Because students greatly enjoy the 3D technology and interaction with virtual environments (Soloman & Schrum, 2014), it encourages me to discover ways to bring these tools into my classroom. Google Tour Builder is an interactive virtual website allowing students to share a story as they travel around the world using Google Earth. Since my second-grade curriculum is focused on the artist Pablo Picasso, I used this virtual builder to create a timeline of his lifetime adventures. My tour builder showed my students the exact location of Pablo’s birth place, art school, and his traveling adventures. It was a great virtual enhancement to our studies. Not only is this a great educational tool for my students, it is also very helpful for teachers. I can share my tour builder with other Target teachers to help bring their studies on Pablo Picasso to life. Tour builder can support students with diverse learning needs, since it can provide students the opportunity to see the world without the financial restraints.
Mission US is an excellent virtual environment taking you back to important historical events. This web tool enhances the social studies curriculum found in our textbooks by bringing the sounds, choices, and exploration to life. I was fully engaged with the interactive video of Flight to Freedom while I played the role of Lucy, a black child enslaved on Mr. Otis’ plantation. Lucy’s family lives on the plantation too, and are busy all day with chores in the field. During my video interaction, Lucy’s mother asked her to I bring her a medicinal plant to heal another slave’s bleeding cuts on his back. I had to make the choice of retrieving the herb and possibly getting caught by Mr. Otis, or completing my daily chores and obeying the master. This video shares the daily challenges slaves endured on the plantations. It also has other interactive videos regarding the challenges and choices made by the Cheyenne Indians, immigrants, patriots and the times of depression. This is a revolutionary way for students to be engaged with the social studies standards in grades four and five.
Addison and The Digital Divide
Digital Divide refers to the inequalities in access to computers and the internet between people with one or more cultural or social identifiers (Gorski, 2002). At my elementary school, we have two laptop carts with half the computers working and a computer lab with 15 functional computers. Because of the lack of reliable technical devices, bring your own device (BYOD) is encouraged with the students in the upper elementary grades. Unfortunately, not all the students have electronic devices to bring to school. This school year we have acknowledged this digital divide and have taken action to provide equitable access to digital resources and tools. With the help from our After-School Program funds, we have purchased five iPads to be housed in each classroom. We have also opened the computer lab in the mornings to students who may need use of electronic devices to complete or work on class and homework. It’s reassuring to know my school is being proactive addressing equitable access to technology.
References
Gorski, P. (2005). Education equity and the digital divide. AACE Journal, 13(1), 3-45.
Soloman, G. & Schrum, L. (2014). Web 2.0 How-To For Educators. (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.