1. What are your favorite tools you now have in your personal technology toolbox?
I enjoyed the the image generators, the use of Jing (video storytelling), and the mobile apps.
Briefly describe a particular activity that you will plan for your students using at least one of these new tools.
I'd like for them to use the digital cameras to use their pictures to create a video storytelling. For example, the students would create an experiment where they showed how they controlled the variables. They would then voice over the parts to share with other students how they did it. I believe the students would eat it up because they'd like to learn from other students. In addition, teachers will see how well students are learning the content.
2. How have you transfomed your thinking about the learning that will take place in your classroom?
Our students are entering a fascinating world involving technology. At the ExxonMobile Conference I attended this summer, technolgy is allowing the world to become flat. That is, we can conference, research and talk to people on the other side of world with ease.
In addition, the tools, i.e. Jing, Google Docs/reader, allow for easier conferencing on topics.
3. Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
What surprised me is the amount of "new" technology on the Internet.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tool #11
I'd want our students to learn that they have the right to access the Internet and its resources, use the Internet as a good citizen, and understand that when you use information from the Internet that we give the site(s) their credit.
As we do projects, we can incorporate short mini-lessons on how to use technology; especially the components of citizenship. As our students will start to do more research, how to site and give credit to resources is important. We don't want our students to face the consequences of plagiarism.
In addition, we need to talk about we treat each other on-line. With the stories about cyberbullying, we need to create a safe digital world. We'll definitely have to include parents in working on this at room, so students get the message in both places.
As we do projects, we can incorporate short mini-lessons on how to use technology; especially the components of citizenship. As our students will start to do more research, how to site and give credit to resources is important. We don't want our students to face the consequences of plagiarism.
In addition, we need to talk about we treat each other on-line. With the stories about cyberbullying, we need to create a safe digital world. We'll definitely have to include parents in working on this at room, so students get the message in both places.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tool #10
I don't own an I-phone or I-touch, but this made me want to buy one. I borrowed one to review some of the free apps that are available on the I-touch. I explored the following apps:
Cold Spring Hardbor Lab 3D Brain
Free Spanish Tutor by 24/7 Tutor
NASA
Sight Word Flashcards by App-Zoo
Math Drills Lite
These were under the Education page as part of the Top Free apps for the I-touch. Each one was fun to research, and the images were nice. For a multi-sensory person, this piece of technology entertains them all. The Math Drills Lite is a fun way to review math facts. The "mixed" option allows you to review addition, subtration, division and multiplication. I enjoyed the 3D Brain because it allowed you to pull it apart and study the functions of that part of the brain. My son enjoyed the piano app. For some reason, he stated is was "funner" than the real one.
In the classroom, these would be fun. They are great for research, webquests or I-touch quests. I can also see this as a contest for students to race to see you could find the best app for research, or who can find the most relevant apps for research on a topic. I did get a chance to review the Art app at school, and it gave history on a piece of art or structure. It's a differentiated way of doing research and it's fun.
The "WOW moment" is the fact that there is a plethora of apps, and the varied topics and functions. I got on the I-touch, and didn't realize I spent two hours searching through apps; okay, a few minutes were devoted to Skee Ball. You will have to devote some time to explore because there is so much, but teachers can tailor the experience.
Cold Spring Hardbor Lab 3D Brain
Free Spanish Tutor by 24/7 Tutor
NASA
Sight Word Flashcards by App-Zoo
Math Drills Lite
These were under the Education page as part of the Top Free apps for the I-touch. Each one was fun to research, and the images were nice. For a multi-sensory person, this piece of technology entertains them all. The Math Drills Lite is a fun way to review math facts. The "mixed" option allows you to review addition, subtration, division and multiplication. I enjoyed the 3D Brain because it allowed you to pull it apart and study the functions of that part of the brain. My son enjoyed the piano app. For some reason, he stated is was "funner" than the real one.
In the classroom, these would be fun. They are great for research, webquests or I-touch quests. I can also see this as a contest for students to race to see you could find the best app for research, or who can find the most relevant apps for research on a topic. I did get a chance to review the Art app at school, and it gave history on a piece of art or structure. It's a differentiated way of doing research and it's fun.
The "WOW moment" is the fact that there is a plethora of apps, and the varied topics and functions. I got on the I-touch, and didn't realize I spent two hours searching through apps; okay, a few minutes were devoted to Skee Ball. You will have to devote some time to explore because there is so much, but teachers can tailor the experience.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Almost Invisible Treehouse
Check out this feat of scientific fun. An almost invisible treehouse was built in Sweden. You'll need to copy and past it into your browser.
http://screencast.com/t/NzM3MTBk
http://screencast.com/t/NzM3MTBk
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Tool #9
Now this was pretty cool. I downloaded Jing and used it to send my wife a picture/link to a destination. It was easy to click on the "sun" and capture the picture. She got it, said thank you, but said she was already there. Well, I tried. The other opportunity I had was to send my cousin a picture of Hawaiian mountain boarding. She's planning a trip to Hawaii's Big Island, so I told her about it. However, my explanation wasn't enough. I captured a picture and sent a synopsis from the website.
We live in a visual world, especially with video games and the Internet. This way of elaborting your e-mails with pictures, videos directly from the website helps with understanding the content. It's a great way to show an experiment via Jing with a written description directly on the site. Also, it just looks cool. Below is the Jing link directly to the Travel Channel's page for the Extreme Hawaiian Escapes segment.
We live in a visual world, especially with video games and the Internet. This way of elaborting your e-mails with pictures, videos directly from the website helps with understanding the content. It's a great way to show an experiment via Jing with a written description directly on the site. Also, it just looks cool. Below is the Jing link directly to the Travel Channel's page for the Extreme Hawaiian Escapes segment.
Tool #8 cont..
The second also came using Hulu and Channel 8's Nova series. This episode is titled "The Secrets of the Parthenon". Like the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Greeks built the Parthenon with precision. However, they did not have the technology we have today.
This video is useful because it shows how an earlier civilization mastered measurement and used it to create a historic structure that stands to this day. The video is also embeded to the left of this posting.
This video is useful because it shows how an earlier civilization mastered measurement and used it to create a historic structure that stands to this day. The video is also embeded to the left of this posting.
Tool #8
I used Hulu to choose the video, "The Great Robot Race". This story was shown on PBS Channel 8's Nova. It chronicles 43 teams that created a car completely run by computer codes; i.e. robot cars with no human drivers. It's fascinating because the robot car will make all the decision on how to navigate the terrain. Their human "creators" will follow them on the race, and can just watch. It shows exactly what we want our students to do...work on a team, have a novel idea, incorporate the content areas and present their research. It doesn't hurt that their is a million dollar prize for the successful team.
You can imagine the applications in the real world: Automatic pilot for our own personal cars, bikes, motorcycles, as quoted in the film, the ability to deliver crucial supplies to nations or our military on the front lines. It's perhaps another avenu for artificial intelligence.
It also shows how these scientists, computer programmers and engineers had to overcome failures. This is a great video to show how project based learning has impact for our technological advancement.
The video is linked on the side.
You can imagine the applications in the real world: Automatic pilot for our own personal cars, bikes, motorcycles, as quoted in the film, the ability to deliver crucial supplies to nations or our military on the front lines. It's perhaps another avenu for artificial intelligence.
It also shows how these scientists, computer programmers and engineers had to overcome failures. This is a great video to show how project based learning has impact for our technological advancement.
The video is linked on the side.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tool #7
Photostory, or any digital storytelling, is great for making a video recording of a student's research to the final product. It also integrates our technology TEKS. This would be a great way to present a science project, i.e. the growth of two different types of seeds, and show each step of the process. In addition, the voice over allows for students who are afraid to present in front a group a medium to show their learning.
It's also fun. In our after-school program, our students used he I-books to create digital stories of their learning. They are quite technology savvy.
It's also fun. In our after-school program, our students used he I-books to create digital stories of their learning. They are quite technology savvy.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tool #6
The wiki reminds me of a blog, but it is centered on a very defined topic. For example, I visited a wiki, research4children.wikispaces.com, that chronicled a first grade class's journey through research. The teachers and students built a wiki in order to share their successes and challenges. They also poste pdf. and word documents on how others can do the same research. They also posted pictures of their students doing the research and presenting their final projects. I also see it as a way to "publish" research.
The same first grade class/teacher did another wiki titled http://first-grade-science.wikispaces.com/.
My first inclination is to use this with teachers to "publish" their problem based projects, science or other content areas, so that it build a bank of resources for the school. It can work the same with students. It shows that research isn't just for a day or two, but can be year long; like true science, math, writing, history research. It's another way to build stamina in reading, writing, etc. The key is to pick topics that sustain this type of learning/research.
I can also see wikis as a way to practice working as a team; teachers and students. You will have to agree on what's posted and how it is organized.
The same first grade class/teacher did another wiki titled http://first-grade-science.wikispaces.com/.
My first inclination is to use this with teachers to "publish" their problem based projects, science or other content areas, so that it build a bank of resources for the school. It can work the same with students. It shows that research isn't just for a day or two, but can be year long; like true science, math, writing, history research. It's another way to build stamina in reading, writing, etc. The key is to pick topics that sustain this type of learning/research.
I can also see wikis as a way to practice working as a team; teachers and students. You will have to agree on what's posted and how it is organized.
Tool #5
Good Morning,
To keep it simple for myself, I decided to join and use Diigo. It is easier for me to use and I like how it is organized. This site, and probably other sites, has a wide array of resources. You can easily spend hours searching the different groups. I decided to join the project based learning group because of how our district is moving to integration. Our time is short so we need to find projects that allow students to see how the content areas work together, not separate. Here's a list of the sites I tagged and visited today. I organiezed the on Diigo under the tag "Science". I also added a short description of the website. The last one is a link that I received from the Mickelson Teacher's Academy this summer. It has a huge amount of information, so take your time. I'll hotlink them to my "Favorite Websites" on the side.
http://www.teachscienceandmath.com/2010/06/21/5-ways-to-integrate-science-process-skills-in-lessons/
http://geology.com/
http://www.watchknow.org/default.aspx
http://www.kineticcity.com/
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm
http://livebinders.com/play/play/7370
To keep it simple for myself, I decided to join and use Diigo. It is easier for me to use and I like how it is organized. This site, and probably other sites, has a wide array of resources. You can easily spend hours searching the different groups. I decided to join the project based learning group because of how our district is moving to integration. Our time is short so we need to find projects that allow students to see how the content areas work together, not separate. Here's a list of the sites I tagged and visited today. I organiezed the on Diigo under the tag "Science". I also added a short description of the website. The last one is a link that I received from the Mickelson Teacher's Academy this summer. It has a huge amount of information, so take your time. I'll hotlink them to my "Favorite Websites" on the side.
http://www.teachscienceandmath.com/2010/06/21/5-ways-to-integrate-science-process-skills-in-lessons/
http://geology.com/
http://www.watchknow.org/default.aspx
http://www.kineticcity.com/
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm
http://livebinders.com/play/play/7370
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