I’m a republican, and I listen to NPR. Yes, we do exist! I don’t listen to NPR constantly, just occasionally; I like the stories and the shows. Sometimes on the way home from work PRI’s The World is on, and lately I have been thinking about how cool their daily GeoQuizzes are!
Everyday PRI has a daily GeoQuiz, it’s short, fun, and interesting! And if I taught middle school or high school social studies I would use these in my classroom from time to time. Check them out for yourself, learn something new and pass on this great resource to others!
“Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.” — John Adams
John Adams was a man of honesty, wisdom, and a pursuer of liberty for the people. As Americans we can take for granted the premise of freedom on which we were founded.
For the first time in their history Egyptians are pursuing their own liberty and we all watched as they took a great leap toward true freedom when their president for the past several decades, Mubarak, stepped down. What was amazing for the rest of the world to watch was how this monumental feat occurred, in no small, part through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
As we all learn from this point in history, how can we as educators take the lessons of the Egyptian people to help promote and preserve liberty?
I would like to propose some ways educators can help students understand, create, and preserve liberty by pursuing a connected ‘general knowledge’ as described by John Adams.
1. Create a solid foundation of literacy for all students. Students must be literate citizens who know how to read, write, and pursue knowledge.
2. Teach students history from multiple perspectives using digital media to enhance the learning experience.
Image Credit: Nick Bygon -Flickr
3. Allow students opportunities to think critically and debate across multiple platforms in multiple formats.
4. Highlight examples, as well as model for students, how social media tools can be used for good and promoting change.
5. Create school environments that are mobile-technology ‘friendly’ and allow students the use of social media.
6. Teach students to be master communicators; to use various forms and venues of communication in order to help further their causes and give them …. Read the rest of this story at EdReach.us
I came across this in one of my feed subscriptions today. Shows some current trends and predicts growth in the web 2.0 market terms of sheer data. I thought that it was interesting. I will warn you, if you dare watch it, it is very dry, boring, and has some big economic vocabulary. Slides here.
