Integrating Technology and Science

"Integrating Technology and Science", is an article that caught my attention immediately just because of the name. Science is a subject that isn't focused on as much as other subjects. This is why I feel that integrating technology into this subject is so important. This article talks about different ways technology can be integrated into a science lesson. Growing up I know I wasn't a big fan of science. For some reason I couldn't get into it. I feel that by intgrating technology into these science lessons it will motivate students. It will always provide a way to keep students interested in the science lessons.

One activity talked about in the article is something that a first grade teacher did with her class and I felt it was very creative. She  took pictures with a digital camera while students investigated balancing paper crayfish with clothespins. She then put the photographs into a PowerPoint slide show. The next day, students recounted their experiments by flipping through the slide show took pictures with a digital camera while students investigated balancing paper crayfish with clothespins. She then put the photographs into a PowerPoint slide show. The next day, students recounted their experiments by flipping through the slide show. I feel that this is something that I know students will enjoy and have fun with. This is something that I plan on trying with my students in the future.

An activity that I want to try with m students is to have them observe butterflys and create an PowerPoint presentation to present to the class. This is something that I feel my students will enjoy. All and all I enjoyed the article and plan on incorporating these activities into my future classroom.

Retreived from: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech233.shtml

Rubric AR #7

This week in my Technology for Educators class we were asked to create a rubric to score our digital storytelling presentation for our final project. A rubric is designed to be an authentic assessment aimed to present students with tasks that mirror the objectives and challenges typical of their instructional activities” (Gunter 2010).  I chose to create my rubric using iRubric. I must say that this was an extremely user friendly website that guides you through the rubric making process.

 Even though the rubric making process was easy, I did have trouble developing the assessment for my rubric. I think that I had a harder time developing the assessment of the rubric because I have not begun teaching and haven’t had a lot of practice creating them. Another reason why I feel that I had trouble creating the assessment is because I didn’t know how exactly I wanted to evaluate the presentation. I’m sure with practice it will make this process easier.

My rubric consisted of 4 different criteria excellent, good, fair, and poor. These criteria were divided into 5 categories. The students were evaluated on the overall presentation, contents, mechanics, and appearance. I feel as though I did a good job creating my rubric but I know that I need more practice creating a more detailed description for each category.

  All and all I enjoyed creating my rubric for this project. I must admit it really made me think and evaluate how I want to assess my future students. I look forward to using iRubric in the future to create my rubric.

Here is a link to my rubric http://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?code=R49AX6&nocache=1290145040781

Integrating Technology into the Classroom

I found an interesting article while browsing the internet about the integration of technology into the school system. "Integrating Technology into the Classroom", is an interesting article about different ways to integrate technology into instruction daily. "Six years ago, the internet was limited both in what it could do and in who used it. Many people had heard the word but did not have a clue what it was".In today's day and age internet has become more popular. Most teachers have access to the internet not only at home but at school as well. It is important that educators are now familiar with the internet and this new technology because they are being required to integrate this technology into the classroom.

The article states that one of the number 1 reasons to use the internet in the classroom is for research. When researching certain topics there are times when the librarian may not have the information needed. Research is an important part of education because it gives you the opportunity to learn more about a topic or individual. Another way to integrate technology into the classroom is to have your students create web page. This is a fun and engaging activities that the students will love. You can use this web page as a way for students to post assignments and projects to share with their classmates. 

The article also talks about the importance of showing students how to find credible research information and assess if the information is valid. This is something that I feel is very important because their is so much information on the internet when researching a topic, how will they know what information is valid. This is something that I can remember was always a problem for me when researching a topic. I am a fan of Google and when I would search a topic I would find a variety of websites. I never knew which information was credible and which information wasn't. This is why I feel so strongly about teaching my students how to assess websites. All and all I enjoyed reading this article. I found valuable information that will help me when I begin teaching.

Retrieved from: http://712educators.about.com/cs/technology/a/integratetech.htm

Example Project AR #6

This week in my Fundamentals for Educators class we were asked to continue with our curriculum page by creating a sample digital storytelling project.  My project is based on a social studies lesson about the Native American culture and tribes. The students will get into groups of about 3-4 to complete this assignment. Each group was asked to pick a Native American tribe to research (i.e. Apache, Cherokee, Mayan). Some requirements for the assignment were to include 8-10 slides, 4 pictures, and 1 video.

 I used the Slideshare presentation tool to complete my sample presentation for my students. I used this tool because this is what I required my students to use. I felt that it would be a little easier for them to use Slideshare because it is similar to PowerPoint. But after thinking about the requirements for the project a little more, I decided that I am going to give my students the opportunity to complete this project using Slideshare or Prezi. Prezi is another presentation tool that can be used for digital storytelling. 

I have worked with both presentation tools throughout this semester and I must admit that I really enjoy both tools. For this assignment I decided to create my sample project using Slideshare. It was rather easy to complete this project but I did find that I had trouble adding a youtube video to my PowerPoint slide. It took time for me to figure out how to do this. Besides figuring out how to add the video to my presentation, everything else was simple and I had no trouble completing this assignment.  

In my sample presentation I chose to research the Apache Indian tribe. I included a little information about their customs and traditions. I also added pictures and videos to help add to the effectiveness of the presentation. Once I completed my PowerPoint I then uploaded it to the Slideshare tool. Through this tool the students are able to creatively present their research using music, video, and pictures. This is a tool that I plan on using in my future classroom.

Here is the link to my Slideshare presentation http://www.slideshare.net/sammie06/apache-5759589

Curriculum Page AR #5

This week in my Fundamentals of Technology for educators class we were asked to create a Curriculum page using a Wiki. As stated in our text book, a curriculum page is a “teacher created document that consist of hyperlinks to teacher-selected Websites that assist in teaching content-specific standards and objectives” (Gunter 2010). Because I hadn’t created a Curriculum page in a while I decided to look at some examples before I started. We were also provided with a Curriculum Page template to complete this activity.

I created my Wiki page using PBWorks for educators. Creating the Wiki was an easy process. I can’t say the same for creating the Curriculum page. When I initially looked at the temple for the curriculum page I must admit I was a little overwhelmed but once I began working on my Curriculum page it was rather easy and I was impressed at how user friendly this tool was. The only thing that surprised me about creating the Curriculum page was the amount of time that I spent creating it. When I began the assignment I didn’t think that it would take too long to complete because I already knew what my Curriculum would be based on. Once I started working I realize it would take longer than I thought.

My Curriculum page is based on a social studies digital storytelling project that my students created on the Native American culture. They were asked to research in groups the tribe of their chose and present their findings through a digital storytelling activity. Here is the link to my Curriculum page.

After completing this activity I must admit that I enjoyed creating my Curriculum page. Something that I learned from completing this activity is that a Curriculum page really comes in handy when planning a project or activity for your class. It also works well with making sure all of your academic standards are covered. All an all I feel that Curriculum pages are a great way to display information for projects and activities. This is something that I have worked with briefly in the past and will continue to utilize in the future. 

Shelly, G. & Gunter, G & Gunter, R. (2010). Teacher Discovering Computers Integrating technology and Digital Media in the Classroom. (6th Ed.) Cengage Learning

Technology as a tool to support instruction

 “Technology as a tool to support instruction”, is an article that immediately stood out to me because of the importance of integrating technology into the curriculum. This article is about personal perspective on the ways in which technology can enhance learning. I can remember a couple of years ago many were intimidated by the use of technology in the classroom. “Now, we've entered an era in which technology is no longer an intimidating novelty”. Technology has now become more accepted because as it continues to grow from year to year educators are expected to introduce this new type of technology to the students. Because technology is everywhere I feel that with the major use of it in this day in age it is important that we as educators teach the students how to use this new technology properly.

This article also talks about technology as a tool. “Technology is a tool that can change the nature of learning”. The main focus amongst educators is to provide proper instruction for students to learn.  Many look at technology in the classroom as a way to increase learning in the classroom.  “However, in a technology-rich classroom, students don’t “learn” technology. Technology merely provides the tools to be used for authentic learning. It is a means, not an end”.

The article also talks about how teachers must determine how technology tools are used in the classroom.  The article talks about how teachers must take responsibility and help design a technology based curriculum for each teacher to use in that grade level. I feel that by teachers working together to integrate the technology into the classroom, it gives them the opportunity to get creative and find ways to engage the students. All and all this was a very informative article. It also made me think a lot about the way technology is integrated into the classroom.

Retrieved from: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech004.shtm