Friday, May 25, 2018

Hashtagging the Cold War Flashpoints


"Hashtagged Learning" has been a strategy I have slowly been developing this school year. The idea was born out of my love for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The way he uses hashtags to get the worldwide audience to participate has always intrigued me. Enjoying that segment, I have looked for ways to adapt it to teaching.

In a nutshell, my students take notes on my pre-recorded lesson videos. Videos are usually 20-30 minutes long covering 5-6 slides. Each slide contains images and my hashtags. My hashtags give students a frame of reference for the patterns, themes and connections with pop culture I notice. At the end of each slide, students are required to pause, reflect and write their own hashtags with rationales. 


Just the other day, my students watched and took notes on my lesson video on the Flashpoints of the Cold War. Check out some of the best student generated hashtags, rationales and connections.




Korean War
This slide focused on how this conflict was more than just North vs South Korea, but a battle between communism and capitalism. It also talks about the back and forth nature of the war.


#DivorcedParents - The Korean War reminds me of divorced parents arguing. In this case, it was a fight between capitalism and communism. In a divorce, the kids get caught in the middle, but in this case, it was the Korean people stuck in the middle - Melanie

#LineOfScrimmage - The Korean War reminds of a football game. In football, controlling the line of scrimmage and pushing your opponent back is important for winning. At first, the North pushed the South back to the ocean. Then the US helped the South push the North back to China, but then the Chinese helped North push them back to the 38th Parallel. - DMarcus

#PushItPushItRealGood - As I was learning about the Korean War, I kept hearing the Salt-N-Pepa song "Push It" in my head. The line between North and South Korea kept getting pushed around until it finally settled on the 38th Parallel. - Asly

#Hairline - In the Korean War, the line between North and South kept getting pushed back by each side. This reminds of people who go bald and their hairline gets pushed back further as they get older. - Mark

#ChaChaSlide - The Korean War reminds me of the song "Cha Cha Slide" because the song tells people what to do and makes them keep moving the entire time. The line between the North and the South during the war kept moving just like people do during the song. - Gustavo

#AlienVsPredator - The Korean War reminds me of the Alien Vs Predator movies because humans get stuck in the middle of battles between Aliens and the Predators. The Korean people are the ones stuck in the middle of a battle between capitalism and communism. - Isaiah


Cuban Missile Crisis
On this slide, what students learned from watching the 13 Days movie was reinforced and extended. Students learned that the Crisis happened largely in part due to Castro wanting to prevent another Bay of Pigs invasion.
#JessicaJones - Jessica Jones has a superpower that makes her extremely strong and people learn not to mess with her. The Cuban Missile Crisis is similar because when the Soviet Union placed nuclear weapons in Cuba, it was like Cuba got a superpower that would make sure the US wouldn't mess with or invade them. - Camilla

#Boomerang - The Soviets putting nuclear missiles in US backyard in Cuba is like a boomerang because it is a "right back at you" event. The US had missiles in Turkey which is the Soviet backyard. - Rosalba

#DontBeAMenace - The Cuban Missile crisis reminds me of the movie Don't Be A Menace because in the movie, Toothpick rolls up on Ash Tray and threatens him with a gun. His cousin Loc Dog backs him up with more guns. Toothpick pulls out a bazooka, but Loc Dog opens his truck showing a Soviet nuclear missile and Toothpick drives away. Like the Crisis, neither side fired their weapons. - Mark

#Viruses - Viruses invade your body, spread and cause you to get sick. The Cuban Missile Crisis was like a virus because the Soviet Union invaded America's backyard in Cuba, tried to spread it's influence to Cuba and made Americans sick with fear of nuclear war. - Isaac

#Dogs - My uncle has to deal with stray dogs digging in his front yard all the time. This reminds me of the Cuban Missile Crisis because the Soviet Union putting missiles in Cuba was like a dog digging in our yard. The movie 13 Days said the big red dog is digging in our yard and we are allowed to shoot it. - Alejandro


Vietnam War
This slide talked about how the US wanted to prevent a domino effect of Asian nations falling to communism. This was the reason the US got involved in Vietnam even though it was not an official war. 

#TryToBeGoodButEndUpDoingBad - The US thought they were doing the right thing by going to Vietnam to stop the domino effect of countries falling to communism. American people didn't agree with the war and protested. In the end, the war was a failure as they weren't able to stop Vietnam from becoming communist. - Carla

#CrystalBall - When you think of a crystal ball, you think of someone trying to predict the future. The US predicted a domino effect of countries falling to communism if Vietnam became communist so they felt like they had to go in there and try to stop it. - Melanie

#BackStabbed - There was a lot of protests by Americans against the Vietnam War. The government wanted to stop the domino effect of communism, but they never got enough support from the people to win the war. In addition, many soldiers came home and were mistreated. - Luis

#TerminatorJudgementDay - In Vietnam, the US was trying to prevent a domino effect of countries in Asia falling to communism. This is similar to Terminator because they are trying to prevent Judgement Day from happening. - Salvador

#UnofficialRelationship - It's common for teenagers to want to date, but they stay in the "just talking" stage even though they act like a couple. This is similar to the Vietnam War because the war was never an official war even though American soldiers fought like they were in a real war. - Araceli

#AvatarMovie - After the natives were attacked by the humans, they went across Pandora to warn the other tribes to try and prevent a domino effect of tribes falling victim to human attack and to fight back. Vietnam War is similar because the US wanted to prevent a domino effect of Asian nations falling victim to communism. - Yuliana


Space Race
In this slide, students learned about the "one-upsmanship" between the USA and Soviet Union as they competed for technological supremacy in space.



#NoSeQuierenQuedarAtras - In English, this means that you don't want to get left out. In the Space Race, the US always felt left out as they came in 2nd place to the Soviets. The US began going the extra mile to finish first and won the race being putting a man on the moon. - Carla

#8Mile - The Space Race reminds me of the movie 8 Mile. In the movie, Eminem tries to battle, but chokes and gets booed off the stage. Even though he failed, he kept on trying and eventually got on stage and won a battle. The US, like Eminem, was losing early in the race to the Soviets. With more effort, they eventually overtook the Soviets and won by putting a man on the moon. - Jovahna

#TheTortoiseAndTheHare - The story of the Tortoise and the Hare reminds me of the Space Race because the US, like the tortoise, was losing early in the race, but eventually came back and won the race against the Soviets. - Lizbeth

#WWE - The Space Race is similar to WWE matches. The bad guy beats up the good guy most of the match. Toward the end, the good guy hits the bad guy with one or two really big moves and wins. The US was getting beat badly in the Space Race until they were able to win by getting a man on the moon. - Lupita

#MeekMillVsDrake - The Space Race reminds me of the rivalry and battles between rappers Meek Mill and Drake. These two went back and forth trying to one up each other. Most people say Drake won. In the Space Race, the US and Soviet Union tried to one up each other as they competed to see who could accomplish the most in space. - Valerie


Thursday, May 10, 2018

#AlwaysInBeta: Hashtagging the Beginning of the Cold War



When you're #AlwaysInBeta, you're constantly looking for ways to improve your craft and new ways for students to engage and connect with content. "Hashtagged Learning" has been a strategy I have slowly been developing this school year. The idea was born out of my love for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The way he uses hashtags to get the worldwide audience to participate has always intrigued me. Enjoying that segment, I have looked for ways to adapt it to teaching.


In a nutshell, my students take notes on my pre-recorded lesson videos. Each video is 15-25 minutes long covering 5-6 slides. Each slide contains images and my hashtags. My hashtags give students a frame of reference for the patterns, themes and connections with pop culture I notice. At the end of each slide, students are required to pause, reflect and write their own hashtags with rationales. 

Just today, my students watched my lesson video on the beginning of the Cold War. Check out some of the best student generated hashtags, rationales and connections.

World War II Ends
This slide talks about the relief when WWII was over. US and allies were battered and bruised after defeating greatest threat ever encountered. They looked for ways to prevent another World War and the rise of someone like Hitler

#SchoolShootings - School shootings are a great threat just like the Nazis. After each one, like the Allies after the war, we are looking for ways to prevent it from happening again. - Angelica

#LastdayOfSchool - When WWII was over, the world was relieved. When school is out for summer, kids are relieved. After WWII, the Allies tried to learn from mistakes and become better. When school is out, we are relieved and we try to come back the next year and do better too. - Melvin


Cleaning Up The Mess
This slide is about cleaning up the mess after World War II in Europe and the Pacific. War criminals were put on trial. US tried to spread democracy as measure of creating a lasting peace.

#Karma - War criminals from Japan and Germany were finally getting what they deserved and were punished after the horrible things they did to villagers in China and to Jews in concentration camps. - Jackie

#TheFlash - In the show The Flash, a particle accelerator explodes. This is like World War II. This creates a huge mess just like the war. The explosion creates “metahumans” who terrorize Central City. The Flash has to clean up the mess by stopping them in the same way the Allies cleaned up after the war by punishing war criminals from Germany and Japan. - Michelle


Superpowers
This slide covers how the US and Soviet Union rose as superpowers post war. Soviets want greater punishment of and more reparations from Germany. Both begin to compete for influence and strength around the world.

#RedVsBlue - Red and blue gangs are always competing to see who is strongest and most powerful. After World War II, the United States and Soviet Union were doing something very similar. Like the gangs, they were always very close to having a big conflict. - Lupe

#MeanGirls - In the movie Mean Girls, Regina and Cady split as friends in similar fashion as Soviet Union and US did after WWII. Friends of Regina switch over to Cady in the same way people in East Berlin switched over to West Berlin before the Berlin Wall was put up. - Camilla


#BatmanVsSuperman - In the comic, not the movie, Batman and Superman have the same goals. The problem is, they have different ideas about how to achieve them. This similar to the struggle between the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War. - Salvador

Soviet Union
In this slide, I explain the basics of the Soviet Union's Communist economy and totalitarian government. In addition, I talk about how Stalin and Soviet Union sought to create a buffer zone in eastern Europe to prevent future attacks from Germany and or the West.

#MexicoBorder - Trump wants to make a big wall to keep illegal immigrants from coming to the US because he thinks many of them are dangerous. The Soviet Union wanted to control countries in eastern Europe to create a buffer zone, like Trump's wall, against the danger of future German or Western attacks. - Camilla


#Phone - Soviet Union was very concerned about future attacks from Germany and the West and looked to gain power and create a buffer zone to prevent it. This is similar to the way we are concerned for and protect our cell phones. We put password protection, strong cases and are always making sure we know where it is. - Araceli

#ALittlePieceOfHeaven - In an Avenged Sevenfold song, there is a guy, like the Soviet Union, who is afraid something will go wrong in his relationship. To try and prevent himself from getting hurt, he kills the girl. Like the guy in the song, The Soviet Union, creates a buffer zone to try to prevent getting hurt. - Alexa


United States
This slide talks about how the US was in a position of power and leadership post war. The war stimulated the economy and development of nuclear weapons gave the US clout. In addition, the slide talks about the USA's capitalist economy and democratic government. The US came out of war the least scathed of the Allies like a last man standing.

#OHSBand - The Orosi High School band, before Mr. Gaspar took over, in my opinion, wasn’t as good as it is today. Like the US after WWII, which became very powerful, the band became much better and beat out our biggest rivals. - Miah


#Thomas - In The Maze Runner, Thomas saves people who were trapped for three years. Afterwards, he is looked to for leadership. The US, after winning WWII, was also looked to for leadership in rebuilding all the damage. - Angelica