History Tech

I’m not sure who coined the terms “digital natives” and “digital divide” to explain the difference between people who grew up with ubiquitous technology and those of us who learned to use it as adults, but it’s a real thing.  If you don’t believe it’s real, then you don’t have close daily contact with anyone under the age of 20, and you don’t understand the impact that difference can have in education.  Join Glenn as he shares a personal experience with his nephew along with an article by Dr. Tony Talbert, an education professor at Baylor University. Both stories exemplify the idea that digital natives don’t view technology as a tool but rather as a context in which they live.

The Hechinger Report, “An education prof. goes back to high school, finds technology is no longer a tool but a context.”

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Have you ever been in an iPad training that ended before you were ready?  You know the feeling: you just need a little more practice to solidify your learning.  Glenn often receives that feedback from teachers when he is the facilitator.  To address the need for extended learning opportunities with iPads, he decided to expand on some of the ideas created by TechChef4U and Craig Badura.  Join Glenn as he shares some examples and explains how Task Challenges can be the perfect way to reinforce and extended personal learning.

 

You can contact Glenn at:

Email – [email protected]

Skype – glennw98

Twitter – @glennw98

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How do you teach students in the social studies classroom to understand continuity and change over time?  If you are a self-avowed “map nerd” like Glenn, the answer is easy.   You use the  Historical Topographic Map Explorer created by the United States Geological Survey.  Join Glenn as he shares how this cool tool can improve historical thinking for your students.

You can contact Glenn at:

Email – [email protected]

Skype – glennw98

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Do you ever wish that your students were as excited about maps and geography as they are about video games?  Well, your wish might come true if you introduce them to Google’s new Smarty Pins. (Get it? Smarty Pants – Smarty Pins? You nutty Google engineers!)  Smarty Pins is basically a simple trivia game that asks questions with geo-tagged answers using the Google Maps interface.

You can play the default game which asks random questions from all of the six different categories. But you can also select a specific category that lets you focus on just what you want.  Join Glenn as he shares ways that Smarty Pins and the other games listed below can be used in the social studies classroom.

Try the very cool and fun Traveler IQ. Traveler IQ is a fun, easy-to-use online geography review game with 12 different versions – from world locations to photos to flags and a US challenge.

GeoMaster

This fun geography app is a bit like Traveler IQ. It includes an atlas and eight games with high resolution maps. Interactive and fun, Geomaster puts your geography knowledge to the test. More than 40 levels featuring world capitals, European countries, Asian countries, African countries, South American countries, US cities and states.

One game that was released earlier this year is called GeoGuessr – same sort of idea as Pursued. You are given access to a Google Maps StreetView somewhere in the world and using contextual clues, you have to guess where you are at. You are awarded points for how close your guess is to the actual spot.

Stack the States

As you learn state capitals, shapes, geographic locations and more, you can actually touch, move and drop the animated states anywhere on the screen. Carefully build a stack of states that reaches the checkered line to win each level. As you earn more states, you unlock the three free bonus games: Pile Up, Puzzler and Capital Drop.

Stack the Countries

Same idea as Stack the States but with countries and continents.

Both of these apps have free and paid versions and are available in iPod and iPad versions.

Glenn recently wrote about a very cool game called Pursued that takes advantage of the StreetView option in Google Earth. It’s a great way for you to trains kids to ask questions, use visual clues, think spatially, become comfortable with geography tools, create mental maps, and solve problems all while having a good time.

GeoNet, an online game from Houghton Mifflin Social Studies, asks kids to select a region or continent.

The answer to the question posed in the title above is a resounding “No!”  Join Glenn as he struggles to say the word corroborate and explains how the ELA standards and social studies standards support, and many times overlap, one another.  However, he makes a clear distinction between the objectives for each subject and gives specific examples of how the tasks and questions asked in each classroom are unique to the specific discipline.

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Even though the name, ThingLink, doesn’t roll off your tongue, it might become your new favorite online tool as you explore all the possible ways to use it in your classroom.  Join Glenn as he shares different examples of how ThingLink can be used to create multi-layered historical documents such as photographs, maps, and political cartoons.  Click the link to sign up for a free educator’s account and start creating interactive resources today!

If you want to see some ThingLink creations, view Glenn’s quick example here or check out a lesson on physical geography and the Great Plains.  Need some more ideas? Check out the slide presentation that is currently titled  81+ Interesting Ways  to Use ThingLink in the Classroom. Here are some more examples on Pinterest.

Glenn Wiebe can be contacted at:

Email – [email protected]

Skype – glennw98

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Good teachers have always known that reading and writing are crucial skills in the social studies classroom.  However, the focus put on these processes by the Common Core State Standards has some teachers wondering exactly what that looks like.  Join Glenn Wiebe as he talks about a great website with resources that can answer that question.

Glenn Wiebe can be contacted at:

Email – [email protected]

Skype – glennw98

Twitter – @glennw98

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If you are a user of Apple products, you are probably familiar with iMovie.  However, you might not know there are two other applications that form the perfect iPad Creation Trifecta.  Join Glenn Wiebe as he gives an overview of iMovie, Storehouse, and Adobe Voice and explains how they can be used by students and teachers to create high quality digital content.

Glenn Wiebe can be contacted at:

Email – [email protected]

Skype – glennw98

Twitter – @glennw98

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As states across the country adopt college and career ready standards, liberal arts teachers may wonder about the relevance of their discipline.  Is a liberal arts education a quaint concept that is slowly fading into our educational past along with 8 millimeter movies and mimeograph machines? Join Glenn as he considers the question of whether or not a college or career ready graduate is ready for life.

Glenn Wiebe can be contacted at:

Email – [email protected]

Skype – glennw98

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Twitter – glennw98

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Diigo – glennw98

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Anyone who has renovated an old house knows that budget overruns are common and work often takes longer than anticipated, but it is usually worth the effort.  The 13 years and nearly $325 million invested in the Kansas State Capitol renovation has proven to be just as true on all counts.  Join Glenn as he talks about his visit to the statehouse and shares some of the great additions that will enhance the experience for everyone.  Visit Glenn’s History Tech website for additional pictures and links to resources at the Capitol and the Kansas State Historical Society.

 

Glenn Wiebe can be contacted at:

Email – [email protected]

Skype – glennw98

Plurk – glennw98

Twitter – glennw98

Slideshare – glennw98

Diigo – glennw98

 

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