Integrated Lesson Plan

For my integrated lesson plan, the teacher will be asking the students to become acclimated with the First Amendment's provision for Freedom of the Press, and how this was interpreted by the 1971 Supreme Court Case The United States v. The New York Times which arose after the Times obtained access to the controversial "Pentagon Papers."  The lesson's objective will be to have the students think critically about when it is legitimate, in the name of national security, to censor what is published by the press, and to think about what conflicts this has with our safeguards for liberty and our desire for government transparency.  The lesson will also ask students to think about the ways in which modern technology may further effect the relationship between the government and the press (citing, for example, the U.S. government response to WikiLeaks' release of diplomatic cables last year).  In doing so, my lesson aims to address the NJ state curriculum standard that pertains to "Active Citizenship in the 21st Century" and that reads as follows:
D. History, Culture, and Perspectives
6.3.12.D.1
Analyze current laws involving individual rights and national security, and evaluate how the laws might be applied to a current case study that cites a violation of an individual's constitutional rights.    

(5-10 minutes)
Students will be prepared for a class discussion by reading about the "Pentagon Papers" controversy via a prior reading assignment in a textbook or at this website.  For homework, they may also be informed with a quick viewing of a video on the topic available here.  To generate student interest, at the beginning of class, the teacher may show a clip from the film, All the President's Men, also available on YouTube.  The ultimate line, "Be careful how your write it," is meant to provoke thought about how journalists or those who speak in public must be careful about what they say when it comes to issues of national security.  Meanwhile, the teacher will be writing the definition for "prior restraint" on the board and, after showing the video clip, explain "prior restraint" to the class.  The teacher will also lead a quick, guided conversation about some of the main and important themes relevant to the topic.

(10-15 minutes)
After this, students will be divided into groups of 3 or 4 and receive handouts that have a list of the following scenarios:

• A television network plans to broadcast soldiers’ flag-draped coffins being returned to the U.S.
• A magazine will feature an interview with and photographs of a seriously wounded soldier.
• A newspaper article will detail a major city’s response plan in case of a terrorist attack.
• A news report will contain a map of Iraq, illustrating American troop positions. 

Students will be asked to circle the items that they think would be "ok" to publish if they were a reporter.  In discussion with the class, each group will present their choices and reasons for each.

(10 minutes)
Returning discussion back to the Pentagon Papers, students will be posed with some of the following questions:
The Pentagon Papers was about the Vietnam War. How is that different from the actions of the press in current coverage of the Iraq war?
Given current technology, can prior restraint ever be effective?
In light of the recent WikiLeaks scandal, how does "prior restraint" apply in this case?  Is Julian Assange protected by the Freedom of the Press?

For the remainder of the period (if students have access to internet) or for homework (if resources don't exist in classroom), each group will be asked to look up a local news source (a newspaper, web site, or TV/radio station) and find the contact information for an editor or reporter.  Students will draft and ultimately send a professionally written e-mail to their contact, asking them when they decide or decide not to publish sensitive material, whether they deal with national security or sensitive local government topics.  Students will CC the teacher on their sent e-mail.

By using clips from YouTube, I believe that the use of mixed media should help gain the immediate attention of students.  Although this is not necessarily interactive, I believe that showing artifacts such as quick documentary clips or popular films might help illustrate a broader political and cultural context for the students.  As for the online research and e-mail assignment, I believe that integrating technology into the lesson in this manner will help sharpen students internet-based research skills, make them aware of what local publications or news outlets exist, as well as to communicate professionally and effectively using electronic tools, i.e. e-mail.  In my mind, this is an important 21st century skill which will be useful to them throughout their adult lives and as long as e-mail remains a dominant form of communication.

To assess their understanding of the term "prior restraint" and its relation to the First Amendment, the teacher will look at the student responses to the initial handout, which they will turn in.  The teacher will also pay close attention to the students' oral discussion responses and class participation to assess their understanding of "prior restraint".  The research and e-mail correspondence component will be assessed by viewing the student's e-mails to media professionals, and judging their performance against the assessment included in this rubric.  The teacher should be able to judge the student's learning by their articulation of the legal concepts embedded in the Freedom of the Press and "prior restraint," through their responses to the in-class handout, an in-class discussion, and their written letters to media professionals.  Ultimately, the lesson would hope to instruct students in an age where availability of publishing tools has expanded exponentially to include nearly all persons who have access to the internet.

Video Tutorials for Instruction

Although I have hit some technical hurdles in attempting to install video tutorial software on my laptop, I was able to check out the Jing introductory video and some other materials, and could begin to see how having the capability to provide a video tutorial could be a useful device for communicating instruction.  A video tutorial is a fantastic way to provide students with step-by-step instructions in a manner that integrates video, audio, and is interactive enough that allows a student to pause or rewind if they need to see something again.  In the past, I have benefited from online video instruction (via YouTube) to learn how to do things such as adjust the derailleur on my bicycle or learn how to make repairs on my guitar. 

A video tutorial such as Jing, however, has its advantages over such YouTube instruction in a way that it is less demanding of the instructor to videotape themselves physically doing something.  All the instructor needs is to be able to demonstrate a lesson with a computer screen, while the tutorial software captures the process in real time.  In a way, the instruction is limited to what you can demonstrate with a computer screen, but given the vast amount of tasks that we are able to accomplish on our personal computers today, there is much that can be taught in this way. 

For example, an art teacher could conduct a fantastic graphic design tutorial by capturing a Photoshop session with Jing, or a physics teacher could demonstrate a lesson on vectors using any illustrative software or tools they may have available as well.  Such video tutorials could be implemented in classrooms, or to help guide students through work at home, as either a supplement or as a lesson in and of itself.  I heard somebody say in one of my classes last week, "Pretty soon, there will be no such thing as snow days."  I could see how video tutorials could help bridge said physical divides and make oral/visual instruction possible from anywhere.

Integrated Lesson Plan (Proposal)

For my integrated lesson plan, the teacher will be asking the students to become acclimated with the First Amendment's provision for Freedom of the Press, and how this was interpreted by the 1971 Supreme Court Case The United States v. The New York Times which arose after the Times obtained access to the controversial "Pentagon Papers."  The lesson's objective will be to have the students think critically about when it is legitimate, in the name of national security, to censor what is published by the press, and to think about how this runs in opposition to our safeguards for liberty and our desire for government transparency.  The lesson will also ask students to think about the ways in which modern technology may further effect the relationship between the government and the press (citing, for example, the U.S. government response to WikiLeaks' release of diplomatic cables last year).  In doing so, my lesson aims to address the NJ state curriculum standard that pertains to "Active Citizenship in the 21st Century" and that reads as follows:
D. History, Culture, and Perspectives
6.3.12.D.1
Analyze current laws involving individual rights and national security, and evaluate how the laws might be applied to a current case study that cites a violation of an individual's constitutional rights.    

(5-10 minutes)
Students may be prepared for a class discussion by reading about the "Pentagon Papers" controversy via a prior reading assignment in a textbook or at this website.  Or they may be informed with a quick viewing of a video at the beginning of the class available here.  To generate student interest, at the beginning of class, the teacher may show a clip from the film, All the President's Men, also available on YouTube.  The ultimate line, "Be careful how your write it," is meant to provoke thought about how journalists or those who speak in public must be careful about what they say when it comes to issues of national security.  Meanwhile, the teacher will be writing the definition for "prior restraint" on the board and, after showing the video clip, explain "prior restraint" to the class.

(10-15 minutes)
After this, students will be divided into groups of 3 or 4 and receive handouts that have a list of the following scenarios:

• A television network plans to broadcast soldiers’ flag-draped coffins being returned to the U.S.
• A magazine will feature an interview with and photographs of a seriously wounded soldier.
• A newspaper article will detail a major city’s response plan in case of a terrorist attack.
• A news report will contain a map of Iraq, illustrating American troop positions. 

Students will be asked to circle the items that they think would be "ok" to publish if they were a reporter.  In discussion with the class, each group will present their choices and reasons for each.

(10 minutes)
Returning discussion back to the Pentagon Papers, students will be posed with some of the following questions:
The Pentagon Papers was about the Vietnam War. How is that different from the actions of the press in current coverage of the Iraq war?
Given current technology, can prior restraint ever be effective?
In light of the recent WikiLeaks scandal, how does "prior restraint" apply in this case?  Is Julian Assange protected by the Freedom of the Press?

For the remainder of the period (if students have access to internet) or for homework (if resources don't exist in classroom), each group will be asked to look up a local news source (a newspaper, web site, or TV/radio station) and find the contact information for an editor or reporter.  Students will draft and ultimately send a professionally written e-mail to their contact, asking them when they decide or decide not to publish sensitive material, whether they deal with national security or sensitive local government topics.  Students will CC the teacher on their sent e-mail.

By using clips from YouTube, I believe that the use of mixed media should help gain the immediate attention of students.  Although this is not necessarily interactive, I believe that showing artifacts such as quick documentary clips or popular films might help illustrate a broader political and cultural context for the students.  As for the online research and e-mail assignment, I believe that integrating technology into the lesson in this manner will help sharpen students research skills, make them aware of what local publications or news outlets exist, and ask them to demonstrate ways to communicate professionally and effectively using electronic tools, i.e. e-mail.  In my mind, this is an important 21st century skill which will be useful to them throughout their adult lives and as long as e-mail remains a dominant form of communication.

To assess their understanding of the term "prior restraint" and its relation to the First Amendment, the teacher will look at the student responses to the initial handout, which they will turn in.  The teacher will also pay close attention to the students' oral discussion responses and class participation to assess their understanding of the concept.  The research and e-mail correspondence component will be assessed by viewing the student's e-mails to media professionals, and judging their performance against the assessment included in this rubric.  The teacher should be able to judge the student's learning by their articulation of the legal concepts embedded in the Freedom of the Press and "prior restraint," through their responses to the in-class handout, an in-class discussion, and their written letters to media professionals.  Ultimately, the lesson would hope to instruct students in an age where availability of publishing tools has expanded exponentially to include nearly all persons who have access to the internet.


Parts of this lesson plan were inspired by:
Doremus, J.  http://www.hsj.org/modules/lesson_plans/detail.cfm?LessonPlanId=53
University of Idaho's "Constitution Day".  http://www.uidaho.edu/class/constitutionday/consitutiondaylessons/lesson5/background

Promoting Tech Ethics in the Wake of "Sexting"

Although it may be nearly impossible - physically - for schools to control what students are doing with their personal digital devices (phones, iPods, etc.), I believe that it is completely within our schools' ability to try and inform students as to the nature and pitfalls of the technology that plays such an immense role in their lives.  Warning students that media shared via phone or on the internet becomes and stays accessible for an audience that they may not be able to select and control is an important lesson to be taught.  In the example of "sexting," as soon as somebody else has access to view the image, they may just as easily have the means to further distribute it.  Demonstrating a couple popular "viral" internet videos on YouTube could help begin a discussion about the new power that people have, via technology, to distribute media with extreme ease. 

One way that schools can address the topic in a formal setting could be - for example - as part of the curriculum for a required health course.  If schools have already taken the responsibility of promoting the practice of safe sex, explaining to students how to protect themselves from other forms of sexual exploitation, such as the unwarranted distribution of images or video, could just as easily become part of that health lesson.  Promoting responsible use of technology not only could provide emotional protection for young people, but also serves as a lesson in ethics which they will need to carry with them as active members of society, in the workplace, and in the general public.  With a reduction in activities, such as "sexting," educators also ensure that there is one less distraction that could prevent their students from performing their best while in school.

Fair Use and Intellectual Property Hazards

     According to Kate A. Thompson, fair use is an exemption that was made in copyright law to allow limited portions of an original work to be used for educational purposes.  Furthermore, it is often used as part of a defense claim to rebut accusations of copyright infringement.  She breaks down the legal analysis of fair use into four factors: 1) whether the work is used for educational or commercial purposes, 2) the nature of the work (fact-based or creative), 3) "the amount of work used in relation to the work as a whole," and 4) the effect of the use on the market "or potential income for the work" (p. 11-12). 
      Other copyright commentators, such as Doug Johnson and Carol Simpson, point out that the concept of fair use often leads educators to take careless liberties in the distribution of protected works, feigning ignorance that if they are providing access to a work for the benefit of students, that they are automatically exempt from the tenets of intellectual property law.  Furthermore, the fact that teachers are not necessarily making money from distributing or presenting protected works, does not necessarily protect them either (p. 15).
     Some important items that teachers might want to consider when presenting or distributing a work, or in allowing students to do so, are the following:
     1) Using the work for educational purposes, and avoiding recreational or entertainment use of media. For example, playing a DVD or VHS for a class as a recreational reward for good behavior, should be avoided, or at the very least, done so carefully (i.e. acquiring proper licenses).
     2) Limiting the amount of work that is distributed for free in a classroom.  For example, photocopying an article from a magazine to share with the class would be acceptable, but photocopying the entire magazine, or large segments of it, would not (in this case, due to its impact on the market place).
     3) Limiting the audience viewing student or teacher-produced materials to the classroom or the school (not the general public, and not many places on the internet).  In the case that a student borrowed images, text, or other media to complete a class report, the teacher and student should be aware of potential legal hazards posed by sharing the report beyond the classroom.

Technology Integration Matrix and Learning Environments

Within the Technology Integration Matrix, I have chosen the Authentic Learning / Adoption Level / One-to-One Access cell to take a look at how it stacks up against the NETS for Teachers.  By having students participate together in geographically charting recent hurricanes, the teacher addresses the standard that asks teachers to "promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes" (1.c.).  This is done by having students take turns demonstrating to the class - on an electronic chalkboard - where hurricanes were detected in longitude and latitude.  This classroom assignment likewise addressed standard 1.d., which offers that teachers "model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments."  With the help of resources such as that electronic chalkboard, and all students' access to a laptop, the teacher is also addressing 2.b. by "develop[ing] technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress."

At the beginning of this course, I believe that I would have been able to supply a level of classroom technology integration somewhere between what is deemed Entry or Adoption.  However, after becoming acquainted with technologies newly introduced to me with this course (especially Powerpoint, podcasts, and slidecasts), I believe I could, with a bit of practice, confidently Adapt my classroom to a degree where students are not only introduced to software, but shown how to manipulate and use it to accomplish tasks and draw meaningful connections beyond their classroom.

Podcasting Class Lectures

The MP3, or "podcast," embedded in this blog post below is a brief lecture in civil rights history on school desegregation.  The lecture basically serves as a substitute for an in-class version of the lesson, to which students can listen.  Students would be encouraged to take notes and be prepared to discuss either orally (in class) or as a written assignment (at home or in class).  Another discussion component could involve an online message board if the class were to be conducted to a large extent, through online media and tools. 

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Skeptical, Yet Encouraged: 21st Century Skills

            While I can understand, and at many times, agree with, the concerns of anti-P21 mouthpieces such as Diane Ravitch or Jay Matthews, that a “skill-centered, knowledge-free education” (Ravitch) is no adequate substitute for strong content knowledge, I do believe there is something to be said in support of “21^st Century Skills.”  True enough that “knowledge is… required to identify the root nature of the problem you’re dealing with” when exercising critical skills (Willingham), but the teaching of these applicable critical skills is, in my opinion, an essential lesson that can serve students better in their adult lives.  I do believe that content is essential, and I also have an issue with the idea of wanting to churn out a bunch of empty-headed, yet cool and charismatic business leaders to the real world.

            However, there are certainly demands and challenges in that real world that require people to communicate effectively and build bridges to solve problems on the community, national, or global level.  There are certain things that cannot be learned about addressing these problems from reading more Shakespeare or from memorizing the periodic table.  I am with Judy Salpeter when she quotes Margaret Honey on the importance of “deep learning” by saying that "A broad overview is important… but stopping frequently to involve students in projects that allow them to go deep is equally important. We need a balanced approach."  She also discusses evidence that can be found in after-school, extracurricular activities, such as art, music, or drama, that expand the pool of opportunities for young people.  These connections made beyond the classroom supply experiences that should not be overlooked. 

Yet at the same time, we need to approach how we manage our time – for content or for skills – with caution.  As Stacy Teicher Khadaroo put it, we can introduce the teaching of these skills, “while still doing due diligence to the three R’s,” namely, of content learning in the core subjects.  Integration is key.  Perhaps a synthesis of these approaches will provide the outcomes we are looking for as we show our students the way into the 21^st Century.

21st Century Skills Slidecast

21st Century Skills Presentation

Slidecasts, which are a combination of audio (podcast) and video (Powerpoint slides), can provide a dynamic resource for learning outside the classroom.  Those with internet access can "attend" lectures, or something close to it, by just clicking the "Play" icon on a slidecast.  Additionally, a slidecast appeals to the visual and auditory senses, as opposed to the flat text which is usually associated with homework.  This is especially important in a world where young people learn from a variety of enhanced media.  Perhaps it may be necessary in the future (or even present) to engage them with more dynamic learning materials such as slidecasts to deliver meaningful content that will attract their attention?

21st Century Skills Presentation

Having a slide presentation (Powerpoint or otherwise) allows for a lecture that is more engaging and interactive than a simple verbal lecture, accompanied by chalkboard notes. A slide presentation allows educators to present information that is more visually organized and that is rich with images and other media. Please play around with my slideshow and - pretending you are a parent attending "Back to School Night," - let me know what you think!

Fostering Students' Understanding of Digital Research Methods

Standard - 8.1 Educational Technology: All students will use digital tools to access, manage, evaluate, and synthesize information in order to solve problems individually and collaboratively and to create and communicate knowledge.

Strand C.  Communication and Collaboration

By the end of grade 12

Content Statement: Digital tools and environments support the learning process and foster collaboration in solving local or global issues and problems.

CPI #: 8.1.12.C.1

CPI: Develop an innovative solution to a complex, local or global problem or issue in collaboration with peers and experts, and present ideas for feedback in an online community.

To address this CPI, students could break up into groups and choose a local problem they would like to address.  Local problems could include addressing inadequate funding for their school, low voter turnout, or local resource issues such as water, energy, or housing.  Students can use online tools to help them perform research, but could be guided toward and encouraged to use resources such as library databases, government websites, and possibly NGO websites.  Students should also be encouraged to contact and consult with experts and figures in positions of authority to offer relevant facts and opinions. After developing a hypothesis or proposed solution, they can post their ideas online to share with a broader audience and possibly develop community support.  Ways to do this could include posting a on relevant message boards, starting a listserv, starting a blog, or creating a group on a social networking site, such as Facebook.  Standard-based assessment could be done by judging how well students use digital resources for purposes of investigation, as well as for sharing and opening discussion with a broader community network. 

Implementing 21st Century Curricula Standards

The standards located in Standard 8 of NJ’s Core Curricula require a level of technological sophistication from public school educators.  Schoolteachers will need to understand and navigate the requirements offered by the NJCCCS in order to effectively implement them in classroom lesson plans.  Everything from showing students how to use social networks (for professional purposes), to having them perform research using digital resources, and to understanding the potential and limitations of technological resources in and of themselves and their broader social implications are but a few standards mentioned in Standard 8.

As a future high school educator, I will have to be willing and motivated to personally develop in line with technological trends that occur in society, and be able to offer guidance to my students on how to responsibly negotiate these trends.  One really important way to integrate technology in the classroom and show students how to best make use of their resources, is like the example demonstrated by Frank Draper at Catalina Foothills High School.  He had students use technological resources and tools to help create solutions to local ecological problems, thus making the students feel empowered, and allowing them to make connections between their classroom work and a broader social context.  Being able to keep up with technology to implement in this manner is a skill worth cultivating, as I believe it is one which will always be valuable.

A district or school that prioritizes the use and negotiation of technological resources as a standard for students to achieve is a district or school that is prepared to do the pedagogical work demanded by 21^st century needs.  Ignoring the impact that technology makes on the incoming generation of students demonstrates a negligence that is only going to weaken the school’s efforts.  For example, history teacher Steve Maher at Chatham High School, took note of the fact that students are going to look to the internet no matter what, for quick answers, and that intervening in how students do that could be a lot more productive than simply asking them to not do it.  It is educators who think creatively like this that are going to be able to keep up with the demands of 21^st century pedagogy.

Expectations of Teacher Web Pages

After navigating through the New Jersey DFGs, and then district websites, I landed on a web page created by a 6^th grade Language Arts teacher at the Hill School in Trenton, NJ.  Diane Biegley’s website is nice in that it provides an up to date place where parents and students can go to check when various assignments are due, and also to learn a bit about the scope and meaning of the assignments (this could be helpful for parents as they oversee their children’s work).  The web page also serves as an introductory or greeting place, where Ms. Biegley shares some information with students and parents about the mission of the course.  This satisfies the first of Dr. Jamie MacKenzie’s “Four Primary Goals of a Website” shared in an article on FNO.org.

However, my critique of the website is that - beyond this assignment and introductory information - the website’s function is fairly minimal.  There are no links to helpful, external educational sources, although the teacher has created a “Reference” section, which includes some “Persuasive Essay Tips” to assist the reading/writing students in her course.  My other critique is that there is no interactive component of the website.  There are no message boards, or other means, where students and/or parents can enter discussion with one another or the teacher.  According to MacKenzie, an interactive component may also include a place where students’ works can be displayed, especially when done well, to encourage quality works to be produced by students.  There are relatively simple and easy ways to achieve some of these technological goals for a website, which may foster a better sense of community among classmates beyond the classroom, and allow parents to have an even better sense of what is expected of their children.

My Background In and Thoughts On Technology

Although I worked for nearly three years in an IT department for a NJ state agency, please do not let that “professional background” fool you!  When I was finishing up middle school, I built my first website using Geocities (remember that?  or Angelfire?).  Then later, into high school, I was able to use these skills I learned, and became familiar with HTML to develop sites to promote musical acts I was a part of, and would continue this until my early years of college.  After being turned away by the powers that be from taking graphic design and technology-oriented courses at Rutgers (the infamous “RU screw” of their bureaucracy), I polished my erudition in the humanities and social sciences, and allowed my tech pursuits to fall by the wayside.  To this day, I have never learned Flash or Javascript, never fully became acclimated with Adobe software (Acrobat, etc.), and still have never used Powerpoint - all this despite my work in IT!

Yet at the same time, despite my limitations, I recognized that there is a lot to be said for technological know-how, and that technology provides a countless number of advantages and opportunities for those who can harness it.  As Karen Eini demonstrates with her online community “Friends and Flags,” it is possible to bring together over 30,000 young people in a cultural exchange program that would not have existed without her (or her students’) internet capabilities.  The cultural exchange mediated through her website has fostered a community of enlightenment for participants and allowed students to learn about “commitment, global collaboration, and the joy of giving,” in addition to a better grasp of their curriculum.  Rona Frederick also shows us ways how technology can be an empowering experience for inner city students who gain much from understanding their identity and ability to access knowledge that they would not otherwise be privy to.

In this way, I believe that exploring uses of technology can exponentially enhance our means of education.  Teaching students the “what” of content is important, but teaching students “how” to access content, and to critically and creatively engage it in ways provided by technology is a fantastic way to invest in both their (and our own) shared future.  At the same time, technology provides opportunities for distraction.  With the proliferation of information in an unmediated manner on the internet, this simultaneously empowers adolescents, but also creates venues for irresponsible content exchange.  I think it is in the best interest of educators to show students how to productively and responsibly make use of the great technology that is available to them.