Article 9 "Learning Connections The Power of 10S"

I found Joanne Barrett's article both amusing and informative. Amusing because I, too, teach my seventh graders about the metric system at the beginning of each year for my Life Science class.  They are amazed that the United States is the only major nation in the world to still use its antiquated English measurements. They enjoy using the meter sticks, and liter beakers, etc, but I feel that unless something major happens in our education system, we will never join the rest of the world and use the metric system.  I found her idea of Metric Day and the activities informative.  I usually have various lab stations set up involving different measurements and activities involving comparisons of our English system to the Metric. The marshmallow toss and scavenger hunt will definitely be part of my metric unit next year as they provide more tangible activities.  In addition, I will be showing the original version of "The Powers of Ten"--should be fascinating!   This unit will cover student ISTE standards 2,5 and 6.  The more we expose children at younger ages to the Metric System, perhaps we can have a chance of changing over by the mid-century.

Article 8 "Total Technology Immersion" by Sandy Vaughn

“Total Technology Immersion”

As Sandy Vaughn writes in her article the Floydada Independent School District in Texas has shown how even a school with little resources can become totally immersed in technology from elementary school through high school.  This small district has not only increased test scores, but have gotten students and teachers excited about coming to school and learning.  It’s particularly nice that those students from low-income homes can also participate by being issued a laptop to use “24/7”.  Even high school juniors and seniors are helping their families with college tuition by taking college level courses in high school via the Internet.  With the right kind of funding and accessible funding, schools throughout this country should be able to become totally immersed in technology.

VoiceThread Extends the Classroom with Interactive Multimedia Albums

Laila Weir sold me on the VoiceThread tool in her article.  She reports how this computer tool (developed by Bill Ferriter of Salem, North Carolina )  can be a versatile classroom tool which gets all students interested.  By posting an image, document or video, the teacher can ask the viewer to respond to a question "by typing, recording an audio or video comment, or drawing on the image itself." I love the versatility this gives the teacher in getting responses from his/her students--all of them.  Ms. Weir emphasized that not only do the students who always answer questions respond, but those that are "shy" or rarely answer will answer because they can use their "technical" skills not a pen and pencil.  Another neat aspect is that classrooms in other countries can respond.  This wonderful tool can be used in all classes and can help students with their writing skills, reading skills, and public speaking skills.  As a science teacher, I would use it as one teacher recommended, as an extended KWL. For example,  I would post a picture of a leaf with sunlight shining on it, and ask, "What do you know about photosynthesis?"and "What do we want learn about photosynthesis?"  The students could respond on their computers.  Then after learning about photosynthesis, we would revisit the VoiceThread and correct any misconceptions.  I'm still new to it, so I am just coming up with cool classroom uses for this great tool.  So, in conclusion, Ms. Weir has introduced me to a visual, technological tool that I can put on the VoiceThread web site to which ALL of my students can respond in a variety of ways.  It will help my shy students to be more "vocal" as well as get my students away from the usual pencil and paper exercises into an educational usage of the technological age.

Voicethreads would definitely satisfy NETS 2(communication/collaboration), 4 (critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making), and 5 (digital citizenship).

S'Cool Tools: 5 Great Tools to Perk Up Your Classroom and Encourage Your Students

Dr. Maureen Brown Yoder lists 5 tools that she feels have the potential to "transform your lessons".   Dr. Brown chose the following tools because she felt they: 1) were powerful in enhancing the teacher's lessons, 2) were easy to learn, and 3) were either new or an improvement over an earlier version.  The tools are:
1) We Do Robotics Construction Sets by Lego--great for younger students who love building with Lego blocks and and use their creations on computer screens as animations to show their counterparts in other countries.
2) Smart Table by Smart Technology which is an enhancement of a smart board and on four legs.  Capable of having up to eight students working on various lessons, the Smart Table is quite pricey at $7,999!
3) AVer Pen works with AVer Plus software from Avermedia.  Works like an interactive whiteboard only without the whiteboard!  The image can be projected onto almost anything and the pens can "write" on them.  The teacher's pen can interact with up to six student pens at once and have a 100 foot operating radius.
4) Multiuser Virtual Environments or MUVS from Ramapo Islands seemed to interest me the most out of all the tools, because it it allows the students to actually become part of a virtual environment. And there are environments for just about all core subjects.  The EcoMUV is an ecosystems curriculem for middle school Life Science, and I was astounded that it had 10 fifty minute lessons  with ancillary i and teacher training for the this virtual environment.  Middle schools have used MUVS to get students excited about doing projects and learning.
5) The last tool listed is Google Apps Education Community by Google.  These are apps for teachers with various "tools for internet searching, collaboration and classroom activities."  These are free from Google, and I believe would be a boon to teachers as so many are now using apps in other areas of their lives.  It's also wonderful that teachers can share their ideas and advice on the available forum.
Of the five tools, I believe, as a middle school teacher, tools 4 and 5 would be the most valuable for me.  The others sound good, but tool 1. seems it would be more of a benefit to elementary teachers, and tools 2 and 3 seem like they could only be used in the most affluent areas as they seem rather expensive.

Virtual Fieldtrip response

Yes, it is terrific to have the technology that can take a science class in California, for example, to the super- collider in Switzerland to learn about atomic particle "smashing" and actually witness scientists conducting an experiment! With today's school budgets under attack and our economy not turning around as quickly as we had hoped, field trips are practically a remnant from our past. These virtual fieldtrips allow us to jump hurdles over travel expenses and museum entrance fees. As long as our schools have the technology, the world is ours.

Computing in the Clouds article

In Doug Johnson's article, "Computing in the Clouds," he offers budget strapped institutions (our schools) the option of using network based computing or cloud computing for their technology needs. This type of network computing saves money because all programs and files are not stored on the individual's computer, but in a network system located in a centralized location--the district's intranet, or as the author points out, the Internet itself! The school would not have to invest in expensive hardware or programs as they h can have access to the network by using less powerful computers such as netbooks and the programs would be free over the network. Since all files would be stored on the network, they could be accessed at home or at school--no need to save on flash drives. The author explains how he tried "living in the cloud" for a few months by using various web based programs and a 10-inch ASUS 1000HA netbook. He explained that except for writing long manuscripts, he could do just fine living on the network. He also mentioned that in many districts, gradebooks, reporting systems and other management systems are already web based. I agree with this author that once people consider and solve any privacy and security issues, Cloud Computing will be the wave of the future in our schools. It's practically a win-win situation: students can have access to lessons and research sources both at home and at school; teachers can collaborate freely with one another in one school as well as with teachers beyond our borders; and just about all programs and data space will the free. That is, if and when program providers start charging for their products. That's a possibility if their advertising fees don't sustain their profits. School districts have considerations too. Teachers will need to be trained in various applications and strategies to use this technological workhorse. Will they be willing to learn? Let's hope so. I am! Our school piloted a web based gradekeeping and attendance reporting program in the past year and it has really made those processes so much easier. No more filling out grade report cards by hand, no more "bubbling-in" daily attendance sheets. Another plus is the ability to input grades at home--not staying late to input or keeping a manual record to be keyed in later. As a science teacher, I would genuinely appreciate the ability to regularly use computers in the classroom for lab applications, data gathering and report writing (utilizing NETS and Performance Indicators #3,4 and 6) In addition, the possibility of using the system for cooperative learning projects with other schools (NETS #2). Using them in the classroom would also save time from having to move the students to a computer lab. I would encourage the use of web-based programs in our schools to save money and keep our teachers and students current in the advances in technology.

11:22 PM 

Speak Up 2009: Creating Our Future: Students Speak Up about their Vision for 21st Learning article

I found this article very interesting, because it reports evidence from the results of  the Speak Up 2009 surveys for K-12 students, teachers, and parents that in order to keep our nation from falling behind in the world, we must educate our students not from the familiar lecture, note-taking, paper test route, BUT by utilizing the vast innovations we possess.  Our nation's children have been exposed to and therefore, are adept at using "communication and collaboration tools",  These tools need to be used by teachers to create meaningful projects and assignments that students would be interested in doing.
What really jumped out at me was the image of a classroom where students could freely use the internet via classroom computers or their ipods that have internet capability.  Having students being able to use these devices is such a 180 degree turn around.  I like the idea of students learning by working cooperatively or independently on these devices as they are the "tools" of our world.  As long as students can focus on their work and not wander to unrelated topics or "unsafe" sites, this should be a most productive endeavor for our country.