I'm torturing my students....Muahhhhh (that's my evil laugh!)

 

Tomorrow, March 9, 2010 is the day that the torture begins! I am asking my students to "unplug." I am challenging my students to go ONE ENTIRE DAY without using TECHNOLOGY!  (GASP!)  

This assignment is an experiment.  The last few weeks we've been studying our digital footprints and discussing how technology has changed all aspects of our lives.  However, through these discussions we've discovered that many kids feel that some modern day technology wastes their time.  They spend so much time on Facebook or texting that they miss out on other things.  

Tomorrow as they attempt to go one whole day without technology I'm asking them to keep a log of their reactions and struggles while they do this.  Of course if they have to use technology for a class or homework I told them they should but they need to journal that they had to do it and why. 

I'm also going to try and do this, which is going to be a challenge since so much of my daily activities involve the computer - but I'm going to do the same thing I'm asking my students to do.

I'll report back on Wednesday about how it went!  Would you be able to go a whole day without using any technology?

Wow very interesting!

I had to put this image up here because it's so interesting.  How does this information change the way we talk to our children about college and their responsibilities once they are in college? 
Go to this website for the full size image:  http://www.onlinecollegesanduniversities.com/college_america/

Technology has changed the world!!

Today the kids are starting this new assignment where they will be tracing various pieces of technology to see how they have progressed over the years and how these new technologies have changed our lives.

I'm interested to hear their presentations and see what they can find out about this amazing piece of our history This weekend I was poking around a Goodwill Store to see if I could find anything interesting and I ended up paying $.78 for a cassette tape and an 8track tape! I brought them in to show the kids, most of them are familiar with the cassette but no one (including me!) had an 8track tape at their house! It was fun.

The assignment can be found on my website and moodle!

Digital Footprint

This week we started discussing our digital footprints - the digital trail we leave whenever we interact in a digital environment.  This means that every time we shop online, play an online video game, text, make a cell phone call, Skype with our friends and family, etc - we are leaving a trail of where we have been online.  

I had the kids track their digital footprint for two days and many found that they felt they were interacting digitally for more than 40% of their time!  Technology has changed the way we live our lives and for the next few weeks we're going to be exploring this in class.  Our focus will be on how technology has changed the way we communicate.  This blog is a perfect example.  If I want to inform parents about what we're studying in class I no longer have to send home a letter - instead I can just post on this blog!

It's truly amazing when you think about how much technology has changed our lives and communication styles.  However I was a little upset that one of the kids asked me if I had a rotary phone or if I used a pigeon to communicate - geez!  

A lesson in Budgeting - a Success!

After grading the Depression budgets and trying to convince the kids that they could not feed a family of four for one whole month with only 10 apples and three loaves of bread (they had some trouble with the food section!), I had them fill out an evaluation about what they learned from the assignment.  The results were very interesting.  Here are a few of the most interesting answers to the questions.

Question 1: What was difficult about planning this budget?

- "The hardest part was trying to find enough money for everything and having enough money for food without being hungry.  Also trying to figure out how much food we needed was hard."

2) How did you handle the unexpected events?

-My group had to buy a new stove and pay for a Dr. visit.  We had to decide where to take money from and it was hard because we knew we needed food but wanted to go to the Circus so we had to make some hard decisions and it was not fun.

3) How would you feel if this was a real life situation?

- We would be stressed and sad at how little money we had and that we were working hard but it was still hard to pay for everything. 

4) What did you learn from this and what would you want to tell your parents?

-We learned that it was hard to plan a budget and that it takes a lot of money to have a family and a life. We would want to thank our parents for working so hard and paying for so much for us.  (I thought this was the BEST answer of the day!)

- We learned that it was really hard to live during the Great Depression and that we are very lucky to have everything that we have in our lives.

 

Overall I really loved this assignment and I think the kids really learned about the hardships of the Great Depression, the importance of having a budget, and they got an idea of just how hard it is and how much it costs to run a family.  Hopefully a life lesson they will remember.  Ha I was trying to convince them that as soon as they have a part time job or babysit they should make a budget so they can save some money and so they always have money to shop or go out with friends, or pay for gas in a car when they drive - they thought I was crazy but I say it anyway because I really wish I had a budget when I was younger!  

Next up... Digital Footprint - how has our communication changed because of technology?  More than you can imagine!

Food Costs HOW MUCH!

This week my students are working in groups to create a "Depression Budget."  Each group was given a profession and a weekly salary based on the average salary for 1932.

Factory worker made $16.89 per week
A cook made $15.05 per week
An accountant made $45.28 per week
A Doctor made $61.11 per week

The students then had to work together to plan a budget for a family of four for one month.  They had to account for rent/mortgage, food, clothing, misc., transportation, entertainment, and furniture.  They worked using a list of prices from 1932. 

It was interesting to hear their conversations while they worked.  More than once I heard someone exclaim, "Oh my gosh $30 for food!"  The doctors were thrilled to have money to spend while the cooks were not sure that they would have enough to survive the month.  Although this wasn't a real budget they really understood what it was like during the great depression and how difficult it can be to plan a budget. 

Today they will have a twist thrown into the mix.  Each group must choose two "life happens" papers and those papers will tell them about an unexpected event that could ruin their budget, such as a family member needing glasses or an appliance breaking.  Some of the kids were upset about this since they had their budgets worked out well but we discuss how this is the reality of life.  No matter how much you plan out a budget or save your money there will always be something that comes up that could change your budget plan. 

Although we're studying the Great Depression we are also reviewing important financial pieces that the students will use for the rest of their lives. I'm hoping that they will realize the importance of using a budget and I even encouraged them to think of a budget they might use for themselves once they have a part time job of their own. 

I'm interested to see how their budgets turn out!

Happy New Year

We're back after break and the kids seem to be in good moods and ready to get to work!  We are starting a unit on the Great Depression and relating that to our current economic recession.  We're starting with the "Ordeal by Cheque" assignment. 

It's actually really neat.  We read a story written in the form of checks.  Through these checks we're able to figure out what is going on in the life of the characters.  The story is set between the years of 1903 and 1931.  Now the students are working on writing their own stories in the form of checks - very interesting! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful break and I think 2010 will be a great year!