Is it flat?

Lesson Plan Revision

2006-05-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

Science Grade 5
Objectives: SC 5.4.12 Identify substances by their relative densities.
SC 5.2.1-5.2.8 All science as inquiry objectives.
Materials: Scott Foresman Science text Chap. 11, materials for experiment, copies of the directions for the experiment, copies of the student worksheet
Procedure: Break students into lab groups, distribute all materials, and begin experiment. After students have completed the experiment, provide notes on density and buoyancy. Collect worksheets from students.
Assessment: Grade worksheet.

21st Century Science Grade 5
Objectives: SC 5.4.12, SC 5.2.1-5.2.8, TEC 5.5.1, TEC 5.5.2, TEC 5.6.1
Materials: materials for experiment, computers
Procedure: Access the Marco Polo site and use the Science NetLinks as a teacher resource. Follow the lesson plan for "Sink It". As an extension activity use the lesson plan "Does soap float?" Within this activity, students will be directed to use various sites for research and fun. Examples of the sites include the Ivory Soap Homepage, U.S. Dept. of Energy and Newton's "Ask a Scientist", MadSci Network, and Buoyancy Brainteasers.
Assessment: Group presentation (oral and paper-completed using word processor)

Social Bookmarking

2006-05-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

I think the greatest feature of this concept is being able to access your favorite sites from anywhere at anytime in an organized manner. You can find others who have similar interests and use their tags to locate information. There are so many sites available that this tool could be used to help filter through all of the web info, especially if you are in a time crunch. Educationally, this tool could help in a lab situation when you want the students to visit various sites that you know are good.

Podcasts

2006-04-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

The following are podcasts that I found on Podcast Alley under the genre "Education".

1) Astronomy a Go Go: Weekly podcast of what can be seen in the sky for the week and month. This could be used during an astronomy unit.

2) World at War: 1940's radio dramas about events that happened during WWII. This could be incorporated into lessons involving WWII.

3) Storynory: Classic children's stories are read. This could be used within a reading unit.

4) Dr. Goodwords Daily Podcast: audio version of the "word of the day". Teachers could use this to expand vocabulary using technology.

5) KidCast: Podcasting- This site could be used by teachers to develop a classroom podcast.

6) TechPod Podcast for Teachers: This could be used for staff development on technology innovations and their use.

7) Teaching for the Future: This could be used for staff development on media literacy.

8) Weblogs and Wikis and Feed...: A teacher uses the podcast to talk through his experiences trying to use the technology with his students and colleagues.

9) Educational Podcasting: A podcast directory for educators/schools.

10) School Improvement Ind..: Selections from a web-enabled magazine created by NCLB.

Wikipedia Use in the Classroom

2006-04-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to use this source as a viable resource for information. It is very easy to edit information within the site, therefore I would be skeptical of its validity. I guess it could be viewed as a form of journalism, whereas people's perspectives play into the information that is presented. If it were to be used as a reference source for research, it could be sited as such, much like an article from a magazine.

Artifacts for Electronic 21st Century Portfolio

2006-04-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

The following artifacts can be found on my electronic portfolio for 21st Century Learning:

One page from WLES Tech Plan for 2005-06
Picture of a teacher using her access e-mail account
Picture of Kindergarten using the computer lab
Picture of 5th graders using computers to complete their projects/Handout for teachers to use Discovery Health site
Staff Development approval form/ Instructions to complete on-line assignment
Technology staff development sign in sheet
Picture of me using my PDA
Picture of a teacher using Mocha to input grades
Letter sent to families concerning new site for emergencies

21st Century Classroom

2006-03-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

My dream of the 21st Century classroom looks like this... The students are sitting around tables. Each student has been assigned a laptop that they may take home as needed. The laptops are loaded with presentation software and word processors. They have internet accessibility and can also access the school server, which has software programs aligned with their texts. The teacher is covering core content objectives using a power point presentation with a projector and an interactive whiteboard. As she covers the material, posing and fielding questions from the students, she passes out a description of the project and its rubric. The students choose a team leader and responsibilities for the project are assigned. Some students begin to login on their laptops to start their research. Others are brainstorming ideas for the team's presentation. It is not a quiet classroom because collaboration is taking place. The teacher has updated her webpage with information on this latest project. Parents can view this information, accessing links that the students have been asked to used in order to complete this assessment. An e-mail address is provided so that the lines of communication are always open for both the student and parent. Everyone takes responsibility for the learning. Isn't this a pleasant dream?

Possible Artifacts for Portfolio

2006-03-06T06:42:00.000-08:00

As I begin to think of items that I can include in my electronic portfolio, the following came to mind:

Teacher webpages- financially supported by the school
A-Z reading- website use financially supported by the school
Discovery Health-county purchased 1yr. site license to use this site with students
Use of my blog for staff development to begin in March
Use of my PDA to keep my calendar

Prediction for the Next Flattener

2006-02-28T15:54:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say that I am "up" on all of the political activity throughout the world, but I'm not. That being said, I will try to predict the next global event flattener of our world.

I have finished reading The World is Flat and feel a little more in touch with some of political aspects of the flat world. From this information and also from news/newspaper reports, I think the growth of Dubai and the rise of its political forces will have an affect on our world. This is big money and money seems to breed innovation. It may also bring with it a power struggle. As more desolate areas are wired for communication, more people will be able to fulfill their dreams. This will produce new ideas, which will develop into new tools, which will lead to new jobs, which may lead to less jobs, which ......who knows. I'm amazed at all of the changes within the last decade. Realizing that our digital natives will soon be running our companies and countries, things are bound to change. Political upheaval in China or some other developing nation may lead to an unflattening, which could set us back a few years. But I think the flattening will continue, and it is my advice that people jump on board or be left to get flattened as everyone rushes ahead chasing their dreams using technology.

Instructional Resource

2006-02-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

An instructional resource that may be used by a fifth grade classroom can be found at www.thinkquest.org/library/index.html. Within this library, I found several sites that dealt with careers in science. If you choose Science and Technology, go to Discover Science Careers. (Some of the WV CSO's deal with career exploration.) Students could choose an area of interest and research the career. We currently are not producing enough scientists/engineers within the U.S. based on what our future needs are projected to be. Hopefully, doing a lesson to explore some of these careers may spark some interest.

2006-02-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

Digital Immigrants teaching Digital Natives-Can this be done successfully?

After reading through Susan Brook Young's article at www.peterli.com/archive/tct/790.shtm, I agree with EVERYTHING she said. Our students are learning differently due to their background and use of technology. They want to use the technology to learn. Gone are the days of lecture notes. This will not keep their attention and interest. They require multi-tasking activities, using various technology tools. We, the immigrants, must learn productive ways to utilize these tools. As we take the baby steps needed to do this, it is much better than making no attempt at all. It requires that we move out of our comfort zone and learn the many facets of technology. Core subject knowledge is still crucial, but the method of presentation has to provide the "hook" to capture their interest.

21st Century Teaching and Learning

2006-02-13T08:10:00.000-08:00

As I read through the information contained in the ICT Literacy Map for Science, I found that we have been doing some of these activities within the classroom.(www.21stcenturyskills.org) Several teachers have been using the computer lab to conduct research for various topics. The use of software to present the data, in graph or table form, needs to be improved. The students are working together cooperatively on such projects. I liked the idea of linking with another classroom, preferrably in another part of the U.S. or world, to compare weather conditions.

In years past, research was done by utilizing encyclopedias, magazines, and books. I feel that these skills should still be addressed when teaching the students how to research as well as using computers. Sharing data, conducting comparisons, and journaling findings can now be accomplished much more easily by using technology.

Does education need to change in order to meet the needs of our students? Yes, I feel it does! The core subject matter is vitally important, but its presentation and application need to be within the realm of the 21st century. This means some changes need to occur within the classrooms of today.