Assignment #9- School 2.0 Part 1: 21st Century Skills

I enjoyed listening to Kevin Honeycutt's podcast. He made a lot of good points and had some great ideas. Being a science teacher, I especially appreciated Kevin's comments on brain development and how the pre-frontal cortex is one of the last components to develop and subsequently "executive functioning" is not fully developed in teens, thus making adult involvement and guidance essential. I also really liked his warning to students about not posting on-line anything they would be embarrassed about should it resurface years later since college scholarship committees and potential employers may come across it on the Internet. I don't think students fully understand the repercussions of what they post on myspace and facebook.

As for a project similar to the collaborative projects Kevin describes, I like the idea of using 3 classrooms where one designs a plan, or a blueprint, for a particular component of an object (like an airplane or car), another classroom designs another component, and the third classroom actually builds it. I could see using this at the middle school where we conveniently have 3 science teachers on different teams at the same grade level. Each teacher could have their classes focus on one aspect of the project and each class would be paired up with a class from another team. They would be 5 final objects constructed, and we could even have a competition to see which model is the best in regards to speed, construction, etc. This would be a great project to do during our measurement unit where students learn about length, mass, volume, density, etc.

I also think it would be neat to give students a pretend patient with an unknown illness during the human body unit and group them with students from other classes who are given the same patient story. The students would have to work together virtually to research and post their finding and ideas on either a wiki or blog in an attempt to diagnose the patient.

I completely agree with Kevin's view that we need to allow students to work collaboratively, make more decisions, and use technology while learning. Otherwise, we will not only lose their interest and focus, but we will not be preparing them to live in the 21st century. I'm sure a goal of all teachers is to prepare students to be healthy, productive members of society, and leaving out technology in instruction is certainly a hindrance to such development.

Assignment #8- A Time for Reflection 2

I think that all three tools discussed in this strand- video-sharing websites, wikis, and social bookmarking- would be of great use in the classroom. The video resources that are available on the Internet was not new to me- I knew of most of the sites that were introduced in lesson 5 and have used video clips in my classroom already. I plan to continue doing so since videos are a great way to really drive home a point or demonstrate a concept. The wikis were the most intimidating to me out of the 3 tools but as I explained in my previous post, I do see that they would be very beneficial in the classroom and I am excited about eventually trying it out. The third tool, however, is the tool that I am most excited about. I had never heard of social bookmarking but I wish I had learned about it sooner! What a GREAT way to share resources and helpful websites with not only the people you work with but people around the country and even the world! I can foresee myself spending lots of time visiting various links and sites through this tool and accumulating great resources and ideas for my classroom. I love how my account is accessible from any computer so when I am at work, I never have to try and remember that site that I saw at home and bookmarked- I just simply log into my del.icio.us account and there it is! So far, I have added the accounts of my classmates to my network (those that have been listed thus far) and also added a few websites that I visit frequently and had their URLs memorized. I'll have to be sure to add the bookmarked sites from my home desk top, as well, so all my favorite sites are right at my fingertips, not matter which computer I am using! Many thanks to Lori for introducing us all to these tools. :)

Assignment #6- Using Wikis in the Classroom

I think that a wiki is a great tool to use with projects. I envision students working in groups of 4-5, each with a different topic that relates to an overall theme or issue. For example, the overall theme could be environmental issues. Topics could include recycling, global warming, organic farming, greenhouse gas emissions, etc. The students would use the wiki to collaborate and pool together resources. Each group would have a different page on the wiki that they would contribute to. The end result would be a wealth of knowledge and resources on this particular theme. I must admit, however, that talking about using a wiki for a project like this is much easier for me than actually trying to do it. I feel a little bit overwhelmed with the idea of putting together a wiki site than I do about starting a blogging site for my classroom. Based on the video clips and the other information I have read about wikis, however, I shouldn't feel too intimidated since the claim that using a wiki is easy was stated over and over again. I probably just need to dive in and give it a shot! I have nothing to lose and my students could gain a lot from a tool like this!

Assignment #5- Thoughts on Video-Sharing Websites

I have always loved being able to pull in a video clip during instruction, especially when introducing new concepts. Many science topics can be difficult to visualize, which is why performing lab activities is so incredibly helpful and meaningful for students. Like labs, video clips are another way to "help the light bulb go off", as stated in the podcast by Wesley Fryer and Rushton Hurley, which focused on the video sharing site http://www.nextvista.org/. This website is one of four that we have been asked to explore and comment on. The other three websites are http://www.youtube.com/, http://www.teachertube.com/, and http://www.clipblast.com/. I will begin with Next Vista.
There are a few aspects of Next Vista that I really like. First and foremost, I like how each video is screened prior to being posted and that the video must meet certain criteria, such as being shorter than 5 minutes and including accurate information. I also thought that having the three different sections- light bulbs, global views, and seeing service- was a neat idea. I don't think I would get much use out of the global views, however, unless we are studying different climates around the world but even then, the videos would need to mention something about weather to make viewing them relevant. I could see using the seeing service section as a supplement to character education, which is something that I am passionate about, but they need to add more videos! The small number of videos is the biggest disadvantage of this site. I would use the light bulb section of this site most frequently, which is where introductions to various topics are made by both teachers and students alike, but there are only 8 science videos! The videos there were good, and I would really like to see more. I think this site was very easy to navigate and would be great for students to use once more videos are added. I would definitely include a link to this site on my webpage.
Next up is teachertube. I have used teacher tube in the past and like how it weeds out videos that are not actually content-related which can be a problem with regular youtube. I do not like that the videos are not pre-screened- they rely on viewers to flag inappropriate videos. I do like how under each video you can see tags and channels, which list descriptors for the video such as "high school science", "middle school science", "college-level science". This is a big help when you are trying to find a video that is appropriate for the grade level that you teach.
Youtube is another site that I have used in the past. I would not recommend letting students search for videos as there are too many inappropriate videos on this site. The use of youtube calls for careful searching and screening by the teacher. It can take awhile to find a video that can clearly and appropriately convey the concept/topic/message you are looking for. I used youtube to search for a song about the periodic table and one of the videos that came up showed a young man rapping about the elements. My initial thought was that this would be great and the kids would really get a kick out of it. After playing it, I realized that the young man felt it necessary to use inappropriate language while discussing properties of elements. Needless to say, this video was not played in my classroom.
Lastly, I explored clip blast, which I had not heard of previously. This site seemed pretty neat. The site brings in clips from other sites, such as youtube and teachertube, and it also includes news clips. You can also filter results. For example, you can choose to leave out clips that contain adult content. I think this site has potential to be very useful, but like with youtube, I think teachers should be careful about letting students do their own searches on the site.
All in all, I think video sharing sites can be very useful and helpful in the classroom if they are used appropriately. Videos should be thoroughly screened by the teacher before showing them to students. The only sites that I would feel comfortable letting students do their own searches on would be Next Vista and Teachertube.

A Time for Reflection #1

I will admit that I was initially nervous about creating a blog and putting something out on the Internet that anyone could read. After creating my blog, however, I feel excited and even empowered.
I feel excited about all of the possibilities that exist with blogging and how I can use my blog to keep in better contact with my students and with the parents of my students. As a science teacher, I feel that blogging would be a great tool for having discussions about various science-related issues, such as global warming, cloning, alternative energy, etc. I could also use my blog to keep parents updated on what we're studying in class and of any important tests or projects that may be coming up.
I feel empowered because with a few simple clicks of a mouse I can open up a whole new world of learning for my students. I can post links for students to further explore topics discussed in class or to get further explanation/practice for topics that may be challenging.
My only concern is that some students still do not have access to the Internet outside of school. Due to this, I will need to be careful with how I utilize my blog with my students and ensure that those students that don't have a computer at home don't fall between the cracks of the technology sidewalk. Despite this qualm, I am still very enthused about the possibilities that blogging holds for me and my students.

My First Post!

I have created this blog for an Ed Tech class I am currently taking.