tech2

Standard Two | Personal and Professional Use of Technology

**Town Hall Meeting ** Technology has created endless possibilities for teachers in gathering data and engaging students with the material they are learning. The Civics classes that I student taught held their own class elections in order to simulate the process that occurs during Presidential and Congressional elections. One of the tasks included a town hall meeting. For this meeting, the candidates had to research four different issues to create his or her platform. With a couple of days in the computer lab, students Googled the different issues and the typically party beliefs for each. I had only done research on the different beliefs and provided additional websites that I thought would be helpful to the students in their search. With the information I found, I compiled the basic facts into a spread sheet. When the candidates debated during the Town Hall, each student had to make at least one point that the actual party would agree with (many students ended up being fairly moderate).

As a History major at the University of Illinois, I really became aware of how many resources were available if I learned to enter in the right keywords. My research for various papers uncovered numerous rich sources that I was then able to share with my students when I entered the classroom. Every day new information and websites are created with information for everyone, but increasingly geared for school-aged individuals. I try to incorporate technology into my planning and lessons in the classroom.

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