Reflection on Science in Technology Activity

I really enjoyed doing this activity, not only to myself discover the uses of technology in the Science curriculum, but to also see how other students in the class used technology

I looked at Melinda Hect and Whitney Zylstra's blogs to get other ideas for my classroom.
Melinda used a temperature probe to test the heat made by friction and Whitney used Kidspiration to classify living and non-living things.

I learned there are SO MANY ways to use technology to make science truly come alive in the classroom! I love that there are so many tools out there, the temperature probe used by Melinda is great to let kids really experience using temperature in a concrete hands on way.

Based off of Whitney's project, I got to see that there were more uses for Kidspiration than I ever imagined!

Technology is so accessible and I am excited to implement it in my classroom. :)

The Tech Savvy Teacher

It’s Just a Phase
By: Lexee Russell and Ashley Matekel

We are so excited to be writing for this newsletter this month, especially in the Tech Savvy Teacher column! There are so many great technological tools to make science come ALIVE in the elementary school classroom. The following is an example of how to implement different technology resources in the curriculum.

Sixth Grade Science Standard 1.2: Phases of the Moon

Anticipatory Set:

We would tell students about a moon journal and what it would look like if we drew the moon every night at the same time. We would show the following picture from: http://blog.journeywithjulette.com/wp-content/moon_phases_diagram.jpg

Instructional Input:

-Discuss why the moon looks differently during different times during the month
-Define what a phase is and explore the eight phases of the moon
-Discuss the names of the eight phases and the position of the sun, earth, and moon during these phases (show picture above again to discuss phases)
-Use the Stellarium program to show the students what the moon looks like that very day and identify the phase. As a class you can look at other phases, as well.
-Stellarium can be downloaded for free at http://www.stellarium.org/.

Guided Practice:
Students will then create the moon phases with oreo cookies. See example picture below from: http://www.4ever4given.com/upload/2006/11/100_0800.jpg

Independent Practice:
Many interactive games on moon phases can be found on the internet. Below are three examples of great games that can be used to enhance students understanding of the moon phases:
This one is Moonlight Madness from:http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/moonlight.html

This game is timed and is called Moon Phases from Space and is found at http://www.purposegames.com/game/1016:

This game is called Lunar Challenge from http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/moon/moon_challenge/moon_challenge.html:

Closure:

Assign the students to complete a moon journal of their own for a month. Give students the option of drawing it by hand or creating a picture on the computer.

In this specific example, technology was used in multiple ways to truly make science come alive and enhance learning. The sixth graders were able to see what the moon looked like that very day, and were able to visually see how the moon moves from phase to phase. They completed interactive games to solidify their learning. Their homework even gave the option to create their moon journal on the computer. Through these technological tools, they were able to identify, observe, and classify in a more visual and concrete manner. The students were able to not only know the phases of the moon, but create, analyze, and apply this information in multiple settings. Students were able to learn more thoroughly because of the technology. Thus, technology is a wonderful tool to implement in the classroom! It really allows the students to experience in a concrete and fun way!

TPCK and Fair Use

True technology instruction as stated in TPCK is the integration of all three types of knowledge in TPCK-Technical, pedagogical, and content knowledge.

As I went through the copyright tutorial and quiz, I didn't realize all the implications of fair use in the classroom. I didn't understand that most media is only fair use if 10% of it is used in the classroom. I am so glad that we got to view the guidelines for fair use and copyright so I don't illegally use any materials in my classroom. I am also so glad I learned the correct way to cite for myself, and my future students.

de.licio.us and science resources

This week in IP&T 287 we worked on our delicious sites. I think this is such a cool resource! (See the link on the left hand side of the page). By using this site I can collaborate with other teachers about ideas to use in the classroom. This will give me wider access to great websites and lesson plan ideas and articles to improve my teaching. I think it is so cool to collaborate with other educators on the importance of education and great ideas to educate children. I will try to use delicious in whatever school I get a teaching job at. We also talked about this week about all the many technology resources out there. We got a link to so many awesome science lesson technology resources. We learned about thermometer probes, digital microscopes, stellarium, kidspiration, LoggerPro, etc. I didn't realize the amount of resources that are out there for teachers and students to use to make science lessons interactive and exciting!

Great Resources Are Available!!!! :)

This week in class we furthered our knowledge to the great uses of web 2.0 and the abundance of resources and social networking options there are out there for teachers! I had never heard of goodreads before this class (see link great books under my links) and it is a great way for teachers to share their favorite books with other teachers, their students, or their student's parents. I could see this as a fun way to get student's excited about learning and reading!

I think it would be so fun to create a goodreads account for my classroom and have students bring books and reviews to add to list that we could share with another classroom. I think this might be one way to get students excited about reading and sharing what they have read.

I am so glad I have the opportunity in this class to learn about all the great resources that are available for me to use in my classroom!! Technology is a great way to help children learn. We are in a technology dominated sociey and children today use technology a lot! Thus, technology can be used as a very useful tool to get student's engaged in what they are learning and excited to complete assignments. Technology has so many options and so many things available that the opportunities and possibilities are endless!

my first blog post!

I am excited to learn about technology in this class! I have never created a blog, so this is new for me. Here is a little about me. I got married this summer in Salt Lake and love it! I have three little brothers and they are so much fun. I love mexican food and the color red. I can't wait to become a teacher!! Here is a picture of me and my new husband :)





I am excited to learn ways to implement technology into the elemtary school classroom. I think that technology is an evergrowing, crucial part of our society today. When you think about how far technology has come in my lifetime alone. Since I was an elementary school student, computers have become mainstream, cell phones are a necessity, the internet is accessible to everyone and commonly used, much college work is done with technology, etc. etc. As far as technology has advanced in the past ten years alone, imagine how far it will be in when today's elementary student's are in college. Elementary school is the foundation for everyone's education. I hope that I will be able to integrate technology in my classroom in fun and creative ways so my students can survive and be successful in a digital society. I am so excited to learn different ways that technology can enrich my classroom and my students. I already think that a classroom blog or wiki space would be a fun way to keep parents and students involved in what is going on in the classroom!