Hot off the Presses

One thing that really excited me about both the Google searches and the Wikipedia information was the opportunity to provide context for students and give them the opportunity to write in real-world situations. I was especially excited about the database of newspapers that Google has compiled. As an ELA teacher, getting the students the right context for the information they are reading is going to be critical, so allowing them to take ownership of this process by exploring the newspapers of that time period, giving them a sense of what was on the public's collective mind at that historical moment. For example, if we had a unit on The Great Gatsby having them look at newspapers published during the roaring 20's would give them a much more engaging than me simply giving a lecture about the historical context. I think that there are tons of ways that you could integrate this into all subject areas, especially adding in the ability to search google by country.

https://media.giphy.com/media/jNdw5Qmy5MOpq/giphy.gif 

The idea of having students work to build up deficient Wikipedia articles also really stuck with me. Having students write in situations that have real-world implications rather than simply having them write because I told them to seems like it would add some welcome dimension to assignments. First off, it would make the skills that they are learning seem much more applicable to life. Showing how these reasoning and writing skills can serve them throughout their lives would probably provide a little extra incentive for them to work hard. Writing for a broader audience would also bring some positive pressure to the assignment, perhaps encouraging them to put that little bit of extra work in. The vast nature of Wikipedia also allows for a lot of student choice, because they would have thousands upon thousands of options to pick from, allowing them to work on a subject that they truly are interested in and care about. 

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