Setting the Stage- A final reflection

The following was my opening sentence in the `setting the stage` reflection in the beginning of the course. “The children of today are growing up to be global citizens. They are the natives in the world of technology. I would call myself an immigrant in that world. When I see my students with the modern day gadgets and the speed with which they operate them I am thoroughly amazed. It is for these students that we have to impart science and technology education to bring out their potential and to give them the confidence to compete globally. We have to educate our students to face problems of the kind we are not even aware of today. Technology is on an exponential rise. Our students should be able to go out into such a world equipped with technological knowhow to face the challenges that are to come. The internet has become an integral part of our lives”. Now having taken this course I would like to say that I am an immigrant who has adapted to the change in technology and to be honest loves it.
The most important requirements for effective science education are believed to be creativity and innovation skills, critical thinking, problem solving and finally communication and collaborative skills. I would have probably gone to my traditional way of teaching with simple technological use. Now I have a totally different perspective to science learning. Mainly for the laboratory sessions. The IB curriculum for example requires 60 hours of lab to be completed in a span of two years (Seems long but looking at the number of holidays and the fact that the mock exams are in March of the second year, this is really not sufficient time). I often find myself running short of time and trying to squeeze in additional classes that are an added stress to both my students and me. I am really fascinated by wikis and voicethread and I am sure that this coming year is going to help me find more time in the class for more discussions and reviews since most of the lab discussions and brainstorming could be done by using the above mentioned tools outside of the classroom.
I would like to quote a few of my classmates` (in the course) views and I share their judgment.
“I am not here to debate whether or not technology should be a part of our classrooms (implementing it into my lesson plans was a requirement in my college education program). In fact, I'm quite the fan of using it and am really excited to improve my own know-how”. How true. I have realized that use of technology goes beyond teaching and true to say I have become a fan also. Not only does it serve its purpose in teaching, it helps me communicate so widely.
Another quote that voices my thoughts “I know I need to help provide my students the resources and tools that are necessary for them to be successful in the 21st Century. I look forward to the challenge and the task!”
Yet another “Make a strict point of considering three things when implementing technology into the classroom. Those are pedagogy, technology and content. I think that the author has a fantastic point of making sure that you as the teacher understand and can articulate all three of these areas in order to better serve your students”.
I think that most of us have common facts to say regarding technology and webtools.
• Whether or not you are a fan or follower of Twitter, Facebook, blogging, podcasting, Flicker, and many others, Web2.0 and social networking is here to stay!
• Technology enables communication between related parties way beyond any other source.
• Students love it. It is evolving and dynamic and they love change.(so do we)
• Technology saves time. Serves a vital role in dealing with matters of emergency.
• Technology makes learning easier, authentic. (online simulations, online data). Visualizing (say 3D abstract concepts) helps understanding of theory well.
• Technology helps build rapport between teachers and students. Though I still call myself an immigrant in this world of technology, my students are going to love if I respond to them in social networking sites.
• I am sure they will learn better and have more time for discussion (say a project) outside of the classroom.
• Technology connects the intellect in people than physically connecting them. With students it gives them time to think and be more creative , eliminate errors as much as possible.(wikis)
To summarize I can say that I am glad I took this course. My intention in the course of this year is not only to get students involved but also introduce a few of the webtools to my fellow teachers in my school as well.

Final Project!!

My project is a `Laser diffraction` lab for higher level Physics students. This project focuses on the webtools wikis and voicethread and the use of online simulations and youtubes that could assist in doing a well informed complete laboratory work. I plan to have a wiki created for each of the labs that my students have to do this year.Brainstorming sessions and classroom discussions are time consuming. By using wikis and other support webtools, I am sure I can save a lot of class time.
Here, the project that guides the student through a complete lab on Laser diffraction is made primarily on a wiki http://ib-ap-physics.wikispaces.com/Laser+diffraction+lab
Once you are on the wiki there are links to voicethread, online simulation and youtubes in the various sections of the lab such as background knowledge, recommended reading/watching to name a few. I have also included a task in which students have to make a poster using Glogster for the experimental setup of the lab.

Google docs and Collaborize

This week I explored Google docs and Collaborize. I have a google mail account and in all these years I have not used or browsed through the google doc features. With google docs you can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations and upload files. Google docs helps to share and collaborate. You can safely store and organize the data and your work. You have control on who can see your documents. I think it is another good tool of use in the classroom because there is a lot that can be communicated to students easily. I tried the presentation features.
The youtube videos in the webtools lessons were very informative.
Collaborize seems to be another tool to promote class discussions and save time. I have opened an account with democrasoft and possibly use it sometime in the future. As of now I would like to use wikis, blogs, glogster and Voicethread this coming year and I am exploring them extensively. My final project for this course is also a combination of these.
Collaborize has similar features to Voicethread. It is also an online discussion forum that will help students to discuss topics. They will have time to think and be creative and take part in some fruitful discussion. They could collaborate group projects effectively. It also has provision for the teacher to load videos and documents.

Discussions and Many Thanks!

After the discussion I have come to the conclusion that many of us found this course very useful, engaging and informative.
I summarize below a few of the points that most of us agree on
•Opened avenues for collaborative possibilities of teaching and learning by connecting students to other students, and students to their teachers outside of school.
•We have learnt to incorporate extensive data on the Internet into classroom activities.
•Increase number of opportunities for students on the internet via simulations and online data.
•Introduce more “inquiry” activities in the classroom
I especially like the sentence about using technology as a hook.
•Use technology to expose students to how scientists think. With say TED talks that are a great resource for students to hear scientists talk about their research, without actually having to be there.
•(I like this one) Developing a collaborative science project that students from across the world could complete online.
•Exposed us to web tools out there for use in the classroom.
•We could provide genuine extension opportunities for students who need a challenge be able to push students to their full potential.
•Technology can be used as a tool for differentiation.
•Most of us were familiar with blogs and wikis(I was not, now I love them!).This course gave us the time to explore at our leisure and reflect on our readings and webtools skills a lot.
•Exposed us to the abundant wealth in the world of computers and internet. The course was an eyeo pening experience.
As for me I reiterate my reflections that I have put on my discussion post. The course has been the most rewarding. I am looking forward to using a few of the tools this coming year.
I used to eagerly look forward to the MSSE webtools sessions, reading the blogs written by my classmates and trying to contribute. To be honest at times I used to look at a few blog posts and get apprehensive about how I am going to use the tools as efficiently as they have used them. There are a few tools like digital storytelling and TEDx of which I am not very comfortable with and plan to revisit. I would definitely say that the new academic year is going to be different for me. I am going to use blogs, wikis,voicethread, jing and glogster in my classes in addition to online simulations and online data that I now use. I have decided to keep a blog for my class updates and make sure students have access to it.
Many thanks to Dr. Brunsell and all my classmates!

Voicethread again!

I have revisited Voicethread this week. This is one of the tools that I am interested in using this coming academic year. This is a Voicethread attempt for a labwork for my IB Physics students. For now I have typed my comments but intend using audio also.

http://voicethread.com/share/2147196/

Blogs and Wikis

I have enjoyed blogging and reading my fellow classmates` blog posts in the these weeks of the Webtools course. So naturally blogging about blogs is interesting.
Blogs
There are a few points that I have noted after reading the article in D2L.
Blogging can provide many opportunities to increase student interactions and create more dynamic assignment. (What I do currently with my class is send them an email on weekends titled` Weekend thoughts and reminders`. Now I could have a classroom blog where my students and I could be in constant interaction. They will also be able to collaborate and interact with their classmates).
Science education blogs can serve as a powerful digital lab notebook that contain text, images and videos (often for most of the topics, I post online web simulations, animations and interactive quizzes etc. on my teacher web page or send an email. Science education blogs will give the students the opportunity to explore and read a wealth of information and comments from like minded people).

Purpose should be including connections between course content and current events.(I see a lot of benefits in classroom blogs. Students are given the freedom to be creative, do their own research on a topic and share views . So there are chances of course content and current events getting connected. Students can work together and communicate well in a group project. The teacher could also add comments and provide necessary guidance at the same time).
Protecting student privacy: This is very important in today`s world. Monitoring blogs is also essential since the viewers of the blogs are widespread. Students should be made aware that it is a public forum and there is an amount of discipline to be maintained.

Wikis
I have explored Wiki this week. Wish I had done so earlier. This is another tool that I would like to experiment with my higher level Physics classes this year.
I have created a Wiki and I could use it for my IB-AP Physics students.
http://ib-ap-physics.wikispaces.com/ (It is in the very early stages though).

The similarity between blogs and wikis are that both are easy to use , accessible to students and provide a platform where students can interact with each other, collaborate on a group work and critically appraise each other`s work.
The major difference between the two would be that Wiki`s provide the students the chance to sit together (not necessarily in the classroom or in the same place)and team up for a fine piece of work and display that work. The task can be completed simultaneously as they are discussing the details because they could make changes directly on the wiki.

Wikis provide occasions to build connections beyond the classroom walls. As in blogs, on could invite people outside of the class to edit wikis. A major group project can be completed successfully with wikis.

I am really impressed by the work of Ms Luann Lee and her students in Orting Washington. Students obviously get more interested and excited when they are given the freedom to create and explore.
Very true that students can create online posters, virtual museum exhibits or even create e- textbooks on a class wiki. In wikis too, students should be careful not to reveal their identity. Classroom blogs and Wikis maybe combined with the other tools to improve science learning.

Online Simulations/ Data -Time savers

There are topics in science where online simulations and data are really useful and time saving. One of the first few labs that students do in my Physics class is a virtual lab on how a body moves up and down an inclined plane and the calculation of work done.(http://www.ngsir.netfirms.com/englishhtm/Incline.htm). It is true that the lab can be easily done in class physically but students sometimes find the data collected manually to be consumed by so many errors such as friction, systematic and personal errors. The virtual lab gives them a full scene on how work is done and the concept of energy along with relevant freebody diagrams. Online data gives more time to students for scientific inquiry since actual data collection could be time consuming.
Internet provides students access to raw data in the form of spreadsheets, text files, aerial satellite images, maps and graphs. Topics like energy and climate where facts and analysis of data should involve all regions of the globe, it is not practically possible to go around and collect data. If the data is restricted to a particular region then it will be biased and the conclusion will be incorrect.
I would like to share a few examples of online data in the different science disciplines.
Clinical growth charts of humans with age: http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm
Radioactivity: List of isotopes and their half lives.http://astro.berkeley.edu/~dperley/areopagus/isotopetable.html
Astrophysics :http://www.windows2universe.org/our_solar_system/planets_table.html
Chemistry:Trends in Electronegativity, Electron affinity, ionization potential as you move in a periodic table
http://www.teacherlink.org/content/science/instructional/activities/electronegativity/Electronegativity-print.PDF
Earth science: Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere in 2011.
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/global.html

Online studies maybe in the form of online data or analyzing graphs for predicting future occurrences.
Online data is inquiry based and has a lot of benefits in giving the students content knowledge and in increasing their focus and interest. Students have the freedom to find topics they are interested in. They have a whole lot of variables to choose from and they could narrow it down to what they want to know.
As in any other form of learning one of the major issues in giving freedom to browse the internet is that students may sometimes be exposed to inappropriate material. The teacher has the responsibility therefore of providing limited and relevant access to internet material. It is imperative that the data is meaningful, the time spent on analyzing the data worthy and the conclusion justify the focused research question. The data should be from an authentic source and the conclusion and the study should more often than not have a real life application.
The data should be blended into the inquiry and the whole exercise should reflect a science process.
Students should be able to create an appropriate relevant question around the data. They should be able to frame a question and should be able to use the same data to study various variables and thus various issues.
Analysis of data should be done using different strategies such as using graphs, arguments and debates. The analysis and interpretation should support conclusion. Students should be able to communicate their findings effectively and defend their argument and conclusion.
Online data and simulations provide students with data and procedures that they feel more assured of since the error possibilities are minimal. They are therefore interested in analyzing such data since the results obtained will be very precise and they could be confident about the conclusions that they have made in a particular study. The data is usually more than what they could collect and therefore gives them ample scope to use their technological skills in constructing datatables and drawing graphs using various graphing techniques and producing presentations.
I use online simulations especially from http://phet.colorado.edu/ and http://www.physicslab.co.uk/ for showing simulations on a whole variety of topics in Physics. My students also do a virtual lab on photoelectric effect from http://phet.colarado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Photoelectric .We use a binding energy data from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pertab/pertab.html#c1 to study the binding energy curves of certain elements and a couple of simulations for distances in astrophysics and a parallax lab in astronomy. http://astrosun2.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses/astro101/herter/java/simulations.htm
It is true that students have to do experiments and collect data manually in order for them to develop working skills in the laboratory but it would kindle their scientific mind when they work with online data. This would also interest students who are not good in doing experiments but otherwise scientific thinkers.
It would therefore take science education to a new level if online simulations and online data are made a component of science education.

Scientific Argument- Unlimited Science

I believe in open ended learning and most of my labs are of this type where students are allowed to explore a whole range of ideas. So I am really happy writing the findings of my weekly reading for the course and my views.
We often tend to teach students what we know in science and expect students to perform experiments based on the theories that they have learnt by rote memorization and then conclude a hypothesis whose answer has already been given to them. Today students have access to world wide knowledge and obviously their mind is clouded with a whole lot of questions that could be best answered by motivating them to find out ` How we know science, what do we know in science`. They should be given the opportunity to discuss and critique and argue the whole process of what we know and widen their horizons of scientific thinking.
I will base my reflection on two models (alongwith a sharing of my personal experiences on Scientific argument) - `The Victor Sampson and Jonathon Grooms model and the Backward Faded Scaffolding design.

The Victor Sampson and Jonathon Grooms `Generate an argument` model helps create an environment in the science classroom that will result in a more wholesome learning of science by the student. In a way it also scores points in science literacy as it talks about writing in science and its importance.
The main points and steps in the model are as follows
• Encourage group work (Groups of three or four)
• Identify the task, problem or the topic for investigation and begin by capturing the students interest by letting them know that their goal is to explain how they know what they know and why their conclusions are important.
• A brief introduction or handout should be given to students that will guide them through the process of researching a question, guideline that will invoke thinking and the rubric and criteria for assessment.
• They should be asked to generate a tentative argument (my example: Are eddy currents of the same strength produced when magnets move through hollow tubes of different metals of the same thickness and length?Students should be given the theories related to electromagnetic induction, and a raw data of maybe the densities of different metals and the speeds with which the magnets move in the metal).
Students should be able to make sense of the raw data (set up their experimental setup and perform experiments if necessary to compare the data) and support their conclusion with an argument that leads to a final conclusion.
• Interactive posters that will enable them to showcase their work to fellow groups, evaluate, revise their conclusion if necessary.
• Finally they should be encouraged to write their argument as an essay. They should be given a prompt to write the argument that would have the following.
The conclusion they have to support
Evidence and rationale for the argument
Organization for readability
Use of a broad range of scientific vocabulary
The writing should have grammar and should be methodical.
I would like to share the following with respect to the above model. There are two components in the IB curriculum I teach namely the `theory of knowledge` and the extended essay. The above model seems to have been one of the ideas behind the above components. The theory of knowledge focuses mainly on what we know and how we know that we know it. We try and infuse this in out science classes and this opens doors for a lot of discussion. One of the lessons where I have used it is the lesson on gravity.
The extended essay is of 4000 words and if students choose to do their extended essay in science that is a lot of science writing. The essay is written on the basis of several criteria. Students are expected to choose a topic of their interest, develop a research question based on a rationale (why they chose the particular topic, and question), its real life application and then they have to choose variables, set up their experimental design, collect data, process and analyze the data,conclude, pave way for further research in the topic and defend their conclusion. I would say there is a lot of scientific argument procedure going on there. The essay is a final piece of work of 4000 words.
Writing enables to link science with science literacy. It gives the freedom for the scientific mind to put down all lateral thoughts on paper. It widens the horizons of scientific thinking as compared to the traditional ` this is what we know, go ahead and do this experiment ` way of learning science.
Generate an argument helps students develop a deep understanding of scientific explanations, complex reasoning and critical thinking skills.
As the authors say in the article, it develops the scientific habits of mind such as curiosity, skepticism and opennenss to new ideas. It sets new standards for warranted knowledge in science.
Backward Faded Scaffolding design
The Internal assessment for science in the IB curricula has a criteria called ` Design`. Here the students are just prompted with a sentence for example ` Tearing of paper` and they have to decide a research question, choose variables, set up an experiment, collect data and process the data. Often I have found that not all students are able to come up with a good choice of variables and experimental design. After reading about `Scientific argument` I will use the same technique mentioned there. It is so true that helping students create evidence based explanation of scientific phenomena is the core of effective science learning.
They should be guided through the inquiry process. The Backward Faded Scaffolding design by Stephanie and Tim Slater is a good approach for science learning at all levels.
The process would be to first show the students a web page of a relevant topic with data. The students would then look at the set of data , chart out a procedure, see whether the data supports a conclusion, generate an argument and finally draw a conclusion. The teacher guides them throughout this process with suitable prompts.
The students are then given a question for which they will follow the scientific method of deciding the variables, setting up an experiment, collect data, analyze and draw conclusion.
This backward scaffolding method will definitely benefit students who are not very good scientific thinkers. It will give them a hint to begin with their work. They learn to be methodical in their work and also gain confidence to begin another piece of investigation by themselves. Students will feel that the learning was complete. They will be more equipped to answer post lab questions.
Students who are very independent with scientific aptitude will be able to bring out their best in the argument session. The argument is open ended and the students can look at the same problem in a multitude of ways. This will give them an opportunity to improve their scientific knowledge and also give them scope for more exploration. This provides students to ask more questions and promotes inquiry.
In my class situation I could use this kind of a Backward design for a few of the preliminary labs and that will help students understand the meaning of exploring science and inquiry based learning. The argument can be used in combination with Glogster and Voice thread probably.
The evaluation rubric for such a lesson is very broad and different from the usual lab assessment rubric that I use. True as it is written in the article that helping students create evidence-based explanations of scientific phenomena is at the core of effective science teaching.

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Youtubes and Glogster

The past couple of days I have been exploring Glogster a lot since it is definitely one of the tools that I am going to use this coming year.Uploading an image was fairly simple but my goal was to upload videos. I downloaded two youtube videos one about soldering techniques for my Electronic class and another one my favorite Dr. quantum video for electron diffraction for my Physics class. I used Zamzar to convert my files. I used Glogster exactly according to the instructions but found that it does not play the video after you publish it on the glog nor does it play after embedding on the blog.
I am assuming it must either be a copyright issue for the youtube and maybe I am not supposed to use it on any other webpage,or the file that I am converting the video into maybe incorrect or some software that`s missing on my laptop.
I would appreciate help from anyone who was able to use glogster and load a video on the blog or an answer to my problem.

I will just post here the video image and you can see that it does not play.

Another try at Jing!

My jing exploration continues..I was able to save the powerpoint on clipboard and get the url but I am not able to `hyperlink` it (I am not sure that’s the right word). So it requires one to copy and paste in order to view my screencast. I have changed to Firefox as my browser. I am not sure whether that has anything to do with it.
http://screencast.com/t/Xhb6Yy6P

Creative commons has really opened my eyes on the copyright issue. All through this week whenever I browsed through youtubes, powerpoints or any text, the first thing I did was to read the privacy and copyright issues.
I have identified three tools that I definitely plan to use in the coming year. Glogster, Voicethread and Jing apart from having my teacher blog.

Embedding a video

Video -Planet Earth.My attempt at embedding a video.

screencast and jing

My first try at using screencasting. If I am not mistaken you should be able to click on the url, if not please copy and paste.
If there is anyone who is good at this please advise...I like this tool...interested!
http://screencast.com/t/AYScDhCjB


Jayanthi

Week 3 reflections of the New blogger

The more I learn about  the web tools, I have  realized that there are many more out there to be explored. I was reading through `Science in plain English` and I liked the video about search engines. Often students spend a lot of time doing improper searching. I am definitely going to guide them through searches as indicated in the video.

 Just listing below a few of the tools in the order of my understanding and preference.

Voice thread. Created one and I have identified where I would use it for my students. There is a component called `Theory of knowledge` for my IB Physics students which requires a lot of discussion. I am going to choose a topic, create a voice thread and invite my students to it. I am sure my students would love talking about the topic and debating at their own leisure rather than during the class hours. The short video clips in the `Voice thread` article explain precisely every feature of the Voice thread. I liked the Videodoodling feature a lot. It would be fun to have all the controls such as play and pause while running a video and being able to give a voice over simultaneously. One of the features that interests me is the comment moderator. The person who has created the thread can control whether the comments of others need to be there for everyone to hear. This naturally will be useful to edit any offensive or irrelevant comment.

Digital storytelling. Like the idea of telling stories digitally. I have to figure out a lot about it but really am interested in it. I am impressed by the following features mentioned in the article on digital story telling

• Digital stories are inherently easy to replicate and share.
• Digital stories are not constrained to text, but can make use of imagery, audio, video, and social affordances available in the medium.
• Digital storytelling can foster innovation and creativity as there are unlimited genres & forms available for expression.

File conversions.

Both  are good to use. I have used Zamzar to download you tube videos.

KickYouTube: This website helps you download YouTube videos.  When you find a YouTube video that you want to download, just insert the word "Kick" before YouTube in the URL (change www.youtube.com/adfasdf to www.kickyoutube.com/asfasf).  This will take you to a new website.  Select your file format and click download.

 ZamZar: This website service converts file format types for you. The steps are very simple. You can either enter a URL or upload a file.  Zamzar will e-mail you the converted file.  

I have also browsed  through Jing and Screencasting. I have to spend a while understanding its features and decide the best way I could use it in my classes.

TEDx was interesting but I am still not sure how I am going to use it for my class.

I would really appreciate views and advice from those of you who have used one or more of these tools in your school.

Its a flat world after all!

I couldn`t help but comment on this.I am an Indian and I had mixed feelings when I read `Its a flat world after all`. I am aware there is a very positive technological revolution going on here in India. I feel sorry to say that this revolution is combating with the population here. The urban technocrats are zooming ahead in the Information technology sector, the rich is growing richer due to very handsome pay packets in the corporate sector,the computer is seeping into urban and rural humble homes but many of the local schools and  teachers do not want to change from the age old traditional teaching practices. It is going to take a while for the real change to happen. There are wealthy schools that have the state of the art technology for their students and such students get the `best` of today`s technological education.Yes, there is `computer education` introduced in schools but I am not sure whether it is only because it is there or whether the educators and the students really want to make the most of it.I work in an American school now and I do have access to all the modern facilities yet I think I am still quite naive in my understanding of technology.I could blame it on my cultural and traditional upbringing that I am still not comfortable with putting my views frankly out in print. There is definitely a phenomenal growth in the last decade.Working standards have been raised and India has become upwardly mobile as far as the living conditions are concerned. However on the one hand we have a globally and economically growing India and on the other hand we have people who are struggling to keep up with the technological growth. I am really confused. I love my country nevertheless but shouldn`t growth be gradual so that all can participate and we do not leave anyone behind?

Glogster - Interesting!

Glogster

I just created an account and poster on eduglog. I am definitely learning a lot with of course a million questions about each as I move from one webtool to another. I spent a few hours today reading about glogster. There is so much that one can do to network with kids and I repent that I had not thought of it earlier.

Glogster is definitively a good webtool for educators as well as students to make learning interesting in the 21^st century.

Glogster taps the creative potential of students as it is a powerful tool for self expression and  powerful learning . (I am often amazed by the creative potential of today`s youngsters that I get to see whenever there is a classroom project. So using glogster is only going to make this experience more rewarding).Glogster helps to keep the student engaged in the course content in a fun way. Teachers are able to monitor student`s work continuously. I cannot agree less to the fact about Glogster  as mentioned in the introductory article that it is definitely a valuable teaching tool that integrates diverse core subjects including math, science, history, art, photography, music and more for individual learner portfolios, unique alternative assessments, and differentiated instructional activities.

It allows for more student interaction with the confidentiality maintained. It is definitely useful in differentiating instruction. Glogs will help the ESL students to explore other areas of their talent other than language and in the process learn. The teacher can have this sort of `web-conversation` with students thus making learning less tedious and interesting.

Media Analysis - Excellent tool

Just loved the videos on Mediaanalysis.  This reminds me of the video on `Parallel Universe` that my students watched in  the Astrophysics class. It was about the existence of parallel universes and how in the future there is a possibility of inter universe travel through worm holes. It seemed more like science fiction. My students were fascinated but I could not get them into a discussion since they felt it was rather impossible. The videos on media analysis have taught me a different approach to showing videos. It would be worthwhile to show a video and elicit as many questions from real to the bizarre and and then let students explore the possibilities of whether it is real by extensive independent research or by doing experiments. The third video in particular would be a good analysis video for the older Physics students. They could debate about, angle of elevation, friction, projectile motion and energy conservation. There is a lot of material in that small clip. It could be the opening lesson for the above topics. I agree especially with the following sentence in the article. As classroom applications these viral videos present a great opportunity to teach specific media literacy skills in the science classroom.  In addition, many of these videos provide a great starting point to have students generate questions about scientific phenomena.

Science and Literacy - A Reflection

Science and Literacy.

With the advent of technology and its ever evolving growth, reading as a hobby or general reading has become uncommon. Students of today like to read about matters that affect them in their daily life. Science learning therefore, has to be more focused and specific.

Let us understand the connections between Science and Literacy under the three approaches that also broadly highlight the responsibilities of a science educator.

1. Performance expectations for literacy in the Science Classroom.

The science teacher would have the following responsibilities..

·        To motivate the students to think and reflect on their learning.

·        Encourage students to take risks, ask them to explore, promote scientific thinking and make them realize that the process of arriving at a solution to a problem is more important than the result by itself.

·        Improve language skills. No matter how much we say that language does not play a crucial role in science learning we all know that good communication is the key to reinforce good learning and retention of the learning.

·        Specify the expectations clearly to the students not by just telling them to perform better. Define`better` for them.

·        Motivate and guide students in all areas of literacy including reading, writing, listening and speaking.

·        Differentiate instruction in the classroom wherever necessary.

From my personal experience I can say that differentiating instruction works. Differentiating instruction while teaching non-english spearkers does not mean lowering expectations. The performance expectations remain the same but the means to achieve it changes. The tools and techniques used to achieve the goals is varied. The same applies when differentiating instructions for a group of gifted students.

While reading comprehensions accurate interpretation and conclusions have to be made. If possible cite real world connections that maybe connected to the students` personal interests.

Such a connection will be retained in the students` memory and so will the science concept.

·        Help students reach a good level of writing by allowing them to communicate by writing down what they have learnt.

2.      Explicit teaching strategies.

·        Inquiry based learning is a must for good science learning. Students should be encouraged to ask questions what, how, why, when…

·        They should be taught the methods for reading and learning. Like…

a)      Underline main ideas.

b)      Highlight important areas in the text.

c)      Write short questions in places where the text is not understood.

d)      Write down thoughts as reading progresses.

e)      Find definitions of unfamiliar words and use them in a new sentence.

f)       Make drawings and illustrations to understand concepts and then use them to frame sentences to communicate the understanding.

3.      Metacognition

The ability for students to become aware of their thinking processes while doing literacy activity in the classroom.

·        Bring the story telling to the classroom. Encourage students to write essays, connect with other disciplines through drama, poems, art and essays.

I still remember that while teaching about `Atoms` to an eighth grade group the class had written poems, enacted a play, written stories and thoroughly enjoyed it. Science learning becomes fun when such methods are used for students to learn and retain concepts. Story telling is always a good method to make students explore and also gives them a freedom to imagine.

As educators we may not be able to employ all of the approaches together but we should do so in steps. Infuse a little of each of these into the curriculum and make a strong and positive link between science and literacy.

Using Web Tools to Support Learning

Using  Web Tools to support learning (Science 2.0)

Every time one of my students requested me to join facebook I politely refused thinking that this is going to eat away on my time. After connecting with people (at the moment on a small scale though) via this webtools course I have realized the importance of social networking. Using web tools to support learning by Eric Brunsell and Martin Horejsi is a very informative piece of writing about the evolution of Social networking. Very true that in this digital age social networking has evolved beyond its simple computer communication to an exponential expanding supply of sources and information. It opens up countless ways to share and collaborate. As a science teacher I am looking forward to the wealth of information and resources I am going to get from this form of communication not to say giving me an opportunity to share my knowledge and know how. Obviously as an educator I will be passing on this knowledge to my students thus making them the beneficiary of science education from teachers from around the world. I have to say too that science teaching is not going to be the same anymore. I am a member of the discussion forum of the IB diploma program and I used to be contented and very pleased with the way I used to borrow and share resources with other like minded teachers. Twitter, Classroom 2.0 and LearnCentral and other social networks seem to go beyond just a few people but a means to connect to innumerable teachers globally. These networks enable you to participate in ongoing discussions and exchange ideas. The amount of information available is definitely overwhelming but you have the right to choose the resource or material that would be useful to you. Social networking is here to stay. It has enriched science education in more ways than one.

Progress of the New blogger

I think I am actually enjoying this social networking. Strange to think that I have been using Skype, yahoo and msn messenger to connect with my brother in the USA but not once did I think of it as a social networking tool. It was mainly a necessity to connect with family and we did so efficiently. The Teacher web that we used in school mainly helped us post our  work, syllabi, weekly plans, assignments and any other material on the web but did not really have this sort of a one on one interaction with students. It had a link to my email id that students and parents  could use to communicate with me. Blogging seems more personal and the views and opinions and answers can be immediate. I am also getting used to tweeting on Twitter but at the moment I am more comfortable with blogging. I am looking forward to `talk` to my students via blogs.

Evaluating Technology Use in the classroom

 Technology is evolving continuously. How would you explain Technology use in the classroom?

 Should technology be used just because it is there?

 Should..

• Students type on a Word document instead of using pen on paper?
• The teacher use powerpoint presentations using an LCD projector to teach a lesson?
• Students use laptops in class and research their projects with the guidelines given by the teacher?

The question is should we use technology such as computers, laptops, LCD projectors just because they are available in our schools? Does technology replace the lecture form of teaching? How do we use technology effectively in the classrooms? Should technology replace teachers?

Most of the times it is difficult for the teacher to monitor the laptop screens of each student.It is difficult to assess the kind of learning that is taking place. The means of technology used in the classrooms should allow for an intense teaching learning process. Technology should be used to reinforce the lesson rather than replace the teaching process entirely. Technology has pushed reading books to a backseat. Students prefer to browse the internet for information rather than look up an encyclopedia. Reading books are often ebooks than a physical book.

Technology does allow students to create and share their knowledge with an audience they would never would have had access to without technology. It has opened a whole new world (literally) of opportunities and communication.

Technology allows students to be in touch globally, watch and learn about the progress in various walks of life. In the process it has also helped them become very competitive because they become aware of their contribution in today`s global scene.

Use of technology such as data logging devices and the various sensors in science experiments help the students to get very precise data that they could analyze and arrive at near appropriate conclusions.

Virtual happenings and animations help to reinforce concepts well in a class. In science and mathematics involving three dimensions, the computer animations make the understanding absolutely clear. You tube and other videos  make the whole journey of learning very fulfilling. I have used them often in the astronomy class and it was very enriching.

I still remember that I could not imagine how a volume of revolution would look like in calculus until I watched an animation of the same while teaching the topic to my students. Virtual labs should be used in place of physical labs in experiments that involve safety or ethical issues and in labs that require very precise answers.

The technology used should be more interactive. The teacher should be able to walk around the classroom and the learning should be simultaneous than restricted to projections by an LCD projector. The assessment then will be  subjective.

I find technology immensely useful in the science classrooms. However as I have said earlier technology should supplement the learning process but should not replace the communication between the student and the teacher. The learning process should remain human and not be totally mechanized.

Educators should undergo frequent professional development routines and be in sync with the technology developments. It is only then that they will be able to use it effectively in a classroom.

Reflections-New Challenge for the 21st century Science education leaders

The children of today are growing up to be global citizens. They are the natives in the world of technology. I would call myself an immigrant in that world. When I see my students with the modern day gadgets and the speed with which they operate them I am thoroughly amazed. It is for these students that we have to impart science and technology education to bring out their potential and to give them the confidence to compete globally. We have to educate our students to face problems of the kind we are not even aware of today. Technology is on an exponential rise. Our students should be able to go out into such a world equipped with technological knowhow to face the challenges that are to come.The internet has become an integral part of our lives. For me this very online course is a fine example of the extent of technological advance. I am doing this course from one end of the world (India).

The most important requirements for effective science education is believed to be creativity and innovation skills, critical thinking, problem solving and finally communication and collaborative skills. However we live in an Information age, science leaders should therefore realize the need for change. Most or all of the above skills have to be inculcated in young learners at a very early stage in order to groom them to be scientific thinkers of the future. Leaders should encourage science educators` commitment to improve by recommending appropriate tools in technology and modern equipments in the science classroom.

Studies show clearly that computers and modern day gadgets are replacing human memory and basic computational skills. Jobs requiring higher level of abstract problem solving skills are more in number. So if scientific knowledge is going to be taught by making students memorize and reproduce their scientific knowledge thus gained, they are being prepared for jobs that are fewer in number.

I would like to reflect on the findings of the National Academic Study:

Adaptability: Programs to provide opportunities to work individually and in groups, Trained to use tools and equipment that is suitable to analyze and interpret observation after designing and conducting an observation. This will help students to be all round learners. They will find their own space while working individually and this will improve their scientific thinking. As a mandatory internal assessment requirement our science class has a special criteria on design in the lab work. The students are assessed in various aspects. Individual design, choice of variables, relevant experimental setup and data interpretation. They  develop critical thinking skills as they work and working in a group also allows them to be look into the academic and social needs of the members in their group. In an international setup especially, science education should be very culturally sensitive.

Complex Communication and Social skills:This is a very important aspect of science learning. Here they are encouraged to design and conduct scientific investigations in a group. They have to communicate their scientific procedures and explanations as well as defend a scientific argument. They have to use technology to improve the investigation and communication. Social skills are very important in today`s global scene. Science and technology is unified and there is continuous exchange of the same from one country to another. To train students to effectively communicate and put forth one`s innovations is therefore vital and an important component of science education.

Non routine problem solving: Science programs should train students to identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigation, develop descriptions, explanations, predictions and models using evidence. They should be able to think critically and logically to make the relationship between evidence and explanations. They should be able to recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions. Rote learning should not be encouraged. Students should be trained to think laterally and develop alternate problem solving methods.

Self management and Self development: Students should design and conduct scientific investigations using appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data. They should be capable of self assessment. Critically appreciate their own work and make improvements. Science educators should be up to date in the knowledge of equipments and devices that could ensure precise observations in the lab classroom. Students should be taught the use of devices and encouraged to use them without a compromise on any of the other skills such as computational and traditional problem solving skills.

System thinking. Students should think critically and logically establish the relation between evidence and explanation. The purpose in any science education should not be for merely obtaining results. Interpretation of data, error propagation and conclusion with limitations and possible suggestions should be emphasized upon. Science educators have a major responsibility to promote a scientific learning that will make global citizens.

Make sure all students meet the standards for scientific inquiry and technological design. Build on the opportunities that already exist in school programs and teaching practices. Use of data logging devices should be encouraged to obtain a very precise set of observations. Computational skills using graphing calculators should be given importance. Introduce literacy and numeracy workshop for educators so that they could impart their skills to the students as a part of their learning outcome. Educators should understand that the human brain retains information when a concept moves from simple to complex. This instructional sequence in science learning should be the focus.

To summarize I would write the following from the text abstract recommended for the Web tools class this week. Contemporary justification for a vision of improved science education resides in themes such as education and the economy, basic skills for the workforce and thinking for a living. Leadership in Science education extends from science teachers to various people in key positions. Not all of them can be involved in curriculum writing and assessment but all of us have our roles and responsibilities and the extent to which we fulfill those responsibilities will finally make a difference for students as they live and work in the 21^st century.

Introduction

I am a teacher of Physics and Mathematics at the High school of the American International School, Chennai, India. My responsibilities are teaching IB Physics, AP Physics and IB Mathematics (SL). I have also introduced an Electronics course that focuses on hands on technical skills in the field of electronics.My school and University education is from Mumbai, India. I taught Physics in a college in Mumbai before I moved to the city of Chennai. in 1997 and I am associated with my current school since 2003.My husband is a Marine engineer in the Merchant Navy and we do not have children. Our family is well settled in India. I have traveled widely and in the process visited the USA a few times.I am excited about this course since I am new to social networking. I am surprised that I have started blogging and I am sure I will use it effectively to communicate with my students. I really need to learn a lot about these methods.

new to blogging

I am just trying to figure out how blogging works. Hoping to learn a lot of webtools in my course this summer.

New to blogging

I have just created a blog account.Looks like a good tool to communicate