Futuring

A.  How would you assess Fox Becomes a Better Person, and School Train?

In class you mentioned that the students in School Train were asked to describe what a metaphor was.  In the presentation, the students did a good job making a connection between school and a train.  So as for meeting the requirements, they did a good job.  I would have given the project a good grade.  If I were assessing Fox Becomes a Better Person, I would have been looking for:

• relevant visuals
• clear speaking voice

I think Hannah did a great job meeting both of the criteria and she would have received a good grade if I were assessing her project. 

B.  What impacts could the developments portrayed in epic2015 have on your classroom, particularly with respect to things like podcasting?

Impacts on the classroom could be both positive and negative.  When looking at the negative impacts one would have to consider the incredible amount of unreliable information that people would have to wade through.  If everyone in the world has the ability to put their own ideas out there, it is going to be very hard to find reliable info.  That is already beginning to happen now.  As a history teacher, it is very difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction right now, I can't imagine what it is going to be like in the near future. 

On the positive spectrum, especially when looking at podcasts, the world can be at our finger tips.  As there becomes increasingly less and less money for public education, field trips and other activities are becoming obsolete.  With podcasts our students will have the opportunity to meet and talk with people across the globe that they would have never had the change to talk to before.  That is an exciting idea to think about.

C.  How would you use Sabrina's piece as a model for something you would do with your own students?  

At the beginning of the school year in our U.S. History class, we had the students create a timeline of their life.  We asked the students to share seven major turning points that stood out in their life.  Watching Sebrina's piece gave me an idea for a project using that format.  The students could create a video timeline using pictures and other media to tell their story.  The project would be a lot more fun and I think the students would really enjoy it.