During the weekend before the first presidential debate this year, Matt Phillips (a teacher of AP Gov't, among other classes; follow @MrPhillipsClass) and I started to tweet about an idea of hosting a debate discussion in the West Hall High School Library. When we discovered that the debate would air from 9pm-10:30pm, we turned to the internet to make this happen. Using the following programs in the following ways, we helped 49 students make sense of the issues being covered and allowed space for them to bounce ideas off of each other. It got heated and sarcastical (my favorite Arthur Miller word) at times, but students were by and large respectful and relatively well-informed.
Technological Tool #1: Twitter
The idea was born on Twitter and then organized using its communication power. First, I set up a hashtag (#WHDebateChat) that would organize a few resources that Mr. Phillips and I wanted the students to use. Of course, we provided hard copies in the event that they didn't have a printer at home, but this was helpful in order to provide backups or if the students were absent. Second, students Direct Messaged either Mr. Phillips or me for the password to the chatroom. This was paramount to keeping kids safe online and also, since students can't DM you if they aren't following you, it boosted the number of students we have follow us for our classroom information. Third, we were able to provide tech support in case students couldn't access the chat room for whatever reason.
Technological Tool #2: Chatzy
I came to know about Chatzy because of Greg Odell (Hall County School e-Learning Specialist, follow @ugaodawg). He tweeted it as a resource and I played with it at home a little bit, and found it to be very flexible. Links were easy to share, passwords were easy to set up, students could color-code their names, and Mr. Phillips and I had administrative control over the room if we needed to exercise it. We went with this due its high level of control and a lack of a character limit on students' responses.
Technological Tool #3: NY Times' "The Learning Network" Blog
This is where I got the handouts that our students used to takes notes during the debate. On one of the handouts, students predicted topics of discussion and then took notes on where the candidates stand. On the other, students filled out a classic "K-W-L" chart about the candidates, with the "L" part being filled in as the debate went on. This provided the knowledge background structure to the discussion between the students.
Technological Tool #4: I Side With.com
This was brought to my attention by Matt Phillips, who tweeted a link over the summer. Students were encouraged to take the quiz to see who they sided with based on issues rather than names or parties. I was stunned at my own results, which showed I was in 90% agreement with someone I'd never heard of before. The kids took to this to see if they were as in-line with their choice as they thought they were. VERY interesting in-class discussion centered on the use of this website.
Below are some more screen shots from the use of the tech tools, and a video of the next day, which was a discussion led in person by Mr. Phillips and I in the school library using Google Docs to conduct a quick survey.
Technological Tool #1: Twitter
The idea was born on Twitter and then organized using its communication power. First, I set up a hashtag (#WHDebateChat) that would organize a few resources that Mr. Phillips and I wanted the students to use. Of course, we provided hard copies in the event that they didn't have a printer at home, but this was helpful in order to provide backups or if the students were absent. Second, students Direct Messaged either Mr. Phillips or me for the password to the chatroom. This was paramount to keeping kids safe online and also, since students can't DM you if they aren't following you, it boosted the number of students we have follow us for our classroom information. Third, we were able to provide tech support in case students couldn't access the chat room for whatever reason.
Technological Tool #2: Chatzy
I came to know about Chatzy because of Greg Odell (Hall County School e-Learning Specialist, follow @ugaodawg). He tweeted it as a resource and I played with it at home a little bit, and found it to be very flexible. Links were easy to share, passwords were easy to set up, students could color-code their names, and Mr. Phillips and I had administrative control over the room if we needed to exercise it. We went with this due its high level of control and a lack of a character limit on students' responses.
Technological Tool #3: NY Times' "The Learning Network" Blog
This is where I got the handouts that our students used to takes notes during the debate. On one of the handouts, students predicted topics of discussion and then took notes on where the candidates stand. On the other, students filled out a classic "K-W-L" chart about the candidates, with the "L" part being filled in as the debate went on. This provided the knowledge background structure to the discussion between the students.
Technological Tool #4: I Side With.com
This was brought to my attention by Matt Phillips, who tweeted a link over the summer. Students were encouraged to take the quiz to see who they sided with based on issues rather than names or parties. I was stunned at my own results, which showed I was in 90% agreement with someone I'd never heard of before. The kids took to this to see if they were as in-line with their choice as they thought they were. VERY interesting in-class discussion centered on the use of this website.
Below are some more screen shots from the use of the tech tools, and a video of the next day, which was a discussion led in person by Mr. Phillips and I in the school library using Google Docs to conduct a quick survey.