedback is offered, some students just do the bare minimum, and for them it becomes a self-fulfilling process (ie. this is a tedious chore so I am going to make it such.) I have students post weekly blog reflections on the material and also on their grades. A lot of students do a great job of applying the material outside the course (I find this happens in electives more than required courses) and also analyzing what their grade is and why they have the grade they do. Then there are students who just repeat what we did in class and post their grade...they are the "on the other hand" students.
Professionally, I have read amazing blogs that educators have kept where they post about technology, research, and general education material. Blogs are amazing for keeping up on educational material...yet they can be overwhelming just do to the sheer amount of them. I find it is best to pick three to five of them and stick with them. In fact, with all technology in the classroom I find this holds true to an even lesser degree of 1-3 things that work.
In regards to which blogging service to use in the classroom, in the case of students I find the simplest is the best. This is why I have used tumblr in the past, yet after last year (with some major tech issues happening) I think any of the ones discussed under activity 1 would be better. Each of them seem to have their shortcomings in comparison to tumblr, namely their formatting and the almost over abundance of options. Tumblr is nice because it only has a few options for postings and does not let students stray too far...it does not even provide the option of using html, which is great. Each of the videos presented formats similar to blogger, which is lots of options with many "holes" students can fall into. I do like the use of blogger, because it is already connected with student accounts. Additionally, it is completely free, as opposed to some sites which open up content only after paying. Honestly, they all look good. In my experience it does not matter what horse you bring to the race as long as you show students how to race the horse properly everything will be fine. The last thing you want to do to students is change the horse mid race to a chicken and ask students to keep racing...they always abandon the race as the chicken pecks at their faces. Giving students small baby step like activities to do, like this class, works well and no matter which one you pick they will end up being able to do the basics eventually
I like the lack of extended options in Tumblr as well. Using different blogging interfaces makes my head spin after awhile but in many ways, that is exactly what this class aims to teach teachers to be able to do. We want our students to as well. I find students to be FAR less savvy then we give them credit for. I hope that doesn't sound too critical.
DeleteI agree that giving students small steps can really help the move toward success! Additionally, you make a great point about blogger already being connected to student accounts which can be a great way to connect.
ReplyDeleteI love the part in the video that says "Are you sure the right to vote isn't in the constitution?" Ha! Who knew. I imagine this has sparked some lively discussion with students... let's hope...
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