Tech Reflections

Earlier in the semester we wrote a set of guidelines for utilizing technology in our classroom. I wrote a set of questions that I go by before I embark on a new technology adventure.

Do I need Professional Development to use this equipment?
Can I teach myself how to use the equipment?
Will the number of preps for the courses that I am teaching decrease my ability to properly utilize the new technology?
How many of my students will be able to utilize the new technology or software?
How expensive is the technology? Will my administrator blow his or her wig when I make the sales pitch?
How user friendly is the software?
How user friendly is the manufacturer of the technology or software?
Do I have time to integrate the technology or software into my existing curriculum?
Will the new technology or software enhance my students learning, or is it just the bells and whistles version of what I am already doing?
Will the technology help to prepare my students for their future in the workplace or at the collegiate level?

I cannot say that I changed my questions during this course, in fact I utilized these same questions when I pondered what project I could do that would be practical for usage in my class room. I debated about making separate blogs for each of my courses, but I threw that idea out as I felt that I could not keep up with all the blogs and my teaching assignment. I tried to design a classroom blog that I would use and that I could build upon as my confidence and technology strength improved through the usage of this blog. I also designed the blog to be appealing to my students and for their first look at a poster on glogster was aesthetically appealing, yet simple enough for them to be able to feel they could learn to design their own posters. I plan to use these posters in all of my classes for presentations, rather than the tagboard that I have always used in years back.
Overall, I feel that technology is a wonderful tool and it can be as overwhelming as you allow it to be. It is important for me to remember that I need to allow myself time to figure out the bells and whistles when I attain a certain level of confidence with the particular type of technology. I still do not know why I cannot get the links on the blog posts to show up correctly.( I was only successful once. :)) I suspect that there is something blocking my view because the link code shows up in my original posts. I am hoping someone at school, possibly one of my students will be able to figure that one out.
I am looking forward to getting approval from my administration to use the blog that I designed for the class. I am not sure what kind of consent form I will need, I am hoping that the tech guidelines that the kids have to sign at the beginning of the year will cover my blog posts.
As a parting note, I am very glad that I took this course, even though it was a very humbling experience; it was also took me on a huge rollar coaster ride of a learning curve. :) Good bye for now. Cynthia

Link Problems

For some reason, the links that I put in do not work. I know my computer only allows me to disable something temporarily so I can insert the link...I use the script box...but the links do not show. If anyone can help me with this problem, please do. Thank you. Cyn

Final Project

Hi...all. I just finished the preliminary workings for my Science Class blog. It is meant to be practical and dynamic with changing bonus questions and problems. The site is at http://newtownscience.blogspot.com

Due to the fact that I do not know how the security works at the school and I have not been able to talk to administration or the technology advisor, I kept things very simple for me to utilize at the level at which I am at with the webtools.
The interesting part about the evolution of this course is that when I was making my new blog, I felt much more comfortable than I did the first night that I set up the blog. I was so overwhelmed with everything to do with the blog, yet when I was doing the project, I was much calmer. I still goofed things up, but I now have more confidence that in time I will figure things out and I do not need to know everything about a webtool to get it to work at the beginner level. Have a great evening. :) Cyn

Bookmarks

I tried both the bookmark sites of delicious and diigo. I like the diigo because I could highlight and use sticky notes....something I have been wanting to do since the conception of reading on-line. I am a highlighter and I use sticky notes when I read a book or document and I have been very frustrated when I can not print out a document so I can highlight the document. I have also been frustrated with the loss of my favorite bookmarks when I go from computer to computer. Both of these sites give me the opportunity to save articles to read later or come back to with notes and highlighting.
When I make my school blog site for my project, I am going to include both of these websites so I can access them easily while I am school. I have always found that time is a limiting factor for me, so having certain articles bookmarked and highlighter so I can use them in my class for discussions will be wonderful for me as an educator of multiple subjects.
On a personal note, I have been looking up laws regarding custody issues in ND for my son and his daughter.I sure wished I had played with these sites earlier so I could have highlighted and saved sites as I was reading and searching. Now that I know about these sites and I have signed up for them, I will be using the sites for the legal searches as well.
I also thought of another use for these two sites. I am going to use the highlighter for the standards documents that I so frequently peruse. I know I will be writing curriculum this fall, so the highlighted standards documents will be great for these old eyes. :)
As usual, time disappeared when I was playing on these websites and I was amazed at the novelity of these two sites as well....and this fact seems to ring true every week when I explore. I have learned not to bite off more than I can chew as the class has progressed...and I do not feel so overwhelmed with the lack of a polished product at the end of my exploration process.

Photo placement goof up.

I seemed to have goofed up how I placed the photos, but it was my first successful attempt at uploading photos into the posting of these blogs. Sorry for the confusion. :)

Well, I have been playing with the photo webtools. I seem to like Piknik the best so far. It seems easier for me to figure out without any experience at editing photos. I am going to attempt to upload a picture of my grand-daughter Mali here.



Here is another picture of her making knefla with my son.
I am not sure how these uploaded or the layout of this blog, so I am going to try and post it and see what happens.

Week 5 Reflection

As I have been cruising through the examples of classroom wikis and blogs, I am wondering which is the better avenue to pursue. I am getting the hang of the blog stuff, so I think a classroom blog would be a better alternative for me. I think once I can perfect the Blog then I should venture to a wiki. There are so many avenues to pursue with again, time being the limiting factor.
From what I can discern to have a classroom blog or wiki, I will need administrative and technology support. I am guessing that I will have to have some kind of consent form from my students as well so the material that they post is appropriate.
I do like the fact that students can work on projects from different locations and one student does not carry the burden of the other team member on the project. I am leaning toward having a class blog and using glogster for some digital project postings this year. I am guessing there will be a huge learning curve for myself and my students as there has been for me this summer on this journey of exploring webtools.
On a personal note, out of the ten foster puppies...I have two left with an interested party for one of them. :) If you are an animal lover and you have room to foster, it is very rewarding. You can contact your local shelter or breed rescue for details on how to help your community's animal challenges. :)

On-line Data and Graphs

I have added the links for the on-line data and graphs ( Under the Cool Science Sites Area) as I do propose to have students experiment with data and graphing before I would expect them to create a science poster for Create an Argument. For this exercise to be the most useful to me, I will have to take baby steps and phase each step in through out the first year and build on this type of learning activity.
I have played and played with Google Earth as it fascinates me, but I cannot upload any pictures to this site as the Blog says the pic is corrupt or too big. According to the Google Earth tutorial, it should work. I hoping someone at school this fall will know a little more about the program and will be able to help me upload the Google pics.
Overall,I was in a lesser panic mode this week. I have accepted that I cannot get everything to work, because 1) I have compatibility issues with some of the things I am viewing and attempting to do, 2) I have never worked with this stuff before so I cannot expect to be an expert, and 3) time is a limiting factor for me to truly understand everything. Have a great evening. Cyn

animations.

Good evening everyone. I have had a fun filled few days trying out the animations. The problem that I have been having is that my computer locks up when I try to view them plus it seems like the different sites expect you to download new components which is messing my other stuff up. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday, trying to clean up things that I wasn't using, but I do not think that I did a great job of it.
I cannot figure out how to download the images from Google Earth and I am also wondering why you cannot just copy the regular URL into my blog...sometimes they want you to do another URL.
I have used this interactive periodic table in my classes before....by accident to obtain data on elements. I was overjoyed to see the site in our text.
Chemicool Periodic Table
I am still exploring other sites and trying to get the animations to work, so I will attempt to get something work again in the morning. If anyone has any tips, I would appreciate it. :) Cyn

Glogster

I have to admit, I have spent a lot of time trying to get Glogster to work correctly. I have lost my Glog so many times while I have tried to retrieve things on the internet during this past week, I have lost count.
I have tried to connect video or music, but to heck with that. I also have tried repeatedly to link my Glog to this Blog, but I am doing something wrong there too.
I will keep trying.
Since it is the summer and I usually introduce myself to my students with my summer activities, I made my Glog about pets. I have had a litter of foster pups which has been quite an adventure the link to my Glog if you are an animal lover is as follows:
http://cmisner.glogster.com/glog-6252

I typed in the link and then I tried the link icon...I have no idea if I did the link icon correctly.
I do know that I feel like I am failing at a lot of the tools because I am not getting something quite right....but I am having fun at the same time. Bye for now....

Videos

As I am wandering through the video websites, I am exhilarated and overwhelmed at the same time. I often think I am overstimulated as I am experiencing all of these web tools. I try to look at as much as I can and try them out....I find that two to four hours can transpire while I am perusing the content of this course without much for an output.
I think I am figuring out what the tags and embedding mean. I have tried to link things and embed them, but I have not gotten things to work. I will continue to do so I hopefully can get something to work this weekend. :)
I have used video clips in my classes to discuss and connect current real world science. I can definitely see a purpose for demonstrating labs before we do them or labs that we do not have the equipment to execute the lab. I am wondering if time will be a limiting factor in my ability to use a lot of these videos right away. I am thinking all of these tools are a dynamic process and when I have a few minutes here and there, I will have to work on new videos. I also think that I will have to learn how to use these tools to dazzle my administrators so I can ask for video equipment so my kids can make them too.
I am very appreciative of the text for giving us websites to search for video clips....I am looking forward to viewing them all too.
It is hot and humid in north central ND....working inside is a blessing this evening. How is weather where all of you are tonight?

Google Reader

I am trying to figure out Google Reader but I am not having any luck. When I read about it I was very excited, but I am havign trouble adding subscriptions. I tried to add our class, but I don't think that worked either. So...I am still trying out these webtools. Can anyone assist me? Has anyone gotten Google Reader figured out, yet? Thanks. Have great Sunday evening.

Tech Toys

I have had a drama filled week with custody issues and my only grandchild while trying to figure out the new web tools in between the severe thunderstorms and tornados. I have only played with a couple as of tonight, I hope to play with some more this weekend. I really liked the Edmodo and I think I may try it this fall to test it out. The Twiducate seems similar to Edmodo, but since I signed up for Twitter, I have gotten several telemarketer calls. They state that I signed up for something online and they were calling to discuss it. The only things that I signed up were this blog and Twitter. Twitter asks what are your interests, so I am guessing I did not see the fine print which stated to check a box so I would not be contacted by phone. :)
Years ago, I had a link on a school's website and put on extra credit problems. I was surprised at the responses that I got from the kids. I also posted pictures from labs (without names) to make the kids want to go to my links. I think this Edmodo could be like my experience years ago, so I am going to try it. Have a great weekend and TGIF. :) Cyn

The topic this week was science literacy and I found this topic to be a great challenge when I first started to teach science. I can teach math, science, or French, therefore I have had a broad range of teaching assignments. In a middle school setting or lower high school levels of science courses, an educator comes across a diverse range of reading levels in each classroom.
I found that some of my high school students had second to fourth grade reading levels which made me ponder as to how I could teach these students to comprehend the science. Through the years, I have found that guided notes and note problems helped the students to read the science for the major concepts. As I go over the information I also concept map with the kids to help them to connect the dots of the key conceps in each section of the chapters in the texts. The problem with typing up guided notes and note problems is that it takes up a lot of time. When I have numerous preps, I cannot focus as much on literacy problems as I can when I have less than four preps.
To assist with writing across the curriculum, I require my students to write up their labs in a bound labbook, and to write a good conclusion paragraph. This conclusion paragraph is supposed to connect the lab to the theory in the classroom. I struggle with this as students seem to want to tell me step by step what they did in the lab rather than use higher level thinking skills. It can take the first nine weeks for it to sink into the minds of many of my students that I am going to take points off for not writing at the level they should be writing. This level is individualistic because of the different literacy levels of my students, so it may take a few weeks before I can determine the students' reading and writing levels.
In summary,the articles that we read reiterated many topics that I learned the hard way through many years of teaching. I am glad that what I learned is in accordance to research.:) I am also grateful that science educators as a whole have recognized the stumbling blocks in science comprehension is caused by literacy problems and we have to improve literacy levels in our schools across the curriculum to help our students become productive members of society.

Evaluating Technology Guidelines

Guiding Principles for Using Technology
Cynthia Misner
June 18, 2010
I love to integrate technology in my classroom, but I have several questions that I ask myself before I make a request to my administrators. When I am mandated to use new software or hardware, I take the required Professional Development courses and try to use the knowledge asap, so I do not lose the brief training on the new equipment. The list below is a set of questions that I ask myself, before I go to administration with a sales pitch for technology or software I am interested in for my classroom.
• Do I need Professional Development to use this equipment?
• Can I teach myself how to use the equipment?
• Will the number of preps for the courses that I am teaching decrease my ability to properly utilize the new technology?
• How many of my students will be able to utilize the new technology or software?
• How expensive is the technology? Will my administrator blow his or her wig when I make the sales pitch?
• How user friendly is the software?
• How user friendly is the manufacturer of the technology or software?
• Do I have time to integrate the technology or software into my existing curriculum?
• Will the new technology or software enhance my students learning, or is it just the bells and whistles version of what I am already doing?
• Will the technology help to prepare my students for their future in the workplace or at the collegiate level?
Some examples of technology that I have used that have enhanced my students’ learning, have been virtual tours of the Louvre, the catacombs, the Sorbonne, Jean d’Arc’s museum, le Tour Eiffel….(I have also taught French). I also had an international classroom e-mail account when this was not a very flat world. My students would correspond once a week with another classroom in France when I had this account opened. I have utilized an interactive human cadaver and virtual labs when I have not had the access to the lab supplies or a cadaver to explore the science involved in the labs. I also have used computer based labs to reinforce science explorations and data collection. They also have a lot of labs that I cannot investigate in the classroom without them.
Seven years ago, I went to a Professional Development course on the Smart Board. I made a sales pitch to my administrator, but he did not believe it was the wave of the future. Three to five years ago whole school districts started to install interactive boards in classrooms. I changed school districts so I currently have one in my room. I have used a variety of interactive programs which really involve the students learning scientific concepts. One interactive activity that I really liked was one based on the periodic table. Students were given elements and then they were timed on how long it took the students to find the elements on the periodic table. Another teacher happened to come across it and came to my classroom to show it to me. I have used it thereafter. I am hoping this course is going to help me make the connections to assist me in finding and utilizing technology and software without spending hours and hours searching for items and then experimenting with it all.

Setting the Stage Reflections

I am going to attempt to paste my word document in this blog...so here goes something...:)

Setting the Stage Reflections
Cynthia Misner
June 17, 2010
Upon reflecting on our first readings and my attempts to set up the blog and twitter account, I feel overwhelmed with the knowledge that I do not have. The definition of an adult is the moment you realize that you do not know everything that you thought you did in your adolescent mind. I am 51 and the older I get the more I realize that the knowledge base of the areas of academia that I thought I knew seem to grow exponentially with the advent of new technologies.
Friedman’s article on the concept of technological advances creating a flat world was right on the mark. I feel there is a big disconnect between high school standards and what is needed at the collegiate level to be successful in the STEM career areas in these United States. His article reiterated my feelings and I appreciated his insights. It would be nice to see in the future an article that outlined a plan that could help Americans to realize that academics rather than extra-curricular activities need to be emphasized in our high schools if we want our students to compete in this ever flattening world.
He had several comments comparing India’s, China’s, Russia’s, and America’s educational systems. The comparisons that resonated in my mind were 1) American high school students had an ambition gap, 2) American high school students had a sense of entitlement, 3) America has a number gap in producing scientists and engineers, 4) American students have an education gap, and 5) India, China, and Russia have rich educational heritages which are increasing the rate of evolution of the flattening of our world.
The other readings focused on how science teachers need to be up to date on current technological advances so they can integrate them into their teaching of science content and scientific inquiry. As an educator who likes to use technology, there is often down time when it fails or a student does not follow directions and goofs up the technology. I can see where the mastering of technology can be a focus rather than the content of the lesson because of the lack of tech support and professional development in using the technology.
The past three years I have used an interactive cadaver in my Anatomy class. At first the kids are grossed out, but they soon realize what a great tool the interactive cadaver is for them as an educational tool. There is no way I could ever have access to a real cadaver in my high school classroom and being able to utilize this piece of software and my Smart Board has really improved the learning of the anatomical systems. Unfortunately, I do have down time because my Smart Board is not interfacing with the computer properly, and I have had to change my lesson plans to compensate for the technological problems.
When I first began to teach, I had a lot more concerns about technology not working. As an experienced teacher, I have learned to punt and utilize my students’ technological saviness so much so that I do not sweat the small technological stuff anymore. I am looking forward to learning more ways to increase my level of technological saviness without stressing my type A personality as this class unfolds. These first articles set the stage for the up and coming technological adventures during the semester and I am ready to hit the floor running.

Hi! As you can tell from my first posts, I am new to blogs. So, here is a brief introduction.....
I have taught a little over 20 years in math, science, and French from grade 7 through the collegiate level. I have one grown son, one two year old grand-daugher...who is a real pill, two dogs, and two cats. I also foster animals through the local animal shelter. This spring I had the good fortune to foster a mama and her litter of ten pups. Mama has a new adoptive family and 7 of the pups are adopted out...three more to go.
I am working in my EdD through Montana State University and enjoy the use of technology. Unfortunately the timing of the commencement of this class and the weather that hit ND were not very compatible. I am hoping I will make it through this post without internet interruption due to the storms passing through. :) Cyn

What is a gadget? How do I do my profile? Does anyone know? Thanks! Cyn

Cyn's Introduction

I have absolutely no clue as to what I am doing...as I have never seen or done this before.