I would recommend GoogleEarth to visual learners. Really, I would recommend this to anyone because it is so fantastic. I think Google Earth would help students understand landforms and any aspect of geography. Many times, students don’t understand the difference between a city, country and continent. GoogleEarth would help them grasp and visualize the differences between these descriptions. To better understand landforms, students could “fly” from Maryland to Las Vegas and describe the differences in landscape.
Students also need to build background for settings of stories, and GoogleEarth would also be a great way to do that. For example, the story The Cricket in Times Square takes place in Times Square, obviously. Students don’t always have a good picture of New York City, and flying above Manhattan would help them see the setting of the story more clearly. I think GE would help provide a sense that the world is bigger than what they see everyday. Perhaps a global view?
There is a Google Earth Educator’s Forum and there is a page containing lesson plans for GE. The possibilities are endless for teachers of all levels and of all subjects.
Author Archive for svalenti
Theory or Pedagogy?
I really was stumped at the difference, and whether there was one, about theory and pedagogy. I know a theory is a principle or explanation, and pedagogy deals with the strategies of teaching. The two seem so close to me, and I often think they are used interchangeably. I struggled to understand why there was such a debate on connectivism. It seems that most people accept that learning is now more connected than before. I am not sure, though, that this is something separate. Learning has always been connected, but now we are connected so much more immediately and frequently. Why, then, the debate over theory and pedagogy?
I think what the busy teacher needs to take from this debate is that their students are growing up in a more connected world. We have to adjust our teaching to meet their learning styles. I think Seimens put into words quite well what is happening/needs to happen in education, regardless of whether it is a theory or not.
Students 2.0
I found a site, Students 2.0, that offers a chance for students to discuss their feeling about the future of education. I think it is so important for us to listen to our teens and for them to feel they have a voice. I hope you find their comments as interesting as I did.
This blog will accompany my SAT Prep tutoring. I hope this blog will invite students to interact with me when they have a question about their homework. I also hope to create a community where they can discuss and post essays. I envision this as a way to communicate also when they can not attend class or will be late. This blog will allow me to meet them in their comfort zone, and it will get away from the traditional paper and pencil test preparation. AS the blog grows, they can talk about the test with one another. I learned that discussing the test can alleviate their anxieties.
I also hope to create a teacher’s page where SAT prep teachers and tutors can share ideas. Because I am not in the classroom, this is an area that will suit my needs. As a professional in the educational field, I hope to bring the power of the Web to any situation. I hope to help teachers see that it is not as difficult to integrate technology as they might think. I want technology to be a tool, as common as pencil and paper. I want students to reach far beyond what I know, becoming a teacher to me and to their classmates. Students will take ownership of the information, and therefore would be engaged and immersed in the content. I think the online environments has everything teachers need to be better teachers. It is true that nothing can take the place of a teacher imparting his or her knowledge on students, but the Web can add to the presentation of their knowledge. The Web can help engage students who would not be engaged by traditional teaching methods. It is not often that the average person can create something new. Everyone is his or her own inventor. Web 2.0 puts the power into people’s hands to be more creative, thoughtful, and connected. Nothing else has made the world so small, and the infinite nature of it is fascinating. My students will bring something unique to make a class different each time.
