It goes without saying that interacting with others facilitates learning. It just makes sense that interacting with others through blog comments does the same.
I've made a few comments during the course of taking this class. I have to admit, it feels a little "forced" at first, but so did making comments on Facebook pages, and I'm all over that now! I guess I've gotten a bit lazy in actively processing what I read. These days I think I'm more likely to listen to a verbal conversation than be one of the "talkers." I think this comes from all of the counseling-type classes that tell us to listen more, talk less. In blog commenting, the advice seems to be read carefully, comment a lot! If it really attracts my attention, I'm more likely to comment. On one of the blogs (I can't remember which one, so please don't ask me to link it-) it listed ways to encourage comments on your blog. Asking direct questions sure seems to help.
I'm discovering that I am more interested in the "content-related" blogs than the "technology-only" blogs. Since I find Science so interesting and fun to teach, I guess I'm drawn to those articles more than anything.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thing #6-New Ocean Forming in Africa!
Ok, I guess I'm fascinated by landforms. My last blog was about students discovering lave tubes on Mars. This one is about an article I found on the new ocean that is forming in Africa. I guess I'm a geology geek at heart.
Of course, it will take about 10 million years for this to happen, but it's not everyday you can see the birth of an ocean. This stuff usually happens beneath the seas. How awesome it would be to share this with students. I need to get this into the new curriculum somehow. I think students would be fascinated to know this 60-meter crack opened up to a width of 8 meters in just ten days!
I'm really getting kind of excited that my reader can provide so many learning opportunities for our students.
Thing #5
One of the feeds on my RSS comes from NSTA, which is the National Science Teachers Association. I read an interesting article about how seventh graders found lava tubes on Mars. Now, I don't know about you, but I was an adult before I even knew what a lava tube was, much less discovering one on Mars!
Mars Student Imaging Program is a joint effort between Arizona State University and NASA. Upper elementary through college-age students conduct research projects and actually take command of a Mars-orbiting camera. The NSTA site is full of learning opportunities like this, but somehow I just haven't found the time to look into many of them. Perhaps my reader will allow me to skim through articles more quickly. Maybe I will discover a program that will fit with our district's curriculum, and maybe, just maybe I can figure out a way to get MISD students involved.
Mars Student Imaging Program is a joint effort between Arizona State University and NASA. Upper elementary through college-age students conduct research projects and actually take command of a Mars-orbiting camera. The NSTA site is full of learning opportunities like this, but somehow I just haven't found the time to look into many of them. Perhaps my reader will allow me to skim through articles more quickly. Maybe I will discover a program that will fit with our district's curriculum, and maybe, just maybe I can figure out a way to get MISD students involved.
Plastic Bags-Thing #4
What is that up in the tree? Is it a bird? An opossum? A ghost? Nope, it's a plastic grocery bag. Those darn plastic grocery bags are everywhere! What have I done to solve the problem? Not a lot. Yes, I often reuse them to cart my wet yoga clothes home or pick up dog poop; however, I have to admit, I'm not good at remembering to keep the cloth recycling bags in my car for those trips to the store.
As I was reading "Why Can't We Do This? , I was thinking that charging for plastic bags is probably what we are going to need to do. Ireland imposed a 33 cents per bag tax on plastic grocery bags, and plastic bag usage decreased by 94%! The "ghost bags" dotting the landscape have disappeared. Now, what are the chances a tax like this would pass in the U.S? In my opinion, chances are slim. Do we need more government control? I know many who would say "absolutely not!" However, perhaps another solution would be if the stores would give discounts for bringing your own bags. I read that Whole Foods does this. Can you imagine the impact Wal-Mart would have if they would do this?
What can we as teachers do? For starters, we need to educate students and parents. It doesn't need to be a direct lesson, but maybe there are things we can do to be role models and help create an attitude that being "green" by not using plastic grocery bags is the thing to do. I don't know.
I'm going to make an effort to bring my cloth bags with me to the store the next time I go. What about you?
As I was reading "Why Can't We Do This? , I was thinking that charging for plastic bags is probably what we are going to need to do. Ireland imposed a 33 cents per bag tax on plastic grocery bags, and plastic bag usage decreased by 94%! The "ghost bags" dotting the landscape have disappeared. Now, what are the chances a tax like this would pass in the U.S? In my opinion, chances are slim. Do we need more government control? I know many who would say "absolutely not!" However, perhaps another solution would be if the stores would give discounts for bringing your own bags. I read that Whole Foods does this. Can you imagine the impact Wal-Mart would have if they would do this?
What can we as teachers do? For starters, we need to educate students and parents. It doesn't need to be a direct lesson, but maybe there are things we can do to be role models and help create an attitude that being "green" by not using plastic grocery bags is the thing to do. I don't know.
I'm going to make an effort to bring my cloth bags with me to the store the next time I go. What about you?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Web 2.0 and 21st Century Learning
Wow! Those videos were shocking! (not in a bad way) It's really scary thinking of the challenges we face in education and in the world in general. As I was reading the article, "A Day in the Life of Web 2.0," my head started to spin. I couldn't really wrap my mind around all of the scenarios because I've yet to experience many of the things mentioned (or if I have, I didn't realize it!).
I've listened to my co-worker Patty talk about working on her Moodle and wiki for high school Science curriculum, so it seems we are going in the right direction. I've only really experienced life on elementary campuses, and in my opinion most elementary schools are way behind where we should be with regard to Web 2.0 and 21st century learning. There are still many teachers who don't check their email daily, yet teachers should be leading students in how to use web 2.0 in their learning and in their lives.
In elementary Science, we are already using a few of the web 2.0 technologies. We have a Dropbox for curriculum writers, and I love it! Gone are the days of saving files to thumb drives and keeping up with them. Gone are the days of having to print everything out so everyone has access to a copy! We can just put it in the Dropbox for easy access. And on top of that, you don't have to be in the district network for access, so you can work from home if needed! Yea!
I'm excited about podcasts. I just dipped my toe into that pool last summer when I took a podcasting class. It opens up so many doors for staff development, not to mention what can be done with them on the student level.
I have a question about the article: Was this a real scenario, or just an "ideal" one? If it was real, I want to know where they are doing this, especially on an elementary campus.
I've listened to my co-worker Patty talk about working on her Moodle and wiki for high school Science curriculum, so it seems we are going in the right direction. I've only really experienced life on elementary campuses, and in my opinion most elementary schools are way behind where we should be with regard to Web 2.0 and 21st century learning. There are still many teachers who don't check their email daily, yet teachers should be leading students in how to use web 2.0 in their learning and in their lives.
In elementary Science, we are already using a few of the web 2.0 technologies. We have a Dropbox for curriculum writers, and I love it! Gone are the days of saving files to thumb drives and keeping up with them. Gone are the days of having to print everything out so everyone has access to a copy! We can just put it in the Dropbox for easy access. And on top of that, you don't have to be in the district network for access, so you can work from home if needed! Yea!
I'm excited about podcasts. I just dipped my toe into that pool last summer when I took a podcasting class. It opens up so many doors for staff development, not to mention what can be done with them on the student level.
I have a question about the article: Was this a real scenario, or just an "ideal" one? If it was real, I want to know where they are doing this, especially on an elementary campus.
Thing #1 Lifelong Learning
Let me start out by saying this blog will probably resemble a stream of consciousness. I'm just writing what I think at the time and probably won't go back and revise and edit, so be warned! ;-)
Probably the greatest challenge I have as a lifelong learner is to view problems as challenges (habit #3). Sometimes I get so frustrated that I want to just say "whatever" and not finish a task rather than just walking away for a while and returning to it later. I'm usually much better at solving other people's problems because I'm not emotionally attached to their problems. I think a low level of frustration tolerence is in my genes. ;-)
If I had to choose the easiest habit, I would pick teaching and mentoring others. When I learn something new and am excited about it, I can't help but share it. I really enjoy being a mentor.
The most important habit for me as I'm going through this "23 things" class will be to accept responsibility for my own learning. I know I will only get as much as I put into it. My challenge is not knowing what my job will be a year from now. If I knew I would still be in this position next year, then I would feel more confident in coming up with ways to use technology in Science. I feel like I'm in limbo right now, so it's difficult for me to see past next year and set up goals.
Probably the greatest challenge I have as a lifelong learner is to view problems as challenges (habit #3). Sometimes I get so frustrated that I want to just say "whatever" and not finish a task rather than just walking away for a while and returning to it later. I'm usually much better at solving other people's problems because I'm not emotionally attached to their problems. I think a low level of frustration tolerence is in my genes. ;-)
If I had to choose the easiest habit, I would pick teaching and mentoring others. When I learn something new and am excited about it, I can't help but share it. I really enjoy being a mentor.
The most important habit for me as I'm going through this "23 things" class will be to accept responsibility for my own learning. I know I will only get as much as I put into it. My challenge is not knowing what my job will be a year from now. If I knew I would still be in this position next year, then I would feel more confident in coming up with ways to use technology in Science. I feel like I'm in limbo right now, so it's difficult for me to see past next year and set up goals.
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