ECOMP 5106 Technology Unit and Essays

My name is Mary Barkley. I am Life Science teacher at Dodgen Middle School in Marietta Georgia. I have been teaching for 9 years both in public and private schools. My love of technology began with my oldest son and his fascination with all things technical. In order to keep up with him and keep him safe, I had to learn as well. I have taught an integration to technology class in Cobb county but wanted to go further in my understanding of how to use technology in my classroom. ECOMP 5106 quicklinks are found to the right or within this posting.

My "Cells Sustain Survival" unit brings students from the abstract to the concrete. Students learn through a variety of modes in order to come to a complete understanding of cell structure and function. Students use real world data from our Adopt a Stream macroinvertebrate sampling to apply their new knowledge in explaining how all living organisms need cells to survive.

We worked on numerous assignments such as the technology autobiography explaining how we first became interested in technology. Read more...

My thoughts on technology integration are that as with any tool there is a time and a place for technology. No unit should be changed just for the sake of using a new or different tool whether the tool is technology or a science probe. Read more...

When writing about understanding I choose to discuss my emerging gardening skills. I love to play in my garden. I was not always a good gardener although God knows the multitude of plant carcasses in my past can attest that I tried. Read more...

The generative topic assignment truly helped me focus my thinking about what I wanted my students to learn which then helped me uncover my essential questions. I went through several questions before I decided upon my final overarching question, "To what extent is survival dependent on cells?" Read more...

We played with Microsoft Word and learned some new applications such as making a table of contents which can be updated as you edit your document. We created a word chain to display some creative uses of this program. And we also used Mindmeister or Inspiration to plan out our unit in a more visual format.

In my technology brochure I highlighted a virtual microscope that is almost as good as the real thing. University of Delaware found that even at the college level, students often did not know how to use a compound microscope.

Though all teachers learn and know Blooms Taxonomy, it sometimes takes some thought when creating questions to specifically address each level. We spent some time in discussion and creation of discriminating questions to address our curriculum unit. Read more...

On the final day of class we were introduced to a wonderful data analysis tool, InspireData. We completed a short analysis of the resource data provided. I hope to use some local funds to purchase this software for use in my classroom. See example...

The overarching curriculum unit is a document that I am now be able to implement in my classroom and share with my colleagues. Read more...

Final Reflection

In creating a curriculum unit on cells for my students, I learned so much about myself and my thought processes. Often I will look at activities first and then figure out how they fit with the culminating assessment. By working with the curriculum unit, Read more......

ECOMP 7007 Save our Ecosystems WebQuest Reflection

In creating my “Save our Ecosystems” WebQuest, I lamented about which approach I would use. Rather than design website and create a WebQuest, I decided to use Questgarden to provide the format thus allowing me to concentrate on the depth of the quest and information I wanted my students to access. Questgarden walks you through each step of creating a WebQuest. Upon beginning my quest however, I was concerned with all of the pages it appeared to require for the quest. I came to realize that this was just from the building version. For example, Questgarden combined the three process pages I built in the edit mode to one comprehensive process page for students or teachers. I was frustrated, however, by Questgarden’s limited space and limit in freedom for formatting. There is so much more I would have done with pictures and video clips if I had had the time and access. I also had a very in-depth excel spreadsheet which I could not upload to Questgarden or even Googledocs because of its size. I was able to import the spreadsheet onto my school blog but I have a password on that blog so this one document will not be available to the general public.
Finding the appropriate websites for my students to explore was most time consuming and I am still not completely satisfied with my choices. I struggled with obtaining the appropriate level for my target students without the information being unattainable for the rest of my student population. Many of the water quality websites are geared towards teachers rather than students but I feel my AC students and even most of my other students should be able to understand the content.
Students should have facilitators in researching and I feel my quest allows students some liberty to explore on their own but also limits them to certain information. I tried to focus the research with specific questions included on each ecologist’s sheets: teacher, environmentalist, and scientist. The jigsaw format of this quest allows students to focus on their own issues but then as a group these topics are analyzed for importance. Teachers will find informative the resources available to them about beginning their own water quality monitoring program as well as the theories on pollution in ecosystems. Teachers are able to download the rubric in order to modify it to their own students or activities.
A photo editing website was very helpful in resizing my own pictures. I was also able to access a free photo website and a free clipart website to make the quest more visually appealing. If I had had the access, I would have used my picture of the reeds as a background page throughout the quest. The freedom to change background and formatting would have been less frustrating but for my first WebQuest, I am glad I choose Questgarden to guide me through each step. Questgarden does require a subscription after the first month free trial so I suppose I will subscribe in order to make changes easily. A new feature available will allow me to export the quest and thus set up my own webpage with the same information. I may use this in my web design class to try out this feature. I will probably continue to edit this WebQuest especially after I have a chance to use it with my students. I have even made several changes today to fine tune the pictures and clipart.

Original Documents

Ihave been struggling with ways to explain the importance of science fair to my students and parents and to be frank even to myself. There is so much bureaucracy now days attached to this type of event and students are not used to thinking on their own. A major component that students and parents object to is the use of a logbook to record their data, observations and project especially in this technological society. I always explain that many fabulous ideas and insights have come from findings of previous scientists and it is not always the published work where we find these ideas. I didn't know of anywhere however to show them one such journal until now. The British Library: Turning the Pages has links to several original works from such great thinkers as Jane Austin, Mozart, Lewis Carroll and my favorite Leonardo DaVinci By viewing this original document students can see this great mind at work. They see his strike outs and diagrams as well as his explanations. You can hear an explanation of what is on each page as well as magnifying the document itself. Very Cool!

Dodgen Pond with Judy Cox and her students

Be sure to check out some of the fantastic learning going on at Dodgen.

http://www.cobbk12.org/cobbedtv/video/DodgenPond.wmv

Yoder Reflection

Maureen Yoder had high praise for Bernie Dodge and Tom March due to their “invention” of WebQuests. I was having difficulty discriminating between a scavenger hunt and a WebQuest. Upon reading Yoder’s article, I have come to find that mostly it is what the students do with the information they have gleaned that gives deeper meaning to a WebQuest. The problem solving aspect of WebQuests often creates a feeling of importance to student’s work rather than working simply to get a good grade. Students become vested in the information and outcome of their research. I only hope I can create a quest which will accomplish the standards but not take the entire year.


Yoder, M. (1999) The Student WebQuest: A productive and thought-provoking use of the Internet. Learning & Leading with Technology, 26(7), 6-9.52-53. Retrieved January 8, 2004 from http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/myoder/webquest.pdf

My Project- a webquest

I plan on creating a webquest in which to teach my students about pond monitoring. We will be working with Cobb County Adopt-a-Stream for our training but I want my students to have a more in-depth understanding about why we monitor, what organsims we are observing and classification of organisms. I hope for them to use the data they collect along with data from other volunteer groups to better understand our ecosystem and the effects of our actions on our environment.

Cool Math Presentation

www.Coolmath.com presented by Trish & Heather

There were only a few negative comments about this interactive site. Some of the comments from the presenters as well as the audience were that the scrolling cursor can be annoying and the black background is too dark. Yet students enjoy the cursor and the black background is appealing to some as well. Another concern is that the ads cannot be blocked due to usage policy. You also cannot print and distribute materials from site even under teacher area (but copyrighted materials and fair use explained)

This site primarily received positive feedback such as the ease of navigation, teacher resources, resources for students, parents, and grandparents. You may contact the author and also find information about the author’s background.
CoolMath provides a variety of formats for the same topic. Games incorporate learning and deeper understanding without the “pain”.

Comments from teachers included: “Coolmath is cool!”, “Great site”, and “Survivor math sounds great”.

Heather’s students reviewed the site as well.
www.Infalg2.blogspot.com

Web Presentation

Stacie and I are going to present Biology for Kids. All kinds of science information is available here as well as some fun facts, quizzes and games.
There is even a link to a new site by the same developer for math nuts called Number Nuts.
Have fun exploring.

My Bookmarks

My most recent bookmarks for Lesley and personal use can be found at FURL:
Barkley FURL

I really like the ease of use of this bookmarking tool especially the one click feature for quick bookmarking. But the ability to tag bookmarks is better for my purposes or I would never find what I saved.

I use IKeepBookmarks with my students.
I have not switched from this site possibly because of the work that would be required to organize a new site. Any ideas? I do like the folder view of IKeepBookmarks because I can guide my students to the correct information easier.

Any suggestions on a better site for students?

Goodreads

Found a great site on Holly's FURL.
Check it out:
www.goodreads.com

Vesey Reflection

As technology savvy as many believe me to be, I still have many of the concerns that Vesey professed in his article The Internet-only Research Approach: Does the Web Really Have All There Is to Say?. Students too often feel that the internet should be the beginning and the end of all information gathering. When I gather texts, encyclopedias and books for science research, often students are heard to ask, “How old is this book?”, “Is this still good?”. I try to use these opportunities as teachable moments and explain that sometimes our take on information may change but that it is beneficial to read “old” books as well as updated information on topics. Yes, science theories change so it is especially important for students to see the development of theories over time. I like the idea of a library quest and have heard the term used before but when I tried to go to Vesey’s webpage, it was expired and I couldn’t find him as a faculty member at Lovett anymore either. Ah well we all must move on sometime.
Vesey, K. (2002) The Internet-only Research Approach: Does the Web Really Have All There Is to Say? From Now On The Educational Technology Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2005 from http://www.fno.org/sept02/internetonly.html

Warlick reflection

Upon reading the beginning of Warlick’s article, A Future Fiction, I immediately thought of Harry Potter’s marauder’s map indicating where each person is in Hogwarts but that may be due to my Potter on the brain. The politics and privacy issues will be challenged at first I am sure but hopefully most will realize the safety ramifications and also the importance of attendance on education. Much of the article seemed enchanting but to me what seems more magical is the enthusiasm of the students portrayed in this article than the technology. Upon reflection when students are truly engaged in their work especially when it involves new presentation technology they are excited about their work. What concerns me now and for the future is whether information will be lost as students become more enamored with the mode of communication rather than the information being disseminated.

Warlick, D. (2004) A Future Fiction. Library Media Connection. Retrieved May 26, 2005 from http://davidwarlick.com/ff_article/.

Potteritis

What can you do when you have been anticipating the end of seven books for 10 years?!ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! My kids and I have been taking turns reading the latest Potter each wanting to experience it in their own way. My son reads it straight through in 6 hours. I and my daughter savor it, stopping occasionally to extend the enjoyment. Crazy I know but hey thats the way it is.

Hey all

I am trying out a few different blog sites to see which I like best.