I am working as an intern for the Digital Human Library (DHL) and A Kids’ Guide to Canada. I had never heard of these organizations previously, but wow, am I glad to have the opportunity to work intimately and directly with them. DHL offers some incredible opportunities for both students and teachers to connect to hundreds of experts anywhere in the world, regardless of the subject being taught. Teaching about outer space? Find an expert on Mars who will speak to your students on DHL. Teaching about science? Find an expert on light and sound through DHL. I had never heard of anything like it. I love that it is a free resource for connecting teachers, educators, and experts anywhere in the world. Furthermore, DHL has the largest collection of educational multimedia virtual tours on the web. This means that teachers are able to immerse their students in all kinds of new experiences with the click of a button. This resource is user friendly. Therefore, teachers who are inexperienced with technology or are technophobic will be able to maneuver around this site easily. I spent some time tinkering and exploring myself and ended up watching giraffes on a live zoo feed. It was great. The possibilities really are endless. What a great way to engage students in whatever topic they are curious about and enhance all your lessons. Technology such as this hones in on inquiry-based learning. Although physically stepping foot outdoors and taking students on field trips is exciting (and beneficial for students), this program gives teachers the option to just add an extra, fun, and engaging component onto their lesson. Just think about it, they don’t have the hassle of taking a day off, organizing a field trip, sending out forms for parents to sign, etc. It takes zero funding or budget and a very small amount of effort to make a big impact in your classroom. Moving forward, I will be telling all my peers, friends, family, and any educators I know (and eventually my colleagues) about this resource. I hope to be able to use it in my classroom on placement, or in the very least, inform my associate teachers about it. When I am a certified teacher I will most certainly include DHL in and throughout my unit plans. At the beginning of every week I have an idea that I will ask my students what they are interested in and then base my lessons (and DHL usage) off of their interests and curiosities. This gives students a sense of ownership and they get to learn about what fascinates them most. While creating lesson plans in Professional Year, I plan to researching and find interesting and lesson appropriate DHL connections to either videos or human experts. This is purely for my own benefit and practice of maneuvering the website. I can’t wait to see what else they have in store!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
PedagogyEducating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. ArchivesCategories |