Forever Deed

I read in the Kansas City Star about a new exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum called Forever. Friday Paul and I went to the museum to look around and have lunch and I saw the sign pointing the way to the exhibit. The gallery is set up with three huge tables and on the tables are 1345 two-handled porcelain cups. The cups were replicas of a cup from 1702 in the Nelson's permanent ceramics exhibit. The Forever artist, Clare Twomey, had seen the cup and the rest of the ceramics exhibit while on a trip to the US from England. She also learned that the entire exhibit was deeded to the Nelson on what is called a 'forever deed" which means the museum cannot sell or give away the 1345 pieces in the collection. They cannot even add pieces to the exhibit.

She was inspired by the "forever deed" and decided to do an exhibit based on the original cup especially for the Nelson. When you go and see the exhibit you have the opportunity to receive one of the cups. I chose a cup, filled out a deed, put it in a big box and was notified Friday evening that I was the new owner of cup #948!! My cup, with my name on a card, and all the others will cups will remain at the Nelson until the end of the exhibit until January. The deed states that I will keep the cup forever---that is a long time.

Mapping the World by Heart

Second semester 2009-2010 the 6th graders embarked on a huge project called Mapping the World by Heart. Each student complete nine regional maps. After the regional maps were completed students then drew the world map using the information from their regional maps. The original year-long curriculum was compacted into 16 weeks. The maps turned out great, you can see all of them here!!

Old School Supplies

Someone at CR 2.0 wanted a list of school supplies from back in the day. I started school in 1954 and compiled a list of this and that--can you think of any other school supplies we used? Cross post on A Not So Different Place

1. Big Chief or Alladin Tablets
2. Crayon 16 pack (?) in early grades there were 8 colors, they were big and fat with one flat side
3. Big Husky wooden pencils with real lead
4. Pink Pet erasers
5. Cartridge pens, (fountain pen with nub; bought replacable cartridges)
6. PeeChee folders
7. 3 ring notebooks blue canvas cover w/ color-coded dividers; notebook paper with reinforcements (liitle white canvas circles)
8. purple memeographed handouts (they smelled)
9. metal lunch boxes and thermos' with glass liners (always got broken!)
10.In junior high and high school all textbooks had to be covered with brown paper
11. no backpacks--you just stacked up you stuff and carried the stack either in front of you or if you were very clever on your hip!
12. Sliderules, if you took advance math
13. Chalkboards and chalk
14. Black and white essay books for tests
15. LePage Glue--glass bottle with ruber top, top has a slit in it and you press the top on the paper and the glue came out or white glue (did it have a brush or a paddle) that would harden into a lump and there was always a kid who would eat it.
16. We put all our pencils and stuff in a cigar box.
17. This was the same time as white soxes, brown tie up shoes, petticoats, twin sets, girls never wore pants, Ah those were the days!! I'll add more as I think of more during this trip down memory lane.

The Cigar Box Project

One of the things I like about this blog is it gives me a place to dump the stuff that amazes me! One such curriculum, The Cigar Box Project, created by Neil Stephenson is brilliant. (see left hand column) Middle school students study history and graphic design throughout the year by deconstructing 'old' cigar boxes. As the students study Canadian history they do 5 panels (four sides and the top) and at the end of the year they build the box to display their work. I love this project!!!

The Great Chicago Fire

Think of any event in history and you can probably find a website dedicated to that event. A good example is the website commemorating The Great Chicago Fire.

Welcome to The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory, an online exhibition produced by the Chicago Historical Society and Academic Technologies of Northwestern University to mark the 125th anniversary of one of the most famous events in American history, as well as the most formative event in the history of Chicago. Read more....

At the site you can find the history of the event, including photos and personal narratives in the form of essays.

Photosynth: Inauguration

I was listening to either CNN or MSNBC and the guy mentioned a new technology so I glanced up from laptop and he was demonstrating Photosynth. At first glance I thought it was a panorama maker---but wow! From the site:

Photosynths constitute an entirely new visual medium. Photosynth analyzes each photo for similarities to the others, and uses that data to build a model of where the photos were taken. It then re-creates the environment and uses that as a canvas on which to display the photos.

The news channel wants everybody who goes to the Inauguration to snap a photo when Obama raises his hand to be sworn in and upload it to the channels Photosynth. Check it out.

Image from: LiveLabs

Do History

My love of primary source documents started innocently enough about 10 years ago. I went to a Classroom Connect Conference in California--my first. I signed up for a workshop presented by Jamie McKenzie, I don't remember what the workshop was about but I remember the activity that started my love of primary sources. He showed us this picture of the Coal Breaker Boys (from LOC) and said "Discuss who the leader is in this group". I thought to myself "Wow!"

I used to present at computer conferences, NECC and around my county and state. Designing my favorite workshop, "Using Primary Sources in the Classroom, I ran across one of most phenomenal resources I had ever seen (and may ever see). The website is called Do History, it tells the story of midwife Martha Ballard (1800s) through her diary. From the site:

DoHistory invites you to explore the process of piecing together the lives of ordinary people in the past. It is an experimental, interactive case study based on the research that went into the book and film A Midwife's Tale, which were both based upon the remarkable 200 year old diary of midwife/healer Martha Ballard. Although DoHistory is centered on the life of Martha Ballard, you can learn basic skills and techniques for interpreting fragments that survive from any period in history. We hope that many people will be inspired by Martha Ballard's story to do original research on other "ordinary" people from the past.

You can actually read and analyse the original diary with really snappy decoding tools. The site was developed through a grant, I'd hoped it was only the beginning of more "Do History" projects but alas it was a one and only. Now that's a project which can't be done with a Web 2.0 tool--have you ever seen anything like it? I'll be sharing some other great sites in the next few weeks.

Using Pictures To Inspire Writing

As I mentioned in the previous post I really like the idea of using images to inspire thinking, reflection, discussion and creativity. Have you seen this? PicLits "is a creative writing site that matches beautiful images with carefully selected keywords in order to inspire you. The object is to put the right words in the right place and the right order to capture the essence, story, and meaning of the picture". How cool is that?

Pictures Used in Math

Dan Meyer ponders the perfect math "book" in his blog post The Math Textbook I Would Buy. He wants a series of images on CD that would re-enforce certain math concepts.

One of the commentors mentioned Problem Pictures, you know how much I like using photos, especially old ones. There are some problem pictures on the web but it looks like you'd need to buy the CD to get the full effect of how to use them. Here's a sample problem from the website:

Pile of oranges
How many oranges are here?
A shopkeeper builds a similar pile of oranges but with one extra layer.
How many oranges would this have?
What size of pile could you build with a box of 200 oranges?

Another commentor mentioned Learning in Motion. I love the idea of teaching math using real world examples, wonder if it helps cement the ideas?

What the Heck?

What in the heck are these kids doing? If you know put your answer in a comment. I posted this to my students' blog and got some hilarious responses!!

High Level Uses For Web 2.0 Tools

Every once in a while I come upon a use for Web 2.0 tools that make me go "wow". Here are some I've collected so far. This blog is written by Harriett Tubman and this one is written by someone who lived through the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Students wrote blogs as space tourists. Here's Diary of Anne Fairweather, a fictitious convict. Here is a ning (social networking site) done by people who were involved in the Civil Right Movement and people who were at the Continental Congress. My students did podcasts as passengers and crew of the Titanic, you can listen to them here.

Kevin has done this project and says on his website: These sixth grade students have been reading two books -- The Lightning Thief and a graphic novel version of The Odyssey -- and in order to understand the role that the heroic journey plays in both books, they are creating their own imaginary journeys, using Google Maps.We hope you enjoy this project!

These projects, IMHO, raise the bar for critical thinking, synthesis, analysis, and evaluation.

Glogster

I've seen some neat things done with Glogster using primary sources. This gal has done some neat "pages" on Oskar Schnidler and Itsak Stern. Check them out.

Image Detective

Here's another site that struck my fancy, you know me I love old photos. Check out Kevin Jarrett's blog and read all about it.

Makes Math Look Easy!

Thought you math guys out there would enjoy this simple problem solving exercise.

Suitcases From A State Hospital Attic

If you are a reader here's a book I'm getting ready to buy that sounds really intriguing-- The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic by Darby Penney

From Publishers Weekly: When New York's 120-plus-year-old mental institution Willard State Hospital was closed down in 1995, New York Museum curator Craig Williams found a forgotten attic filled with suitcases belonging to former inmates. He informed Penney, co-editor of The Snail's Pace Review and a leading advocate of patients rights, who recognized the opportunity to salvage the memory of these institutionalized lives. She invited Stastny, a psychiatrist and documentary filmmaker, to help her curate an exhibit on the find and write this book, which they dedicate to "the Willard suitcase owners, and to all others who have lived and died in mental institutions." What follows are profiles of 10 individual patients whose suitcase contents proved intriguing (there were 427 bags total), referencing their institutional record-including histories and session notes-as well as some on-the-ground research. A typical example is Ethel Smalls, who likely suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her husband's abuse; misdiagnosed and institutionalized against her will, she lived at Willard until her death in 1973. While the individual stories are necessarily sketchy, the cumulative effect is a powerful indictment of healthcare for the mentally ill. 25 color and 63 b&w photographs.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

There is a traveling exhibit that mirrors the findings of the book and they have a neat website. I'm a big fan of using primary sources in the classroom, I wonder if this may be insightful for high schoolers. Let me know if you read it.

Mnemograph Diary Day 1

I decided to have the sixth graders do a comprehensive timeline on Titanic history using Mnemograph. There are 16 of them and they are working without a net. My co-teacher and I are giving them no help. I gave them a piece of paper with a tiny message in the middle

After they read the assignment I asked if there were any questions. There were a few which, of course, I wouldn't answer. Sam, a member of his school's student council seemed to be an expert on Robert's Rules of Order and set out to elect a leader. Carolina won a majority of the votes, the count taken by Sam with all heads down on tables. She immediately took charge, which for Carolina wasn't hard. All the kids gathered around the chalk board and started throwing out ideas. They decided to break the work up into sections which included The Building of the Titanic, The Voyage, The Sinking, The Rescue, The Inquiries, The Salvage, etc.

Ben took it upon himself to figure out Mnemograph, which he did with great interest. He called me over to see that the program had the capability to mesh Wikipedia with our timeline. My comment? "Waaaay too much information!!" Sam and Quinton are in charge of graphics and Jason is editor. Wonder if that is a good choice since Jason is not one our strongest spellers!

It's fun watching them get organized (which they did) and it's hard keeping my mouth shut (which I almost did). When they are finished the timeline may be posted on the Mnemograph site and will find a prominent place on our project website, Titanic in the Classroom.

I blogged about the timeline on our student blog, A Really Differentplace, and the first response from Chloe mentioned that she had never done a project in school that was not teacher directed and organized! That was a reminder to me because I've taught gifted kids for 25 years!! Note to self--step back.

Another WOW! Digital Vault

Just found out about Digital Vault a wonderful new offering by The National Archives. You can read all about it at Glenn Weibe's blog.

HSI Historical Scene Investigation

I tend to blog about stuff that makes me say "WOW". HSI:Historical Scene Invesigation looks like it has a lot to offer and also has potential to grow into a really usuable site. Check it out!

From the site:
The Historical Scene Investigation Project (HSI) was designed for social studies teachers who need a strong pedagogical mechanism for bringing primary sources into their classroom. With the advent and accessibility of the internet, many libraries, universities and government agencies are housing their historical documents online. Simultaneously, there has been a push in K-12 history education to give students experiences that more closely resemble the work of a real historian. The National Center for History in the Schools (NCHS) provides standards challenging teachers to design experiences in which students:

• to raise questions and to marshal solid evidence in support of their answers


• to go beyond the facts presented in their textbooks and examine the historical record for themselves


• to consult documents, journals, diaries, artifacts, historic sites, works of art, quantitative data, and other evidence from the past, and to do so imaginatively--taking into account the historical context in which these records were created and comparing the multiple points of view of those on the scene at the time (National Center for History in the Schools, 1996, p. 14.

Most social studies teachers accept these challenges but find it difficult to find projects and experiences that are accessible for their students. Researching the "cybraries" of the internet takes time, a precious and scarce resource for the typical social studies teacher. While the Internet provides access to Civil War diaries, newspapers from the 1920's, images from the Jim Crow south, and many other primary sources, the sheer number of possibilities is daunting. Even the most sophisticated search engines provide such a vast number of "hits" that a classroom teacher would find it difficult to gather the necessary resources to launch a primary source investigation/interpretation activity. The HSI project was developed for these teachers.

Mnemograph

I read this post on Classroom 2.0 and with permission from the author, I'm reposting here. This application looks like it has a lot of potential, I think I'm going to use it with our Titanic unit.

I'm excited to introduce to Classroom 2.0 our new software for creating rich, interactive (Flash, web-based) timelines. It's called Mnemograph. Briefly, with Mnemograph, one enters events (title, date, description) into a database which are displayed on a timeline "ruler" that can scroll and zoom. You can plan the semester ahead or create a history of ancient Egyptian civilization. Each event can have a description and can be linked to a web page or any other URI --- pdf, etc. Images can also be added to the timeline in a similar way as events, and dragged and dropped to position them.

This represents a real sea-change in "timelining". Other softwares out there (xTimeline, the Simile project at MIT, TimelineMaker) are either very restricted graphically, designed poorly, or are restricted to a local PC. We're planning to build a very powerful collaborative environment in which kids and history professionals alike can collaborate to create expansive, deep timelines. Eventually, a single "event" (say the life of Herman Melville) will be able to drill down into an entire biographical timeline. We're also building importing capability for RSS feeds, Dublin Core data, the Library of Congress's American Memory collection, Flickr, iCalendar (Google calendar, Mac iCal) formats, and so forth. One will be able to have two timelines open at once, and simply drag-and-drop an event from, say the LOC into one's own timeline about the Depression. Not quite there yet...

We're in a very early beta stage, so there's a lot to be worked out: I'm excited to get feedback from educators about how they would imagine using it -- especially on the collaborative level. Here are a few major questions:• How would collaboration best be structured? Are there models out there (del.icio.us, Facebook, xTimeline) you prefer when it comes to inviting others to, or requesting to collaborate?• What are best practices when it comes to creating a system (like this collaborative environment) in which kids are safe/secure?

• To what degree can you imagine using a timeline for planning curricula, recording classroom events, and so forth?Way down the road (with some capital), we're planning
• keep a robust version free for personal and educational use
• create ways to display any time-related data: Line and bar graphs which can run alongside historical events
• have live collaboration tools
• link to more live, time-related or on-demand data
• allow zooming out to the big bang, and zooming in to the minute• host all manner of files -- video, etc.
• create versions for the medical, financial, legal, and scientific markets
  

Some links:
our home page
Wright Brothers sample timeline
Niger/Plame/Libby

I'm very pleased to have found this amazing community. Please contact me if you have questions or thoughts -- and especially problems -- and I'll try to be as responsive as I can:

michael@mnemograph.com
Best, Michael Richardson
Boise, ID

Graphing Datasets

We are starting to look at the Titanic "by the numbers". After reading background information about the crew, students made graphs all of the different jobs the crew held. I had no idea when I made the assignment that there would be hundreds of different job descriptions. We used a Web 1.0 application Create a Graph (been around forever, but recently updated) to create our graphs.

The sixth graders then took a look at the passengers and charted their nationalities. The charts made it clear that most of the first class passengers were from America and most of the third class passesngers were not! You can see all our charts and graphs here.

Here is another site, CIESE, that has outstanding activities using "real" data.