Ian+Mitchell's+Class+Projects

Over the last number of years I have used technology to engage students in their learning. My professional goal was to add one tool per semester and use this tool to engage students and make history come to life. The following are three examples of technological tools that were successful in my classroom.


 * Amazing Race Google Earth**

Playing on the television show by the same name, students were asked to prepare a worldwide amazing race that taught others about French culture and history. At each significant francophone site the students were to describe a culturally and historically significant activity that participants in the amazing race would perform as they raced around the world. This was an engaging inquiry activity that the students really enjoyed. Please click on the links below to view an example. Once Google Earth opens scroll down on the left hand side and click on the place markers for the "Amazing Race".




 * Engaging Students with Twitter**

A year ago in 2011, I wanted to use Twitter in the classroom to engage students in their school community. I also did not know if Twitter would be the appropriate tool for the school so I decided to conduct an action research project. As it turns out it was a very good application for announcing school and French Immersion events, reminding students about due dates and providing additional information that went beyond the classroom. Below there is a letter to the students explaining the project, a proposal for the action research project and a survey of students conducted using Google Forms.



[|https://docs.google.com/a/go.rbe.sk.ca/spreadsheet/gform?key=0AixtROP0UQrOdEtNYUU5QndUZE5NdkJFM0NMMHRyUlE&gridId=0#chart]


 * Time Glider**

As a history teacher I use timelines on a regular basis to outline the history that will be studied in every unit of work that we study. I find that students use this as a guide to situate themselves in time and to see how events may be linked. Time Glider provided the same information but in an interactive way. Students research the period and add their own dates to the timeline as a group. The link below shows a timeline for the rise of dictators to power prior to the second world war.

http://timeglider.com/app/viewer.php?uid=line_37688056c33b007a462833485739c2a7