Blog#2: Teachers that Rock!
The article I read in the September/October, 2012 edition of Learning and Leading covers a group of four Virginia-based teachers who have literally gone the extra mile to teach their students. They call themselves the "Virginia Trekkers," and they've used podcasts to create a series of educational and humorous videos that will grab their students' attention while teaching them about history, geography, science, and other subjects. The group has recently gained some popularity from their endeavors, but not intentionally; they simply grew tired of lackluster text books that seemed inadequate for their grade levels. They took it upon themselves to come up with something better.
These four Virginia teachers have inspired student learning through modern technology by actually going to the sites and seeing the things they are teaching about. Climbing mountains to show frozen waterfalls, visiting Jamestown to show the beginnings of our country, and going to their state capital of Richmond are just some of the ways these teachers are trying to urge their students to get out and explore what's around them. I love this idea of real-life teaching because as a history major myself, I take every opportunity I get to actually go and see what I have learned or read about in school. I can easily relate to this creative and ambitious project, and I hope to be able to do something similar when I become a high school history teacher. One of the neat things is that the Virginia Trekkers all share similar interests, yet take advantage of their individual personalities to make the films interesting and entertaining for students. This type of teaching is a great way to engage students in exploring real-world locations and issues while using digital tools and resources such as podcasts and video.
I hope a lot of other schools will embrace this type of "in the field" learning if they have teachers who wish to do so. I've always been a hands-on type of person who learns by doing, and I would have really enjoyed something like this when I was in elementary or high school. There is nothing better in life than seeing the real thing, in person. I think if a student sees that their teacher was able to go to a site they are learning about, they too will take the initiative to get out of the classroom and explore our world on foot.
http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20120910#pg48
Fingal, D. (2012). Cliffs and Waterfalls? Just Another Day at the Office. Learning and Leading with Technology, 40(2), 46.
Wow! This sounds like it was an amazing article and an amazing project that these teachers have taken upon themselves! You mention, “I take every opportunity I get to actually go and see what I have learned or read about in school.” I agree with all that you say! I too love to explore the world and I feel that getting out to see and experience the world is the best way to learn or to better understand what you’ve learned in a class or book. Geography is one of the subjects that was always difficult for me, but through my travels (in the U.S. and in Europe) I have become much more familiar with geography—at least for the areas I have traveled. Science is another aspect that really comes to life when you are able to bring the lessons to the real world and I love exploring natural places and applying lessons from earth science classes. History is a subject I enjoy, yet it’s even more enjoyable when I can go to places that history happened! I’ve been to Ford’s theater to see where President Lincoln was shot, I’ve traveled to Jamestown, I’ve toured the battlefields of Gettysburg, I’ve hiked volcanoes, and I’ve traveled historic sites in Europe. Nothing brings history alive like visiting the sites! I commend you for your desire to bring history alive in your future classes!
ReplyDelete(A. Silva)