Course Survey/Evaluation

I took both the survey and evaluation.

Content Project

Rocket Test!

View more OpenOffice presentations from chipkidclp.

Internet Safety

Reading:
I did all of the required reading, and for my fifth article I read Fighting Internet Filth by Mario Hipol. This was a very interesting and helpful article, and it really focused on those who may not be technology savvy. It outlined and gave good resources to help parents who feel intimidated by the internet to help keep their family safe. It mentioned some programs, such as pop-up blockers and filters, that can make the internet much safer for children. All the tips he mentioned were basic, and I had not thought of some of them, but really can make a difference. I will definitely use these guidelines in my own classroom and home, and teach them to my children. I think that being a good example and following the guidelines myself can have a positive influence on others around me. Also, being willing to share this information to make the internet safer for others, the article I read is a great start for anyone!

Watching:
I watched some of the public service announcements as well as the BYU animation short. I spent the bulk of my time watching the PBS documentary. This was very enlightening and actually kind of scary to see how much of teenagers life today is spent on the internet. There was a segment on how teachers need to keep up with technology in order to appeal to students. I will try to use technology in my teaching in a useful way and to teach my students safe internet practices.

Doing:
I shared what I learned with my father (47) who is an electrical engineer. Overall it was a positive experience, however he knew most of what I shared with him. I loved Elder Ballard's talk with the list of things we can do to help keep our children safe and shared this with my father, which he was happy to hear! Overall a good learning experience.

Content Specific Project

For my project, I will design a test that will integrate technology. This test will focus on a rocket launch that we will do as a class project, and then ask the students to analyze the data from a video recording of the launch. They will use Logger Pro to analyze the video, a very inexpensive program with a quick learning curve. The students will be familiar with this program from previous labs in class, so all should be able to successfully complete the test.
They will be required to recall information from our previous units and apply it the new unit. The test will review the skills from the Utah Physics Core Standard 1, and will test the new skills learned in Standard 2 objective 2, and Standard 4 objectives 1 and 2. Here is a copy of the test that I will use. I will expect the student to turn in their work, including the graphs made on Logger Pro! I will create a Power Point presentation of my final test, showing the work I did on each problem.

This project is an answer sheet of sorts for this take home test using the computer program Logger Pro. I would probably not show this until after the test had been administered, or perhaps as an example of a type of test that I might require of my students. It was helpful for me to go through the test and to see how much time it took me and to get an idea of problems that they may encounter.

I believe that this was a good use of technology, the technology will compliment what is being taught and really show their understanding of the content. It will test this knowledge in a way that is interesting and useful to the students, it is not an ordinary paper and pencil test. It allows them to explore and to come to their own conclusions in their own way. Overall I think that this is a good use of technology (TPCK).

Asynchronous vs. Synchronous

I used Skype and Facebook to send messages.  I preferred Skype because it felt more like a conversation and it was much easier to use.  I had many problems with facebook, I had to try to get it to work for a long time.  In the classroom, video messaging would be very useful.  Leaving a message for the class when I'm gone or for the substitute, or to video chat an expert in the field into the classroom and have a live discussion would be very useful.  Also, Jing makes it easy to show students how to do tasks on the computer, without trying to put the directions into words, this could be a great tool if I make a class website which they will need to be familiar with!  I am sure there are many more uses then I can even think of for these tools!

Here are the images of my asynchronous and synchronous video "chatting."

And here is a video of my Skype conversation with my younger sister.

TPCK vs. TPK

TPCK stands for Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge.  This means that the teacher has sufficient content knowledge (the facts and concepts of her/his subject), pedagogical knowledge (the know how to teach, such as guided inquiry) and technological knowledge (they know how to use technology and are able to use many "tools").  When all three of these "knowledges" are combined, the teacher can effectively teach the students.  There are two types of TPCK, content-domain oriented tools and pedagogy-oriented tools.  The first uses technology for a content purpose, to do something that would not be available without the technology.  The second uses technology for a pedagogy reason, to engage the students or to help different learners.  One example for my Physics class could be a lab based rocket project.  The students would build rockets, and on the day of the launch, their launches would be video recorded.  This footage could then be used to do advanced physics, place them into the role of discoverer and would not be possible without the video footage and the program Logger Pro.

TPK stands for Technological Pedagogical Knowledge.  This means that the teacher knows how to use technology to engage the students, using it for pedagogical reasons.  This can be for classroom management, to engage students, or how to present information in the best way.  In my class, I could use this technique as I use technology to monitor my students progress.  By having homework or other assessments online, I can then take the data from these assessments and better my teaching, by looking at those questions that were missed most, I can narrow my focus on what information I need to review or teach better (different method) so that I can reach all my students.  

New Tools

This week I learned about the great free tools that are online and are easy to use.  I am creating my own website, and it has been fairly simple.  I used PB Works, and this tool will be great for me as a teacher.  I can post assignments and my class outline for students and parents to have access to.  I have only just scratched the surface and am sure there is much more I can do with this tool. 

I also learned how to use the photo editing website, Picnik.  This website was great and again very easy to use.  I think the lesson I learned most this week was just how many great, free, and easy tools there are out there for me to use and can be very useful to me in my classroom!

Here's my PB Works website!

Physics Video

This video is a compilation of short videos showing physical phenomenon that could be analyzed individually using Logger Pro, a great program for high school students!  They can break the video down frame by frame to get the data about the objects.  There is a ton of physics in these seemingly mundane clips!

Story Board

Part one and two of our story board.

Classroom Videos

I have spent a lot of time using Logger Pro, a great program for science classrooms for data acquisition and analysis.  Some of the most interesting projects I did with this program were video analysis.  Many aspects of a problem that were not feasible to calculate or understand before are easy with this technology.  Mary and I decided that we would gather videos that we could use in our class to analyze in Logger Pro.  We will string these videos together with introduction narration (and some pretty amazing physics songs) and then introductory questions after the video of what we would like our students to do with the raw data.  This seemed like the most useful project we could think of that would help us start collecting the materials we need for our own classrooms.  

This project will cover many standards because each video is of a different phenomenon and could be used to explain many different concepts, and including at least parts from all of the physics standards (some may be very small parts).

here's the link to the website:

http://www.uen.org/cc/uen/core/pub/displayCoreCourse.action?ccId=3640

RSS feeds

I didn't know what RSS feeds were before, but they are extremely helpful.  My e-mail account came with an RSS feed to Apple news.  I found this to be annoying (because I wasn't interested) and didn't know what it was or why it would update with new stories frequently.  Learning about what it actually is I have been able to subscribe to feeds that I'm actually interested in!  By subscribing to content specific feeds, I don't need to spend a long time looking for new updates or information related to my class.  I just have to go to one place and any new information will be there for me to use!

Experiences with technology!

This is the first blog that I have started, and am excited to learn more about technology.  My father and mother are electrical engineers, and I did not get that "knack" for technology.  I have a Mac and can do basic things, but it has always scared me a bit.  I believe that technology has it out for me and breaks whenever I'm around, my dad always told me technology can smell fear, which I believe I have tested sufficiently.  Being on my own at college, however, I have been forced to learn to fix basic problems on my own and set up some technology.  I do not have the same fear I used to, but I still struggle when things do not initially go as I thought they should.  I am confident in the basic programs (word, excel and basic powerpoint) and feel confident on the web.  Anything above a basic level in any sort of technology is really above my capabilities.