World War I Online Teaching Resources…

With the centennial of World War I there are several online resources and articles that can assist educators and students in teaching and learning about a very pivotal time in history.  The following are links to several resources I have been collecting and creating as of late…

Articles

How a century-old war affects you (series of articles…this is a link to Part 1)

How World War I gave us ‘cooties’ (Part 2)

The ‘bionic men’ of World War I (Part 3)

ISIS caliphate shows still no end to WWI (Part 4)

The mighty women of World War I (Part 5)

How toxic weapons killed 90,000 (Part 6)

After war atrocities, who must pay? (Part 7)

World War I’s broken promise (Part 8)

How World War I gave birth to the modern (Part 9)

When the flu wiped out millions (Part 10)

Why words don’t work for war’s horrors (Part 11)

The man who started WWI:  7 things you didn’t know

Photos:  WWI chemical weapons

Video:  Three unexpected things from WWI

Photos:  The ‘golden age’ of postcards

Video – World War I:  American Legacy

In 2014, countries are still paying offf debt from World War One

Where Americans Turned the Tide in World War I

This Week in World War I, Nov. 1-7, 1914

How a war started Daylight Savings Time

Remembering forgotten veterans of World War I

Final Tower of London poppy ‘planted’ on Armistice Day

World War I in Photos – The Atlantic

The Art of WWI in 52 Paintings

WWI site offers hints of J.R.R. Tolkien

Resources

Hokanson’s American History WWI

Tutorials
World War I Cloze Activity – Popups

http://www.quia.com/cz/455972.html

World War I Cloze Activity – (Fill in the Blank)

http://www.quia.com/cz/456001.html

World War I Vocabulary

http://www.quia.com/jg/2433958.html

World War I Hangman (Hints)

http://www.quia.com/hm/873116.html

World War I Hangman (No Hints)

http://www.quia.com/hm/873421.html

World War I Jumbled Words

http://www.quia.com/jw/481171.html

World War I Challenge Board

http://www.quia.com/cb/826588.html

World War I Section 1 Rags to Riches

http://www.quia.com/rr/1026246.html

World War I Section 2 Rags to Riches

http://www.quia.com/rr/1026261.html

World War I Section 3 Rags to Riches

http://www.quia.com/rr/1026273.html

World War I Section 4 Rags to Riches

http://www.quia.com/rr/1026321.html

World War I Section 5 Rags to Riches

http://www.quia.com/rr/1026336.html

World War I Battleship

http://www.quia.com/ba/587142.html

Components of the 21st Century Classroom…

Components of a 21st Century Classroom – An infographic by the team at Open Colleges

Teaching With Tablets…

From OnlineUniversities.com…

eLearning Future…

Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

Low end tech: a solution?

Okay folks, here are my solutions in a very troubling situation.  I am an instructional technology specialist and current classroom teacher that unfortunately has very little access to technology.  The spring semester this year was so frustrating, I began to bring my own devices to supplement the needs of my students in accessing the bare bones tools I provide online.  My solution this fall is to continue to use personal devices, resurrect old devices, and I’m going to try some discount devices that hopefully won’t cause my own children to starve from the money I am choosing to take from my personal budget that takes care of their welfare (I know I am taking a risk that these devices die as based on past experience).

What I have been using are two old laptops (HPs) that were assigned to myself and my classroom that I have installed Ubuntu on for a more reliable operating system.  I took my old Asus netbook and installed Ubuntu on it replacing Windows XP.  I have an old HP desktop that runs Windows 7, and I have resurrected 3 iBook G3s, 1 PowerBook Titanium, and a PowerBook Lombard.  I bring 4 of my kid’s DOPO devices (I had 5 but one crashed and burned – sorry Nicholas), and I have just ordered 3 more DOPO devices for a total of $119.  I also have an old iPad and old Kindle added to the mix; plus, I do have my teacher laptop that can be utilized as needed.  With this I have amassed 15 devices that will “work” in most instances.  I fortunately do have access to a BYOD network that students can utilize with various devices and some can use their phones if they choose.

The frustrating part of all of this is that I just don’t think this is how life should be for an educator in the 21st Century; however, it is in my case, and I am doing what I can to provide devices that will allow access to tools that I know will help my students succeed.  I have applied for grants, but the tech department in my district won’t approve affordable devices:  disappointing to say the least.  I am on the lookout for old laptops that can be revived with Ubuntu or some flavor of Linux, and that search will continue as the school days pass by (160+ more school days which turns out to be only 160 hours that my students spend in class for the year – time is short!).  I am trying to make the best of a difficult situation, but I’m not sure it is the best way.  I also don’t think this solution will last much longer.  I’m looking to go elswhere to find a place that will invest in the education of my students and children, and I know now that it is definitely not here.  Chime in if you have other ideas that may help.  Happy computing!

10 Signs You Are a Tech-Savvy Teacher…

Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

Should we learn to code?

Living History – The North Platte Canteen Lives On…

My intervention/enrichment students have been involved in an activity/service project gathering supplies to be placed in care packages for troops stationed around the world.  We are utilizing Operation Shoebox as our vehicle to meet this goal.  As we studied WW II, we spent some time learning about the North Platte Canteen that served 6 million troops snacks, drinks, and goodies on train stops while passing through North Platte.  My students wanted to help this idea live on, and North Platte teenagers are once again helping to brighten our service people’s days.

Read an article from the North Platte Telegraph here…

Read an article from KNOP news here…

“The poor neglected gifted child…”

“IN 1971, researchers at Johns Hopkins University embarked on an ambitious effort to identify brilliant 12-year-olds and track their education and careers through the rest of their lives. The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, which now includes 5,000 people, would eventually become the world’s longest-running longitudinal survey of what happens to intellectually talented children (in math and other areas) as they grow up. It has generated seven books, more than 300 papers, and a lot of what we know about early aptitude.”

Read more about this at The Boston Globe

Interesting: Later start times improve student grades…

“MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (03/12/2014) —Later high school start times improve student grades and overall health, according to a new University of Minnesota study, released today.

The three-year project, using data from more than 9,000 students attending eight high schools in three states, found that, when switching to a later start time:

• attendance, standardized test scores and academic performance in math, English, science and social studies improved.
• tardiness, substance abuse, symptoms of depression, and consumption of caffeinated drinks decreased.

In addition, the study found that there was a 70 percent drop in the number of car crashes involving teen drivers at Jackson Hole High School in Wyoming, which shifted to the latest start time of the eight schools (8:55 a.m.).

“The research confirmed what has been suspected for some time,” said Kyla Wahlstrom, Ph.D., director of the U of M’s Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), which conducted the study. “High schools across the country that have later start times show significant improvements in many areas. The reduction of teen car crashes may be the most important finding of all, as the well-being of teens and the safety of the general public are interrelated.”

READ MORE HERE…

Analyzing the Quality of Reading Apps…

 

Bullying: Stop it!

“New study examines the impact of snow days on student performance”

“School administrators may want to be even more aggressive in calling for weather-related closures. A new study conducted by Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor Joshua Goodman finds that snow days do not impact student learning. In fact, he finds, keeping schools open during a storm is more detrimental to learning than a closure.”

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-01-impact-days-student.html#jCp

The Impact of Great Teachers…

Image from Teacher Certification Degrees…

Past Trainings and Current Endeavors…

I was recently reviewing my list of instructional technology trainings, etc. from my years serving as an instructional technology director. The list of resources can be found here https://nhokanson.wordpress.com/training-resources/ although, some of the links to resources within are no longer available with my current school district abandoning a server that was utilized to feed this info. I have most of the information; so, I plan to reconstruct as much of those resources that I can over the next few weeks in order to have it serve as a historical record of my past work, but also to serve as a resource to those that can benefit from the information.

In the meantime, as I continue to teach again in a classroom setting, I am constantly constructing online resources that enable my students to work anywhere they have a device and internet connection as we flip the classroom and continue on our adventure in learning about modern American history. You can visit our journey at http://oxpower.org.

Enjoy!