Cool Science Interaction!

Subject: Science
Grade: Three
Source-URL: http://pbskids.org/zoom/games/goldburgertogo/index.html

Description: I would use this website as a fun activity for grade three students as an introduction the Testing and Design unit. I would have each student work individually or in partners to try and complete the puzzle. I think it would be a fun way to get students thinking about how systems are designed and suitable materials to use in real life designs.
I would then have the students plan out a simple machine that they could design and build.

Planning and Prep: I would email the direct link to each student, (having checked it works of course) to save time having them find the site. This would eliminate wasting time (at my practicum the school has provided each student with an email account). The game may take an entire class for some students. Having some of them in partners allows students to help each other out. Not all students are computer savvy or mechanically minded. As they finish they could then move back into the classroom. In groups of three, they are given a handout with the activity explained. Each group will have access to a number of items (wood, cans, nails, doweling, hinges, rubber tubing, etc.) As a group they would begin to design their own machine on poster paper that is provided. The design process may take some time, potentially another class. However, boredom would hopefully be abated by the thought that they actually would get to build their machine once the teacher has approved their design. Once students have a teacher approved design, it is construction time!

GLO:
3–8 Evaluate the suitability of different materials and designs for their use in a building task.

SLO:
5. Apply procedures to test different designs.

ICT Outcomes:
C6- Students will use technology to investigate and/or solve problems.
C7- Students will use electronic research techniques to construct personal knowledge and meaning.
F6-Students will demonstrate a basic understanding of the operating skills required in a variety of technologies.
P2-Students will organize and manipulate data.

Internet Safety!

If there was ever was someone who was reluctant to bring internet into the classroom it would be me. There are too many horror stories of children being abused and taken advantage of over the internet for me to be completly comfortable allowing my students free access to the internet. However I think the idea of a webquest is a good one. It provides students with access to information, so they can construct their own learning, but it also does it in a way that the teacher can monitor and control with the students are viewing over the internet. It also saves time, as students are not wasting time trying to find information. The teacher has already previewed and deemed that information as accurate and usable. I think that as a teacher I would definetly use webquests for my students, they are time consuming to make, but kids already spend much time on the internet, so webquests allow them to learn information in a fun and relevant context. However, I think it is also an important responsiblity at the beginning of the year to review internet safety. This could be done through a class discussion, by talking about what information is safe to give out over the internet; reviewing unacceptable behavior such as bullying over the internet or text messaging. A discussion would be effective for older grades, but for elementary school, it might be more effective to have the students go online and play some games such as The Three little pigs, on web awareness at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/special_initiatives/web_awareness/index.cfm .

Spreadsheets and the Classroom

While they can be slightly frusterating to use at times, spreadsheets can offer many uses in the classroom. For the teacher they are an invaluable tool for keeping track of marks and student progress. Spreadsheets could also be used as a tool to keep track of their own marks. It could be used in math for doing assignments on averages, means, modes etc. It could be used in a science class for students to create charts about animal populations in certain areas. Or keeping track of the weather throughout the year. As an English major, I struggled with how to use spreadsheets in an Language arts class. But during the tutorials I came accross a brillian idea of using spreadsheets to create timelines. A lesson that I could do in my coming practicum to get to know the kids, would be have them create a their very own timeline about themselves. It would be autobiographical and they could include events they thought were important about their lives. Once each child has completed their timeline, we will print them out and they could bring pictures of themselves to glue to the timelines and we could post them all over the classroom. That way each child can display their work of art proudly, but also have the opportunity to learn about their peers.

Discussion Forums in the Classroom

I have never been involved in a Discussion Forum online before. I was a little skeptical at first, but after having browsed several forums and having posted my own I can see now the value of Discussion Forums. One really great thing about an online discussion is that it causes the teacher to take a backseat and allows the students to do the talking and sharing. One thing we are always talking about in class is how to get more than 2-3 students to put their hands up in class. Things such as wait times, giving students time to think about the question such as write down an answer or pair-in-share are all strategies to get more students to participate. But an online discussion could be a solution. Students have plenty of time to look at a question and formulate an opinion or answer, they can refer back to class notes and make an informed, intelligent answer. As each student comments it also opens up opportunity for them to learn from their peers and see from a perspective other than the teacher's.
One problem I do have with online discussion is that it decreases the face to face interaction of a classroom. The social interaction and class conversations are important to a students development. As students get older they will be expected to answer questions and formulate opinions without prep-time. So I think its important to incorporate both in-class and on-line discussion.
5 ways to enhance classroom discussion
1. Students will go home at the end of each day and ask and comment on a question pertaining to a topic that was discussed in class that day.
2. After group presentations on Canadian politics, the discussion about each topic will take place on-line to ensure each student gets a voice and the discussion can be ongoing and not bound by time constraints.
3. During an English class, as each person finishes the assigned chapter from the class novel, they will go on-line and share/discuss the theme of the chapter, the plot development/character development and their prediction of how the book will end.
4. After a class field trip to the museum, students will go online and write a post about what they learned that day and ask a question about what they still want to know after the trip. They must then comment or answer (if they can) on another student's post.
5. Since math is something that many people struggle with, students can go online during an assignment and post a question about a concept they are struggling with. This allows for peer-tutoring. Also the teacher could post a few problem solving questions and students must as a class discuss the answer and come to a concensus as to the answer.

Concept Maps and Writing Stories

I’ve never been a big fan of concept maps, especially in an English class. Normally I just write out a bit of an outline, or general ideas and just start writing. However, after using Inspiration to create a concept map I’m actually quite excited about using them in my classroom. Inspiration is very easy to use, but concept mapping is a very simple way of jotting down ideas and keeping thoughts organized. My concept map is about the things you need to write a story. After seeing the finished product I can definitely see how seeing this information organized in such a way would help students understand how to write a story. As they begin to write the story they could create their own concept maps and fill in the different bubbles. Who the characters are, what they like, don’t like; where the setting takes place; what happens in the beginning, middle, end of the plot? Then all the students need to do is take the information off of the web and translate it into an actual story. This could keep them from getting overwhelmed and would help them organize their ideas in a very efficient way. It also fulfills the ICT learner outcomes: C4-Students will use organizational processes and tools to manage inquiry. C6-Students will use technology to investigate and /or solve problems. F2-Students will understand eh role of technology as it applies to self, work and society. F6- Students will demonstrate a basic understanding of the operating skills required in a variety of technologies. P2-Studetns will organize and manipulate data.

Shakespeare On and Off line

Reference:
Chasteen, S., (2005). Lesson Plans for William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Retrieved September 26, 2007, from
http://people.colgate.edu/schasteen/educ453/lessonplans.htm.

Cummings, M.J., (2007). Twelfth Night, or What you Will: A Study Guide.
Retreived September 26, 2007, from http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xTwelfth.html#Twelfth.

Field, Mr., (2002).Twelfth Night Revision.
Retrieved September 26, 2007, from http://www.twelfthnightsite.co.uk/index.htm.

Subject: Grade Eight English
Activity: Students have already read the hardcopy of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. At the beginning of class they will view a brief clip from the movie “She’s the Man”. Then the student’s activity is to visit the website http://www.twelfthnightsite.co.uk/index.htm
and play the games at the end of the page. The games give a good idea of the student’s comprehension of the play. After they have played each game once, students will go to the class blog and record how they did in the games as well as write a brief paragraph on who their favorite character is and why.
GLOs:
Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
SLOs:
Students will identify explicit and implicit ideas and information in texts: listen and respond to various interpretations of the same text.
Relevant ICTs:
C1-students will access, use and communicate information from a variety of technologies.
C5- Students will use technology to aid collaboration during inquiry
C7- Students will use electronic research techniques to construct personal knowledge and meaning.
P1- Students will compose, revise and edit text.
P3-Students will communicate through multimedia.
P4-Students will integrate various applications.
P6- Students will use communication technology to interact with others.
F1- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the nature of technology.
F2-Students will understand the role of technology as it applies to self, work and society.
Rationale:
Shakespeare has a tendency to scare students because of the complexity of the language and it has often been taught in boring ways that make students dread studying Shakespeare. Through integrating various technologies such as: the hardcopy, which gives students the opportunity to experience the language; the movie clip of “She’s the Man”, which puts Shakespeare into a modern context that students can understand; the online games, which are a fun way of evaluating learning and understanding; it makes Shakespeare less intimidating and more understandable for students. They may even actually begin to enjoy Shakespeare!

Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Technology integration is using various forms of technology to enhance student's experience in the classroom. Technology has come leaps and bounds in the last twenty years. I remember my first experience with computers in elementary school. It was on old clunky computers with a black screen and green or white graphics of very poor quality. We never used the computer in class, nor did teachers use PowerPoint or LCD projectors. We only ever used the computer to play games, or figure out how to move a turtle with the arrow keys. Now there is a t.v and DVD player in most every classroom. Computer labs are frequently used for research and typing schoolwork. Teachers use PowerPoint to help explain a lesson. Part of my diploma exams for English and Biology were done on a laptop provided by the school. For Social Studies we used the Internet to do research for essays. I took keyboarding all through Jr high and grade ten. This is technology integration.
One of the best examples I ever had of effective technology integration was for my Biology 30 class. Mr Konrad gave us a list of topics that we had to look up using the Internet in the school computer lab. We had to find three or more sites that gave solid information and bookmark them when we found them. Then we had to make up a PowerPoint presentation using found information and present it to the class. I found it to be really helpful because the assignment got us using the Internet, browsing sites, learning about our topic, evaluating and analyzing information, but then we had to turn around and put it to practical use.
We also used the school laptop computers in my English class to type up in-class essays and assignments. This often was not such a good experience. My English teacher Mrs. Davidson had very little experience with the computers so whenever something went wrong, she was unable to help us and had to call in a different teacher. Also there were a couple times when the computers would freeze up or shut down randomly due to a system error. This was extremely frustrating when you were in the middle of writing an in-class essay. Once we had to close our computers and hand them in and the in-class essay had to be written out by hand!
Overall I think that technology is an extremely useful resource and could be a huge benefit to teachers and students. Allowing them to interact with various information from around the world; communicate with the teacher and other students; doing research and experiments. However I've also had bad experience with technology in the classroom. Teachers that have little or no experience with technology look unprofessional and only waste time in their efforts to get things working. If I had a dime for every time I saw a teacher ask a student for help getting a computer or TV up and running, I would be rich! Another potential barrier is a lack of funding by the government for smaller schools. Kids in larger centers with more funding have an advantage of these resources, whereas kids in more rural centers miss out. This creates an unfair advantage and student's learning could suffer.

Blogging in the Classroom

I first started blogging three years ago. Some friends had moved away and we were all moving on with our new lives and we quickly fell out of touch. I heard about blogging and started one up so that my friends and I could maintain our communication over the distance. My experience with Blogging so far has been a positive one and I can see how blogging could be a beneficial thing in a classroom.

To begin with blogging was convenient for my friends and I because we spent much of our time on the computer to begin with. Between checking email and homework assignments it seemed a simple thing to blogger.com and check for new posts and write a quick update. It seems that the majority of students are in a similar situation. As more of our world moves online, what with Msn, Face book, Internet schooling, email and tons of other information, many children and adolescents are spending more time on the computer. A blog could be a very useful tool for a teacher, if properly used. For one thing its easy and convenient for most students to use. As they are already on the computer it would be a small thing for them to click to the class blog to check up on new homework assignments, comment on a peer's project or ask a question. Blogs are very interactive in that it does not need to be limited between a teacher and students. Parents could be involved, monitoring their child's interaction in the class. Other teachers could also be connected; available for questions or comments. While I feel that there is no replacement for one on one interaction in a classroom, a blog opens up a whole new side of education. Online discussion between classmates allows for positive thinking and new ideas. As every student could have a personal blog linked to a main blog, it would allow for teachers and parents to track writing assignments and progress as students thinking grows and matures. Should a student need help a posted question could be instantly responded to by either the teacher or a peer. Blogging serves to take the intimate learning environment of the classroom and put it into a relevant context that students know and understand. A sick or snowbound student could keep up to date by following class discussion and reading links on the blog.

While I am a big advocate for blogging in the classroom there are a few concerns that have been brought to my attention. There are always concerns when children and adolescents spend a lot of time on the Internet and a blog would give them an excuse to spend more time online. But it also opens students up to the possibility of online stalkers and child predators. The issue of privacy is huge. How can students be comfortable blogging and sharing their work online if they are constantly have to worry about sharing too much information. I know that it is possible to make a members only blog, but a computer hacker or programmer could easily find their way around that hedge. There is also the thought that setting up a classroom blog makes assumptions about the socioeconomic status of the class. There may be individuals in the class that don't have access to the blog, except in the school. This could lead to exclusion, feelings of inferiority/superiority etc. My last concern is that I would hate to see blogging or the internet take over the actual classroom. Social skills and personal development happen as students interact with each other and the teacher face to face. Not to mention students are taught to think about others as opposed to just themselves. There is a community aspect of the classroom, that I don't think blogging could duplicate.

Overall I think that there is definelty a place for blogging in the classroom, with the technological advancements of our age it seems to be a force that cannot be escaped. But I do think there is a place for it, as long as teachers and schools are aware of the dangers and make attempts to protect their students.

Who am I?

My name is Bev and this is my first year at the University. This is my third year of post-secondary education and I'm very excited to be in the Faculty of Education. I am from Northern Alberta and I have spent much of my time in the mountains working with young people, so coming to Southern Alberta has been a bit of a culture shock. I first realized that I wanted to go into Education in the summer before my grade twelve year. I was sitting around a campfire listening to my parents talk about a teacher that had had a very negative effect on my younger brother. As I listened to them discuss a teacher's impact on students, I suddenly realized that I wanted to be one who impacted the lives of students, only for the positive not the negative. As I sat in that chair staring into the fire, it was as if I received a special call to go into teaching and in that moment I felt a love and a passion well up in my heart that has continued to grow even up to this day. One of my favorite things to do is work at summer camp and I have spent the last four summers working as a camp counselor and wrangler. And I love nothing more than watching young people learn and grow over the course of a week and then seeing how much they change from year to year. I love watching the light come on in their eyes when they finally understand how to sit on a horse. Or watching their confidence grow, as their experience broadens and they become more and more sure of themselves. Kids and teenagers have so much life and passion in them and so much to offer the world, and I love being a part of that exploration and quest. I am very excited to begin my career as a teacher.