Follow Up on Setting the Stage

Most of the feedback that I received from my my peers after my initial post was in agreement with many of the points that I mentioned.  I ( and others) still have some concerns with the reliability of technology in the schools.  For example just this week we were administering state tests online for a summer program, and one student was not allowed access to the test because the system did not acknowledge his entry code.  This ended up costing the student and personnel valuable time on the day of the incident, and tomorrow when he tests "again" he will have lost opportunities to work on projects.

However I am more excited to incorporate all the new technology that I learned about in this class, and so I feel that my early negativity has subsided.  I really look forward to teaching my students how to use technology using screen casts and incorporating shared documents for working on projects.  Hopefully I won't get so behind in the next few years, in terms of technology, otherwise I will be back for another round.

Final Project

So for the final project, I worked on my Edmodo page.  Here is a screencast (through Jing) that will teach my students how to use their Edmodo page, http://screencast.com/t/q5IbZAVWxfZ.

Obviously this will continue to be a work in progress throughout the school year.  I hope that it will streamline some of the information for my students, and I hope that this will give students a chance to explore their opinions comfortably.

Web Tools Week 6

I used the Top 20 WebTool link to explore tools this week.  Here is what I came up with:

-  Wordle- cool tool, easy to use, I would like to create one per unit and have students use it to study with by making connections, perhaps they could use Mind42 to to this

- Linoit- I really want to use this tool, but I haven't had any luck yet creating an account.  I can envision using this on a personal level, having my students use this for major projects that require collaboration, and my Biology PLC using it for planning out our tasks for the year.

- Wallwisher- looks too similar to blogging for me to have my students use both, but perhaps for the classes that I won't be using Edmodo with.

Discussion Board thoughts...

After reading many of the reflections in my discussion group and writing my own reflections, it seems as though everyone has a positive opinion of their progress in the course.  While everyone had different opinions on what they will implement in their classroom and how, everyone learned something new.  I must admit when I first started the course I was overwhelmed and frustrated and concerned that I wouldn't get what I wanted out of the course.  But as time has gone on I can see how wrong I was.

I look forward to seeing everyone's final projects in the next week or so, since everyone has quite a different take on things.  I'm sure I will learn a lot just from reading them.

Web Tools Week 5

This week I looked at photo tools.  I felt that I was pretty familiar with programs associated with photos, but I was wrong.  First I looked at Flickr.  I know that is blocked by our school system, so I looked into at home.  For personal use I really like the ability to link pictures to maps- I found that really interesting- it gives visitors to your pictures a unique perspective.  Again thought it is blocked- so I can’t use it at work.
Then I looked at Picnik- which was awesome.  I can envision either taking photos and uploading them to this site or using their upload from the web feature, and having my students label diagrams, processes.  Here is an example of what my students might try:

I found Animoto and PhotoPeach to be very similar to PhotoStory, but perhaps easier to use and with the web access capability, I think that my students would find this easier to use.  Again though  I need to see if these are blocked at work.

Week 5 Reflection on Blogs and Wikis

Blogs and Wikis

The only blog that I have used to date in my classroom is Edmodo.  The only use that I have had for it was to post current events and have students respond to  those events.  So based on the Science 2.0 article on blogging I feel that I have a good start.  I feel like I am providing students with an opportunity to show that science is ongoing, like Elissa Hoffman stated.  However I would like to add to my blog and make it more useful for students.  I liked Chris Cimino’s suggestions on having students complete online simulations.  And after reviewing several other blogs last night I see that it can also be used as a platform for students projects for my review and for when students need to work together on a project.  This is where I will probably focus my attention for my final project.

As for wikis I am still not sold on them.  They seem to overlap greatly with blogs in terms of their use for group projects and feedback.  My other hangup on them is they are in chronological date order and I  am used to seeing most information on the internet in reverse date order.

Week 4 Readings

I enjoyed reading both chapters outs of the book this week.  Initially when I started reading Chapter 3, I was surprised by the study by Geban, Asker, and Ozman (1992) in which they found that student performance was better with online simulations than real labs.  I have always been under the impression that first-hand is better.  Then I started thinking about the problems that my students and I run in to with labs, lack of materials, failure to read directions, results just aren’t correct…and it became clear.  Removing all the extraneous issues from a lab allows the student to focus better.

In Chapter 6, I was truly introduced to a new concept.  I have only used data in my classroom one time, and the assignment had been borrowed from another teacher.  This type of lesson just never really entered my mind.  I really liked the arsenic well example, and plan on trying to do something like this for my assignment this week.

Web Tools Week 4

I explored all of the tools this week, a few of which I had already used in the my classroom:

·      Create- a Graph- I have never used this tool, instead I typically rely on Excel.  However, for my lower-performing students this is much easier to use than trying to teach them to use Excel.

·      Glogster- I used this a few years ago and have recommended it to other teachers.  My students created posters on alternative energy.  The biggest drawback that we had was the amount of time it took for them to load.

·      Google Earth- I have used this for my own personal school work, and not so much with my students.  I did like the galleries and I believe that many of these will fit in nicely with AP Environmental Science.

·      Challenge-Based Learning- There seemed to be limited details on this program on the website.  I do agree that our current curriculum isn’t working, but I would like to see some real examples.

·      Project-Based Learning- I have heard of this model before and have “unknowingly” introduced it to my Environmental Science students.  These sound like great things to implement, but it seems like they require a lot of work on the front-end and students have to buy-in.

Visual Aids

First off I really enjoyed this week’s topic.  Obviously pictures and videos are a necessary part of teaching science, as stated by Bransford and colleagues.  But what the web has allowed our students and teachers to assist in the students comprehension is incredible.  I loved the Digital Storytelling piece and am planning on looking into getting a webcam or equivalent so that my students can tell their “stories” on topics that are difficult for them, like protein synthesis.  I actually used Jing to create a voice thread to teach my environmental science students how to use a particular website in our class.

As for my role in regards to copyright I am lacking in this area.  I rarely cite references for images  and text that I borrow, and that is obviously something I will need to improve on.

My attempt at Jing

Well I worked with Jing for a few minutes last night to better understand the tool, and then today created a screencast for my students to understand how to use National Geographic's FieldScope tool.  It was relatively easy to use, but with the 5 minute time limit I felt crunched.

But it was something new for me, so one more tool under my belt.  Check it out at, http://screencast.com/t/X2BQm1GJuk

My take on Literacy

Obviously any scientist has to wade through tons of research in order to write a paper.  So its not as though I didn’t think that literacy has nothing to do with science for my students.  My only complaint is that students need to have different skills to digest science reading material, as compared to other classes.

• ·       They first must consider the source of the information, is it biased; which much on the web is, if the students aren’t researching properly. 
• Then students have to be able to digest the hundreds of vocabulary terms in the reading.  My students have no formal training in using Latin and Greek to help them do this.  The internet would provide a faster way for students to break the vocabulary words apart.
•  Finally the communication piece; which I’m not sure if Web 2.0 or any technology would help with.  Students have to be able to communicate like a scientist.  I would say that 90% of my students while writing a lab report, want to use flowery phrases and not be precise and to the point.  They just don’t get the practice in reading or writing scientifically, and I’m not sure how blogging would help that!

Web Tools Week 2

This week I looked at a few different web tools.  After reading Science 2.0 I explored a few of the tools suggested. 

• ·       In my Biology class I like to have my students create concept maps to gather all of their thoughts from the unit, and to help review, so I looked at Webspiration.  Initially I was pretty excited, but then after reading, I noticed that it was only a 30-day trial.
•  As for PhotoPeach, to me this seemed very similar to PhotoStory.  The one feature that stood out, was the ability to share it on Facebook and other sites, which I thought was cool.  I can see this as being an option for student projects in place of PhotoStory.
• VoiceThread- I viewed a thread, entitled After Chernobyl- Would you stay? .  As I viewed this I was thinking of using this in my upper level classes.  So many mediums are put into this site, which is great!  I’m sure the students would not only like to comment on one anothers projects, but have feedback from other people around the world.

                  Again though the technology is great- it would cost our school $1500 to get a subscription.

Other tools:

• ·       I rely heavily on TED Talks for my AP Environmental class.  I love it, information right from the scientists at a level that my students should be able to handle.  It’s so authentic!
• ·       I also looked into social networking for the classroom.  I have used, and plan on continuing to use EdModo.  First two of the four networks are blocked at work, so they would be pointless for me to use with my students.  The only other option besides EdModo is Twiducate.  Twiducate seems like a great tool, but since I’m not too comfortable yet with Twitter, it might take me a while to convert or use both.

Principles

There must be a reason for incorporating the technology in the classroom.

Good reasons:

·       To teach how to use programs that will be required in workforce or college (Excel, PowerPoint, PhotoStory, etc)

·       To conduct investigations that cannot be done in the classroom because of a lack of supplies/ monies

·       To explore specific sites that are specifically geared to the class (National Geographic’s Field Scope)

·       To conduct timely research (in Environmental Science our textbooks become outdated within a few months)

·       To allow safe interaction with students and teacher (Edmodo)

·       To get immediate feedback on students knowledge (Promethean Activboard with Activotes)

·       To make science more tangible (Promethean Planet)

Setting the Stage Reflection

After reading about the overall importance of Web 2.0 I pretty much agree with all of the authors points/ideas.  It is a great tool for publishing, it really helps with differentiation, but it also creates headaches.  Because of the integration of technology we have to consider whether students are failing a particular activity because they lack the technological knowledge or because they don’t understand the content.  While I have not had this experience personally, I know as a science teacher we deal with this in the disciplines of reading and math.  When students lack the necessary reading and/or math skills, it can get in the way of science.

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills does a nice job of laying out expectations, but I imagine that this will be out-of-date within a few years. 

The article, It’s a Flat World, After All is a thoughtful perspective on where the world is headed.  The playing field is definitely leveling out.  You no longer need to be college-educated, a developed country, or rich to provide the world with a service.  For our students and for teachers this is going to prove quite a challenge.  As long as I have been teaching we preach to the students that college is the way to move up in the world, well it’s not necessarily true.   So how do we as school systems approach this new pathway? Also how can we afford to meet the technological needs of these students to prepare them for after graduation?

After reading, A New Challenge for 21st Century Science Education Leaders, I remembered my graduate class from last summer and discussions of the new science standards.  In the state of Maryland, Biology is a tested subject required for graduation.  The current approach to Biology is breadth, not depth.  The students walk away with random pieces of knowledge, but not a great understanding of how they all connect.  Based on the article we are not preparing them, yet the national science standards will not be available for at least a year- so what are we waiting for?  We need to make corrections now, or doom our kids. Or perhaps we should move away from making Biology the required course, and focus on Environmental Science.  All the skills, adaptability, systems, problem solving, suggested as necessary are focused on and used while studying Environmental Science.

Web Tools Introduction

Good evening!  I am brand new to blogging and twitter, so this will be an interesting class for me.  Looking forward to learning a lot.

I am wrapping up my 9th year of teaching in Maryland.   I have taught Biology, Environmental Science, Zoology, and AP Environmental Science.  I really see the work in this class applying best to my AP class.  My students in that class are way ahead of me in terms of technology.