I think of interactivity as the relationships between people and each other as well as with their environments.  In the modern educational environment, the relationships between our students and the technology/information available to them is something that we, as educators, must take into consideration.  Students today have so many distractors and are so accustomed to multi-tasking that, particularly at the high school level, we must often create multi-media, interactive presentations just to keep students attentions focused on the content that we wish to address that day.  So, not only must the content be stimulating on its own merit, we must involve some moving parts or sounds or videos to keep their minds from wandering.  Even more helpful is when we can get the students involved in a “hands on” manner.  That, however, becomes increasingly difficult to accomplish as they add increasingly specific requirements to the curriculum.  I digress.

As we consider layouts, graphics, etc. for our presentations, we must become more acutely aware of the effects that visual design may have upon our students.  This goes well beyond the aesthetics of our presentation.  Visual designs include the amount of information that we make available at any given time as well as the organization of that material.  Does a two-sided note taking system work better?  What about outline form?  Should all of the information that you wish to address be present on the digital copy of the presentation or should the presentation simply “reflect” your lecture notes?  These are all questions that we must answer to create effective presentations for our students.

While I will not argue the merits of or research behind “Visible Thinking,” I will note that we must be careful when approaching any system that addresses the learning needs and thinking styles of students.  “Visible Thinking” might be an excellent addition to a teacher’s toolbox, but should only be used when it fits the learning styles of your students.  Frankly, most people would likely be quite frightened to see a map of how my mind processes information.  Visually tracing my thoughts will not help me understand anything more or less than before (trust me, I have tried).  However, I would hate to limit this option to a student who may benefit from the process.

I love to use online databases, particularly those that allow you to search for articles or THOMAS, which allows you to search congressional bills and find statuses, authors, cosigners, etc. Many of these databases are becoming necessary when teaching Social Studies. When searching for databases for my web-based lesson on Ancient Rome, I found it to be quite difficult to find an accessible, appropriate database that students could use to help them with their endeavors. One that did stand out was Godchecker, an online guide to the Gods and Goddesses of numerous civilizations and faiths. Students could use the section on Roman Gods to help them with both their research and newspaper articles. I would expect the “official” papers to have a God “spot” or article about one of the temples or in some way involving Roman mythology. I would expect the “subversive” papers to involve Christianity or Judaism or some other faith contrary to the official faith of Rome at the time. This site would offer students some insight into the mindsets of people at the time and aid the students in creating the most authentic product possible.

I have logged on to United Streaming and have found it to be full of incredibly useful videos that would be difficult to find elsewhere. What I like most about the site besides the videos themselves is the fact that most of the videos are accompanied by a teaching guide. These guides are full of useful information, discussion questions, vocabulary, and even a sample lesson plan. What an excellent resource for a teacher! As a social studies teaching candidate, I am particularly interested in those videos that will support the content of history, government, and geography classes. Videos about the ancient world, civic responsibilities, and world regions can break up subjects that many students find dull or uninteresting. I hope that many teachers make it a point to visit this site and take advantage of this wonderful resource.