www.glogster.com www.facebook.com

These are two places I can create communities that parents and students can access easily for information, updates, images, videos and pose questions to me about lessons. facebook has worked very well in the past for me. I have created closed groups before (one recently to my wife's birthday party) and I am a member of one in the HOA that I reside in. The ease in which you can post thoughts and upload, especially on the face book one, makes it a potentially good option. I could see something in my everyday life, take a picture of it and have it posted in my class group in under sixth seconds.

http://www.energystar.gov/

Free government website that will synthesize your weather data and archive it.

http://mi.nws.noaa.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=akq

This will give you archived weather data from anywhere in the united states.

One important part of science is recording data. To give students an understanding of air pressure, making barometric readings at different times of the day will show students why thunderstorms are more likely to occur between 4 and 7 p.m., but students are not in school to make these readings during these hours. To integrate technology into their lesson, I would start the unit by having students recording barometric pressure at different times of the day from the website www.noaa.gov. They would keep their data either in a notebook or a spreadsheet. We would then use the data they reorded, and I recorded, to create a table that shows what happens to barometric pressure before a thunderstorm and after a thunderstorm. I would also have them make predictions on what the weather was only by looking at the pressure (if it was falling or raising). Another use of technology would be an online Glog that students could post to when thunderstorms were rolling into the area. Discussing what is happening in Glog, and posting pictures would be a great way to bring the things taught in science to their everyday life. It is possible that students could meet in my Glog at 7 p.m. at night to discuss the weather that they are seeing.

What I would be trying to solve as a science teacher is working math, a STEM principle, into my science lessons to reinforce and improve the math skills of the students.

Science SOL 6.6 is a very entertaining strand to teach students. What I am trying to work into my unit would be greater math skills that would require addition and subtraction with decimals, finding averages, modes and the ability to graph this data. We would be able to show student's findings on Smartboards and share these findings with other students in the school division on Score. I could also keep their data to be used from year to year. Technology easily allows me to do this. Plus, the more data, the more accurate the results.

The problem in my model is that of 217 sixth grade students at Thornburg Middle School, 53 are economically disadvantaged and two are homeless. Will they have a computer at home to log into noaa.gov for the required data readings? Will they be left out of the Glog activities? How do solve this problem that 20% of my students might not have internet access at home?

My soloution would be to encourage students to make use of class free class time or school time to use the computers at the school to log on. Years ago I was told at a conference that not having high speed internet access at home will be a hindrance to students. That prediction seems correct.

Air pressure is a lesson I taught for years and the content and pedagogy I think are solid. I would be having students use a website as a information tool and the Glog can show the students videos and photos that I could post to in almost real time. It would open up many potential to study weather other than looking at pictures in a text book. My biggest fear taking this leap would be leaving students behind who did not have internet access at home.


Some of my data...

Of 217 students at Thornburg Middle School, 53 are classified as economically disadvantaged, three are migrant. (Virginia Department of Education)

SOL 65 percent pass sixth grade math
47 econ dis advatage pass.
75/65 for the division

Science
6.6 The student will investigate and understand the properties of air and the structure and dynamics of Earth's atmosphere. Key concepts include
a) air as a mixture of gaseous elements and compounds;
b) pressure, temperature, and humidity;
c) atmospheric changes with altitude;
d) natural and human-caused changes to the atmosphere and the importance of protecting and maintaining air quality;
e) the relationship of atmospheric measures and weather conditions; and
f) basic information from weather maps, including fronts, systems, and basic measurements.

www.noaa.gov

I do not currently have students. I have worked in Central Office for the last seven years. I took the example of one middle school in my school division and worked off of their numbers.

I like that Comcast is doing that. many people feel that internet access should be run almost like a public utility (water, electric) to ensure it can reach all that need it.

What was a brilliant, and depressing, business move was McDonald's being one of the first businesses to give away free wifi. It was brilliant because it brings people in so that they can download songs and watch videos, but it also means that people might be eating too many meals there. And eating McDonald's too much can lead to other problems down the road.

But a very nice move by Comcast, and I will share it with my new school in August.

Heather, I would send this in the form of a message on this site, but I am not permitted to. The site will not let me.

When I was able to access Lore, I copied and pasted the assignment. Here is the text.

Description
Activity 1 ~(5pts)*What is TPAC?

1-Find two resources that describe/define/support
the TPAC model. Highlight your favorite lines and then tag and post them to our
diigo account. Post by Thursday night. (5/31)

2-Choose four articles posted by your
classmates/self and create summary(less than 200 words)

3-Include answers to the following in
your summary stream -


What are the
driving forces that support the TPAC plan?

What are the
resistant forces (work against TPAC model)?

Please post Summary stream by Friday night (6/1)

4- Read and comment on three others
streams by Monday night (6/4)

If I need to redo my post to TPACK, I will, but I am unsure which direction to take right now.

Thank you,

Steve

Honestly, that is exactly what I cut and pasted. I almost never can access Lore. I just tried from home using Google Chrome and got the "performance issues" message.

http://deangroom.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/tpack-model-for-tech-integration/

Another look at TPACK, and I like his opinion or viewpoint that just giving technology to a classroom will not work, and the TPACK model points this out. Three sperate things need to converge to make the modern classroom the best possible environment for students, not just the single event of handing a teacher 30 IPads.

Favorite line...

"While we often talk about the integration of technology into learning, this simple diagram clearly illustrates the complexity and consideration that is required to do so."

http://aacte.org/Programs/Teacher-Performance-Assessment-Consortium-TPAC/teacher-performance-assessment-consortium.html
http://tpafieldtest.nesinc.com/

Teaching Performance Assessment (TPAC) is a way to determine the
effectiveness of an instructor through self analysis and the level
of instruction they are giving to their students.

In the past, a teacher evaluation was an administrator sitting in the
back of a classroom (many times with days of prior notice) and noting if
the students were behaved, if the classroom was clean, if the instruction
was proper for the subject matter. The teacher would then be called into
the administrators office to do a 10 minute talk about what was seen,
many times days after the lesson was completed and not fresh in anyone's
mind.

The TPAC model uses modern technology, like a video camera, that requires teachers to self assess their own teaching over a lesson or an SOL thread that could take multiple days to teach. The teacher is looking to see if
they went beyond just the basic subject matter or basic questioning
and assessment measures. The TPAC model allows for much greater depth in the assessment process and also gives the educator a more active role in
this learning process of growing as an educator.

When I was in college at Slippery Rock, I videotaped myself teaching a
unit and assessing what I did. To do this, I had to check out an old
VHS recorder from the school library and mount the bulky heavy device in
the classroom. In short, 14 years ago videotaping a lesson was not easy
so it was not done often. And I could only watch it on a TV with a VHS
player. Now, I can easily film myself with the purchase of a digital
camera, I could probably get a used one for $25 or $235 for a new HD one,
upload the video to my computer or Youtube and watch myself from
my phone, TV or any computer with a high speed connection.

The TPAC process is made much more accessible to teachers through
technology. I honestly do not know if TPAC would be so accepted if
we were still using VHS recording systems or 8 MM film for that matter.

http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2011-05/2011-invention-awards-picture-health

The potential uses of a digital image, for me, is the foundation of many great advancements in the future.

A digital camera, in this case a web cam, can provide almost limitless information using the proper software. Face recognition software is already available free through Picasa, and digital cameras with heat sensitive software can already see below surfaces our eyes cannot. many people currently have a digital camera on the back of an suv that detects if they are about to back into something.

This mirror, which finds your pulse just by "looking" at you, is just the first step in a limitless potential in health care. Could a camera find cancer growths on your skin? Could it find a broken bone just by posture? Would a mirror be able to see all the things a doctor could see in the future? Maybe. But the digitizing of images and corresponding software opens up the potential for many, many discoveries in the future.

Right now, we are just starting to make use of this technology.

STEM

STEM is rethinking how the classroom setting works with the inclusion of modern and future technology meshing subject matter from all areas of the world. Fifteen years ago a VHS tape and an overhead projector was the cutting edge in classroom technology along with an Apple IIe for playing math games. Teachers did not consider working collaboratively as often because they had to physically move students from room to room to accomplish this. A STEM teaching model breaks down figurative classroom walls, making the entire world a possible classroom.

In today's classroom, science, technology, engineering and math can be integrated together to give the student the most powerful learning experience possible. Technology is available to create lessons and learning environments we could not have imagined 15 years ago. As educators, we owe it to our students to use a STEM model in the classroom to give them the best possible learning experience.

This might not be exactly what we are looking for, but this concept of "flipping" a classroom uses technology in a new way, having the students watch the lesson at home then do the "homework" type lessons in the classroom where there is a professional teacher to help them really is fascinating.

What is linked below is a new report in a "flipped" classroom in Colorado.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-y9vR7YTak&feature=relmfu

My second link is a teacher describing, in a very basic form, what her "flipped" classroom looks like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aGuLuipTwg&feature=relmfu

This use of technology has completely reinvented the classroom model for these teachers and students, and it brings up many questions for me. But it also shows the possibilities for teachers and students with current technology.

I agree that it is interesting. Would I ever jump with both feet into flipping? I am not sure. Would I like to try and create a video to be viewed at home for students and parents to watch together and discuss? Absolutely. Possibly a 10 minute video explaining the scientific process with the first step of a sample experiment for students and parents to complete at home. This would be more like dipping my toes in to see how it works.

It does make sense to me that having the teacher there when "homework" type problems are being completed by the student. When they reach a stopping point and have a question, the teacher would be the best resource, and at home the teacher is not there.

And to further this, my main TV is hardwired to the internet and has a Youtube app, so watching this on a TV would be very easy. The problem arises with the students who do not have high speed internet connections in their homes.