Adding a little education on science

So I have a friend who keeps on posting things on his blog to educate me on Political issues..  After an interesting debate the other night, I wanted to return the favor in my area of expertise - science.

I discussed how intelligent design by its definition refutes evolution.. so here are some links to read that explain the relationship.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/intelligent-design.htm 

Kenneth Miller talking about evolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5PJG_-XlwE

In EIPT 5513 we are playing with hootcourse. Its a great way to use twitter to do essays.

That links to my blogger post.

 

This is my idea so far for my audio project

I think I would like to do an audio project on sarcasm.. so kids with aspergers could study it.

 

Is it worth it to you?

It takes more time, and more planning... So is using technology in the classroom worth it to you? If yes, why? If not, then why not? Consider looking for an article (or use your book) to answer this question.

Common Core and Technology

There are lots of things out there on the Common Core and Technology, I have done a little searching even on Pinterest there are a lot of ideas.   Find resources at some place other than the State of Oklahoma Department of Education that suggests how students could be better prepared for the common core using technology. 
Share the link, critique it, and talk about how it could look in a real classroom.. (ie is it realistic? what problems might you encounter if you try it? )

We will talk about these in Class on March 2nd..  Looking forward to great ideas!

Dr. Cullen

Who benefits from Technology in the Classroom!

This article was published this weekend in the LA Times..   http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20120205,0,639053.column  ..

Do you think that the integration of technology is really a racket to make money for business? Does movements to use more technology in classrooms have our students' best interests in mind?

Read the article and share your thoughts on it.. we will discuss it face to face next week..

Dr. Cullen

Second Reflection: What do you need to work on?

Part of becoming a better technology using teaching is doing a self assessment of your skills..  what are some areas that you need to work on to make more meaningful use of technology in your job.  If you are not sure how to answer this.. ask your coworkers or fellow students - they might be able to tell you..

Make sure to tell me, why it limits you, or your teaching..

Writing on the Board

 Students don't really have a concept of writing the board. In fact, copy and paste is so prevalent that is there really a need to write on the board.

 

So, I would take writing your spelling words 20 times on the board, and I would change this activity - by having students write the spelling word on a web form. that after each word they would have to hit submit so that they could not copy and paste. Or perhaps I would find a way to block copy and paste.  Its an old saying that repetition is the mother of all knowlege so my question is, how can you make sure that students really repeated? and did not just copy?  without having the practice.. 

 

An interesting dilemma.   It reminds me of page 6 in the book - where teachers are asked if they believe that students can learn while watching tv.. but really copying and pasting, while a new skill - does not get them to learn how to write the words properly.

 

First Reflection Prompt: How might you change?

Please respond by Sunday the 29th..

After the readings and our first class, what is something in your practice that needs to change.  Is there something that we did or read that sparked something in you..  and made you think - I could be doing something different that would make me more effective in my job, my life, or my role as a student? 



Share a little insight about what sparked your interest and share any brainstorming or insights you might be grappling with about how technology is used in learning or for productivity and admistrative tasks. 

I think they need to be flexible in finding answers

Yada Yada Yada,,,

 

Find answers lots of ways..

Test essay using copied text.

If i write an essay.. its supposed to go to my blog..  so I am checking to see if that is what works.. I will continue to write for a while..

he captain of a cruise ship that ran aground off Italy made an "unapproved, unauthorised" deviation in course, the vessel's owners say.

Costa Cruises boss Pier Luigi Foschi accused Capt Francesco Schettino of sailing too close to a nearby island in order to show the ship to locals.

The captain blamed the crash on rocks that he said were not on his chart.

Six people died and 29 are said to be missing after the Costa Concordia's hull was torn open on Friday.

The authorities earlier said the number of missing was down to 16, but local officials in Grossetto prefecture said late on Monday they had confirmed 25 passengers and four crew remained missing.

German media have reported that 12 German passengers are still missing, and US officials have appealed for information about two Americans who were believed to be on board. Six Italians, two French couples and a Peruvian are also reported to be unaccounted for.

Rescuers continued their search for survivors on Monday, though their work was interrupted for several hours because bad weather had caused the ship to move.

Officials said they would not continue searching overnight.

Capt Schettino is being detained on suspicion of manslaughter.

At an emotional news conference in Genoa, Mr Foschi fought back tears as he apologised for the accident.

Introduction..

hello Students:

This blog will be for you to personally reflect on your experiences as you are thinking through your use of technology.  Your first required post will be one to introduce yourself.   Include a picture in order to give the rest of the class a better idea about who you are..

here is mine:

My name is Theresa Cullen and I have lived in Oklahoma now for a little over 5 years..   I just went up for tenure and am waiting to hear that it has made it through the entire process at the University.  I grew up in Kenosha Wisconsin and went to college at Northwest Missouri State University for my degree in Biology Teaching with minors in Chemistry and Physical Science.   I taught at Wellsville Middletown R-1 in rural Missouri and then returned to Northwest to get my MSEd in School Computer Studies..   I taught for two years there teaching using computers, and introduction to programming in C++, Java, and Visual Basic.  Then I got my PhD in Instructional Systems Technology with a minor in Science Education at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Favorite Places:  Bloomington, Indiana in fall.. (beautiful colors and amazing smell of fall)... I really loved Istanbul and would love to go back. I also hope to go to Europe in the next 3 years.
Hobbies: some jewelry making, working out at the Y.

Welcome EIPT 5513 Spring 12 Students

You found me on blog spot.. Welcome.. On your own blogspot page, you will be keeping your own personal reflections.

Last Blog Post

All right.. what is something that you are doing differently because of something in this class..  Have you used a technology outside of class projects? have you changed how you looked at something? Has your perspective changed at all? 

Let me know what if anything changed and how you can continue anything positive in the future.

How about you all just reply here as a comment..?? whatdaya think?


Dr. CUllen

Professional Development - What's the Point?

So I am making you create a professional development plan when most schools are freezing their pay scales - what value do you see professional development offers you as a teacher? a person? A parent? A Professional?  What can you be your intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to stay current?

What do you think?

I read this posting about a study that came out at the turn of the  year on Internet use? Do you agree with the author? Do you think that children's internet use could be compared to adults?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2374493,00.asp

find a novel use for a new technology and share with the class

Go online and find a novel use of a new technology for the classroom.  A repurposing of an existing technology. ie.. some teachers use Twitter to send homework assignments to parents every day. What other general use technology might you repurpose for classroom use. 

(suggestion: go to google.com and search for more.. there is a blog search) and search for a name of a technology and the word classroom..  Discuss if you think this is a good idea or come up with an idea of your own.

Ferpa and Classroom Wikis

This recent post in another's blog http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/ferpa-and-social-media/ discusses the issues of the Family Educational Rights Protection Act. Which protects students' privacy when it comes to academic records.  Read the article (and perhaps refer to the links on what is FERPA at the bottom) and develop a plan for having students share content in online format like blogs and wikis.

Too much?

We will not do a blog discussion this week because the Cyberbullying discussions were a little overwhelming.. Check back next week.

Snow days

As the weather is looming, I wonder, how could schools be using technology in more meaningful ways to avoid snow days?

Here is an article about one school that is doing this.  http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/technology/school-district-turns-snow-day.html

What kind of skills or training might teachers need? What about the digital divide?