In Summary....

When I first learned that I had to take this class as part of my studies, I remembered thinking, why do I need that class.  Now I can tell you with clarity, because every teacher new and old should take this class.  This is a class that should be offered for teachers just for a summer review.  Maybe have it as an option in the continuing learning and just make it available to certified teachers.  I know that I want to use these tools in my classroom.  I just worry that I will forget how to do everything.  Another idea is to create a workbook that thoroughly explains how to do these things and sell them.  So, as long as I can remember how to do the projects, I will use them in my class for sure.  Each one of the web tools gives you an opportunity to do something different and allows the different types of learners to experience something new which may help them uderstand something better.  They are all great tools for collaborative learning, for hands on learning, better teaching techniques, and emphasize fun ways to learn.  I hope that each of us use what we have learned and change the old school culture regarding lecture, blackboards, and Power Point slides.  We have so much at our fingertips now and I feel like so many of us take it for granted or choose not to use it because of fear.  Technology is here and there is more to come in the future.  We need to embrace it and use to help our kids learn and be the best they can be!!!

Favorite thing I learned in this class....

I would say that the favorite thing I learned in the class was the digital story and the interactive white board.  Science is usually just experimentation at the desk or exploring outside.  With astronomy added once again to the new curriculum, it is a great way to use these tools to exploe things not easily explored.  Also, because of the different learners that I will have in class, it is a great tool to use with kids that may learn better from computer hands on work.  It offers a visual with an interesting plot and it can be made current, especially with the digital story and music, pictures, etc.  I also think that the ease of using both of these softwares is important.  It doesn't really take too much time to put something together, especially if it's just for a portion of a lesson or review.  I was very impressed with these two projects, but I really liked learning about them all.

Website

The website seemed like a daunting task at first.  I like the idea of using it my classroom, but it is something that really needs time spent on it putting it together.  I would probably start at the beginning of the summer and create the website and start putting information on it and typing my welcome.  I think the hard part is finding links to put on it, but that may just be because I don't have a curriculum I am dealing with yet.  I would want to put resources, forms, letters, homework, projects, etc.  This would be the place that most of my assignments and student and parent information would be so they had access 24/7.  I think it would be great to make it personal too so the kids and the parents get to know me and what I stand for and what my goals are for their children.  It might be nice to have each student create a page with creative projects and examples of what and how they are doing in class, so that each parent can look at what there child is doing.  There is just so much I can do with this type of technology.

Using Technology

I think it's funny how we have all of this technology and have the ability to do so much so quickly.  Yet, there are so many people that are against using it or think that it has taken over our lives.  I think that it is what it is and it is here to stay.... so embrace it and use it!  I have heard stories about teachers that have interactive whiteboards in their rooms and they never even touch them.  Just recently, my computer got a virus and I was unable to get to many things I needed.  I thought to myself after it happened, why didn't I use dropbox or google docs so that I can access it from another computer?  Even I have to remember to use what is available and learn more about what is out there.  Being able to use technology in my lessons will be a great asset to me and to my students.  It will enable those learners that may learn better through technology the ability to do so.  Visual learners will benefit greatly.  We need to quit talking about how technology is ruining our lives and making our kids checked out and realize that there are great things to be discovered and great things that will help our kids learn in the classroom.

imovie/Digital Storytelling

The imovie is a great resource.  I thought it would be much more difficult to put together, but it went fast once I got the storyboard down.  You could really use this to teach lessons and I could use to demonstrate how to perform an experiment or show them authentic scenarios that we wouldn't be able to perform in class.  Another great thing you could do with this is have the students work in groups and create imovies.  Each group could create the movie and I can use it to help teach the subject and use it as an assessment tool in the end.  The project can be graded with a rubric and will help some or most kids learn a different way.  This learning tool would be good for those students that need to do hands on and for those that need to be creative, or those that need to learn organization.  The ability to add creativity into a science class is something that has been difficult and this would enable students to put a piece of themselves into the project and learn the content at the same time.

Blogging in the Classroom

http://hpscienceblog.blogspot.com/

I found this 6th grade science blog since I will be student teaching 6th grade science this fall.  I was looking through several blogs before stumbling onto this one.  It caught my eye because of the bright colors and cheerful appearance.  I think it's very important that the blogger use tools to catch their audience and making it look fun would be something important for a 6th grade student.  I liked that the teacher used current events to blog about the topic being taught.  Most of the blogs contain content information, current events, resources to look beyond what they wrote, and thought provoking questions about the subject.  When looking for a blog to write about, I did see several blogs that had the vocabulary, assignments, additional resources and information about what they were learning that day or week.  I really like that idea mixed with the current events and further explanations of the event with the thought provoking questions.

Inspiration Diagrams

I think that the inspiration diagrams will be very helpful in creating science diagrams and showing students how to relate one idea to another.  I like that you can use images and be creative with the diagrams.  This would be a great tool to start a diagram at the beginning of a lesson and build on the diagram as the unit concludes.  This again would be a great way to show relationships between what we learn one day and how it connects to what we learn another day.  Also, you could use these diagrams to relate material to authentic situations.  You could start with the idea you are teaching and have branches of real life situations or objects that correlate with the idea.  You can also create the diagram in class as you discuss with the class.  You can have the students offer past knowledge about the content and as you teach, add ideas to the diagram to connect past knowledge with new information.  The program is very easy to manipulate and create as you teach.  This would be an excellent tool.