BP12_2009103_SlidecastAsset

BP11_2009103_Slidecast

The slidecast is a clever twist to online help. It is exactly what it says it is, a combination slideshow and podcast. It is a relatively simple way to take a powerpoint, record audio on it, and post it online for all to hear and see. This makes it more valuable that just recording your voice with no pictures, or your powerpoint with no explanations. This is a great way to help parents who want to help their children, but can't remember anything about genetics, study or review. This is also helpful for those who are absent a lot or just need more time to process. Students can access it at home whenever they want to catch up, review, or even prepare for what lies ahead.

Slideshare has a free site that is pretty helpful except that you cannot record using it, you just upload both the presentation and the audio separately and combine on the site. Personally I found using Screenflow, which records your computer, voice, and video all at once, a much easier program to use. You can be sure of timing, and even include video of yourself if you are doing some explaining that is visual, or for those who need signing done. I made one for explaining mitosis because I made up hand signals to go with my powerpoint explanation. When I was teaching about mitosis, I found that showing them how mitosis works using my hands that they seemed to grasp it better. If I want to post just my powerpoint, my students would not be able to see the signals in action. Screenflow allowed me to do just that. My students said that they found it very helpful when they were reviewing for the test. They could not only look over the presentation again, but also hear my explanations and examples, which helped them so much more than words alone.

BP10_2009103_File_Sharing

File sharing is a really clever way to upload, share, edit and otherwise work with files. You can upload and alter docs, pictures, videos, and all sorts of things along those lines. This is a true collaboration tool for multiple people can write and edit at the same time and see those changes live. This is especially helpful for group projects that require a report to go with it. You can even compare different copies to see who has done what. Google Docs is a free version of this that is easy to use and has neat feature like an edit list of who has edited when, and comparisons of different versions. It is easy to upload docs and images and it does not matter what platform you are using. That is one of the true benefits of Web 2.0 software, much of it is online software and it is not platform specific. You can even upload different files and grant certain people access to the files you have loaded.

For those science minded, like me, this is great for group projects or lab reports. There are so many times where my students neglect to share their data with each other. This is great for after a lab, post results and use google spreadsheet to graph the results. Then students can take turns working on their conclusion paragraph. One of the most important things to do as a scientist, and one of the things as science teachers we tend to miss, is to share/publish results. The only way to truly make the discovery and experience authentic is to share that knowledge with others. Google Docs can help groups create a polished lab report and post results, they can choose who gets to view it. The ability to start something at school and then finish it at home is such a valuable piece to this wave of technology. It helps continue the learning, and lessens frustrations over of lack of time that can be alloted to complete projects and such.

BP9_2009103_Digital_Storytelling

As anyone who has seen the history channel, or The Civil War by Ken Burns, you have experienced digital storytelling. It is almost like watching a picture book, but there are no words to the pictures, except what the narrator is sharing. It is a very interesting concept that is fairly easy to accomplish even with minor skills with a computer. Put together pictures, you know, those things that say 1000 words, and tell a story using the pictures to ensnare the audience. The benefit is that you can touch people on an emotional level, even if you have only a base knowledge of things like iMovie.

This is much more meaningful if you give this as an assignment for your students. They get to voice their learning in a better environment than just a plain old PowerPoint. Especially useful in Language Arts and Social Studies, there are many reasons to assign this as a project. There are actually ways to use this in a scientific sense, maybe as the start of a debate, an persuasive piece about why to fund stem cell research, or as an advertisement on why you should visit Cell City and the sites you'd see there.

This could also be assigned to explain a scientific theory; who came up with it, how they did the research on it, and why was it significant. Since I am moving on to genetics soon, this might be a way for them to explore and explain about Mendel and his explorations using pea plants. Though it is better if there are a lot of options as to what to story tell. This is because storytelling is a personal thing and to do it right, it is vital to be emotionally involved, or at least interested in the telling. This would make a better project and one that many would be interested in seeing and learning from.

BP9_2009102_Flickr

I saw a lesson I would like to try in science using flickr, and also one I came up with on my own. The first one is something I saw several teachers use. Have their students take pictures, share them and write about them. I could have my students take pictures of all sorts of nature, then have them tag the pictures as producers, consumers, and decomposers. Maybe even arrange them using the batch feature into food chains then into food webs. This would seem more real to them (using pictures of what they see daily) and more interesting than looking at cartoons or just names of creatures.

The other Idea would be to have the students work on lab investigations at home, and then take pictures and post their results. This way everyone in the class could compare their results and physically see how their results compare rather than just talking about it or making a chart of results. They could even do the investigations in school and I could display them using my LCD projector. This would be a way for them to act like real scientists who post their results and share their findings.

BP8_2009102_ReviewAsset

BP6_2009102_wiki

Using wikis in science was a little harder envision at first. Then I had an idea as to when it would be useful for my students to have an online resource they can edit and add too. So I thought that the hardest thing, I deal with, is being able to keep those who are absent in the loop, and those who need extra help, a place to review. So the students would create a wiki that is based on each unit, they would each pick a topic to explain in their own words and post it on a site they all have access too. That way when it is time for a test, or even the big state test, they have their very own refresher! It would be the Manual to Life Science. The bonus it is it all in “kid speak.” Seeing

The benefit for a teacher is that you would be able to see who is editing, what edits did they do. You can track who is pulling their share or not. You can compare edits, and even pull any that are not appropriate. For students, there is the benefit of live audiences seeing and posting comments on the students’ work, making it more valuable to the students than just a paper they write in class. Also, students can learn from each other, get ideas and collaborate just like real scientists. In fact many tools that scientists use these day are the same web 2.0 tools that I am researching. Finding ways to link what we do in class to “real science work” has been a goal of mine. If students can see that what we are doing in class, is done out of school as well, they become more invested in their learn for they see that it has value.

BP7_2009102_podcast

Podcasts, well true podcasts, are visual or audio periodicals. They are updated regularly and have a common theme. They are fairly easy to make and simple to use, students can easily subscribe to the class podcasts and get them loaded onto their iPods so they can listen whenever!

Podcasts I love and have two ideas for potential implementation. Idea one, have a weekly update podcast of will happen in class, what the standards are that we will cover, and pics of all of the lab sheets and such that will be used. This would also, act as a visual lesson plan so students know what to expect and parents are kept in the know.

The other idea is to have students at the end of each unit or topic, make a cliff notes version of the lesson. This would be the visual addition to the class wiki resource page. The students who proved they “got it” would create the new podcast. This could be a way for each student to earn extra credit. It could also be an assignment that must be completed once a year or once a quarter, depending on the success of them. Students could work in pairs or on their own. They would need to come up with some pictures to add to it to help the visual learners as well.

The benefits for podcasts; they are easy to add, great for audio/visual learners, and can be a succinct way to present information for review or introduction. Teachers can send parents to the podcasts as refreshers so they can help their children, and to aid anyone who was out, or just need a different way to get the information they need. This helps students with communication skills since they will need to be precise and coherent for the podcast. Students also love any excuse to “legally” use their iPods.

BP5_2009102_Blog2.0

Blogging is probably the most well-known web 2.0 tool. The concept of posting your thoughts online is not a new one, and it is one that most of my students are already very capable of doing. So adding one to a classroom that is useful should be fairly easy. One of the ideas I have would help with addressing current events and still have time to get through all of my content. I would like to set up a weekly current event blog where I would find 2 articles of what is new in science. I would then assign that each student responds to the article they found to be the most interesting. Once they responded, they would need to go research more on that topic and post an article that either expands or contradicts their chosen post. The benefit to doing this would be that each student can see how advances in science happen everyday and that there are real life uses for what we are studying. This would also be a place where students can work on their writing skills. My school wide goals also include literacy so here would be a way for more Language Arts in the Science classroom. The other idea would feature a debate of the week or month on a hot button issue in science. This could be related to what we are studying currently in class (a topic that was started in class could be finished here) or if a discussion arose from the current events that warranted more time. This would also keep the students “hooked” into class long after the class is over. Students would also have more time to respond to the discussions and those who do not like to speak in class will still be heard. The biggest benefit to using blogs would be the fact that teachers still have control over what gets posted and can make sure that everything is appropriate.

BP4_2009102_SocialBookmarking

Social bookmarking is, for all intense purposes, a mobile list of your favorite sites on the Internet. No longer do you need to be on one specific computer to access a list of your favorite sites. It is a web 2.0 tool that has useful time saving uses. ?As an educational tool, bookmarking sites can help students to find ways to search for information other than Google indexing.? (McGraw-Hill, 2007) Teachers can do a pre-search of reliable and valid websites for a research project or paper. They can save the links, and then either share those sites with their students online, or print out a paper copy for them to use. Teachers can relax knowing that their students are using approved websites without questionable information. Teachers can also use it to save all of their favorite sites that they found at home and can easy have access to those same site at work the next day, no more re-researching.

Social bookmarking is also helpful if a teacher want to save a site that has multiple content uses. ?Instead of individually saving the site in a variety of folders, you just type a few keywords called tags?, and your sites are organized automatically with sites saved by other users, using those same keywords.? (Jackson, 2009) Now a teacher can also have access to other people?s favorite links with those same keywords. This is a much more efficient way of getting a hold of more resources for their classes.

?Because social bookmarking services indicate who created each bookmark and provide access to that person?s other bookmarked resources, users can easily make social connections with other individuals interested in just about any topic.? (Lomas, 2005) This is a great tool for students who are planning on doing a project, for now they can find partners who are interested in the same thing. This will make group work more valuable and effective for the students will be working with like-minded folk on the topic of their choice. More choice with students means more interest and involvement.


Jackson, L. (2009) Sites to See: Social Bookmarking. Retrieved October 7, 2009. From http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/sites/sites080.shtml

McGraw-Hill. (2007). How-to Article: Social Bookmarking. Retrieved October 7, 2009. From http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/social-bookmarking

Lomas, P. (2005) 7 Things You Should Know About Social Bookmarking. Retrieved October 7, 2009. From http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf

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BP3_2009101_Antiteaching

Michael Wesch had to say in Anti ?Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance. He sees students who lack thinking skills, who ask weak surface questions, and who in general seem unable to think for themselves. I too, have seen this and know well what he says about people thinking some students are not cut out for school, though personally I have never believed that. I too get frustrated about the competition for grades rather than learning.

Politicians and policy writers are starting to realize that there needs to be a better way to teach all students, but they are going about it the wrong way. We as teachers are so very limited on time trying to teach the content and teach it well enough for the state tests that determine whether or not our school gets funded, that it becomes a rat race that many who are too tired just teach to the test. It is hard not to get burned out when instead of changing the scope and direction of how/what we teach, things like Individualized Education Programs (IEPS), 504s, Student Support teams (SST) and in my district Response to Intervention (RTI, where all students start on it, and we move them on up the tiers if they are not successful) are tacked on to an already demanding job. Though it is a step towards teaching all students, the system is fundamentally flawed. What results is burn out, we have all seen it, the teacher who, instead of guiding their charges towards the right answer, just gives out the correct response. Many are so tired from paperwork, that they have no energy to try teaching the whole brain, or even adding some other intelligences into the classroom. So many students have not learned the skills to think because they have not needed to, if they complain they don?t get it enough someone will cave and give it to them. They have not been learning strategies towards learning on their own, they are learning how to sit back and let others do the work. The truly sad thing is that they are remarkably unabashed about being ?lazy? and hating to think.

Though the Idea of a virtual world sounds clever and fascinating, I do not see that as the answer. From my experiences with FSO, I have seen some of the flaws of a virtual world, especially if I think about a middle schooler trying to be that independent. The benefit of working at your own pace is great, if you are organized and have self-discipline. Unfortunately, assignments get misread, technology issues can get in the way, and that whole need for human voice gets lost. The average middleschooler needs guidance on how to think for themselves, how to stay focused, and how to behave in the world around them. It is this age where they test for boundaries, and search for their roles. They need that human interaction, if it is the right kind, to be successful.

An ideal school, the learning would still report daily to a building, they would spend part of their day doing real hands on exploratory learning with their teacher. For another part of the day, they would work on Personal Learning environments (PLE) that are structured around a life specific learning problem. Students would be proving their knowledge with a more usable and useful platform than a simple electronic portfolio. The teacher would have a Course Management System that would outline basic guidelines and expectations for their proof of learning. Instead of A-F, it would be base on learning skills and personal achievement. Students would be able to use their strengths to prove their learning. They would have minor projects and activities, as well as one major graduation project that would be life interest specific. This way when they do graduate they have already been working towards their goal and do not have to wonder, ?what will I be when I grow up??

Unfortunately that is a dream right now, since for many of us, our hands are bound by state standards, tests that determine funding, and policies that, for the moment, cannot be ?left behind.?