Reaction: Connections Across Disciplines

I had the opportunity to look over a lesson plan created by three of my colleagues: Jimmy Johnson, Carl Dixon and Paul Sandy. They created a lesson plan about activism in the 1960's and how today's technology could have been used, and how can technology be used for activism today.

I really enjoyed the lesson plan, and would actually love to see the results from the students if any of them have the chance of executing it. The lesson plan is clear and very well written, which made it really easy for me (a math and chemistry teacher) quickly understand what the lesson is about. As an introduction to the 1960's, my fellow educators provide a 15 minute video as a crash course to the 1960's. The video is just the right length, and is engaging. I think this is a brilliant way of a quick introduction to all the main events in the decade, and allows the students some choice in the topic within this time period. Giving students choice is likely to increase their interest in the assignment and motivation.

The lesson plan touches on a relevant topic for students as we see today how facebook and twitter are regularly being used for activism. #Ferguson and #IfTheyGunnedMeDown was most recently used by social activists in response to the murder of an unarmed, African-American teenager in Ferguson, MO. Since social media and technology is so ubiquitous today, it would be interesting to imagine about how the activism in the 1960's might have been different if they had the same tools we have today. The lesson also goes on further to have students critique today's methods of activism to historical types of activism. This is really powerful as it challenges students to think critically about the pros and cons of the methods of activism today, determine what combination of methods work best, and empower them to become more active in their local communities.

In addition, I love that while they topic itself explores the role and use of technology in activism in the 1960's and today, it also seamlessly integrates the use of technology into the lesson itself as well. The lesson asks each student to watch the video by individually, giving them autonomy to pause, replay etc. In addition, it asks them to do research on the topic of their choice online, and cite 3 sources. Finding information from credible sources is an important skill to master, and it's great to see the students getting practice doing this early on.

I know their lesson plan assumes that they are implementing the BYOD program, however my only concern would be the huge variety of devices. What happens if students don't have a device to bring to school, how would they watch the video? Or, what if they only device they have is their smart phone (student doesn't have a computer at home), how would the student do the research? Especially since doing research on the phone can prove to be difficult on the phone. These are some of my concerns with the lesson plan, although my concern really is about the BYOD program and not the lesson plan itself. Hopefully, these teachers would have already established the BYOD program in their classroom, and know what their students' access to technology is, and so would be able to implement this lesson plan successfully.