Project #3

A Virtual Tour of the Environment

Objective: To use technology to apply knowledge of ecosystems in a virtual tour of across the globe.

Tasks: The student must use Google Earth to design a tour of at least 4 different ecosystems. Each stop on the tour must have at least 2 facts about the area and also include pictures.

Grading: Projects will be graded on the following criteria:

4 Stops: 20 points (5 Points per stop)
Pictures:10 (2 points per stop)
Facts: 10 (2 points per stop)
Presentation: 10 Points

The option of 2 extra credit points will be awarded for creativity or a theme.

The following example is the 7 natural wonders of the world, notice how each if from a different ecosystem.

Come to class prepared to present your virtual tour as well as answer questions about the ecosystem it encompasses.

To see the completed project, view the link below:

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0ByQLZz9B9AuCMWI0YjFhZTctZWVhMC00NzYxLWFiMGItYzdiMTViZjQ4ZTcz&hl=en

Blog Post #10

This has been an interesting class. I often looked at the assignments and thought of them as just being busy work, but the more time i spent with them, the more valuable the tools I learned became. I feel much more comfortable with the technology and programs we used in class. I feel the most important thing is that I now feel more comfortable with new programs. I now have the knowledge and confidence that I can go to almost any program and teach myself how to use it, whether it is by the use of online tutorials or just trial and error. I feel that if I am current on the technology and classroom aids that my classroom can be enriched with technology and another way for students to learn and master material.

All of my questions seem to have been answered, I had no real outstanding technology questions at the beginning, the class just seemed to answer questions I hadn't even thought of.

Project Proposal

Proposal
Target Audience: Biology Students
Technology: google earth
Assignment: I will have an assignment where the students have to make a world tour of different ecosystems on the earth and explain what makes them different. I will also do the assignment and post it on my blog.

Video Chat

I used Skype to perform my video chat, mostly because it was already installed on my roommates computer, and since mine does not have a camera, I used hers. There were not any difficulties using the program, I have used it before and so has she, it was very simple just to log on and get going. I liked that I could talk to someone live and see what they were doing at that exact moment. I talked to her sister who lives in Georgia, and it was cool because she got to show us the new shirt she was wearing and we got to show her our apartment, the room where she will be staying when she comes out, and most of all it was cool to see their facial expressions as you talk. I think so much of communication is through physical or body language, and using a video conference you can actually see that!

Synchronous video can be used in teaching if for instance a student is very ill or in the hospital or something and cannot come to class. You could chat online about what they missed, allow them to observe labs being done, basically try to include them in the class. It would also be cool to have instead of pen pals, have skype pals as a whole classroom and study the same unit here and across the country and be able to talk together as a class and share data and have a cool classroom friendship.

How can fair use benefit you as a teacher?

After the little reading I did, it seems like fair use is fairly ambiguous. There is no set of rules or even any real guidelines for what I can and can't use in the classroom. From most my reading, they suggest that as long as you cite the source if available and don't use too much of it and don't then publish it under your name (or essentially plagiarist) than you are ok. I think that the fair use regulations can benefit us because first, the likelihood of getting caught is slim to none, and second, there seem to be so many reasons you can get out of a lawsuit, it just depends on the situation. I think if you can prove that it is enriching your classroom and not harming the quality or monetary value of the work, than it probably won't be a problem. I think this opens up all sorts of information venues to us to help make the classroom a more exciting place.

Class Website

Oops...I forgot to post my website up here!

http://sites.google.com/site/mstheisbiology/home