Technology and Science Reflection

I viewed Voice Threads by Emily Carr, Rebecca Jaggi, and Julia. Throughout the process of this project, both creating one with Tiffany and viewing others, it is obvious to me that there are some great advantages to using technology with teaching science. The projects that I viewed all used Stelarium to view the phases of the moon. It was clear that this content was learned much easier through the program rather than having to try to look at the moon every night and record its phases that way. Our project with using the digital microscope to view details on rocks definitely enhanced the activity by providing a way for the students to see the rocks in greater detail as well as learn to operate a scientific instrument. Even though it's a little overwelming for me to tackle use of new technology, this project has provided a great deal of motivation to explore what's out there. It seems worthwhile enough to make the effort to bring the technology into the activities since it does greatly enhance students' learning experiences.

Rock Activity VoiceThread

Rock Activity VoiceThread

Science Challenge Description

1. Tiffany and I are doing a science project focused on objective 3 for 2nd grade involving investigating properties and uses of rocks, specifically sorting rocks based upon color, hardness, texture, layering, and particle size. In groups, the students will classify the color, hardness, texture, layering, and particle size of 5 rocks on a prepared matrix. They will use a digital microscope to study the rocks and illustrate/describe the features on the matrix. Then, they will compare and contrast the rocks according to directions on a prepared worksheet. The worksheet will sort the rocks by similarities between the features studied.
2. The content is investigating and comparing properties of rocks. The pedagogy involved is mainly hands-on experiences to discover the content. There will be directions and clarification on how to fill out the matrix and worksheet. This is good for the content because the content will be best learned and retained by actually observing the information on real rocks rather than simply reading or being lectured on them. The technology used will be a digital microscope. This will greatly aid in getting more detailed descriptions of the rocks, which accomplishes the learning of the content more completely.

Google Earth Tour reflection

I viewed Mickelle Hardy - Celebrations Around the World, Emily Carr - Religions of the World, and Rebecca Jaggi - Volcanoes. I think there are many upsides for doing virtual tours. The students get to discover a subject visually in a real-life way rather than simply talking or reading about it. Also, there are certain aspects of places or land features that would only be observable in an aerial view. Since you can't afford to fly your class there, this is a great way to give them a taste of the experience right from the classroom. The downsides would be helping the students navigate the virtual tours. Some may find it easy, but others may struggle, especially if they do not have access to this kind of media at home. However, the time spent explaining the program and tools would be well worth the experience and the knowledge gained not only of the subject taught in the tour but also how to use the technology.

Civil War Google Earth Tour

Here is the link for Google Earth Tour: Civil War

Virtual Tour Table

These are the sub-objectives of Objective 3 of Standard 4 of the core for 5th grade History that these activities aid in accomplishing:

*Identify the key ideas, events, and leaders of the Civil War using primary sources (e.g. Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation, news accounts, photographic records, diaries)
*Contrast the impact of the war on individuals in various regions (e.g. North, South, West).

Here are the Google Earth activities (the numbers are correct - the 1st location is listed last):

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
2. Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, harbor	*Read background info accompanying image of Fort *Take Tour of Fort *Pick out 5 interesting features	3D Buildings Terrain
3. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania	*Read Gettsyburg address *Explore cemetery and think about what those men died for and why they gave their lives	3D Buildings Terrain
4. Franklin, Tennessee Carnton Plantation	* Read history of plantation * Explore plantation and cemetery - think about impact on McGavock family's life	3D Buildings Terrain
1. United States	* Using image given as a guide, identify the states in the Union and those in the Confederacy - compare and contrast the overall terrain and size of the Union and Confederacy - record your comparisons into a Venn diagram	Terrain

I chose to do a Google Earth tour with the topic of the Civil War because I wanted to make this significant time in American history more real to students today. I think a 5th grade student would be able to remember facts and understand the impact of the Civil War more fully through these visual representations. Seeing the real places where these real events took place would add greatly to the experience of learning about the Civil War. Other instructional methods such as powerpoint presentations, book reports, drawing maps, and others may be very effective as well for accomplishing the objectives, but the Google Earth tour adds a unique, real-life dimension. Not to mention that the specific locations and memorials have neat features depicting and commemorating the events that took place there.

I finally got my posting on You Tube to work. Here it is:

Digital Storytelling viewing

I watched videos by Emily Carr, Rebbecca Jaggi and Tiffany, Julia, Betsy Rodriquez, Mekelle Hardy, and Christina Rossetti. After viewing these different videos, it was clear that there is a wide variety of possibilities for subjects and videos effects that can be used. That's one thing I love about this project - there is a lot of room for creativity. Implementing this in a classroom setting could be both a wonderful experience and a challenging one. I think the biggest challenge would be making sure each child has needed help and equal access to resources. Some children may have parents who are very helpful and very good with technology who can help them, while some may not. I could see some children becoming very discouraged if they see the other kids with very ellaborate videos and theirs not so much. As a teacher, you would have to take special care to make sure children have the needed assistance and resources so they can feel proud of their work and have a positive experience making their video. I definitely want to try this someday. I can't wait to see what videos my future students produce!