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

Blog Post #5

Videos in the classroom are a great way to liven up your teaching. They can present material to the class in a way that is more exciting than just listening to the voice of a teacher. In science, they are especially useful because they allow the students the chance to see parts of science they could not see otherwise. I think that too much use of video is not good, a teacher who puts on Bill Nye every day is probably not teaching their students in the ways they need to. But I think video is a great supplemental teaching tool. I also think videos can be used as a reward, not only for the student but for the teacher. I also think that they help students that struggle with learning from a lecture because it gives them something visual as well as auditory to learn from. Videos also offer an opportunity to incorporate things that you cannot to in the classroom, such as dangerous experiments or traveling to Timbuktu or something like that.
I have never made a video, unless you count music videos that i recorded with my friends to our favorite songs when we were little. Learning to make one may be challenging, but I think it will be helpful for the classroom.

Personal Learning Networks

I had never really looked at my Personal Learning Network (PLN) as being such an interactive web. I have had the thought in the library before that I click on a picture of my friend on facebook, but the picture is taken by someone I don't know and soon I'm looking through this stranger's pictures and I feel really creepy. I guess thats just one way my PLN is overlapping into other's lives, even those who I have never and probably will never meet.

I think some of these PLN ideas are great. We learned about teacher share in one of my classes and I love the support it brings to first year students. Any teachers reading this, check it out at http://teachershare.scholastic.com/. I'm excited to sign up for more of these once I get closer to my student teaching and I know what grade I will be working with and where I will be.

I also signed up for Nike+. I got new running shoes for Christmas from my work and Santa kindly brought me the Nike+ technology for Christmas. I've been waiting to get some free time to sign up for this service, and now that I have I'm super pumped. I can even add friends and we can share workouts, and motivate each other to run more. I can also track my progress on my runs and find local events in my are to help me set a goal to train for. This is a really great feature, and so convenient to use. I also looked at the nike running blog to help assist me in my running endeavors. They even have "challenges" I can sign up for. I think it will be a good supplemental tool to the Nike+.

Lifelong Learning

I think lifelong learning is essential to our well being and our success as human beings. I think that is a pursuit that sometimes seems like a daunting task. We are overwhelmed with many things that occupy our time, and the idea of constantly learning seems too big to fit into our daily lives. But I think that it can be fit in each moment of our lives. Whether you are surfing the internet at work and leaning about the going-ons in the world, or sitting in class, or chasing your children around the house, you are constantly learning. President Henry B. Eyering said, “We will have to make some hard choices of how we use our time. … But remember, you are interested in education, not just for mortal life but for eternal life. When you see that reality clearly with spiritual sight, you will put spiritual learning first and yet not slight the secular learning." I think this is true in every aspect of our lives. We are taught that putting the Lord first will result in everything else in our lives falling into place, and I believe the same goes for studying and learning. It is easy for me to stay in the library all night studying and completing assignments only to then go home to read a verse from the scriptures and pass out in my bed. I wonder how much more I would learn if I could put the pursuit of spiritual knowledge first. I also believe this ties into balance, we cannot spend all our time reading the scriptures, but we need to find that balance in our lives.
My mom went back when I was in elementary school to complete her college degree and become a teacher. She just completed her masters degree this November. She is a great example of a woman who made the most of her education. Elder Robert D Hales said, "My dear sisters, don’t ever sell yourself short as a woman or as a mother. … Do not let the world define, denigrate, or limit your feelings of lifelong learning and the values of motherhood in the home—both here mortally and in the eternal learning and benefits you give to your children and to your companion." I think my mother perfectly embodied this quote. She stayed in the home to raise us and teach us the knowledge and give us the love we needed, but still kept her journey of lifelong learning going and set a great example for her children.

I am going to be doing the inovative teaching project, my projected deadlines I would like another week or so to decide since the teaching project is with students for another class so we will be deciding next week what our ideal deadlines are for that, so that way I could structure the projects to best fit my needs. Thanks!

My first experience creating a blog was very fun. Luckily, my roommate has created a blog before and knew the basics of how to get started. I really enjoyed going online and finding a background that I liked and I feel like is very "me". I also liked being able to manipulate all the fonts and colors and things. I have never used a webcam by myself before, so it was a bit scary and wierd to think about looking at the camera, more than looking at the screen. The video is also a bit delayed on the picture in comparison to the sound, and I'm hoping with more practice I may be able to remedy that problem, whether by using a different computer or learning a new technique.

I am excited to learn more about technology for many reasons. For one, I am going to be a high school teacher and I am sure most of the students will know more about technology than I do. It is a very technological generation and I think one great way to relate to the students and make an impact in their lives will be through technology. I am also excited because whatever I learn I can share with my mom and sister, who are both teachers. I also would like to create a blog for personal use to keep my family, who i do not live near, updated on my life. I would like to learn how to rip video from DVD or the web to a blog or a powerpoint, how to create better powerpoints, more interactive and more aesthetically pleasing, and basically just to feel more comfortable about technology and how it can be incorporated into my classroom.