ISTE Standard 1 - Facilitate and inspire student
learning and creativity
Indicator b - Engage students in exploring
real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and
resources
I recently came across an idea to try and get my students
to be more involved in learning about how the people in high levels of
government make important decisions that affect the lives of Americans. As we are working through our discussions
about WWII, I have the students use resources related to Harry Truman’s decision
to drop the atomic bomb on Japan at the end of the war. Through the collection of these resources
students are required to document what they have found and use the information
as if they were the President of the United States and had to make the decision
themselves. After they have collected
their information, students will use a webcam to tape an address to the
American people outlining the reason for either dropping the atomic bomb or
not. Students will be required to turn
in a draft of the script they are going to use and a final video. If the students desire, they will be able to
present them to the entire class.
Description
Throughout the project the students were engaged in
searching for information needed to make a very important decision, which would
change the world forever. Many of the students
were excited to put themselves in the shoes of the President of the United
Stated at the end for World War II. There were any discussions within the
classroom about the right way to handle the situation, students on both sides of
the issue were, at times, pretty passionate about the stance they had chosen. Many of the students were forced to confront
some of the differing ideas and opinions of other students in the room, it was
a good experience overall. Students used
many primary sources that we were able to find online via the Truman Library. They found diary entries, personal notes and
telegrams the President sent and received over the course of the war.
Analysis
When I was setting up this project I thought it would be
a great mix of learning and technology.
The use of the screen casting to create videos presentations gets the
kids involved with some technology they don’t use on a regular basis. I also
really liked the fact that they were able to have access to primary sources
through the Truman Library website, many of the students are comfortable using
google to find information, but fining and using quality primary sources is
sometime difficult for them. This assignment
gave them the opportunity to develop and refine some skills they are not used
to using. Having them put themselves in the shoes of
President Harry Truman while making the choice of whether or not to drop the
atomic bomb, made the students tackle some of the toughest real world issues we
have faced in our history. There were
several factors that lead to the final decision and it was important for the students
to use the resources they have to make a choice on their own.
Reflection
Having students take a look at a real issue and making an
informed decision while engaging in different discussions is important to
me. The students were engaged for the
most part throughout the lesson and had a good time finding the information on
there own. I do think that if I had to
to it over again I may need to provide a little more direction on what
information is important and what information was not. I noticed a lot of time was spent on some
things that were not pertinent to the topic at hand. The struggle was the balance of letting them
figure it out on their own and making sure they were going to be able to finish
the research on time. One of the things
I was unsure about going in was having the students produce a script or speech
to the American people, in the end I thought
they did a great job of creating them and assuming the role of the president. Overall I think the presentation and lesson
went over well, I will just need to make a few tweaks and maybe add a little
more class discussion time in the future.
