BP_20091213_Web2.0_tools_rational

Classtools.net is one of the Web 2.0 tools I have just recently started using with my students and will be using frequently second semester as I take over teaching the biology classes. What this does is allows you to create educational games and activities. These activities can be posted on a blog or website allowing students to access the games from home as well as school. This tools has tutorials on how to use all the features. It gives you a listing of the most popular templates and it's free.

Most subject areas are included in Classtools.net and I was delighted to find many activities to support and reinforce basic concepts such as the parts of the Periodic Table. There is an animated book which I have yet to use but can see so many applications for all of the science classes I teach. Again, this resource would be excellent to support learning while having fun.

One of the challenges all of the teachers on campus seem to encounter, particularly this time of year, is the desperate cries from students wondering how to improve their grade. I refrain from reminding them had they done the work in the first place they would not be in this situation. I do have empathy in that arena.  What I do however is have them log-on to webcast.berkeley, another web 2.0 tool. There they can find a lecture of their choice to listen to and post their comments and knowledge gained from the lecture on the class website.

Finally, for the students who are so bright, to keep them from becoming bored MIT Open Courseware has a section especially for high school students. Not only is this a wonderful resource for the students but the teachers as well. There are labs, videos, links for all kinds of cool ideas to spark the imagination of teacher and student alike.  If I had to choose one of the three I have just mentioned it would be a tough choice but keeping my gifted students in mind I would have to pick MIT Open Couseware.

BP_20091211_literature_reference_list

Dunbar, Kevin Niall (11/5/2009). The Biology of physics: What the brain reveals about our understanding of the physical world. AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1179 Issue 1, p15-18, 4p

Belczewski, Andrea (7/2009). Decolonizing science education and the science teacher: A white teacher's perspective. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, & Technology Education, Vol. 9 Issue 3, p191-202, 12p


Sterling, Donna R. (1/2009). From aristotle to today: making the history and nature of science relevant. Science Scope, v32 n5 p30-35. 6 pp. (Peer Reviewed Journal)

Rutledge, Michael L. (8/2005). Making the nature of science relevant: Effectiveness of an activity that stresses critical thinking skills. American Biology Teacher, Vol. 67 Issue 6, p329-333, 5p


Barrantes, Analia, Belland, Brian R. & Pritchard, David E. (11/5/2009). What else (besides the syllabus) should students learn in introductory physics? AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1179 Issue 1, p43-46, 4p

Papadouris, Nicos, Constantinou, Constantinos P. (8/2009). A methodology for integrating computer-based learning tools in science curricula. Journal of Curriculum Studies, Vol. 41 Issue 4, p521-538, 18p

Winston, Cynthia E., Philip, Cheri L., Lloyd, Derek L. (Winter2007). The identity and success life story method: A new paradigm for digital inclusion.
Journal of Negro Education. Vol. 76 Issue 1, p31-42, 12p

Banta, Trudy W. Mzumara, Howard R. (Sep/Oct2004). Assessing information literacy and technological competence. Assessment Update, Vol. 16 Issue 5, p3-14, 3p

Vale, Colleen M. Leder, Gilah C. (2004). Student Views of Computer-Based Mathematics in the Middle Years: Does Gender Make a Difference? Educational Studies in Mathematics, Vol. 56 Issue 2/3, p287-312, 26p


Sørebø, Øystein , Halvari, Hallgeir, & Gulli, Vebjørn Flaata (12/2009). The role of self-determination theory in explaining teachers’ motivation to continue to use e-learning technology. Kristiansen, Roar1Computers & Education, Vol. 53 Issue 4, p1177-1187, 11p

Hui-Chun Chu, Gwo-Jen Hwang, Chin-Chung Tsai,& Nian-Shing Chen (12/2009). An innovative approach for promoting information exchanges and sharing in a Web 2.0-based learning environment. Interactive Learning Environments, Vol. 17 Issue 4, p311-323, 13p

Artino,, Anthony R. (12/2009) Online learning: Are subjective perceptions of instructional context related to academic success? Internet & Higher Education, Vol. 12 Issue 3/4, p117-125, 9p


Birchfield, David; Megowan-Romanowicz, & Colleen (Dec 2009)
Earth science learning in SMALLab: A design experiment for mixed reality. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, v4 n4 p403-421. 19 pp. (Peer Reviewed Journal)

Scotchmoor, Judy, Thanukos, Anastasia, & Potter, Sheri IMPROVING THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE: NEW INITIATIVES. American Journal of Botany, Oct2009, Vol. 96 Issue 10, p1760-1766, 7p

BP_20091211_month4blog

What is your official problem statement?
Could students be motivated to take more responsibility for their learning of science concepts if they were integrated with the current web 2.0 tools?

How did your research end up shaping this?
After continuous reading and analysis of many current studies on various populations of high school students it would seem that there is reason to believe that it is possible to reach a larger population of students if they are simultaneously exposed to current technology along with science content.

What outcomes are you expecting?

I am expecting my freshman and sophomore students to score better on the standardized tests as a result of the integration of current technology skills which makes the science content more relevant and therefore more valid to learn.

How are your critical friends helping in this process?

Unfortunately my critical friends are a class ahead of me now and we haven’t been in touch much. I am deciding on how to handle the whole critical friends concept.

How is this month’s course helped in shaping your ARP?

This class began shaping my ARP the first time I tried it which is why my students now have PLEs and are using them for my class. They are also hoping I can convince the other teachers to do the same which means I have to do an in-service. Because of not only this class but the entire program I’m probably the most “geeky” teacher on campus and word seems to have gotten out. Students are already asking the counselor abut what I’m teaching next year.

BP4_20091206_Tool#1

Dim-Dim is a wonderful way to interact with and instruct students on new skills or information. It is basically similar to a wimba classroom. It can be used to walk students through various lessons, draw pictures of concepts, share ideas and share computer screens. When having an entire classroom of students log on to the same website causes the system to come to a standstill, I'm speaking from experience, the ability to have them log into your meeting room works much better. One of the downsides of Dim-Dim is that the free account is limited to only 20 participants at a time. Generally I don't have this problem but on the rare occasion I do I simply have students buddy up on one computer. My computer has a camera built in but the computers at school do not so we can only have conversations but just like in wimba there are text capabilities both public and private. Ther are controls to lock the screen so if you don't want students drawing at times that's covered. You can also lock them out of a meetings if the need arises.

Clear Picture of what education should look like.

Defining the Need for Change takes up Secretary of Education Rod Paige's challenge: "Dream how technology can not only improve education but also transform what we think of as education." It reflects on what kind of education connects to students' real lives as well as how people best learn.

The Six Key Elements of 21st Century Learning acknowledges the importance of traditional core subjects but expands them with missing elements that make the core subjects relevant to the world in which students live and eventually may work. These six elements form the "Bridge to 21st Century Learning." In this section "Media literacy" is clearly named as one of the higher-order skills that are fundamental to success in the 21st century.

BP_20091206_Comments to Peer

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2009

Flickr Blog Post: How to use it within your learning environment
Flickr Blog Post.

Suggestions on how to implement Flickr.com into a unit of study and your content lesson plans:

Materials Needed:

Parental Notification to introduce the use of web 2.0 applications for Yahoo and Flickr. Parents and Guardians need to be aware of learning with technology.

All students will need a Yahoo account to access flickr.com

Students need access to a digital Camera and Internet

Objectives:

- To introduce 21st Century Technologies into the learning environment.

- To use digital photographs to archive the process of learning.

- To use technology as an interdisciplinary platform that can transcend academic content areas.

Aim:

How to use web 2.0 applications to share digital images with your classmates and with peers in cyber space?


Do now: Write an paragraph that introduces your belief on how digital images can document a learner’s progress as well as connect to peers, to form a group of learners.

Mini Lesson:

Teacher shows examples of their flickr.com account.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingkenny3


Discussion on Tags.

- What are tags?

- How to tag your work?

Homework:

- Share your link with parents and family members and ask for their comments on your digital photos.

- Research tags with similar interests to your uploaded images.

Post lesson discussion and continuing practice:

- Accountable Talk

o How was the experience in creating a flickr.com account?

o How user friendly is the flicker.com application?

o What response did you receive when introducing your people to your flickr link?

o How else can we use flickr to reinforce content learning within the classroom?

POSTED BY KINGKENNY3 AT 6:03 PM
1 COMMENTS:

msdstriegel said...
Nice lesson plan. Could be easily adapted to any core subject matter

DECEMBER 6, 2009 7:05 PM
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BP9_20091206_Flickr_lessonplans

There are several web sites with great ideas for the use of Flickr in the classroom and as Harry Wong says, "Good teachers steal" so I plan to do exactly that. There has been some craziness going on in the science department of the high school where I teach. Unfortunately the ones most affected are the students so in trying to salvage the first semester for them I have stepped up to teach in two places at once so to speak. Since I haven't figured out the science of successfully cloning myself Flickr is going to come to the rescue. For the classes where I'm supposed to be two places at once I am putting together the lessons on Flickr so the sub can, for the most part, turn on the projector which is hooked to the computer and I will appear with the lessons and the explanations. I am taking photographs and videos of various concepts. This is a physics class by the way. Right now the class is in the process of learning about velocity, how to calculate velocity and how to use the formula to solve problems. The first drawback to them completing the lesson they were left with was they had no formula and no definitions or explanations concerning how to use initial and final velocity to solve the problems facing them. Although I could have used several other applications I've found Flickr to be used friendly and I love to spring new web tools on the students anyway.