Tool # 11

1. My personal favorite will most likely be using apps with the Ipad. I have never used an Ipad before but am familiar with similar technology. The tools of choice for my classroom are going to be the ones where students can show their creativity. Resources such as Animoto or MakeBeliefsComix allow students to make short comic strips or videos about various topics. GoogleDocs will also be very useful to me in my classroom. Through this resource the students and myself will be able to create documents during lab where groups can post data for everyone to see and use. This will be a huge time-saver and make the flow of activities much smoother.  TodaysMeet is a good resource for discussions and a question and answer type format. This could be useful to gauge prior knowledge of a particular topic or to review before a formal assessment. The students could focus on areas of weakness and get assistance from their peers and myself.

2. The overall vision of my classroom has not really changed. I definitely can see the benefits of utilizing technology in my lessons to enhance learning and offering something different and new. One goal of mine is to use the new devices and technology knowledge a minimum of once a week in my classroom. I have used some of the resources and ideas in the past but not to the fullest extent. I hope to continue to expand on my technology knowledge and teach my students how to access more and more resources.

3. There were not really any unexpected outcomes during this process. I did learn that there are more resources out there than I originally thought. I look forward to trying to use as much of this in my classroom as possible. I was a bit skeptical at first of this entire process but have grown to appreciate the need and overall benefit of learning it.

Tool # 10

Students need to know how to properly search for material, copyright laws and plagiarism, and just general online safety guidelines. Most students do not realize that narrowing their search on the internet will not only cut down on time but will also prevent misinformation or unwanted information. This problem is easily corrected with proper teaching and examples. Access to more content and resources has made plagiarism easier. Students and other people will copy entire paragraphs or essays instead of taking the time to write their own thoughts. Most do not understand the potential consequences of such actions particularly if the content was copyrighted or trademarked. Citing sources correctly and thoroughly is a simple way of avoiding trouble and showing respect of others creativity and work. Many students are unaware that twitter, facebook, and text messaging are not completely private. All of these outlets are deemed public and can be accessed in many ways. Anything sent or posted on these sites or others like them can also be used in court against a party. Students and parents need to be made aware of these facts so they will think carefully about what they send or make available for others to potentially see and access.

The Common Sense, Copyright and Fair Use and the Online Behavior can all be used to help educate my students on becoming better digital citizens. Students need to read the information given in each of these resources before we turn them loose on the internet and give them technology.

Teaching digital citizen will work best if the teacher is used as a role model. Teachers need to demonstrate competency in the use of any technological device. An expectation will then be established , and the students can then be held accountable for improving their own digital citizenship.

The involvement of parents or guardians are huge factors to the development of kids. The best way to inform the parents of the importance of the digital citizenship is to incorporate it into bigger school events and to send home letters stressing it. Both students and parents should be required to sign off on their understanding of digital citizenship. It would not be too difficult to have parents sit in an informative meeting for about 15 to 20 minutes to make them aware of the potential hazards and benefits of using technology.

Tool # 9

Technology is presently guiding the way human beings access and perceive the world around them. It is becoming more and more necessary to be trained and aware of the newest and most updated product. The possibilities and uses of all of the technological devices is constantly growing and changing.

Students need to be held accountable for their own good and for the sake of their learning. Accountability guarantees that the students will put forth effort to complete the assigned task and be forced to take some responsibility for their work. Labs are a crucial and intricate part of a chemistry and science classroom and using stations is a great way to facilitate this type of activity.

 The use of Phet simulations is a great idea and resource. My classes have used this website in the past to show simulations of equations and other properties that are difficult to visualize without assistance. The interactive website also looked like an excellent resource for science classroom. I have not explored it to the fullest extent yet but will definitely be accessing it again and showing my students. Each of these could be used as stations by having students rotate from device to device after 10 minutes and instructing them to complete simulation or activity and write a brief explanation of their observations.

Some apps that could potentially be very useful to my students are Science Glossary, The Chemical Touch:Lite Edition, and BrainPOP Featured Movie. I have used videos from BrainPOP in the past and feel that this is a good way to introduce or reinforce a topic. The Science Glossary and The Chemical Touch  apps will help students understand terminology and vocabulary more easily. Each application also describes properties and characteristics of chemicals in more detail. Students could be asked to watch a short video or create their own definitions of certain words and terms.

I like the idea of using the open-end discussion and having students fill in their thoughts on the device. The students could electronically sign their contribution, and it would be very simple for me to glance at their comments and make sure everybody participated. The class could then discuss each point and hopefully reinforce the content and learning.

Tool # 8

There was not much new information in the videos/tutorials. I am already familiar with the capabilities and limitations of this new technology. I did look at a list of applications specifically designed with educators in mind and will definitely be loading a few of these onto my device for my classroom. I did know that an Itunes library could be synced with it but did not realize or exactly understand how to do it before now. One concern of mine with this new technology is problems with it or keeping track of it. It will be essential to establish specific classroom rules when using any Ipads or other devices. Also it will be necessary to create a system that will allow the devices to be quickly accessed and cleaned up each time. Students need to be familiar with the devices and technology. One way to help this occur is to dedicate one to two class periods on letting the students see the capabilities of the device. A fun activity could be assigned to groups of students and by the end of class they must demonstrate the ability to use the ipad or other device in one way and explain their new discovery to their classmates. Some students do not like raising their hands or answering questions aloud. One way to manage the class and keep everyone involved is by incorporating technology into lessons and having students be accountable for keeping up with technology equipment and devices.

Tool # 7

There are many ways to share information between classrooms. One great way to use this form of technology in chemistry is to compare results of experiments and labs.

a. Objective: The student will test for the presence of sugars in various products such as honey, milk, and syrup by heating it with an ammonia-copper solution.

b. This experiment will be implemented during a lab in the 2012-2013 school year in the second semester.

c.  Education World was the original inspiration for doing this experiment. Another tool that will be necessary is GoogleDocs. Data will be recorded and saved on here. Access can be granted to other classrooms to compare results to test success and accuracy of the experiment.

d. The plan is for students to test given chemicals and products through the use of heat and see resulting chemical change. A color change should be most common result. The students will then record and compare their data with the other class to ensure consistency with their own conclusions.

e. The other classroom could be another science class at the same school within the chemistry team or a chemistry class at another high school around the area.

Tool # 6

Wikis can be very helpful in the learning process. It helps coordinate data in one place that is easily accessible by multiple people. Wikis allow users to edit information on the website. This technology could make projects very easy to do with entire classes. Students or student groups could research topics and save the information on the wiki. The teacher could then easily check information and edit or make changes as needed. The use of wikis in the classroom could be a weekly event that allows students to display their technology talents and learn at the same time.  I do have experience using wikis in college and afterwards and know it is not difficult to get started or implement.

Tool # 5

The two websites that I discovered and enjoyed were Animoto  and dropbox .  I used Diigo to bookmark both of the sites to help keep them accessible and organized. This is not my first time using Diigo so it was very simple. The idea behind dropbox is especially creative. This website could potentially be an outstanding resource that will enable better sharing of files between my work laptop and home computer. Animoto is an easy to use site that allows a person to create short videos using their own photos and music or public ones. I am definitely going to access both of these sites to help me personally and professionally.