Podcasts

This podcast includes ideas on how to use audio technology, such as Audacity and Garageband in the classroom.

Using Google Maps

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The above map would be used for high school students in an Earth Science class that are learning about plate tectonics.

While covering plate tectonics in my college geology course my professor would rattle off locations of plate boundaries and would stress that we needed to know what physical features formed at each boundary with examples of each. As my prof talked about the Himalayan Mountain range I would just sit in class wondering where exactly those were at (especially since my geography skills are not at all what I wish there were). My mind would be distracted wondering where exactly the Himalayas were, instead of being able to keep on following my prof and the lesson. If my prof had used a mashup, like the one above that I put together, I would have been able to put pictures to words in my heads. Of course the Himalayan Mountains are at a continent-continent boundary, you can see that from the map, there are no oceans present. Understanding the concept and seeing the picture makes it easier to relate the two facts and translate them into one.

Specifically in biology, I could use mashups to show different biomes and biospheres, such as the tundra and rainforests. I could include important facts on the map that I want my students to relate to the physical location. While it is a little tedious at times, I do think that students would also enjoy this technology. I would love to assign my students a project in which they create a mashup as the assesment for a unit (say on Biospheres) where they include important facts and information about each biome.

These are just some simple ideas I have to use map mashups in my classroom.

Google Calendars!!!

Click here to view my mock biology classroom calendar. The calendar includes important dates for students and parents alike. I have included what we will be focusing our lessons on for the week, important after school study sessions, field trips and parent-student-teacher conference dates. For each of these events I had the option to include reminders. For the field trip and PST conference dates I selected to send several reminders (a week in advance as well as a day or two in advance).

For information on how to go about using the calendar, see the jing video here.

RSS Feeds

RSS is an internet-based tool in which you can subscribe to a webpage and through sites, such as Google Reader, you can keep track of every update to the page (or in the case of Podcasts, you can be alerted every time there is a new episode).

For my CEP416 midterm, I created a "student" blog in which the student kept track of her science project by making observations verbally, manually and through images. As a teacher, I could have all of my students keep track of the progress of their projects through blogging and subscribe to each of their blogs. This way I am aware of every update. This would serve to save me time, as the teacher, because instead of going to every blog, I can have the new posts be sent to one place and would know immediately who was taking care of their assignments and who were not.

Also, I can teach my students who to use RSS in order to help them and their learning. While doing projects, students may find it useful to subscribe to science-based websites, blogs, podcasts and etc. to further their learning.
Perhaps I could keep a blog of assignments due, class lectures, online study guides, etc. that my students could subscribe to. They will be notified every time there is an addition to the site. Also, their parents could subscribe to keep track of what the students need to be doing, as well as keep me, as the teacher, accountable to teaching their children.


As an educator, I was able to find many blogs that will further my knowledge on using technology in the classroom, both in a mainstream, general idea, as well as specifically in the science classroom. (The screen shot above is a picture of the blogs I've found useful in subscribing to.)

These are just a couple of ways I envision this technology to come in handy when I am in my future classrooms. I hope this was helpful for you!

BBP Presentation

BBP Presentation (aka Beyond Bullet Point) is a type of PowerPoint presentation geared to allow the audience maximum learning and understanding. Below I have embedded a sample BBP presentation of my own. Enjoy!




Below, the same presentation is embedded this time WITH AUDIO!!!! (for maximum clarity and understanding, of course!)

Using CC Images

Photo Attribution:
Original Image: "Gymnast"
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3220/2968260843_3e7896a357_b.jpg
By: Nick J Webb
Released under an Attribution License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Images are crucial to teaching science. Could you imagine a cell in your head without thinking of pictures? It is a bit futile to explain to students how different body systems work without showing them images to go with the words. As a matter of fact, in science, words and pictures complement each other. For example, when talking about the respiratory system of course I will show my students pictures of nasal cavities and lungs and red blood cells that carry oxygen. I could use the above photo when teaching the muscles in the human body and how they interact with the rest of the body (skeletal system, etc.).

Flickr is a great sight to use to add CC licenses to your own work. Click here to see how I've licensed my own photography.

Many students are already familiar with computers by the time they enter middle school. I dare say that many students are familiar (and very comfortable) with the internet by middle school. Students are active internet users, creating accounts with MySpace, Facebook, AIM (instant messenger) and the like.

I believe that I can put blogs to good use in my future Biology class. Below are some ways I plan on incorporating blogs.

• Question Forum: students can post questions and answer questions posted by their peers. This allows students the opportunity to work out an explanation on their own for biology concepts. When students are able to explain concepts (the how, when, where, why, what) demonstrate greater aptitude and mastery over the subject.
• Display Student Work: I can post extra credit reports that my students put together. From here, they can share the information with their parents and friends. Anyone who comes to the blog will be able to read the student's report and provide feedback. This can be an exciting and fun way to encourage students to learn on their own outside of class.
• Provide Additional Resources: I can post links to websites that will help the students along in their learning process. There are many websites created specifically for helping students with biology. These websites include games, activities, practice quizzes and tests.
  
• Assign Post Topics: I can assign topics for students to post on as homework. Students can use whatever resources are available to them to find information on the topics. Since they are posting on a blog, they are already online which means they have infinite resources at their fingertips. Requiring students to cite sources and be grammatically correct links other areas of school to science.

These are just a couple of ways I envision blogs becoming useful in my future classroom.
I am indeed very excited to try these elements out in a classroom and see the real-life pros and cons.

TAKE RISKS!!! TEACHING & TECHNOLOGY

Using Blogs in the Classroom

The Age of Technology is upon us. Whether we choose to tap into this valuable resource or not is completely up to our own personal discretion.

I believe that there lies many open doors for technology to be better harnessed in a classroom setting. Students of all ages are becoming more and more acquainted with the latest forms of technology. Just take a look at cell phones, they are being found everywhere!

One particular technological resource that teachers should definitely take advantage of is the internet. The internet provides many avenues for teachers that will help students continue their learning outside of the traditional classroom. Some of these internet resources include blogs, wikis, and free websites. I plan on teaching high school biology. I can foresee amazing opportunities to enhance learning in my classroom with resources like these.

Stay tuned for further posts examining the endless
benefits of combining

TEACHING & TECHNOLOGY

in the classroom!