You know how when you buy a car and all of a sudden you see so many of the same kind out there? Or, maybe you buy a cute pair of shoes (insert any item here) and then you notice several co-workers have the same? Well, this is what happened last week when I first heard about Mashups in our class. I had a magazine in my backpack (Learning and Leading with Technology, August 2007, vol. 35, no.1) and when I finally looked at it last Monday, the lead story was entitled Mastering Mashups. Then when I was watching Monk, the commercial advertised Monk Mashups on usanetwork.com. (The same with Psych).
Anyway, the gist of the above mentioned article is how teachers have used mashups to enhance their curriculum. Specifically, Jerome Burg custom designs files so his lit students can travel virtually with the literary character of whatever book they are reading. GoogleLitTrips.com uses Google Earth to allow students to follow along with a character’s journey. His purpose is to have students achieve a deeper understanding of great literature. Although I haven’t had time to fully browse this website it seems loaded with great ideas and lesson plans for that authentic learning. Also, if you are interested in this article there is a link to it at the bottom of the website.
Another teacher (from Australia), David Fagg, decided to use MP3 players instead of confiscating them. He allows students to explore history by doing their own fieldwork and creating analysis of the past (again, authenticity). Fagg developed the iHistory Project.
This articles shows me how promising it can be to combine technology and classroom curriculum. I think this influx will naturally push us as a society to embrace and teach technology freely and effectively and hopefully allow for our students to become more marketable, global, and competitive.
Lastly, there is probably no redeemable quality to teach about Monk Mashups in a classroom, but it is a start and I wanted to try it. I hopefully was successful in providing the link.
http://mashups.usanetwork.com/monk/pickup.php?id=07D9057B-4D64-A2B0-EC28-7D82C07AC5C2
Laura Said:
on January 27, 2008 at 3:00 pm
That iHistory project sounds awesome. I bet the author of the article I commented on in my blog would appreciate the teachers who are using technology creatively rather than banning it.
Monktastic « Librarian in Training Said:
on January 27, 2008 at 3:33 pm
[...] 27 01 2008 Thanks for introducing me to the Monk Mashup, Teresa. I had a lot of fun making my [...]
mswright Said:
on February 2, 2008 at 3:25 am
Teresa, I just checked out GoogleLitTrips and it’s really great. From the perspective of a school librarian, this is a good resource to let English and social studies teachers know about–and there are lots of possibilities for integrating history, literature, and geography.
Also like the sound of the iHistory Project–I wonder if students collect oral histories on their MP3 players and then create podcasts, based on what they’ve learned.–Martha
mstephens7 Said:
on February 9, 2008 at 12:33 am
I had no idea either. What a cool project.
I see the usefulness of using tools like Google to create immersive (yet technological) environments for young people to learn. Can you imagine the schools where things like that aren’t supported, encouraged or even allowed.