Gail+Desler

"From blogging, to videoconferencing, to VoiceThread, I am struck by the possibilities for technology to level the playing field for all students, allowing them to take their voices to a global community, and, in the process, to become instruments of change as they challenge injustices and inspire others to social action."

Gail Desler is teacher consultant and technology liaison for the Area 3 Writing Project and National Writing Project. Through her NWP affiliation, she is also a member of the Memorial Library's Holocaust Educator's Network.

As a teacher, her passion is empowering students to become "change writers," taking their voices beyond the walls of the classroom and (often times) the confines of their communities. The projects and resources listed below are designed to help students connect events of the past to current events - with a focus on the rights and responsibilities of (digital) citizens.

A few of Gail's resources:
 * Digital Citizenship: A Crosswalk into, through, and beyond the Holocaust - Handout for 2012 NWP Conference [[file:Digital Citizenship – A crosswalk into, through, and beyond the Holocaust.docx]]
 * How to Create a Custom Google Search Engine - Short tutorial by Megan Ellis - This tutorial will walk you through the steps of creating a search engine that is grade-level appropriate for teaching tough topics. Here is an example of a Holocaust custom search engine for middle school students.

Websites:
 * Upstanders, Not Bystanders - A global conversation on what it means to cross the line from bystander to upstander. Here's Gail's accompanying lesson plan to use with the Upstanders, Not Bystanders Voicethread.
 * Time of Remembrance - Oral histories project on Japanese internment from the Elk Grove Unified School District.
 * I'm American Too - A Story from Behind the Fences - A documentary, lessons, and resources inspired by Time of Remembrance oral histories archives.
 * Digital ID Project - A collaborative resource to help students build their (digital) citizenship skills and to gain an understanding of their rights and responsibilities as (digital) citizens.
 * Common Sense Media- Dynamic K-12 curriculum for teaching digital citizenship, aligned to Common Core State Standards and ISTE NETS.#UnfollowBullying - A student-created, student-led initiative from the Elk Grove USD.
 * Breaking Down Hate Speech - Sample lesson for grades 11-12.
 * Posters from World War II - From the Japanese American Internment Curriculum website.
 * Posters from World War II - From the Japanese American Internment Curriculum website.

Propaganda Images:


 * [[image:chinese_lg.jpg width="286" height="284"]] || [[image:japanese_lg.jpg width="286" height="284"]] || [[image:honspylg.jpg width="337" height="247"]] ||
 * How to tell Japs from the Chinese,"//Life Magazine,// Dec. 1941 ([|text]) (Chinese face) || How to tell Japs from the Chinese,"//Life Magazine,// Dec. 1941 (Japanese face) || Hon. Spy say: "Thanks for the can you throw away!" Unknown artist, U.S. G.P.O. War Production Board, 1943 ||