Technology is incorporated in a variety of different ways in the classroom. Since students are studying power plants (and can't exactly play around with nuclear power or tides in the classroom), their one lab that I have observed has been to make a model of a coal plant by making their own steam, which used lab materials like scissors, a burner filled with fuel that would slowly combust (possibly kerosene), a torch to start fires with, metal gauze, a pencil, and a paper cut-out of blades that the students put together themselves.
Other ways that technology is used is by having a lot of the course material, like assignments, posted and submitted on Google Drive. Each student is given their own laptop and is given time to work in class to research different kinds of power plants collaboratively and post their research online. Laptop use occurs mainly in class, since some students don't have the Internet at home and cooperation is always key in this class. Also, using the laptops is an equalizer; the teacher gets to look things up, and the students do, too. It's not like there is a sage on the stage if everyone is engaged in looking up material.
The assignments work really well in her class, since the instructor doesn't need to lug around stacks of paper, grading is slightly reduce from what it might otherwise be (i.e., if more busywork were given), and the students actually don't know how to use computers or research material online yet--they are learning essential technological skills. The students are still slow at typing and learning the short-cut keys, but students with trouble writing (e.g., students who have an LD) may find an easier time doing work on their laptops, rather than hand-writing everything without spell check.
Students are also still getting used to citing their sources and making sure they understand what they read before they use it. They are learning to paraphrase to both avoid plagiarism and to assure themselves that they understand the material. Also, there are a lot of really cool websites on power plants, some of which are interactive and show how the components work together in a particular type of plant to harness energy. Finally, the assignments provide instant feedback to the instructor, as fast as she can read through student responses.
Students' take-home work is to highlight the notes that the teacher gives them, fill out worksheets (e.g., Venn diagrams comparing and contrasting two different types of power plants), to make flashcards in preparing for an assessment, and (this past weekend) to finish their board game (did I mention the board games were really fun? I never thought I'd play Twister again, let alone Hydroelectric Power Plant Twister).
Otherwise, the instructor uses short YouTube video clips and has shown one full documentary that came from YouTube on the projector, which is always pulled down. The YouTube clips are good attention grabbers and are actually what I retain from week to week--when I had my butt kicked playing the kids' board games this week, the only way I ever got any answer right was if I could remember it from one of the instructor's video clips. I think with all of the components and machinery inherent in the power plant unit, it makes sense that visual aids and animations would be needed to understand the material.
The teacher sometimes starts the class by handing out short slips of paper containing bell ringer type questions to get the students in a science mind-set (she seems to pass them out when she knows the students will come into class tired or distracted, like when they saw a play). She sometimes collects the science questions to make sure the students still do them (I'm assuming), but she cuts down on her grading by not always collecting the questions. She uses the overhead projector to discuss the answers with her students.
TUESDAY:
I observed the earth science class today (which I have observed last year and absolutely love). The teacher posts everything on the class website, students work collaboratively on Google Drive, where students also post some of their work. The projector screen is always pulled up, so that the teacher can project schematic diagrams and PowerPoint presentations on top of the white board and then annotate the diagrams. Her students made an iMovie in groups last year that forced students to apply their knowledge in engaging, multi-faceted, collaborative and memorable ways. She will show YouTube clips or full movies from outside sources, too. One of her general science classes had Rube Goldberg devices due today, which were set up and taped all over the classroom--some of the machines and technology is created by the students. Her use of technology is effective in promoting a student-centered environment and in providing information in multiple ways.
Ways I Use Technology Now
I was also pleased that we started studying DNA today, as long as we are talking about technology in Methods, since the DNA unit is about as high-tech as I get (it's just a coincidence this semester!). I like showing the HHMI videos and doing a molo simulation on mutations, and we use technology in ways I am coming to see as normative: doing research online in groups, keeping up a class website, posting blogs, etc. I think I am understanding how to do these things a little bit better, semester by semester, especially with the classes I am able to observe. Some things that I do, since my students are older, is introduce them to the RCSB protein data bank and have them present on different proteins (I mentioned in an early blog that my students give group meetings, based on their Internet or inquiry research--this is one of the meeting topics). My students also use Accelrys (or similar program--Accelrys doesn't work well on Macs) to draw their molecules. Accelrys does not create standardized-looking molecules, but I think it allows them to appreciate (for free) what VSEPR theory really is and how molecules fit together and can be represented.
Ways I Should be Using Technology
One thing that I should do is bite the bullet and get ChemDraw, since the free drawing programs do not look nearly as nice as the ACS 1996 template does. I could even use the free trial, make all of my quizzes and exams, and then cancel my subscription (or is that dishonest?). I should also have done something with Jmol this semester, but that just slipped by me; I feel like I've been behind, vis-a-vis some other semesters, and I wonder if it's the snow days we had or if I am actually going at a pace more appropriate for the students. I should also have students present enzymes in their active, zymogen, or inhibited forms, as long as I want them gaining familiarity with the RCSB data bank... Since they do have group meetings, I should also teach them how to use the SMART technology at the beginning of the semester, since otherwise, they are set up for failure when they need to turn up the volume or change any settings at all for their presentation.
Next semester, I'll have a little more figured out.
To Expand...
What technology is used in the classroom. Remember, technology is more than a smartboard or an ipad. How is technology utilized by the students and teacher? Are there limitations to the usage? If so, what are they? Can students use their smartphones in the classroom? What is your cooperating teachers viewpoint on technology?
My focus last week (see above) was on the use of technology. Implicitly, I addressed the limitations, which is that students are still learning how to use their computers and do Internet research. Also, some students' Chrome books have technical difficulties from time-to-time, and then the students need to bring their laptops to their school's version of ITS for repairs; these students then get a loaner laptop while their original is being repaired. Pedagogically, a limitation of using technology is that the teacher has to watch the students pretty vigilantly to make sure that they are using the Internet to research their topic, and not going to sites they know are entertaining but not that educational. One of the teachers at my local high school calls this "silent disruptions." Still, having to look over students' shoulders and making sure that they are on-task is an issue that is not unique to technology.
In regards to smartphones, I have seen students listen to the music they have on their phones during group work time, but students do not use their smartphones to look up information or as part of their labwork. I know a lot of grown-ups who study better when they can listen to music, and that is the extent that I have seen students using their phones.
Actually, it's funny, because I am pretty against cell phones being used at the K-12 level, even for wet lab work, when laptops are available. Anything that a cell phone could be used for--timing a reaction, taking pictures of results, looking up information, etc.--could also be done with, say, a clock, an iPad, laptop, and/or textbook. I feel like it would not be worth my energy to monitor students' cell phone use in the lab, lecture, or a group discussion. I am not against students just listening to music (they don't look down at their screens, they have headphones on, their eye contact is elsewhere, etc.), especially since I know so many adults who function much better when they have music going on in the background. However, it is not worth my monitoring energy for students to have their cell phones out.
When students ask a question, my cooperating teacher responds, "How could you find that out?" I have seen exactly the same attitude that we have talked about in class--an assignment isn't worthwhile if you can just look up the answers, so a teacher might as well let her/his students go online to look up the details. My cooperating teacher also says, "They have access to the Internet," meaning that her students might as well look up information if it will help them to understand a concept. My strong impression is that she is in favor of students using whatever resources might help them to learn and that she is in favor of students learning how to use their resources. She works really hard to make sure her students begin to understand how to evaluate the quality of websites, how to check for their own understanding by paraphrasing what they read, looking up the same information at different reading levels (so that everyone can get it), and how to cite their resources. I think I've noticed her students getting a little more sophisticated and are more and more willing to say why they like or dislike a website. Students are also getting into text-heavier websites, rather than just going to Google images to understand a concept. I see really careful scaffolding designed to make sure that students understand how to use the resources that they already have at hand.
I observed the earth science class today (which I have observed last year and absolutely love). The teacher posts everything on the class website, students work collaboratively on Google Drive, where students also post some of their work. The projector screen is always pulled up, so that the teacher can project schematic diagrams and PowerPoint presentations on top of the white board and then annotate the diagrams. Her students made an iMovie in groups last year that forced students to apply their knowledge in engaging, multi-faceted, collaborative and memorable ways. She will show YouTube clips or full movies from outside sources, too. One of her general science classes had Rube Goldberg devices due today, which were set up and taped all over the classroom--some of the machines and technology is created by the students. Her use of technology is effective in promoting a student-centered environment and in providing information in multiple ways.
Ways I Use Technology Now
I was also pleased that we started studying DNA today, as long as we are talking about technology in Methods, since the DNA unit is about as high-tech as I get (it's just a coincidence this semester!). I like showing the HHMI videos and doing a molo simulation on mutations, and we use technology in ways I am coming to see as normative: doing research online in groups, keeping up a class website, posting blogs, etc. I think I am understanding how to do these things a little bit better, semester by semester, especially with the classes I am able to observe. Some things that I do, since my students are older, is introduce them to the RCSB protein data bank and have them present on different proteins (I mentioned in an early blog that my students give group meetings, based on their Internet or inquiry research--this is one of the meeting topics). My students also use Accelrys (or similar program--Accelrys doesn't work well on Macs) to draw their molecules. Accelrys does not create standardized-looking molecules, but I think it allows them to appreciate (for free) what VSEPR theory really is and how molecules fit together and can be represented.
Ways I Should be Using Technology
One thing that I should do is bite the bullet and get ChemDraw, since the free drawing programs do not look nearly as nice as the ACS 1996 template does. I could even use the free trial, make all of my quizzes and exams, and then cancel my subscription (or is that dishonest?). I should also have done something with Jmol this semester, but that just slipped by me; I feel like I've been behind, vis-a-vis some other semesters, and I wonder if it's the snow days we had or if I am actually going at a pace more appropriate for the students. I should also have students present enzymes in their active, zymogen, or inhibited forms, as long as I want them gaining familiarity with the RCSB data bank... Since they do have group meetings, I should also teach them how to use the SMART technology at the beginning of the semester, since otherwise, they are set up for failure when they need to turn up the volume or change any settings at all for their presentation.
Next semester, I'll have a little more figured out.
To Expand...
What technology is used in the classroom. Remember, technology is more than a smartboard or an ipad. How is technology utilized by the students and teacher? Are there limitations to the usage? If so, what are they? Can students use their smartphones in the classroom? What is your cooperating teachers viewpoint on technology?
My focus last week (see above) was on the use of technology. Implicitly, I addressed the limitations, which is that students are still learning how to use their computers and do Internet research. Also, some students' Chrome books have technical difficulties from time-to-time, and then the students need to bring their laptops to their school's version of ITS for repairs; these students then get a loaner laptop while their original is being repaired. Pedagogically, a limitation of using technology is that the teacher has to watch the students pretty vigilantly to make sure that they are using the Internet to research their topic, and not going to sites they know are entertaining but not that educational. One of the teachers at my local high school calls this "silent disruptions." Still, having to look over students' shoulders and making sure that they are on-task is an issue that is not unique to technology.
In regards to smartphones, I have seen students listen to the music they have on their phones during group work time, but students do not use their smartphones to look up information or as part of their labwork. I know a lot of grown-ups who study better when they can listen to music, and that is the extent that I have seen students using their phones.
Actually, it's funny, because I am pretty against cell phones being used at the K-12 level, even for wet lab work, when laptops are available. Anything that a cell phone could be used for--timing a reaction, taking pictures of results, looking up information, etc.--could also be done with, say, a clock, an iPad, laptop, and/or textbook. I feel like it would not be worth my energy to monitor students' cell phone use in the lab, lecture, or a group discussion. I am not against students just listening to music (they don't look down at their screens, they have headphones on, their eye contact is elsewhere, etc.), especially since I know so many adults who function much better when they have music going on in the background. However, it is not worth my monitoring energy for students to have their cell phones out.
When students ask a question, my cooperating teacher responds, "How could you find that out?" I have seen exactly the same attitude that we have talked about in class--an assignment isn't worthwhile if you can just look up the answers, so a teacher might as well let her/his students go online to look up the details. My cooperating teacher also says, "They have access to the Internet," meaning that her students might as well look up information if it will help them to understand a concept. My strong impression is that she is in favor of students using whatever resources might help them to learn and that she is in favor of students learning how to use their resources. She works really hard to make sure her students begin to understand how to evaluate the quality of websites, how to check for their own understanding by paraphrasing what they read, looking up the same information at different reading levels (so that everyone can get it), and how to cite their resources. I think I've noticed her students getting a little more sophisticated and are more and more willing to say why they like or dislike a website. Students are also getting into text-heavier websites, rather than just going to Google images to understand a concept. I see really careful scaffolding designed to make sure that students understand how to use the resources that they already have at hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment