Online Resources

What online resources have you used to improve your teaching, and how do you usually find them?

The resources that I use to improve my teaching in middle school science are:

NSDL-National Science Digital Library
NASA-Educators-National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NSTA- National Science Teacher Association
PBS.org- pbskids.org/dragonflytv/scientists/index
Discovery Education
Pearson-phschool.com (text book codes)
SciLinks
The Science Spot
Middle School Science - www.middleschoolscience.com

A few of these resources were given to me by my science methods teacher in University. The rest I have stumbled across when I was searching for topic based lesson plans during my first and second year of teaching science. These are excellent resources that I continue to revert to when looking for lesson ideas.

Another resource that I find to be extremely helpful in keeping up to date on science news and science blogs is Pageflakes. I love this way of organizing all of my resources in one place that I use for my classroom, including gmail, twitter, and my blog. Podcasts and latest science news videos can also be found right on my Pageflake.

Twitter is another social networking resource that helps me find even more sites that other science teachers around the globe use.

All in all, the internet is the place that helps me most in getting resources that I need, even science ebooks! I love it! However, the downfall is that there are way too many sites out there and I'm not really sure how to find sites that could be helpful for bringing in more virtual environments into the science classroom.

Computer Use Now and in the Future

When I think back when I was teaching fourth grade, 2 years ago, the extent of my computer skills was excel spreadsheets, word documents, and sending/receiving emails. I began to use the projector to show short films on my laptop, but with help from my teaching partner. The technology facilitator would help me on PowerPoint projects, Hyperstudio projects, Windows Movie Maker, and using ikeepbookmarks.com for keeping a collection of bookmarks for the units I was teaching at the time.

Now, just two years of working at the Middle School and in the science classroom, I can't believe how visually literate I have become. Thanks to the push and guidance from Jennie and Paul. Through the course of 23 things, the virtual environment opened up to me as a whole new world. I became confident in tinkering with things on the computer, as our 21st century learners do. I am amazed at the amount of tools that are out there and the support available for teachers and people in general. The social networking tools that allow for collaboration are amazing.

In the future, I would like to be using flipcams and podcasts more often in the science classroom for documenting laboratory investigations and discussions instead of always presentations. I see the computer and Panaboard as being very prominent in my classroom as well as the students ability to stretch their inquiry even further with the new high speed internet which will be available in the classroom. I would like to incorporate tech based research and programs during hands-on project-based learning.

I'm so psyched about the freedom I feel when I have technology at my fingertips!

Google Apps

The more I learn about Google Apps, the more I wonder how a teacher could live without it! There are so any practical and effective applications available for free through the Google Suite that just keep getting better. I believe Google Apps are going to have a very large impact on the standards and quality of our school from teachers being about to communicate with parents better, to students collaborating in and out of school efficiently, to teachers being able to finally collaborate on units and curriculum in order to refine our programs so that our students can be able to make connections across the disciplines. Google Docs will be one of the main apps that will allow all of this to happen. Having all students and teachers as Google Account members has made communication 10 times easier than ever before. Students are able to contact me from home or from school and ask questions about an assignment on Google Talk at any time. They can have their questions and concerns followed up on almost immediately rather than waiting for an email to go through. Google Docs is another way that the learning environment will be improved because students can collaborate and share documents as well as have my feedback either in school or out of school. I look forward to learning more about how Google Calendar and Google Sites can also be used in the classroom!

Reflection of Gmail Accounts

* What are the main differences between Gmail and any email you've used before?--

I have had two other email accounts- one at school isb.rs and yahoo.com and they are very simple and are mainly only used for email contacts. However, gmail is much more diverse in it's abilities to promote 'real' conversation, information seeking, and collaboration where everything is in one place.

* What would you like to be able to do with Gmail? Responses here might inform future learning opportunities in this course.
I am not really sure what else there is that you can do with gmail. Google Talk is already amazing and especially when all students have a gmail. I use it a lot with keeping up on student assignments and understandings. I guess I would like to know more about how to incorporate Google into Moodlic. ALSO, how all students could see my calendar of assignments and how they could be emailed to all students in Gr. 6, 7, 8A instead of depending on students to look at the calendars on Moodlic.


* How could one of the tools in Gmail be used to positively impact student or teacher performance at ISB?
I believe Google Docs is a valuable tool for students to work from home and collaborate and reflect on various assignments. This way, they do not need a flashdrive, they can work from their own homes instead of meeting out of school at someones house.