Technology Brings Curriculum to Life

Meet Beth Goldberg, 7^th grade social studies teacher at Oak Ridge Middle School.  Beth is also one of 35 model teachers in our district.  Recently Beth teamed up with Todd Lane, and Ryan Gotto, Technology Integration Coaches, to spice up one of her content goals.

In social studies Beth’s students focus all year on the skill of being able to develop an argument on a topic and defend that argument with supporting facts.  Her students were allowed to choose from a variety of topics related to Ancient Greece.  Next they had to decide if they agreed or disagreed with the statement provided. For example, let's say the topic was Alexander the Great and the statement was Alexander the Great was not so great. They would need to choose if they agreed or disagreed, and defend that opinion using relevant support. They could choose to defend their viewpoints in the form of an essay, a live speech, or a video using the green screen.

Enter Todd and Ryan into the equation. After the students wrote their argument they filmed themselves defending it using the green screen. Afterward they were able to “transport” themselves back to Ancient Greece using pictures they found for the background of their videos.  So, in addition to talking about Alexander the Great, they could actually make it look like they were standing next to him on the battlefield.

Todd and Ryan worked with students that chose the video. Beth commented on the project:

"They helped students film, edit, research for more information and upload their videos. Todd even created a form that I put on my website so students could easily upload their completed videos. They were a huge help!" 

This is a great example of a project that shows teachers how to utilize technology to support current curriculum and enhance everyday learning.