Week 5 Exploration

Create A Graph

I explored Create A Graph after reading others posts about it. The learning curve seems very small. This could really help with analyzing data. LoggerPro is typically used in our school district, but I found this to have a steep learning curve. I didn’t fully understand and the kids struggled with it as well. I think this is a great alternative, and I plan on using it this year.

GoogleDocs

I’ve heard things about GoogleDocs before, but I’ve never spent any time looking at it. I just completed the second day of our Tech Symposium at my school district. We spent some time working with GoogleDocs, and I see a lot of applications to it. One of the biggest benefits of GoogleDocs is that it allows students to collaborate on documents in real time. For example, students can upload a Word document to GoogleDocs. At home, members of the group can be working at their respective locations on the same document at the same time. This feature can be used for presentations, Word, and spreadsheets. Another great feature of GoogleDocs is the ability to create forms for your class. Using GoogleDocs, you can create surveys and worksheets that can be completed by the students anywhere. The information is placed neatly into a spreadsheet for the teacher. This could be very helpful when trying to reduce the amount of paper being used in the classroom. Instead of completing an opening day survey, the students can finish a GoogleDocs form. Students could complete homework worksheets using GoogleDocs. I’m also contemplating using these forms as exit tickets in class. I think this tool has a lot of applications.

Let me know what you think about my analysis of these tools. Do you use these any differently?

List of Simulations

Simulations are great for sciences courses. There are many interactive simulations out there on the internet. Here are a few that I’ve come across:

Transcription and Translation

This website allows the user to practice the transcription and translation process. I use this in my class when we talk about protein synthesis. First, I demonstrate and then take some volunteers to give it a try.

Make a Karyotype

This is from the same site as the previous example. I have my students work through this during the genetics unit.

Enzymes

This is probably my favorite simulation/animation. This provides a lot of information on enzymes with the visuals to support the information. This has really helped my students visualize what’s going on with enzymes.

Peppered Moth Simulation

I’m sure most people know about the peppered moth scenario commonly used to explain natural selection. This site allows students to simulate a bird capturing moths in this scenario. It also presents them with percentages and graphs based off of their data.

Cells Alive

This is a great site for examining the cell organelles. I think there are animations of mitosis as well.

Translation

Here’s another good one for translation.

These are the ones that I use in my class. Hopefully, I can add to my list after reading everyone else’s posts.

Week 4 Reflection

First, I’m going to discuss the online data part. I like this idea. Research has shown the benefits of inquiry learning in science classes. A big part of inquiry learning is analyzing data. One problem is that collecting data can be time consuming and sometimes downright impossible in the classroom. That’s why online data has so much potential. Lessons can incorporate on-line data that has already been collected and organized.  From there students can get to work with some real-world data. As the chapter in the book states, the use of on-line data has several potential benefits. Research has shown that it can increase engagement, motivation, and achievement. I plan on looking into on-line data that I can incorporate into my classroom.

The second part of this week’s reading was about the generating an argument model. I like the concept, and I like that they’ve created a model that is easy to follow. I agree with many others that this should be an important part of science education. The only problem is I can’t think of how I could incorporate this into my class. Yes, I like the model. Yes, I think it will benefit. Yes, I think I should be doing it. But, I’m just not sure how. It takes a good bit of time and effort to sit down and think about developing something like this. I really want to incorporate this into my class, so I’m looking forward to beginning my activity that we need to create for this class.

Great Book on Teaching

I just finished reading Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College by Doug Lemov. What I really liked about this book was that it was very straightforward and practical. The author outlines 49 techniques that could be used in any class. For example, “right is right” is a technique used to set and defend a high standard of correctness in the class. The teacher shouldn’t “round up” the students’ answers for them. Students need to use technical vocabulary, include units, and answer completely. Nothing is this book is ground breaking, but the techniques discussed are easy to understand and very helpful. I took 9 pages of typed notes from this book. I plan on reading through my notes a couple of times and then find ways to implement them into my class. Overall, I thought this was a great read, especially for beginning teachers. This book would be a great addition to a undergrad education course.

Twitter (Please Help)

I'm seriously considering using Twitter next school year. Here are my thoughts...

Twitter could be used for the following:
1. Keep students up to date on assignments
2. Reminders for tests
3. Quick hints and tips for tests and assignments
4. Reminders for science fair deadlines
5. Students can ask questions to the whole class and others can respond
6. Parents can keep up on class events as well.

I'm sure there are more things. Does anyone have any suggestions for other ways I could use Twitter? How do you like my ideas so far? Will they work? Is Twitter the best thing to use for the objectives above or would something else be better?

I plan on requiring my students sign up for Twitter and follow a class Twitter account that I will run. Any problems with this?

Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Jing Video

I've created the following tutorial using Jing. Hopefully, I've embedded it properly. Also, I have a new found respect for voice-over actors. It's especially tough when you need to maneuver things on the computer at the same time. This is my first attempt at making a Jing video. I'm hoping to get better.

Resource Website

Thanks to the Personal Learning Network I've built on Twitter, I was informed of a relatively new resource site for science teachers. It's called Spongelab.com. The site includes images, animations, games, simulations, and a few lesson plans. The games and simulations will cost you credits. You earn what seems like a good bit of credits when you register. If you need more, you can buy them. I don't plan on buying any credits, but I will definitely use some things from this website.