Reflecting on Technology Literacy

I was most impressed with the Screen Capture option for my students to use. I believe it will be helpful for my students so that they can demonstrate and explain how they complete specific tasks. I have been so impressed with the screen capture program option that I have recommended it to multiple teachers of various subjects and grade level.

Learning about digital story telling was a great opportunity for me. I had been searching for an alternative means to provide my students an outlet for their understanding. I have already begun using Voice Thread and Screen Capture in my classroom. I am testing it with a few of my top level (above grade level) students. With its success and the kinks worked out, I plan to begin to use it more wide spread with my students. The option of blogging will also be used to help with opening up communication between students.

This opportunity to learn about and practice with these different technology options, will be something I expand and grow with in the coming year. Combined with the programs I learned about in prior classes and certainly more programs and websites, I will learn about in future classes, I believe I will become a strong teacher. In our next class, I am looking forward to the ways to integrate technology across other curriculums. I am most interested in this course to not only improve my cross curriculum technology skills but also to possible provide my team teachers with some new options to improve their technology options. Additionally, I have been considering trying to teach elementary, preferably upper grade levels. If I was to change from middle school science to elementary, I would be responsible for teaching additional core subject. While I do not have the specific steps figured out at this time, I do know that my National Boards are on the horizon this coming fall.

Technology Bridging Reflection

Because I teach in a one-to-one laptop environment, I do not think my instructional practices will “change” greatly. But rather my variety of ways to integrate technology will expand to include the new activities we explored in this class. Like from my prior class, Wikis, Blogs and Podcasts, I now have more “weapons” to my teaching tools and technology options. I plan to use the Voice Thread tool (particularly with the doodle feature) and Blogging with my second quarter units on Force and Motion and Chemistry units on Atoms and Bonding.

As I prefect the art of integrating technology into my science classroom on a daily basis, I am striving to use more and more technology tools. One of my long-term goals is to improve on my use of specific technology tools (particularly blogs, Voice Threads, and wikis) to help my students learn. I have begun to play around with Scratch to create animated clips. I then hope to import those student made clips into the Voice Thread program to allow the kids to “doodle” their notes and key points. Alternatively I am creating an assignment where students will use a specific provided clip and doodle through Voice Thread on the clip to indicate their understanding of the activities in the clip. I am aiming to use this once by the end of the school year, most likely after the first semester had ended.

A second and more long term goal is to complete my PhD in classroom instruction and curriculum with a strong focus on technology integration. I am expected to complete my masters with Walden’s by the end of the Feb 2010 semester. I plan to apply for the PhD program at Clemson in April with a desire to start in August 2010. I have searched many PhD programs and have found that my desire is not for administrative leadership but more direct classroom curriculum focus and technology integration in the design of curriculum.

Voice Thread - The Boredum Flood (week 5)

Well here it goes. Something new for an old dog to learn. It seems interesting and could be fun to explore. But still not fully comfortable.

My "problem" or situation this year is "boredum". The blank stare and faces of disinterest feels like a flood surging at me from the back of the room as I try to engage, entertain and educate.

http://voicethread.com/share/661737/

Science is All About the Hypothesis (week 4)

I am a project –based teacher. I consider reading a chapter in a text book to be part of the scientific method, Step 2: Collect Information / Do Research. I start with reading a textbook then quickly move to the internet then return to my paper or laptop to start creating my project. I do not find simply answering questions on a worksheet to be challenging or truly educational. This is probably why science is my favorite subject. We are always testing a problem or question. We are not trying to answer twenty questions at once, we are working on one theory, then another, and then one more until we find the solution we are looking for or proof the hypothesis is invalid.

To me science to mostly constructivist and very cognitive, we have to create, design and build each experiment from scratch. Yet even when repeating another scientists experiment, we have to work from a how to list and still construct the experiment, model, or project through our eyes and interpretation. At the beginning of each school year, I spend a solid two weeks on the scientific method and another two weeks on scientific measurement. Then throughout the school year, we use the scientific method to work though different concepts, theories and lessons.

The method by which I teach is to help guide students to eventually do it on their own. We start with templates and step by step instructions. By the middle of the second quarter students are only provided a template and general outlines of the experiment. By the second semester, students are let freer to create and design their own experiments with general parameters. I have them check in with me and I may help with shape their focus or limit their scope but I rarely change their mind or hypothesis, even if they are going to fail for that I know the hypothesis is invalid. I want them to problem solve for themselves. I want them to think it through.

Organizing Thoughts & Ideas (week 3)

I am usually a very organized and “on top of it” person. Thing are marked, labeled and assigned a home. When things are “out of place”, it eeks me to the point that I have to stop and put things back. The only place allowed to be slightly cluttered is my desk. But that clutter only lasts for a short time, such as 3 days. By each Friday, my desk is cleaned, cleared and organized. It is just how my mind works. Even when the physical labels are not on the drawer or cabinet, as my best friend puts it, there are mental labels in my mind. I teach this way too. Organization is a very big part of my teaching as well as a part of science.

I frequently use concept mapping and mind maps to help my kids sort out the cluster of ideas that they have compiled from a unit, chapter or conversation. Cognitively I feel that mind maps help students with logical order and categorizing their thoughts. Similarly to how we teach them to use their binder and planners to track work, organize papers and keep track of their assignments. With today’s technology, my team is striving to use OneNote and Inspiration to help teach our students how to organize their notes and sort ideas.
OneNote works similar to a 3-Ring binder but allows for not only the obvious use of computer but also make it easy to insert new notes or reorganize the points. With traditional paper notes, when you want to add something new or expand an idea you need to have allocated space in advance. With OneNote, you can just pop up to the space your old notes are and simply add the additional thoughts. When you need to “reorder” or sort though random ideas, it is a simple click and drag to the right location. Another added bonus is that OneNote also instantly saves their work, like a classic notebook once you write it down it is there.

The program Inspiration is one of my favorite technology mind map programs. Although I do use Smart Notebook to provide my students with predesigned graphic organizers and other mind maps, I often instruct them to use Inspiration to create their own from scratch. All too often my students are familiar with the most common bubble maps, vinn diagrams and pro-con charts. What they are still learning to do it start with a simple concept, thought or idea and build a concept map from scratch. I think cognitively they could do it if they could let go of their concern for “doing it wrong”. I am working on this.

To Homework or Not to Be - that is the question. (week 2)

It is a hard call – to assign homework or not to assign homework. Very seldom do students say “thank you” for assigning homework. Most student’s grimace when they hear the mention of homework. But I truly think that when they are successful on a test or a project that their homework help build the foundation, that they are quietly thankful for the assignments. Just last week, over 85% of my students failed to pass their first vocabulary quiz of the year. Even with an extra week of time to study and hints to make sure to learn the words, there was very little success. In year’s past, I would typically provide students with nightly homework based on that week’s vocabulary words. In those years, I would see much better results on their weekly quiz as well as unit tests. As the kids funneled out the class, I heard plenty grumbling about how they needed to study more.

When I was a student, teacher assigned daily homework that would take an hour or more each night. I typically do not assign that much but I believe my 15 to 30 minutes a night of vocabulary review truly makes a difference. Most 7th and 8th graders are not naturally inclined to say “Hey, I ought study my vocabulary tonight rather than play a video game or watch TV.”

No Tickets, No Passport, No Money Needs... Will Still Travel

I love real field trips but with the current economy and a principal who does not like field trips, I have fallen in love with virtual field trips. For the past two years, I have "traveled" with 35 kids each hour for 5 hours to the Grand Canyon. We even had a private live tour with 2 National Park Rangers.

This year with a change to 8th grade and only physical science topics to study, I am in search of a new virtual field trip. Ideally I would love to take my kids to an amusement park. I had planned to film my trip to Georgia - 6 Flags Magic Mountain this summer. Now with it under 6 feet of water, I will have to find a new location.

I haven't quite found my ideal physic's virtual field trip but I did find some interesting options where my kids can build their own rollercoaster, tour Disneyland, or visit a science lab.

Virtual Amusement Park - http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/coaster/
Tour Disneyland - http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/markuse/502/vft/start.html

In my search for Physical Science field trip options, I came across this great link of Oceanography virtual field trips: http://www.thesea.ecsd.net/virtual_field_trips.htm and this other one from NSTA http://www.utc.edu/Faculty/Deborah-McAllister/nsta98vftrip.html

Playing Catch Up

Hi Groupies -

Sorry for the delay and relocation of my blog.... life has been overwhelming. Not to make excuses but between our union/district being on strike, getting back to school 18 days late, the school re-doing our rosters 1 week into the school year, being a single mother and an old hip injury acting up to lead me to surgery on Oct 14th... I have been a bit off track and missing out on blogging.

I am back and playing catch up. Please bare with me while I catch up with all of you. I appreciate the understanding and support.

"Beaker"