Investigating Joan of Arc

The last portion of the workshop was an experiment in authentic learning for those of us attending the seminar. The example was to build a case for or against Joan, moving from thoughts to sentences by making 10 suppositions about her based on what we know. Then , support these suppositions with an investigation into some primary sources regarding joan of Arc.
Demonstrating the power of exact wording in the title to facilitate finding things using google as the search engine, we porceed to search " Joan of Arc's letters" and Letter to the English." We 'harvestied information from these sources to explain with a note any earlier suppostions that we could support. the next step/ To Google : St. Joan of Arc's Trials" and examine "The Trial of Nullification" to read the testimony of some of Joan's friends.
to finalize the assignment, we looked for images of Joan of arc, remembering that there might be a number of ways we could search. ( i.e. Jeanne D'Arc, St. Joan of Arc,etc.)
This experience lead to a discussion of the 5 standards of Authentic Instruction proposed by newmann and Wehlage. Shopuld an assignment meet all 5 standard:
1. Rooted in issues, challengs, or decisions people face in the world
2. It requires higher level thinking skills such as analysis and synthesis.
3. They are genuine problems in the world of virtual reality, virtual truth,etc. ( i.e. WorldJobSites.com, Job-Hunt.org
4. The aretof wrestling with these challenges is purposeful. They can see pay off in future for skills acquired and work well done.
5. It is meaningful, worthy and generative in the sense of promting knowledge.
(Examples for Social Studies and Language Arts from his From Now On Education Journal.)
Therein lies the challenge to teachers. To not feel compelled to keep up with technology, but to realize that technology will define the world of our students far differently than it defines out present. We have an obligation to be aware of the tools, pros and cons, so that we can teach our students to THINK well and use it WISELY. Our job is, ultimately, to prepare our students for life, not for tests, by debating, wondering and asking.