Saturday, December 26, 2009

Tip 33 -- Use Instructional Technology

Summary: Tools that flatten the world.

How do you hold AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics students to a high level of accountability that also prepares them for the global economy? Try using Web 2.0 tools.

In the best selling book, The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman asserts that the Internet makes information accessible to everyone, especially open sourcing. Open sourcing is the ability to upload and collaborate online. An example of open sourcing is Wikipedia. Open sourcing allows communities to divide the manufacturing and the service components apart so that workers can work to their comparative advantage. When I developed my iPod App, Econexamcram, I used Skype as my primary communication. But, when I wanted to show a complicated process, I used a Flip Camcorder and sent the video through Google mail.

Competition for scare resources is now global. How do we teach students how to compete? One solution is to teach them how to use instructional technology. Here is a list: 1. Have students produce a YouTube video. 2. Have students use Photo Story 3 to make and narrate a slide show. 3. Here is a site that claims to have all of the tools. 4. Develop a class Wiki.

If you would like to gain insight into designing your presentation for the 21st Century, please check out Presentation Zen.







About the Author: Mike Fladlien is an AP Economics teacher from Muscatine High School.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mike,

As I a new AP Mecro teacher, I just want to let you know that blogs such as yours are invaluable to the rest of us newbies. Please keep up the good work! :)

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