Sunday, January 30, 2011

Last Post for CED 515- what did I learn about?

This post will summarize the experience that I had in CED 515. This course was all about using productivity tools. We examined a variety of tools that I believe will be useful for me and my students. Below is an outline of what we have covered for CED 515 and some examples of my work.

In this class we discussed the use of Graphics. We took a look at the following programs: (Roxik, Draw Greetings, Queeky, ToonDoo, Toonlet, ImageChef, ZCubes, Shidonni, Mr. Picassohead, Face in Hole, GoAnimate, MagMyPic). I hope to have my students create some sort of a graphic that illustrates a concept that we discussed in class.

Here was the graphic that I created using GoAnimate:
GoAnimate.com: Stritch Graphic by cmbauhs


We also investigated a variety presentation programs. We took a look at the following presentation programs: (Google Apps, Slideboom, 280 Slides, Slideroll, authorStream, SlideShare, PreZentit, Empressr). These are all free presentation tools that I hope to have my students use to present on a topic we cover in class.

I used 280 slides to make a presentation for class. Here is my presentation:


A lot of people use the Internet or computer tools but they don't really think about how they work. I really liked that we examined how the Internet and web browsers really work. We read the article 20 Things I learned about Browsers and the Web. I thought it was really informative.

Another lesson that we had was on search engines and how to properly use them. We read the article Seven Stupid Searching Mistakes. I found out that I was making some of those common mistakes and I learned how to search more effectively. We also compared several search engines (google, yahoo, bing, exalead). I learned that I should really choose the search engine that I use based on what I am searching for. These are also tips and ideas that I hope to convey to my students.

Another useful lesson we had was on online word processing. We examined the programs think free, write with, and zoho writer. These are great free options for students. The ability to share their work also leads to great collaboration opportunities.

I really found the spreadsheets lesson to be beneficial. We created a recipe using the spreadsheet option of Google Apps. I reccently embeded a Google Form into my Edmodo website for my students. The form will combine all of my students data. Because it is in a spreadsheet we will be able to determine our averages and our percent error. This is a great way of using student data.

Another tool we investigated was NetTrekker. This is a great search engine for teachers. It allows users to find reliable sites and lessons by utilizing a variety of filters. I have used it a couple of times to find new lessons since I was introduced to it.

We also examined how different people go through the process of software evaluation. I have done this at my school when I purchased some new technology for my class room. I really liked Sun Prairie's evaluation process and I used this to evaluate the SMART response PE system.

I have been using google calendars for a while and we also discussed using this in class. I think that this would be very beneficial for my school district to use. We can use this for computer labs, gym use, and the use of other common areas.

I was really glad that we got to make a Google Site because I have always wanted to create a website for my High School Science students. I have worked with wikis and moodle in the past but I have always stopped mid-production due to time constraints. Another problem that I had was that the moodle interface was pretty complicated. So far, Google sites seems like a pretty easy way to put together a functional website. I have enjoyed putting together the multiple pages of my website and embedding my work. I can really see myself using Google sites to put together a website for my students. The site would contain uploaded notes, labs, homework, discussions, links, and videos related to our content. It would be a great way for the students to obtain and interact with what they are learning in class.

Overall, I feel like I have learned a lot about different web 2.0 tools that I can use in my classroom. I have started to integrate google forms/spreadsheets and I have already utilized NetTrekker. I hope to do develop a project this semester that uses one of the graphics programs. Little by little I hope to integrate more and more technology into my curriculum.

Monday, January 24, 2011

This week in CEdO515

The main things that we covered this week in CED 515 were Software Evaluation, Google Sites and
Technology Learning plans. All of these things can have an impact in my classroom.

Our group was required to review 3 Software Evaluation Forms. We review froms from Sun Prairie, Children's Technology Review, and Kathy Schrock. We felt that Sun Prairie's Software Evaluation form/process was the best for purchasing new software. This form was somewhat simliar to the form that I was required to fill out for my district when I received grant money. It required the user to connect the software to their content, standards, and benchmarks. The user also needed to describe the features and other uses (productivity, motivational, interactive, feedback, etc.). We also liked that the user was asked if there was another tool that could accomplish the same learning competencies or what he/she would do if the software was not purchased. Lastly, we liked that the evaluation process required feedback/recommendations from multiple people. We felt like this form/process was easy to use and it covered all of the important features required to make an informed decision. Software evaluation forms are an important way to make sure that teachers/districts spend their money on tools that will actually make an impact on student achievement.

I was really glad that we got to make a Google Site because I have always wanted to create a website for my High School Science students. I have worked with wikis and moodle in the past but I have always stopped mid-production due to time constraints. Another problem that I had was that the moodle interface was pretty complicated. So far, Google sites seems like a pretty easy way to put together a functional website. I have enjoyed putting together the multiple pages of my website and embedding my work. I can really see myself using Google sites to put together a website for my students. The site would contain uploaded notes, labs, homework, discussions, links, and videos related to our content. It would be a great way for the students to obtain and interact with what they are learning in class.

The last thing that we looked at was creating a Technology Learning Plan. I used the Learning with Technology Profile Tool to evaluate my own learning profile. After completing this I realized that I would really like to make some more changes to my curriculum. I currently teach physical science and chemistry and we do a lot of lab work. I have been trying to incorporate more inquiry based learning opportunities but my curriculum is still primarily teacher guided. I hope to eventually do more project based learning that requires the students to ask their own questions and decide their own outcomes. Technology may or may not be incorporated into this based on the individual student needs. This will take me a while to plan and implement but I know that it will be an effective way of learning. My favorite part about Project Based Learning is that it focuses on the process and creativity instead of just the content. I believe that this is an important lesson that our students will need to succeed in whatever they chose to do.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

InTime video on Newton's Second Law

This week we needed to check out a lesson from InTime Video. The mission statement of InTime is to help educators improve student learning at all levels and in all content areas. InTime uses contemporary technology, high quality conceptual models, online streaming videos, case studies and probing questions analysis to help educators learn the skills necessary for improving student learning. I sorted through some of their videos and watched videos for a lesson on Newton's Second Law.

Once you click on the lesson the webpage allows you to watch videos on the following topic areas: activity overview, teacher interview, learning, information processing, content standards, democracy, technology, teacher knowledge, teacher behavior. The website also has tabs and information listed to help implement the lesson. I included a brief overview of the videos that I watched for the lesson.

Activity Overview -
The teacher did a review of mass, velocity, force, acceleration and direct/inverse relationships. The teacher used prior knowledge to define each term and how they are related (patterns and connections). The students had active involvement in the lesson. The teacher provided lab materials and general instructions. The students needed to design an experiment that included all of variables so they would be able to construct their own model of Newton's Second law. The last part of the lesson was Reflection. The students reported and examined their data in order to draw conclusions about Newton's Second law and determine the type of relationships (direct/inverse) between mass, force, and acceleration.

Technology -
Instructional software - the students used a Vernier software package (track, carts, photogates, etc.) and the results were recorded with laptop. The students needed to go through some Troubleshooting in order to get the lesson to work. One of the groups of student needed to figure out how to get their photogate to work properly in order to record their data

Teacher behavior -
The teacher displayed proper classroom management by reviewing material (direct/indirect relationships and key vocabulary), monitoring student progress, and asking questions that created higher level thinking

I found this website and the information on the lesson to be very useful. I would much rather watch a video of an actual class trying a lesson than reading about one. The videos actually shows what the students are doing, how it links to content/standards, and the role of the teacher and students. I wish that there were more videos for High School science from this website because I would enjoy watching and them and trying to implement these new ideas. I have just begun to dabble with the vernier probes and after watching this video I hope to try this type of lesson out with my students.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Spreadsheets, Nettrekker, and Software evaluation

This week in CEdO515 we checked out spreadsheets, NetTrekker, and the process that schools go through for software evaluation. We needed to create a google spreadsheet, research a NetTrekker lessons, and discuss with our school district the process that they use to purchase software. All of these things can be utilized in my curriculum and positively affect my classroom.

Google spreadsheets is a great tool. It has all the features of excel but it is free and can be accessed anywhere that internet is available. We needed to create a recipe spreadsheet that utilized formulas. The goal was to have the quantity of each of our ingredients change based on the number of servings that was entered into the spreadsheet. Here is a link to the spreadhseet that I created: Carl Bauhs' Spreadsheet Recipe.

The next topic that we researched this week was NetTrekker. NetTrekker is a search engine that is designed for educators. It is a great tool because it only provides search results that are approved by other educators. This filters out all of nonsense that you typically get from a google search. NetTrekker also provides a overview of each website that includes: an overal rating, website readability, multimedia content, learning aids, and content language. The user may also further refine their search by selecting the learning aids, multimedia content, readability level, language, collections, and subject area that they want their results to contain. We needed to find a lesson that incorporated spreadsheets. I found a lesson that incorporated an excel template for an acid base titration which is what we are doing in my chemistry class this week.

The last topic that discussed this week was the process that our districts go through in order to purchase software. Our district use a from that includes that following: A description of the goal you are trying to achieve, a rationale for Goal: links to Professional Situation and Wisconsin Teacher Standards, a plan for Assessing and Documenting the success of your Goal, A plan to meet Goal: Objectives, Activities, Timeline, and Plan for Collaboration. The description of any software that you would need to purchase would be included in your plan to meet your goal. This form requires us to truly examine how software or equipment will fit into a goal that we are trying to achieve. I have utilized this process a couple of times in order to purchase a new laptop, vernier equipment, and smart response remotes.

All of these things can be tied into my current science curriculum. In the future, I hope to utilize Google spreadsheet and Google forms to combine student data and collaborate. This would allow us to do averages, percent error, and graphing from our actual data. From now on, I plan on using NetTrekker as my main lesson search engine. I really like the design and it will save me time because I won't need to filter through the nonsense that a Google search would provide. I hope to continue to find new software/equipment and I plan on using our districts form to obtain these items. All of these things will help create engaging and interactive lessons that will motivate my students.