Web Sites as Conduits for Teaching

I am a second generation teacher. My mother had no need for excessive technology in her day. I grew up seeing the movement from slide rule becoming obsolete to digital calculators becoming mainstream. Now my son has his own laptop and phones are as powerful as some of the first computers. The web is a valuable resource when used correctly. Creating your own website will allow you to guide your students into this resource.

ANYONE can make their own website, do not be afraid of technology. For those not as tech savvy, look into the predefined templates. Google sites has a classroom website template that is perfect for an elementary class and easily adapted to secondary school needs. I repeat ANYONE can make a site this way for FREE.

The best thing about Google Sites is that it has wonderful how to links and tips to guide you step by step or when you just get stuck. There is the ability for more complex html programming or you can stick to their basic page templates. If it is your first attempt at a site be sure to complete the tutorial first. Going through the tutorial will help minimize simple mistakes and save construction time.

I highly recommend building a site to interface with your students. This site can serve as a parent teacher interface, and an organizational tool for students and yourself. With a website and the availability of access to the web via phone, Internet driven businesses, public libraries, school computer labs, personal computers, and more your students could not pull the, "I didn't know that was due excuse." This is the electronic age. We can do a lot of thing paperless to accent our teaching. Teaching with technology is about increasing the paths and depths of learning in our students. What better way to do this than using the web and creating your own site. My demo site is a sample secondary school chemistry website created via google sites: http://sites.google.com/site/mkgbrookchemistry/.

Google Sites

Anyone can have a web page! Google sites is a free shareware website generation medium. As teachers we need to convey a lot of information quickly and efficiently. A good way to do this is to set up e-mail lists for you parents and students, in addition to having a class website. The most important stuff to include in a website for my class is a calendar, homework assignment list with detailed instruction, detailed project listings, vocabulary and test study sheets, note links, and important references. A blog and bio are nice, but not essential in conveying student learning information. I will definitely have a website for each class!

Technology Assessment

I have truly enjoyed learning how to teach with technology. One of the most important topics I have learned from my class is to use technology as a better means for assessing students. With school computer labs and public library computer labs, all students have access to computers at some point. Computer software can aide in the instruction of all students, with or without special needs. I can not praise enough all the free shareware software out there. OpenOffice, and Google documents are just a few that equal the playing field for students.

I plan on using excel generated quizzes and knowledge queries. I plan on allowing for electronic submission of lab reports and projects. I will utilize computer presentation software and more in my classroom. Technology is here and we need to keep learning so that we can continue to educate or students of the present, if not future.

Digital Movies as Teaching Tools

Chem Lab Rules by mkgbrook

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun! ">

This is a link to an animated digital movie that I created through a free shareware animation program known as Goanimate. I felt that the one common movie in Chemistry that tends to be boring and out of date is the Chemistry Lab Safety video. Goanimate.com allowed me to create an avatar Mrs. G to lecture on chemical safety rules in a fun way. Not only can you make animated characters perform crazy feats, you can also go over the rules in three minutes versus thirty.

The digital medium allowed for integration of background music. This can be used as accent to the film topic. You can use music provided or import your own. The feature I liked the most was integrating the MacPro GarageBand to create voice overs for importing into goanimate.com. GarageBand in podcast mode can be used to create narratives. This can be used to give your animated characters speech or create oral downloadable notes for students with severe vision problems.

Another feature provided by goanimate.com is an embeddable link upon completion of your project. This worked instantly versus the link function of blogger.

I can see many applications for both students and teachers in secondary school to utilize goanimate as a fun means to present information. I strongly recommend that you check it out and have fun!

Inquiry based learning tools can be made easy with Spreadsheets.

Interactive inquiry based learning tools can be an effective learning tool. Students may attend to an interactive learning tool more than an old fashioned worksheet. A piece of paper can not tell the student that he is wrong, try again. The complexity of the learning tool can be as simple as a memory regurgitation quiz where there is only one answer and one chance to input that answer or more complex with various responsive hints to guide the student to the desired answer. In our teaching with technology class we were required to make an interactive quiz with set formatting guidelines. I have captured and presented a .jpeg image of my Excel generated .pdf for easy viewing. As you can see you can produce a clean and clear quiz format using excel that can be sent to students for home completion or used to aide special learning students that need computational instructional support.



This is not a tool that can be used for easy viewing of a students problem solution work. It is however a good tool for simple query based assignments. In chemistry I think it is most applicable for vocabulary and naming queries. If you wish to use this for more complex questions that require mathematical work you can give partial credit, if students turn in their work. This is a tool I will definitely be using in my classes.

Using Diagrams and Webs for Classroom Learning

Webs and Diagrams can be very important in learning new thought processes. Many software programs have the capability of creating Diagrams and related outlines. The latest version of Word allows for creation of diagrams and corresponding outlines. I have created one as a hand out for my 355 UTK class using Word 8. This had the same capabilities as the flashier Inspiration software package with out the complications of uploading, viewing, and linking non-standard formats. Once you have created your outline and diagram you can save them as a PDF and upload the file to google documents easily. I have created a diagram about Acid and Base determination using Inspiration, but the saved files are did not link well. To upload my Inspiration file, I first tried to transfer it to a Word 8 file. This did not allow for transferral of the image, only the outline. To upload the image I had to export the Inspiration file as a .jpg file and insert using the image linkage function. I was not able to link the files directly from google documents easily. I had to insert the links as image files in accepted image formats and just link an open shared .pdf for the blog to accept it. Once again technology can be frustrating. Take time to pull your hair, stomp your feet, or growl. I am sure you have had at least one technology burp today.

This is the inspiration product on Acid and Base identification:



Using Word you can generate a diagram outline as easily as you can in Inspiration. This opens up the capability of creating two types of notes for students that learn via different methods. More visual and graphical learners can benefit from diagrams and webs. Others may be distracted by the figure and prefer just text. Software like Word and Inspiration both can be great tools for conveying information to your students and colleagues. A link to my Word 8 generated outline and diagram follows:

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B9S3ROI0XNNRNTc2NjAyOTktNjQwZC00ZmJjLTkxYTEtZDYwNDAyMDk4ZDAx&hl=en

Reliability of Technology

Technology when it works can enable anyone with the knowledge to use it, but when it fails it can be the ultimate frustration source. The big “M” suite, (You know the software package responsible for the dreaded blue screens), and its lack of stability is a constant annoyance. I have had the best relationship with the shareware office suite, Open Office. This I would share with anyone that cannot afford the more expensive software packages. It may not have all the bells and whistles of its commercial counterparts, but it covers the basic needs and will not die in the middle of a project. Adobe Photoshop Elements crashing on me 7 times in the last 15 minutes has inspired this mini-rant on technological reliability.

Given that things break and chaos happens we need to be prepared in the case our instructional technological wonder flops. Follow the girl or boy scout always be prepared, so have a low tech back up at all times.

Creating a Google Photo Presentation

This was a whirl wind process of gathering images via different technological media and consolidating them into a uniform format for presentation. Google software and media were mainly responsible for the completion of the project. The images were collected via my digital camera, screen captured, scanned image capture, web free image capture, and free clip art capture.

These images were then uploaded into Google Picasa for collection. The images were modified into a 92 dpi format using Photoshop. This was the most annoying portion of our assignment. Photoshop preferred to sleep "CRASH" rather than work. Once the images were altered Google documents was used to create a presentation that was then linked to my blog. Overall Google shareware has been stable and easy to use. Other software is not always guaranteed to have been through finishing school and use its manners.

Technology in the classroom is it just to be Paper Free.

I have been in many classes that praise their technological advanced in education. The main thing they all have in common is the teacher will use shared power point slide shows to keep notes “Paper Free” and students use a Word Processor to submit their assignments. Is this a truly advanced use of technology? I think it is great to be paperless, but that there is more to incorporating technology than making students use digital notebooks. We need to teach students to think and research critically, not just type versus write their notes.

Are Calculators a Handicap?

Technology can be a means to enable people, but it can also hinder people. Today I encountered a pet peeve during my High School field service observation. Students were unwilling or unable to do simple stoichiometric mathematics with out a calculator. The students were appalled that I would expect them to complete simple addition facts and multiplication facts with simple brainpower. I feel it is essential to keep our brains active and alert. In order to do this I feel students should not be totally dependent on their calculators. I was even more appalled to find out that my first grader and his classmates have been given calculators to use on their math assignments. This is an excessive use of calculators when students should be developing their brain muscle not encouraging it to atrophy. At least my son tells me he would rather do his math with his head because it is quicker.

Am I too hard a teacher to expect my students to be able to multiply to twenty in their head, or add atomic masses together quickly? Yes a calculator can do it, but I can do it in my head quicker than I can type it into my calculator. I truly feel that students are becoming too dependent on calculators. I will insist that parts of my students’ exams are completely with out the aide of a calculator.

The Frustrations of Technology

While technology is supposed to make things simpler, it can also severely complicate things. Besides the computer viruses, dreaded blue screens of death, software compatibility conflicts, Internet connection failures, and standard technology hiccups, I find the lack of personal interaction enabled by technology to be the most frustrating. I watch my son increasingly prefer to chat via pictochat on his DS with another player sitting next to him, versus talk out loud. At school, I see students sitting side by side text messaging each other. Kids these days would rather sit and play computer games than play outside with their friends.

Are we losing our ability to communicate with other humans directly? When I ask a student in class to put up their phone, I might as well have asked them to detach their hand and lock it in a box. I appreciate technology, but I feel that it is a cold means to live by. I have never been a fan of phone conversations when I can meet and talk to a person face to face. I feel that we should be enabled by technology, not disabled by it.

Now people say, "Why should they learn this fact or learn to solve a problem when they can google it?" Well I do not think that we should stop personal learning, if we do not use our brains they will atrophy. Is not allowing a student to cease to learn to think for himself and use google instead just another form of enabling? So my greatest frustration is that I feel too much technology will result in the loss of our ability to think and generate original ideas for ourselves. I also feel students resist learning more these days because they would rather take the easy road and GOOGLE it. So next time you think about text messaging, or calling someone versus going for a visit think of this... can your phone make you feel as good as seeing a person smiling and laughing in person?

Web Quests a Tool for Curriculum Reinforcement

This past week in my teaching with technology class we had to explore Web Quests and their application to our future role as K-12 teachers. Technology is more than a new and improved faster or smaller computer. It is the intelligent application of ideas in an improved format. A good Web Quest fills this role. Web Quests can be a tool to aide in the presentation of curriculum material.

I am a chemist and engineer, I wondered about the applicability of Web Quests to my curriculum topics. After exploring various Web Quest sites pertaining to my curriculum, I can see how Web Quests can accent lessons. Web Quests shouldn’t be replace the teacher, but a good Web Quest project can serve to apply INTERESTING redundancy of curriculum material. You are not limited to the Web Quest out there. There are plenty of web sites that help you design your own Web Quests. If you are hesitant at first, use those created by others to provide topic reinforcement and review.

These project based web applications can aide teachers through the provision of interactive sessions that engage and stimulate student learning more effectively than standard lecture formats. In addition to reinforcing the curriculum material in your average student, computerized instruction and projects can greatly aide in those with disabilities learning the material. Web Quest projects and lessons can be viewed at the students own pace and reviewed as many times as necessary. Lectures in class are not as easily repeated and flexible in delivery.

The Web Quests I liked the most were those that applied to more abstract topics in Chemistry, Chemical Reactions and the Gas Laws. The ones that I reviewed and recommended were created by the UCI Science Institute. They have Web Quests for various scientific disciplines spanning multiple years. The Web Quest, http://www.can-do.com/uci/ssi2002/chemicalreactions.html, has links to versions spanning six years that include all the UCI Science Institute Web Quests for the given year. This 2002 Web Quest of note relates to the Chemistry of atoms, matter, and chemical reactions. This is a great review of the scientific method as applied to chemical reactions and tests the general knowledge of atoms, matter, and chemical reactions. This would be an excellent curriculum reinforcement Web Quest to allow students alternate presentation of standard material. The second Web Quest, http://www.can-do.com/uci/ssi2003/gas-laws.html, on the topic of Gas Laws provides an interesting and interactive means to cover a topic that can be boring and difficult for some students to grasp. This is a great Web Quest that can be given to students to explore gas laws and properties before the class lecture and experiment. Having the students independently work through this introductory presentation will allow the teacher to increase overall understanding of the curriculum and reinforce weak conceptual points.

Please look into using Web Quests to accent your curriculum topics. They are good for all ages as long as the student has basic reading skills and the ability to use a computer.

An Elementary School’s Technological Take on Science Class

My son is in first grade. His public school has an extremely high rating according to state standards. The school has had good levels of funding from the state and community grants as well. On paper this school is exceptional, but my son and I are dissatisfied with the level of education he has received thus far. The school has a dedicated special education program for gifted students. But there is only one teacher to serve the needs of sixty students. The homeroom teacher is left to meet the needs of all students: gifted, ESL, learning disabled, or developmentally delayed.

The classrooms have smart boards and access to a computer room. The library is well stocked and the teachers are veterans. The teachers do the best that they can with all their resources, but it comes down to one teacher per 20+ students. The teacher is mainly forced to deal with pulling up those that fall behind.

The state textbook agencies are not helping matters with their expectations student progress through out the year. What bothers my husband and me is that the math text does not show significant progress in skill development from beginning to end. The expectations for the last week are only mildly more advanced than that taught in the first week.

There is not a science text. Now science education is promoted as highly technological for the first grade class. They get to watch episodes of the Magic School Bus on the classroom Smartboard. Now I like a good episode of the Magic School Bus, I think it is a great Sunday morning cartoon show. However I do not think that it is a sufficient substitute for hands on science experience. So do you think that a Sunday morning cartoon is sufficient science education for our children? I don’t. My son and I do home chemistry and physics experiments. We read about animals and biology. We study robotics and programming. School seems to be more like glorified daycare. Is anyone else concerned about the standards of education being brought down to the level of a few students, versus working toward bringing up those that fall behind?

The Impact of Technology Upgrades in the Classroom

A current technological advancement coming to classrooms these days is the Smart Board. I feel this is an important technological advancement for the classroom to aide teachers in their curriculum instruction.

This semester I am performing field experience in conjunction with education certification. My middle school mentor has just received her first Smart Board. She was excited for the addition of this technology into her classroom, but currently resents it. Why? Well it appears that while the state grants will give her the new technology, they do not provide training for the new instrument. So currently she has a wonderful resource that is covering one of two white boards she needs for instruction. Until she has taught herself the ins and outs of her new Smart Board she will be reduced to half her instructional writing space.

Technology is a wonderful tool and means for instruction. However this recent experience reminds me that there is a time requirement for all to learn and maintain our knowledge and skills related to technological devices.

Applications for Internet Research in the Classroom.

I believe that technology can improve our efficiency and ability to teach children curriculum material. The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is getting and holding our students attention. To engage our students we need to show them the relevance of the curriculum taught. I feel an important way to do this is personal research on the part of the student. I believe in giving take home projects and experiments that engage the parents/guardians, siblings, and students as a means of curriculum reinforcement.

In my chosen field of Chemistry, technology is important in many ways. There are new means for synthesis, analysis, and experimentation being developed daily. One growing field embedded in technology and its current limits is computational chemistry. Technology is a vastly growing field applicable to all curriculums.

The Internet will allow my students to explore and see chemical phenomena not feasible for a secondary school classroom setting. In addition, the Internet is a reference to attain relevant projects and experiments for student engagement and instruction.