Connectivities Lab

(1) I returned to the start of my PLN this week and had coffee with my first teaching mentor going back 20 years. I learned to be curious about this profession I fell into and just learned so much by observation. I started explaining my 2.0 adventures until her head hurt. She was excited, but all these web hours condensed into 3 hours at Peet's was a bit much. It was nice to try to give back full circle, and yet it made me a bit fearful for the school year to come...... (2) No one else speaks my language at my school. I have been given a crash course in a new language, and have spent this summer practicing verbs and learning new nouns and cuss words in this flat world. This summer I have been with a group who have adventured and empathised along the way, and now I am returning where no one speaks the lingo. It is a sad and scary place to be right now; I don't want to lose the vocab and the drive to learn, but it may be harder without the need to succeed the class has provide

Here is what I have in mind and on my mind.... (1) Science Bearings. This is a webpaint wiki to cover all the high school sciences that I teach. I teach all the high school sciences, the wiki currently shows the courses for the upcoming year. I don't know what I would do to a dormant class? Remove physics next year when I add APES? Well the wiki is an experiment in allowing students to do the legwork in finding resources for at topic as well as using all those hours on youtube for good (mine) versus .... It takes me too long to find perfect videos on topics --it is their turn! I have tied to the wiki to a google calendar so I can post test and project dates as well as add all those extracurricular events in that can conflict.I AM FRUSTRATED to the max as I have applied 4 times in 3 weeks to upgraded to an education site (removes adds, but more importantly gives me 250 documents I can attach which is a real value in providing access to handouts online). I've no real idea whe

Or better babysit it? The assignment this week plus life plus final project stress and frustration has left my PLN undernourished. I have learned to pop up a batch of twitter bites of interest and scan the screens quickly after I have done what I am intending to do. I am hanging in there with twitter. I am still a lurker for the most part, and I still don't believe that folks who post tons of sites are really reading them all and judging their quality. Can there be twitter education paparazzi who just grab and holler look what I found without even processing it? I am getting closer to figuring out who these folks are. I need to find those who are trustworthy and have read and used the sites they rave about. (I still adore Free Technology for Teachers for describing his findings!) My 2.0 frustrations this week involve obtaining educator access on sites (webpaint, animoto, glogster). I want a person to write to and ask questions as the 'response time' promised by these site

I am not sure where my titles come from at times. This post is to revisit my technology manifesto , but (1) it ain't gonna change much and (2) this video is refreshing. I like the power of slam poetry. Taylor Mali is a master at it and an ex-teacher and the poem is about teaching. It is one of those things that one would really hope the administration would play at the first of the back-from-summer meetings. So enjoy. å I have never been a technophobe; yet as a teacher with few resources and little tech support, it has never been worth it to invest myself in the web. This is something I have tried, but without a PLN it is time-foolish and time-frustrating. (okay it is still time-frustrating--imagine learning all of this during a full school year!) My manifesto about the use of technology stands. If anything I wonder more about the faddishness of things. Yes, glogster and animoto are fun, and I will likely use them, but will they last? Where do they fit in the future of creativity

Okay, I am really tired after doing this week's work. I will appreciate what it might mean for my classroom wiki and student involvement later. I will present things in the reverse order of creation, and oddly enough, time needed to create each (1) Voicethread Click the ok and then the play --or my tiny head This was cool and rather quick. I WANT to embed video, but no video format I tried would it accept. It is the least friendly site of all I have used as far a leading a novice through the needed steps. SO this might have been quicker to do for having gone through the other assignments. I love the interactivity and the chance for students to pick written or spoken comments. I also just found out I can zoom on the photo. I think this could be a fun wiki component, just to have something out there for kids to think about. Interesting photos and such...teasers for units to come. This is simple as it has just one image that I took this last week. It could be fun to use with the col

I like data; I like to play with it, arrange it, puzzle out the outliers. Data is fun . BUT students don't, en mass, share my sense of data-as-play. I appreciate that the data is out there, and I do use population statistics with my APES students. The Population Reference Bureau and their World Population Data Sheet are great resources. I generally have students design their won questions and generate their own messy (yes!) data whenever possible. If they don't make the inquiry their own, and find meaning in it, it doesn't matter how cool the data is. They work better when they feel that their work has value and makes a difference. (Okay, they are human.) I do appreciate those sites that appreciate 'citizen scientists' and allow participants to input into a wider database. The Roadkill data project that allows students to input data is something I could use; thanks PLN for finding it! Canada has many more projects that elicit student/citizen input. I was made aw

Some pruning is needed in Twitterland; I have 3 tweeters who resend each others' tweets, and they are all copious. It is too much overlap. Are they really checking out their PLN's sites or just blindly passing the info downstream...not sure what I think about that. I will let some folks ride until school begins as once folks are teaching their tweets may prove more useful as they are running across ideas more frequently. I am scared of those who are tweeting and working on line while camping, 'being' with their youngsters....I hope they take a week off now and again. Most value is coming out of some of the blogs I've put in my Google Reader such as Free Technology for Teachers, as others have mentioned. Mr. Byrne here gives bites that are just big enough for me to make a decision about checking something out or not. I follow too many nonproductive twitter leads as the descriptions aren't there, and I haven't yet learned whose finds I am most likely to apprec

This has been a frustrating week, hunting for simulations that may or may not be out there. My personal goal was to find forensic science materials suitable for 10-12 th grade students with decent science backgrounds. Simple 'match the fingerprint' activities won't work with my students. I find that the best sites are often part of a museum exhibit's education outreach (1, 4) 1) CSI : The Experience Web Adventure -- 3 interactive quests with increasing difficulty. 2) Bones and the Badge -- a series of webquests written at the high school level. 3) Forensic Files -- not a simulation, but lets students view short videos concerning techniques employed by various types of forensic investigators . Connected to the tru tv series. 4) Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body -- not interactive as the above sites, but cool photos and video of autopsy procedures. Not for the younger student. All in all I was disappointed that I haven't found good single sites usi

You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes. --Winnie the Pooh This going to them is not in my comfort zone. But this weekend I have pared a tweeter or two from my list. I do agree with KMP that it would be wisest to have a professional me and a personal me to do all of this 2.0 world with. At the moment, that would require even more time and re-educating part of my PLN to a different moniker. SO it is an idea that must wait for the time being. I added my name to The Synapse and I will putter around in this world of biology teachers; I like the flavor of what I've seen so far. I also subscribed to Forensic magazine as it was free and seems a good resource. A delicious benefit My biggest PLN event so far happened as I was trying to fulfill my assignment to ferret out simulations this week. I decided to hunt out simulations for forensic science as I am teaching this elective in the coming year and hadn't

Well the learning this week... (1) Added more folks to twitter and appreciate the posts with links, the posts inviting folks to eat etcetera make me want to say 'just phone them', or ask them in person! This makes me wonder about using twitter with students. Yes, I can tell them I am in a good mood and there is no quiz to study for...but then a whole bunch of adults would discover that as well. Can one split one's tweeties into groups like I can with phone IM's ? If not, then all my students would think they had a cancelled quiz versus just my bio class. Worse, if my students are tweeting , then I will see all their inane tweets about their lives. This can't be a good thing. (2) Webcast . Tried an Elluminate session at the end of NECC , it wasn't good. Everyone was likely on their way home and not inclined to be involved in a session given in the hallway. I will try something more formal later on. As with in person sessions, much depends on the presenter, a

I am throwing out two videos --- Tooter the Turtle is for Randy especially (his post regarding Stephen's original video of Mr. Wizard) and anyone else who remembers "Help me Mr. Wizard!!" These cartoons were post-Mr. Wizard the science guy and before Harry Potter's wizardry. This second video is rather like a teacher's '1984'. I think it shows everything we fear students may become.

Okay, I am having connectivity difficulties today and ran down to Starbucks for caffeine and access. Picnik is fun and easy! I cropped and sharpened these photos form my travels this last year. The tree frog is from the newly remodeled California Academy of Sciences as is the sea pen below it. The dancing shrew is (dead) from an Earthwatch expedition to Nova Scotia , and the pronghorn is two weeks ago in Bozeman , MT for a biodiversity course. I could see easily having fun with this collage feature to make a 'Sesame Street' one of these things is not like the others activity to get students thinking. I don this with words, but the photos is a novel way to play with visuals. Nice. What are others out there doing with photos ?

Twitter : Well I am nowhere close to 100 folks in my nest; I need to work on that in coming weeks. I have read others ideas about using this platform with students. Still not sure about it. Once class is over, I rather like the idea it is over. I could see using it as an alarm clock to remind them of things, but I have an internet classroom that sends out project reminders. On a personal level, I am still not sure either. I will give it time to develop. Google Reader : This does save time, especially in jumping about to read class members' blogs. Is there a way to know if blog comments are updated? It seems reader is catching new entries, but I am interested in comments as well and am not sure these count in the feed. Classroom 2.0 : I am now a member here and have looked at some of the threads (some are quite old and inactive), but I need to spend more time in here and see if it has value for me. As I teach so many different sciences, it would be nice to find a place that can sup

My personal learning network (PLN) consists of social activities and those that are more solitary. Social Activities (1) List serves. I use several list serves for AP science teachers controlled by APCentral . These work best when they are well controlled by their monitors (else they often turn into diatribes about evolution, the needfulness of chemistry lab experiences, and so forth). They are handy for knowing when a good NOVA program is coming up or an idea for a class activity, but few links are Web 2.0 oriented. (2) Conferences. These aren't a common part of my learning, and as I teach longer and longer, fewer and fewer sessions seem worthwhile. I have presented at conferences, and this focuses me and gives me a good dose of anxiety which helps with empathising with students who give presentations. (3) AP Science Stuff. I read the AP Environmental Sci (APES) exams, and this social week works well for many teachers to connect with each other . I am not so good at this, but

GoAPES The blog is a goldmine for all who teach AP Environmental Science (APES) and need free response question material that is current. Thomas Cooper is an APES teacher and technology guy who has created theis blog which although simple in format, is a great resource for anyone needing topical envionmental questions for their students. It acts like a homework assignment, but his students do chime in on it. If you are interested there is an associated Ning community for APES instructors. Miss Baker's Biology Class Here is a class blog with posts generated by the teacher and her students. Entries are include topics of interest ans well as class activities. For example they show a class shark dissection. This site won an edublog award taking me to my last find to share with you all..... Edublogs Awards So, edublogs is a pricey service that provides safe blog space for educational types. It does have a nice list of good blogs in a variety of categories: best teacher blog, best use

Okay, I don't always have to be able to do technology to support it. I had a TA two years back who appreciated my caring about his passion to do animation. For one entire semester my 5' by 8' office was taken over for the making of this video which he uploaded to youtube. I offered advice, the strange stabbing photoholders, and ideas for the drowning effect. There was dirt everywhere for half of a school year. But Kevin made this with just a digital camera and some software...nothing special. We both discovered what a grueling process an entire animated music video is. I am proud of him. (And I have always like the band Madness.)

I am open to new technologies in my science classrooms that can do one of three things: (1) Enhance learning Yes to promoting creativity, improving student engagement and understanding, providing deeper, richer content, hooking students with their novelty. (2) Do something that can’t be done without them Yes to gel electrophoresis equipment, a spectrophotometer, water quality test kits, all sorts of lab tools that allow students to investigate science in more authentic paths than are available with out them. (3) Encourage communication Yes to communication where opinions and ideas are heard and thoughtfully questioned and built upon. I am NOT open to using technologies (1) To be faddish I feel, and my students concur, that some aspects of PowerPoint presentations are quite faddish. Why invest time and/or money into something that is done for flash only. (2) Just because we own them Why would I use a temperature probe over a ther

Who would have thought that the hardest thing would be to come up with a name for this blog! This is my my fourth blog, and I hope to get over some of the frustrations I have with creating and formating good entries. I have never created one just for myself; they have been assignments of one sort or another. I am getting somewhat quicker, but they still take longer than I have patience for. I have used internet classrooms with my students, and am interested in how their use compares to a class blog.