Part of the third grade social studies curriculum entails finding similarities and differences between different times and different places. I plan to use this voki to introduce the lesson:
This year I decided that I was going to have my students "visit" places around the world by using our I-touches to scan QR codes. I found an amazing National Geographic website that is kid friendly and gives the perfect amount of information.
While "visiting" each country students would have a passport with particular questions they would have to answer about each country. After our day of traveling we would journey to the computer lab and and begin our Google Maps. Each student would create a Google Map pinning the places they were able to visit and stating at least one fact that they had learned about that country. I was ecstatic about this lesson until yesterday....
Well, yesterday I was finishing up all of the final touches and about to print out the QR codes. I decided to test the first code using my I-phone to make sure the code would do what I wanted it to do. During this test trial I realized that the National Geographic site used Adobe Flash which many of the Apple products does not support. I stumbled upon a huge "hill to climb." (1) I was supposed to be observed by my administrator on one of the days and by a college professor on the other and (2) how was I going to get this information to my kids? I was going to have o do some major problem-solving.
Problem-solving is one of the most important skills I think we have to teach our students. Throughout our lives we come across a new challenge almost everyday and it is up to us as individuals to figure out how we are going to climb it. We need our students to be able to solve problems using creativity. We need our students to be able to solve problems without giving up. We need our students to be able to solve problems, period. This week I had to figure out how I was going to get my kids the information they needed to complete their passports.
So how did I do it?
Well, at first I was really determined to find a way to let the students use the I-touches to scan the QR codes. I thought I could make a podcast by reading the information from the National Geographic website but I realized I couldn't do that because it would violate copyright laws.
I also thought I could take screen shots of each of the pages on the N.G. (National Geographic) site and post them on a weebly. Again, I would be violating copyright laws.
Next, I thought I could reword all of the information, create a video, and post it on youtube. I tried this for one of the countries and realized it took an an hour. Unfortunately, being a full-time teacher, wife, and student (with an already busy life) I just didn't have enough time to do that in one day.
So.... I decided I wasn't going to be able to use the QR codes this time. Instead, I booked a day for my students to go into the computer lab to visit the countries using PC computers. I was, and still am, very bummed about this whole mishap but I am glad I did a test trial from the start. AND I have already started brainstorming new ways to use the QR codes in other lessons.
Now you ask, what is the moral of this story?
The moral is that problem-solving is a skill that involves creativity and never giving up. I had to come up with several ideas to try before I finally came to a conclusion. Some may say that I gave up using the I-touches but in my mind I didn't. I may not be able to use them for this lesson but you better believe my students will be using them in another lesson very soon!
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