Module I - Place and Pedagogy

Essential Question:
*How can educators use new media to better reach and teach Alaska's students?

I believe that people are somewhat limited in their ability to understand certain concepts because they often lack concrete experiences directly related to those concepts. We can use new media to better reach and teach students in Alaska by creating concrete experiences. One example I have that has led me to this understanding is observing tidal changes. Before living near the ocean I could explain how tides worked but I didn't truly understand. I could explain how the tides worked. I knew that the water levels would rise and fall in a pattern of time but I didn't really understand what that meant. Through concrete experiences I now understand what it means when people talk about tides. New media can present information that will create concrete experiences, which, in turn, will create a deeper understanding.

The media resources we have at our fingertips can help bridge the gap between knowing and understanding. This coming week our state recognizes Elizabeth Peratrovich for the contributions she made to civil rights for the Natives of Alaska. During my reading I found media resources that I was able to use to bring a piece of our Alaska history to life. I found the movie on the Alaska History and Cultural website. The link is listed below.
http://www.akhistorycourse.org/articles/article.php?artID=418

I have learned and taught many things about civil rights. Much of what I have shared has been about Martin Luther King, Jr., or Rosa Parks and is important to learn and understand but this video clip helped my students connect on a deeper level because this happened here in Alaska, the students' homeland. We now have media accessible to help students gain those connections and concrete experiences that were more difficult to provide before our technological advances.


Examine Question:
*How does the connection between people and place appear in your community?

The people living in my community are very much a product of the Place in which we live. Craig, Alaska is made up of a variety of different people from all over. Many of the people have either family ties that date back centuries, or have been brought here because of what they do for a living. The people here are what they are and do what they do because of Place.

Many people call this Place home. The Natives that have inhabited this land for centuries and are still thriving here, have a deep connection to this Place. Many still live a subsistence lifestyle, meaning they live off of the land and sea. In order to live, they work hard to harvest berries, sea greens, seafood, deer, and other resources. Also, many people here benefit from the abundant fisheries and large spreads of lumber. This occurs because Place. Fishermen and lumber companies would not be successful if the Place was different here.

All people in this Place are connected. Many of us rely on the same resources and it requires a balance of use to sustain resource availability. We must all work together to keep our Place healthy in order to guarantee the availability of resources in the time to come.

Extend:
*Look for ways to share culturally relevant digital resources you may find.

As mentioned earlier, I used media resources I found on Elizabeth Peratrovich in my classroom last week. We are currently preparing to perform at our annual Elizabeth Peratrovich celebration and I wanted students to have a better understanding about who Elizabeth Peratrovich was, and the contributions she made to positively influence the civil rights movement. I am always excited when I find great media resources that will increase understanding of the content we are learning.

Evaluate:
I found the resources in this module interesting and useful. I always enjoy finding resources that I can use immediately in my classroom. I was able to share some of my findings right away. The resources available in this module are now bookmarked on my computer and are just a click away. I am excited to learn more throughout the future modules.