Google Earth Rocks!

Google Earth is an amazing tool to use in the science classroom. I will be able to use it especially when studying pollution in Grade 7. Students can use Google Earth to view changes in areas over time of where factories have been or with Grade 6 of mining and destruction of habitats. Grade 7 will also be able to use Google Earth Moon and Mars views as well as the sky view when studying Astronomy. I would like to use Google Earth tours to present areas to students where current events are occurring in Ecology or Archaeology or Geology so they can connect with the area the scientists are talking about. I think Google Earth will become a very effective tool in presenting field trips to students we would like to take together, but are geographically impossible. The more we use Google Earth, the more applications of it we will discover together in the science classroom.

Google Sketch up success!

This is my Blood Bank from Sketch up! It's the best I could do, but I learned a lot about the tools and 3D web bank for images.

Module 8 complete

I tried using Sketch Up, but I didn't have much luck with it. I've made a few building structures, but still can't see the people in it. I figured out how to choose the various designs for the house and tables and chairs for the patio. However, Sumo Paint went much better for me. This is a great tool which I can see students using to illustrate their understanding of science terms or concepts. Anything is possible with it. The picture below this post was created in Sumo Paint and it is showing Maine and all of my favorite things about it.

Mass Sharing in the Future!

I believe that mass sharing in the future is going to be extremely important for young students and adults alike in order to keep the world small enough to function. Mass sharing has become very important to me as a person who lives far away from her family and friends. It helps me to keep in touch with my friends and I am able to share ideas with them easier than ever. As an educator, mass sharing for me has just begun but will be so important in improving my ability to complete more in less time for work and this may even mean less meetings but more effective teaching. Students who use mass sharing have found it so much easier to collaborate online than trying to get together during the day at someone's house during their busy after-school schedules. Students are learning and communicating more because of mass sharing. Often times in science class discussions there are students who always end up dominating the discussion, but if students are mass sharing and responding on line about certain concepts, they are less reluctant to speak. Mass sharing is a wonderful tool for communication, collaboration, and reflection!

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!