Evaluating Web 2.0 Presentation Tools

After evaluating a list of websites that offer the latest tools for implementing technology into a presentation I have to say that I am blown away by how far technology has come.  As an educator I am very excited to try these tools and implement them in my lessons.

Of the sites that I experimented with I found one called Glogster Edu.  This site is super easy to use and is very kid friendly.  I was surprised at how easy it was and how much I was able to do in a short amount of time.  This website is free and can be accessed anywhere there is an Internet connection.  This is one that I would share with my students for them to use. I would very highly recommend that you check out this site.

Another site that I visited and liked is called 280 Slides.  I like this site because it is very similar to PowerPoint, only it appears to be more advanced and can be used with PowerPoint presentations interchangeably.  I like the familiarity of this site.  This site allows you to publish PowerPoint presentations directly to the web.  There is no cost for this site.

I also found the website Vuvox very useful for professional looking presentations.  This site has a lot of information to read through, so I would not recommend it for kids to use, but it appears very practical for adults and to create presentations to share with students or my colleagues. 

21st Century Science

The content area that I chose is how particles interact, mass and force.  I found a wealth of information at http://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/newton.html . This website is very useful for providing students with in depth research information that will be very helpful to their understanding of complex topics.  Another website that I used that will encourage student involvement, and promote inquiry processes is www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics , this is an interactive site that allows students to "build" their own roller coaster and put it into motion. 
Providing students with opportunities to practice and use technology to enhance their learning will give them critical 21st century skills that they will need today and in the future.  Students will have a solid technological foundation that will help them succeed in the "outside" world. 
One of the activities that I would do in my classroom is use building materials to construct models of roller coasters, ramps and bridges.  Students will test different models to see how effective they are and which designs work best.  I would utilize the websites above by having students look for information online and then using that information to draw and construct their own models.
The largest challenges that I face is the limited amount of technology in the classroom, and the students' inexperience with them.  Computers are available in the school computer lab but require time and advance planning to reserve the them.  Not all of my students have experience using computers either.  However the more that they use computers and use interactive online activities the more knowledgeable they will become.       

Heat Transfer Experiment Reflection

The first thing that came to mind when I read this experiment was the types of materials used in on-the-go coffee cups or containers such as Styrofoam, cardboard or even plastic.  I thought that this experiment made the perfect connection to something that I do daily; drink coffee.  I was instantly curious about heat transfer and which material would keep the water hottest at the end of thirty minutes.  The materials I choose to test were: foil, plastic wrap, a thick napkin, cotton dish towel, and cardboard.  My hypothesis was that the foil or the cardboard would keep the water at a higher temperature for the longest time.  Boy was I wrong.  The plastic wrap and the cotton dish towel kept the water the hottest.
I think it would be fun to test heat transfer by using food items in different types of materials to see what kept the temperatures the highest or the lowest.  I think students would be interested in trying things like macaroni and cheese, pizza, hot dogs or even brownies (yum!).  I think that by using food items the results would be different than those of the water because foods are solid rather than liquid.  I just finished a lesson (in summer school) with my students about matter (solids, liquids, and gases) and this would be a perfect extension to that lesson by introducing temperature and heat transfer. It encourages inquiry based learning as well.     

Momentum Reflection

I love working with marbles!  The question that I choose for my guided inquiry study was: How do different surfaces affect the momentum of marbles?  My hypothesis was that the rougher  the surface, the slower the marble would go.  The surfaces that I decided to try were, a pillow, carpet, hardwood floor and grass.  I collected my materials: a pillow, a stopwatch, a marble, and a yardstick, then I went to work.  I had a lot of fun doing this investigation and I think my students will as well.  What I found out was that each time I flicked the marble it traveled at the same speed, what was affected by the surface type was the distance that it traveled.  The smoother the surface was, the further that the marble traveled.  The marble did not stop on the hardwood floor until it hit a wall.

Participating in this activity allowed me to see what students may experience as they conduct guided inquiry investigation of their own.  I enjoyed using materials and getting up and moving around while searching for my answers to the question.  I realized too that there are many variables to consider, that I hadn't before.  One challenge that I had was trying to shoot my marble with a consistent force in order to not skew the results.  Handling materials properly can be a challenge for students, so I would be sure to explain the expectations to students about the marbles.  I would allow them to play with the marbles as long as they are being responsible.

This experience would benefit students by allowing them the opportunity to build on their prior knowledge, explore new ideas and communicate with others.  They would be able to see that normal, everyday objects can be used to investigate important concepts such as forces.   

Lesson Reflection

My lesson about Water Quality and pH level testing was a success.  My students were engaged and loved going to the pond, creek, and stream, all located on school property, to collect their samples.  They were interested in the quality of their drinking water and had many questions about pH levels in other nearby sources.  They showed a lot of concern about pollutants that may enter the Columbia River and came up with some creative ways to inform others about the consequences of polluting.   

Melting Icebergs Experiment, part 2

After completing the Melting Iceberg experiment I was reminded how important forming a hypothesis and comparing it to the actual results really is.  My hypothesis was wrong and I was excited about it!  I discovered that as icebergs melt they will (probably) not create world-wide flooding.  Now as far as icecaps are concerned, I still think that as they melt they do cause inland flooding.  A great example of this is happening right now in the area in which I live.  Fortunately the river levees are holding so there has not been any flooding here, but because of the significant amount of rainfall that we have had this year, the mountain snow is melting more rapidly and raising the rivers.

While doing this experiment I discovered that there will always be differences of opinion or ideas about popular issues. I was surprised to find that the idea of the greenhouse effect is not accepted by everyone.  There are some very interesting articles that challenge the idea.  http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/ has some insightful ideas.    

Melting Iceburgs Experiment

9.) What happens if the polar ice caps melt?
         Global Warming will cause polar ice caps to melt. The water will decrease in the amount that is currently above sea level and enter the ocean, increasing the amount of water in the ocean, this will greatly contribute to rising sea levels around the globe.  As the glacier melts, rivers and streams will overfill and flood.  Chunks of the glacier may slide/fall off and cause significant erosion to the surrounding land.
         If seventy five percent of the world's clean drinking water is contained within glaciers that water will enter the water cycle and may not be readily available for human consumption.  The temperature of the Earth will increase and cause climate/weather patterns to change, affecting every place on earth.  The effects will be enormous.  I would ask my students to think about the impact of polar ice caps melting on all life and encourage them to think about ways that the devastation can be prevented or eased.       

STEM Lesson Plan Reflection

My lesson plan was designed for my students to use scientific inquiry skills, mathematical calculations, technological and engineering strategies to construct a bridge out of building manipulatives (K’NEX, Legos, craft sticks) to cross a “river” and be able to hold weight.  Years ago, when I first started college I designed a similar lesson for my peers to try and it was very fun and successful, only at the time I used toothpicks and gumdrops. 

Using hands-on materials is very beneficial in the classroom, it allows students to visualize, manipulate and even relay their ideas. For this lesson I did refer to the 5 E’s regularly and I think it was very helpful for me to focus on the most important aspects of the lesson.  Yes, I want my lesson to align with all of the standards, but I really want my students to be engaged.  The exploration, explanation, extension are critical for students to really be immersed in the learning process.  Evaluation is equally important because I want to be sure that my students actually did understand what I wanted them to know.  Using the 5 E’s is different from the way that I have been creating lesson plans but one way that I will be sure to use in the future. 

The idea of this lesson came from a lesson plan I found on the website Hotchalk, it is a wonderful resource for planning.  After reading the lesson plan I considered the students in my own classroom and formulated it more specifically to meet their needs and the way that I would teach it.  If I were to implement this lesson I would use materials that I have the most access to.  I would have to spend a little time reminding my students how to handle the materials in a proper way.  This lesson focuses on providing the students with a scenario; the bridge must be at least one foot across and four inches tall, and they must calculate the costs associated with it (each piece of material is assigned a price).  The lesson could easily be adapted to allow for much more creativity, questioning and problem solving. 

Elizabeth

HotChalk (2011). Bridges. Retrieved from http://www.lessonplanspage.com/index.html