A few weeks ago I mentioned that blogger-journalist Kevin Sites had joined Yahoo! News to provide a unique, multimedia perspective on current events, and in-depth reporting on some of the world's most troubled places. The Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone website had its official launch earlier this week with a feature story on Somalia.
One of the most compelling stories in this inaugural series on is Kevin's story, Somalia's Garbage Scavengers. In this story he chronicles the plight and struggle of two homeless men who live in the trash dumps of Mogadishu.
The combination of multimedia and the "real world" reporting of Kevin Sites provides teachers with a powerful platform for meaningful discussions with students on current events. In this story, Kevin utilizes both digital photography and video to document the plight of the homeless men and women who call the Mogadishu trash dump "home."
Educators can use Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone as a curriculum platform to bring new relevance to social studies, political science, history, or area studies curriculum. Moreover, by utilizing Yahoo! Groups or My Web 2.0 teachers can extend the discussion outside the classroom.
Students can also utilize the myriad of web links and resources which accompany each story to find ways to be a part of the discussion. For example, they can interact directly with the larger Yahoo! community by posting comments on the Kevin Sites blog.
This is a prime example of how social media can provide students with constructivist-based tools which provide them with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the world, its people, and begin to scaffold the larger issues of social equity, poverty, and violence.
Tags: yahoo education kevin+sites yahoo+education learning education+blogging education+multimedia
No comments:
Post a Comment