Check your emails! Its about our website.

Alright! I went through and got some of the links to change colors. I was also able to fix some of the formatting issues in the links page, but not all of them... The editor for this site is so glitchy. It looks great in editor mode, but when you save it, nothing changes... So, I am calling it good!

Thanks for being such a great group, Meg and Kara! It's been a pleasure working with you :)

Are we done?

Meg, if you go to my PBL in Action page, there's a link at the bottom of the page that says something like "To learn more about schools who are already using PBL, watch this short video on YouTube." The word "YouTube" is the link to my original project which is a video I made. Also, my 3 new sites, as well as my 2 web evals are on the link page.

One thing that I see that needs to be done is that while the font color/size seems to be consistent, the link colors are not consistent. Most of them are a darkish blue-gray color, but some are just dark gray like the text. We need this to be consistent across all the pages, and I think they should be colored like most of them are to set them apart as links and not just underlined text.. The Digital Stories page, Lesson Plans page, and Podcast page have black links or at least inconsistently colored links. Also, the links page is formatted really inconsistently with different fonts and colors and things are aligned weirdly so I find it kind of hard to read. Once those things are taken care of, I'll be comfortable with turning it in.

I'm about to make the drive from Mt. Pleasant to Kalamazoo, so I'll be out of touch until 10:30-11:00. I'll get back on as soon as I'm back in town to see if those things still need to be taken care of. If they do, I can take care of that and then I will submit it. If either you take care of the color and formatting issues between now and then feel free to submit it! I just think we need to make sure everything looks polished :)

Ok, I tried to tighten the concept map closer together. im not sure how to get the size to get smaller. see if that is better.

Ok Side bar is done. I included my three website that were evaluated and my three new ones are in the Links.
I posted my 2 digital stories and gave them a description.

Ok I think I figure out how to organize side bar. How do you guys want to organize it. 1. Easy ways to bring PBL into classroom 2. PBL in Action 3. Lesson Plans 4. Local History of Kalamazoo Unit 5. Standards 6. digital Stories 7. Podcast 8. Safe websurfing 9. links ...this is how I was going to arrange them but wasn't so sure.

Have you each added a new original project?  I did a lesson plan on the moundbuilders.
did you each add three new websites?  I've lost track!

I think this is starting to look very nice! 
Kara, can you shrink the concept map a little side to side?  two bubbles go off on the right side when I try to put it on the home page. 
also.. I think that the standards that we are using for the web site need to be copied and pasted into that page.  It is okay to leave the larger links, but they are not specific to the site.  Do you need help to get that done?
I don't have access to the side bar.... it needs to be put into a logical order.  I think that the rest of it looks great. I love your new pages and Jessica's too!
  Do each of you have .... your lesson plans?  your website evaluation sites?  kara, we still need your digital story linked... I'm going to go through the rubric one more time.  still having trouble with one link holding the hyperlink.. it just won't do it, do you have any ideas? 

Concept Map

Here is the concept map. Let me know if I missed something.

Sidebar

Kara, can you make my unit page part of the sidebar like everything else? I can't figure out how...

Jessica, added some descriptions to lesson plans and digital stories... see if that is better and more of what you were thinking we needed?  Thanks!

http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-young-children-special-education
   -This is a link talking about how assistive technology benefit children who have diabilities. I though we could incorporate this into the webpage since we had to include how we would help benefit children who need the extra help into our lessons.

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-storytelling-classroom
   -Here is a link that is informational for incorporating Difital Stories into the classroom.

http://usa-sos.org/index.cfm?Page=Principals-Teachers
  - Here is a link for safe web surfing. Can be used for teachers, students and even parents. There are activities and information to learn how to surf the internet safetly.

I thought about these websites to include into our web page. But let me know what you guys think or if I should look up something different.

Well, with the exception of some small adjustments, I consider my pages to be complete. Will you two check them out and make sure they are okay?

I am a little anxious because it seems like there is still a LOT that needs to be done. For example, I think that the digital story, links, and lesson plans pages need some short descriptions as to what the page is for, etc. I don't think we're suppose to have just a page full of links without anything else. Also, each page is supposed to have 1 or 2 new pieces of information, I believe. That can be added through the added descriptions. Like the instructions say, the assignments are supposed to be linked in a meaningful way, not just on a page... Not sure what we're going to do about that.

At some point in the near future, I am going to go through and format. All of our text needs to be the same size, font, color, etc, Everything needs to look like it was made by the same person. I will wait until everything looks more complete.

Please let me know if there's anything I can help with. Now that my pages are complete, I can be of more assistance to you two. This project seems to be worth quite a bit, so I want to make sure we turn in something we can be proud of.

Jessica,
The standards notes (right under team web site:) says it can be linked to another page.  Kara is working on that one and I will get the link on the homepage.
Hope that helps.

Ok..Im having issues loading images. How did you guys get your images to stay being seen. Ill get it loaded up there and then when I save it, it gives me a small square with shapes in it. Ok, Jessica, ill text you if anything needs to be cleared.

Kara and Jessica,
Sending you an email with my phone #s.  Will be going out of town ASAP... feel free to call and we can get this done!

Hi everyone, sorry I havent been on here. try to get on as much as I can many big projects due this week. Very overwhelming. For this website, Im still very confused about it. Jessica, do you have skype to where we can communicate with one another for a video chat. if not I know that this blog has an instant messanger, so we can communicate back and forth there if you have the time too.

My additional project will be about the Native Americans that once populated Kalamazoo.  Not sure what format it will take yet, but should know that by tonight.

Website Plan?

Okay, so I understand more of what Sharon wants after checking out the "recycling drama" website. However, I think we need to agree on a plan of action on how we want our site laid out so that it is logical. Once we have a plan, we can decided who will do what two pages. Also, we have to create some original pieces for this project. Do either of you have ideas of what you'll be doing for those? Basically, I feel like I need a plan before I can take any sort of logical approach to getting this done. If we aren't all on the same page, I don't see how we'll ever end up with a cohesive and sensible website.

Have you two had a chance to look at the example websites that Sharon posted?  They are really great and full of good ideas.

Help?!

I have no clue how to do anything with this website! I don't see any option to edit or add anything... I may just be tech-impaired but I'm really lost. I'd love to help with the site, as soon as I know what I am doing...

Resource Page

The directions for the website say not to have a resource page... I don't really understand why, but we'll need to our resource page down, I think.

Concept Map #3

I just saw that we need the third version of our concept map on the website. I did the first one, but I don't remember who did the second one. Either way, it seems like whoever didn't do the first 2 should do this last one. Thoughts?

hey, just checking in.  Will be working hard on the website in the next couple of days.

Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA. With lots of stuff due at the end of the semester, this web page kind of fell to the back of my list for a bit. Sorry! I will start taking a look at it and get ready to roll on it this week!

I don't have any idea on how to create a Web Page, so I am starting by finding the info and making pages.  I believe that as we get all the pieces together and start editing, we can fine tune the pages, matching the font, images, layout and all of that. 
Kara, It says we have to pick a template.. did you do that when you created the site?  I know that we have a couple weeks to work on this, but time will get away from us if we don't get started! 
Thanks!

Hi, just checking in... seems we lose 6 points for every week that we don't use the blog...Wish I had known that earlier!

We got a 100 on our podcast! Thought you guys would like to know. I added you guys to the website. just in case here is the website. https://sites.google.com/site/wmulocalhistory/

Website

I figured out how to create the website and already created it. Just need to add you all to it. I named the website WMU Local History. If not I can always change it as well as the layout.

Team Website

Ok, I was looking at the next assignment. Im a little confused about a few things. I think we should start brainstorming some ideas for our website and get a head start. While reading it, it seems like there is a lot to do and may be time consuming.

Hello everyone, I sent the podcast to your email. I couldn't attach it on here for some odd reason. so you all could here it. Let me know what you think

Meg, 

   No I was not able to open the files, I left a comment under one of the posts earlier today letting you know.

Kara

Kara,

Were you able to open my podcast?  If not, let me know so I can send it again.. looking forward to hearing the entire thing.
Meg

Thank you Jessica for doing the conclusion. Im trying to get this done tonight and send it to you guys to revise it in the morning. I have to redo my part, My part will not run smoothly with your pieces. Check out Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin. Maple Leaf Rag here is the link. I chose this song to use as the back ground music. I thought it was cheerful and upbeat to grab our audiences attention. This was from the 1900's. let me know what you think about this song. The MP3 song that I bought is 3 minutes long but I can repeat the song if we need to go longer. I already have Jessica's piece in the clip. But having issues putting it where it needs to be.

Podcast Conclusion

Here is the script. It basically sums up the goal of the project... I can certainly revise and re-record if necessary, but in the meantime I will record it and send it to Kara so that it is ready to go if no revisions are necessary.

·         Through a variety of collaborative, technology-based activities, our local history project will bring several benefits to our classroom. Students will become more familiar with technology, and more skilled at conducting research. They will have the opportunity to practice working collaboratively to achieve a common goal, and learn to manage conflicts that can naturally occur in group settings. Additionally, our class will achieve several sixth grade content level expectations. They will cover social studies as they learn about local history. They will achieve new math and science goals as they practice data collection and organization through graphing. Even language arts will be touched on, as students will have multiple opportunities to give presentations and work on the skill of presenting to different audiences. Overall, the goal of this project is to increase learning across the board through an engaging and active setting. We look forward to showing you what we learn and receiving your support along the way!

Issues

Hey jessica can you please do the conclusion. Im having issues with the files. I tried sending all of the different files to myslef to see if i can open them and it wont let me open the files. So im trying to get these issues resolved. Ill try and help with the conclusion.

Ok here is what I am going to say.
" One activity that the class encountered was learning about the constant change of wages in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This activity incorporated history, mathematics, as well as technology. Students were required to research and gather data on Kalamazoo's wages for careers that remained over the years such as farming. Students were expected to organize the data and create graphs based on their data. By looking at the graphs, students were able to draw conclusions and see that types of careers that were in high demand during different time periods. The activity required students to work together in groups of four. Within each group, students had the choice to work individually or with a partner for a specific task within that group." Students had freedom to choose the type of technology used and become creative with their final product.

I feel as though i need to add more, but not sure what

Sorry Everyone, its hard for me to get on here during the beginning of the week. The lesson that I chose to incorporate into the podcast is the differences in wages throughout the years. I will post more later today and have my recording done.

I am going to record my podcast segment and send it to both of you. It is scripted to be second or third in line. Kara or Meg, could you record yours to fit into the recording as the first assignment being described?

Also, Meg, I did not get an email from you with your recording. Are you sure it worked?

sent both of you a link to my podcasts by your wmu mail.
Meg

Here is a possible introduction to our project:

Our 6th grade class is focusing on a project about the local history of Kalamazoo Michigan.  Within the framework of the overall project the class will work on several different lessons both in small groups and individually.  During the project each student will practice project management skills by planning together with their team, gathering the needed resources,  and setting and meeting deadlines for the entire project and for each piece of the project.
   

One of the specific projects the students will be working on is........... (this can lead into whichever one would fit best first.  I will record the first part, but the person whose lesson is going to go first needs to add this or something like it to smoothly transition into the projects.)

Again, let me know if you want it worded differently, added to or removed, or changed completely!  I am recording this and my lesson and sending it to Kara right now.  I can re-do anything you need, but not until Sunday.  I am at a Robotics competition from tonight through Saturday night and there will not be a quiet spot in the building!

Thanks!
Meg

My Podcast Segment

I changed my mind and decided to cover our ePals assignment in the podcast to make sure one of our "big" assignments gets covered. I only spoke about the ePals though. There isn't enough time to discuss ePals AND google maps at the same time. Although if either of you disagree I can certainly address that as well. Here's the first draft. It takes about 1 min even to read...

Students will also be participating in an ePals program which will connect our class with another 6th grade class in Australia. Groups of 4 will be paired up with groups from our ePals class and they will then choose an aspect of local history to compare and contrast. To do this, the students from both classes will  have to study  their own local history in relation to their chosen aspect, while building their  effective communication skills. Effective communication is a 21st century literacy described by educational researchers Suzi Boss  and Jane Krauss, and it can be built through teamwork, collaboration, and exposure to new social situations. We will end our experience with a 10 minute presentation from each of our groups that compares and contrast our local history with Australia's. By the very end, our class will have gained new skills, and will have an increased awareness of our own local history, as well as the history of our new Australian friends...

I tried to tie in the text as smoothly as possible. Thoughts? Comments? Feedback? I plan to record it tomorrow.

Here is the first draft of my podcast... let me know what you think.  It is about 50 seconds right now.

What would you like me to add?  remove?  clarify?

Thanks!

As part of a class project on local history students are working in small groups and researching local people from the past or the present and exploring how one person's idea can change history. For example, William Upjohn is is famous for developing the pill form of medication by creating a "friable" pill that could be easily crushed. He received a patent in 1885 for this type of pill and changed how medication is taken. Upjohn also created the Upjohn company which is now know as Upjohn pharmaceuticals.

During this week-long project, students will use the internet and a hot-list to do their research and then create a power-point to share their famous person with the rest of the class.

(50 seconds)

For this project I would like to present my first lesson plan on historical people of Kalamazoo. 
I believe that we will need an introduction and a closing as well as a project from each of us. I am willing to do one of them since Kara is putting this in final form.
We also have to share our scripts on this blog and make sure that there is an easy, natural flow from one persons part to the others.  I will have my script up here sometime Tuesday for you to see and to suggest changes.  I am going to look through the text again today for the ideas we want to pull from there, although I think that will be easier to choose once we all figure out what we want to do.
I will be unavailable Friday and Saturday this week, hope to have my part done by Wed. evening.
Looking forward to seeing how this will come together!
Meg

This is the beginning of the instructions for this project.  Then I have added some notes below about what I am thinking we need to do, please let me know if I am thinking right, or if you are reading this differently. Thanks!

This podcast will identify and describe several aspects of your project to share with parents and others. Each team member will be required to discuss a different area of your progress. You will also be required to pull out at least two concepts from the textbook.

1. 3-5 minutes in length.
2. You must include several aspects of your project -- a different one for each member of your team.
3. You must include at least two concepts from the textbook.  
4.  
5.  
6.  
7.  
8. I am thinking that we are supposed to be presenting an overview of our project to the parents of our "students."  We each need to talk about a different area, but not sure what that means... maybe what type of research we are having the students do?  What lessons we will be having in the project?  And this needs to include two concepts from the book.  I don't know if that means to share the concepts directly or indirectly.  This one has me a little confused as to what exactly is wanted.   Do you guys have any ideas on the overall concept or idea?  We need to get started on this.Thanks.  Meg.

Lessons 1 and 2

Just a quick question... Do you both have grades for lessons 1 and 2? I had some stuff I needed to fix on lesson plan 1, and apparently never requested feedback... Although, I could swear I did. When I finally talked to her about it, she didn't like how I had revised it and I have since fixed it again and requested feedback again. I still have no grade for either of them, and midterms are due on the 11th...

Podcast

I was looking at our next assignment. Since you both have done the web mapping and the link, I could do the podcast. Im a little confused about it though. It says that we are to include two concepts from our book. Would it just be two or two from each of us? I had an idea for the background music. Since Jessica did an activity with the music, we could use the music from Kalamazoo bands and use it as our background music.

If you two could send me the GLCE you have used for your lessons I could add them to our mind map.
Thanks!  I'll post it later tonight(about 10)

2nd lesson plan

For this lesson plan I chose to show the change in wages through out the years.

Lesson 2

I think I'm going to do Kalamazoo crime rate data or Grand Rapids weather history (there wasn't anything for Kalamazoo). I spent forever looking for a GLCE that fit a data topic and then I realized I could just do a data collection GLCE.

For this lesson plan I would like to do the change in population over the years in Kalamazoo.

Concept Map Revision

Hello! I hope you both are surviving midterms! I just saw that the concept map needs to be revised and reposted by Sunday. I did the first one, so my Inspiration trial is outdated. Would someone else be willing to do our second draft? It was really pretty quick to make the first one, but this time we'll have to incorporate the assignments we've done since then.

Movie Maker Project

Well, since Meg's doing changes in agriculture and Kara's doing changes in business, I'm going to do my movie on changes in music. The KPL site has a really great page with a lot of information on it.

For this movie maker project, I am leaning more towards the changes in Business. For example, when the first pioneers came to settle in Kalamazoo, they were selling fur coats, and as the years progressed settlers built shelters and created stores for fabrics, food., etc. But I was also debating on the different architectural of the buildings.

I think for this lesson I would like to work on the change in agriculture over the years.  From the celery flats to today.
Meg

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids-world-atlas/maps.html#

I am going to incorporate this into my lesson. this is where they get to learn the different types of maps that they can create. Click on MapMachine and it will take you to the map to create. The only thing that i am skeptical about is its a beta. But they can mark where civilization is and where trees are and label their map.

My Lesson

My lesson is about how historians conduct research. Students will have to use sources like primary and secondary sources and historical maps  to learn more about our local history. They will have to compose a comparison on the value of each type of source they used and write a brief essay on what new information they learned about Kalamazoo.

Does anyone know why we got a 25/50 on our ePals assignment???

Hello everyone, i chose to do a lesson on Kalamazoo's Geography. It is important for students to learn how to read maps. Learning how to read maps will help them find specific locations on the map faster. The michigan GLCEs that I am trying to fouc on for my lesson are G1 and G2.(http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/SSGLCE_218368_7.pdf) Here's the link where I chose my lesson.

Kara

Our Document

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gBEfuaRXIFsWda9IDRVwj86eRpmvKXV2zYouirYlVtk/edit

Here is the link that can be clicked on..

Hi Group,
I am going to use identifying a specific person in history and the significance of that person's ideas for my lesson plan for this week's assignment.  (Mi grade level content expectations 6-HI.2.5)
Meg

Okay, for this week we each have to create a lesson plan with several different pieces.  I guess one of the first things that we need to decide is the "big idea" of our project.  We know local history and compare/contrast with kids in Australia, but what is our end goal?  It seems that our lesson plans need to have a direction to head in.  I am kind of confused about this... since we have to use google maps, maybe a lesson plan can be about mapreading skills?   Or geography? 
We haven't identified a time frame of history.. are we going to do that? or ask the students to choose from different time frames?  Could creating a timeline of history of the area be a lesson plan? 
What do you guys think?  I'm liking working on a timeline lesson...

Map Link
View EDT map in a larger map

ePals document

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gBEfuaRXIFsWda9IDRVwj86eRpmvKXV2zYouirYlVtk/edit

I agree the document is done and have deleted all the discussion stuff.  As soon as Kara gives the okay, it can be posted.  As for the map, I made a couple of changes, some by accident, some purposeful!  Please make any other changes you feel it needs.  I like the description of the map and the info with the links.  Unfortuately, I lost one of the links and can't find it again!  If you remember what it was, please re-add it.  Other than that- I think it is alsoready to be published and I will be glad to do it once I get confirmation from you guys.
Thanks!
Meg

Ok I sent the document to all of you. Im not sure if i did it right. please let me know if you all received it and can edit it. Thanks

The Map

I fixed the typo error for Kalamazoo. I think we should add information to our place marks. I added websites to  a couple and a brief description based on that website. I think this would help teachers be able to see how they are evaluating websites and what they learned about the place from that website. For example, I added the Riverside Cemetery. I inserted the website and found that there is a memorial there for soldiers back to the civil war. But that it was also a place for the "common people". What do you guys think?

Google Doc

I feel like the Google Doc is pretty much done. We obviously need to delete all the brainstorming before the actual overview and specifics. Please let me know when you all think it's done as well, so we can post it and be all done : )

Map

I added a location to the map. I feel like it shows an example of how students would mark locations that are significant to the part of local history they are studying with their ePals. I also added an description of our map so that Sharon will be able to clearly see the purpose of the map. I'm not sure what to do from here, or if anything needs to done at all.

Hey guys, need help with the google maps.  Having a difficult time getting it to do what I want.  Also need input, what do you want to mark?

Meg

I started the map and invited all of you.  I am having problems getting it to save anything though.  If you have any ideas please let me know.  I will try again a little later.
Meg

I have been thinking about the google map we need to use.  We could have the students in each place use google maps to show the location of the history they are sharing. For example, if we are sharing about a specific location there could be a mark on the map that the students can zoom in and see online.  We can make an example map for our blog and for our "students" to see what kind of map we are asking them to create.

Hi,  I added some ideas to the google docs today.  Look it over, add to it... we have a lot to accomplish on this project and cant' wait till the last minutes. 

Hey guys I will have my websites posted by mid night thanks brandon

http://www.mikvgs.org/historical_records/historical_records.aspx
        this website you can find records of people of their birth and death. 


http://www.kalamazoocity.org/docs/KalamazooHistory.pdf
      This website gives a brief discussion on the history of Kalamazoo. Talks about when the fur traders came and settled in the region during the 18th and 19 century up to the year 2005.

http://kalamazoogenealogy.org/
        This website is basically like a database that has records of cemeteries in Kalamazoo.


http://kvm.kvcc.edu/localhistory/researchhistory.html
       This website is Kalamazoo Valley Museums website. They have some information posted. You can also find photos.

Hi group!

I peeked ahead to this week's module, and went ahead and created a google document and invited everyone as an editor. You should have received an email notifying you. Let me know if you didn't and I'll try again. We'll need someone else to open a map and invite members.

Judging by the assignment description, I think a cool idea would be to have our "students" link up with another group of students in a different region or country over ePals and compare and contrast local history. I think that would make for a reasonably straight forward lesson to create as a group, that would also be cool to actual do with a class. Thoughts? Once we decide on an assignment we can all start chipping away at creating our document and map!

Hi Group,
I wanted to share a little about the websites I found.  The first one is
http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Kalamazoo-History.html
It talks about he original settlers in Kalamazoo and the different stages it has seen for ex.  the first crops that were plentiful there was celery, giving Kalamazoo the nickname The Celery city! 

The second site I used is http://www.migenweb.org/kalamazoo/history.htm, and it has pages of information on everything about Kalamazoo.  I think this is a great site to use for students, it has a search bar, genealogy, history, etc.  It is easy to follow and you can add to it through the host.

The third site I chose is http://www.swmidirectory.org/History_of_Kalamazoo_County.html, which is a reprint of a magazine article.  This reads like a history book, but it is short and has some good information in it.

Looking forward to seeing what all of you have found!
Meg

http://www.kpl.gov/local-history/all-about-kalamazoo/

http://www.kalamazoocity.org/docs/KalamazooHistory.pdf


http://kalamazoogenealogy.org/
 -this website is full of records. They can find information of a person, businesses and stuff on here.
Here are my three websites.

My 3 Websites

Here are my websites:

http://www.kalamazoomi.com/hisf.htm
http://kpl.gov/local-history/all-about-kalamazoo/
http://www.wmich.edu/~asylum/history/legislative_timeline.html

The last site is focused on the Asylum Lake Preserve in Kalamazoo. So, it's a little more specific, but that's definitely a topic students might be interested in, so I think it's still valid.

Hi all,
Here are three websites I am looking at.

http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Midwest/Kalamazoo-History.html

http://www.swmidirectory.org/History_of_Kalamazoo_County.html

http://www.migenweb.org/kalamazoo/history.htm
  Meg

Hi everyone hope all is well and everyone got my email. I apologize for not being available this past weekend and am trying to get on the same page with everyone but am kind of confused. Would anyone be willing to give me a call to get me caught up? My number is (586)291-3474. I like the ideas so far, everything sounds great. Thanks and sorry again.

Brandon Stewart

Completed Inspiration Concept Map

Drafted Map

I made our concept map. I didn't know if we'd decided for sure what the project was actually going to be, live museum or some sort of filmed product, but I figure the process of getting there would be basically the same either way, and it would just be the end product that varied. I made it with suggestions for both projects, so we can just delete the bubbles for whichever one we choose to drop. So, I'll be emailing that to you so that you can review and make suggestions. I won't post it until tomorrow night probably around 10 pm.

Let's decide...

 I really like Meg's technology driven idea where students could be in groups of 4-6. They could film a documentary detailing a specific person or event in their local history. Like you said, Meg, that requires a writer, director, cameraman, and at least one actor, maybe more. They would also have to do internet-based research, use a video camera, and potentially learn how to use editing software.

Does anyone have any specific objections to this idea? As I said before, I'd be happy to make up the first draft of our concept map, and email it to everyone prior to posting it so everyone could make suggestions, but I need to know our topic so I can do so. So, let's shoot for a group consensus on our topic by Saturday afternoon at the latest. I agree, Kara, it is stressful to do this online. Hopefully for future group assignments we can try to meet as a group on campus.

Hello, Im sorry for taking so long to get back to you all. Im not a big fan of blogging. I like the group work better so we can communicate faster and work on it together at the same time vs over computer. I am only able to get on at certain times due to my schedule being so busy between work, school and internship. Ok..I like the idea for students to pick their own locations but due to the vast amount of information, i think that a class should be divied into groups to work on different cities within their county. For example, divide a class into groups of 4 and allow them to choose the local history of Kalamazoo, MI. For our topic I think we should choose a city just because of the vast amount of information. I like the idea of the daily logs to montor the students progress and work. This can help teachers to see if they are able to judge websites (true information vs. false information). I like the history museam idea and the timeline idea. Other types of technology that can be incorporated in the project are monitors, projectors (to show presentations/slides), camcorders to tape a video, laptops, microphones to be able to commmunicate with one another/record statements.

 Here are some ideas of what we need to think about on our concept map.  I am sure there are many more details that we still need here.

local history

technological presentations

      people

      places

      events

tasks

    research

     teacher approval of subject

    outline of information

what method to present

what event to present

time frame for project

groups- what size

length of presentations

documentation

Hi Group,
I've been doing more thinking on the topic of "local" and I think that we can create this project to be used wherever local is to the teacher using it.  We are creating lesson plans, projects and it would be great if is where something that each of us could use in different locations.
What do you think?

As far as ideas... we have two right now and need feedback from everyone.  The first one is a  living history museum where students are historical characters.  The second one is having the students creating different technology driven projects about their local history, including videos, movies, things like that.  The students would have to be the researchers, writers, directors, maybe actors in their projects and then it can all be tied together in a public event at the end of the project.
Again, we need feedback, ASAP.  This is due this weekend as a concept map!
Thanks!
Meg

Concept Map Ideas

Here are a few of the things I am thinking will need to go into our project's concept map, assuming I'm understanding the role of the map correctly, and assuming we're going with the live museum idea.

-Region of study: Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, SW Michigan- this will need to be decided
-Would this be a solo or partner project?
-What modes of research would the students use? This is a tech class so we may want to focus on tech-based research strategies. Good chance to teach kids how to use the internet safely and appropriately.
-How would we monitor progress while students research and prepare? I've made projects where students would use daily logs to record what they researched, what they learned, what they need to look into more, etc.
-What other types of technology can be incorporated into the  project?

What do you all think? I would really like to get started, but it's hard with 4 people communicating over blogs and emails to make ONE map. So, let me know what you are thinking : )

testing.