Science Challenge PLE

I was able to watch the Voice Thread of Lauryn Paul, Leah Barker and Kaitlin Tingey. It was neat to see three completely different projects using probes and Stellarium. Using these technologies takes away many of the inevitable problems that comes with normal observation - things like weather that you can't control, PH strips all over the room, etc.

Doing these science experiments using technology makes it easy enough for all students to use and less of a hassle for the teacher. Plus, everything can be done in the classroom at any time of the day and year! It also allows for class to be facilitated easily in groups so that all students have the opportunity to explore and they also have the opportunity to collaborate. These experiments also follow the Utah Core Curriculum, so the technology is a good investment as they can be used year after year!

Force Plate Science

Here is the voice thread of my science project. (as a side note, make sure to read the text comments by my picture for each slide as well for further reasons why this is a great tool!)

Probes!

According to the Utah Core Standards for 5th grade science, the students must learn that matter is neither created nor destroyed (Objective 1 Describe that matter is neither created nor destroyed even though it may undergo change.
a.Compare the total weight of an object to the weight of its individual parts after being disassembled)
To teach this objective, I will have students use the force plate sensor probe to measure how much force an object give when it is assembled and when it is disassembled.

*The content knowledge being taught is that matter will not be created nor destroyed by showing that the total weight of an object does not change when it is disassembled.
*The pedagogy is hands on experience/experimenting. It is a good fit with the content as science is best taught when hands-on (science as a profession is only done this way, so students feel like scientists and things are better remembered when it is done themselves instead of just being told by the teacher)
*The technology being used is a probe for testing the force/weight exerted by the object and the computer to calculate/graph the force. It is a good fit as students will be able to instantly see that the amount of force exerted by the object is not changed when disassembled.

Tours, tours and more tours!

I really had a fun time watching the tours that others made - it helped me realize more of the cool things one could use the tool for. I was able to go through Daren's tour of religious buildings, Lauryn's tour of communities and Kellie's tour of volcanos. Each used the same tool to do very different things!
Google Earth will be a great tool to use in my classroom as it allows further exploration into the topics studied in class. Not only will they hear the facts that I teach, but they will be able to gather facts for themselves as they look at pictures, the terrain, etc. and they facts that others have posted in reation to the location. It will also help the children remember what they are learning. Espcially for visual learners like myself, a picture helps me learn the information, and especially helps me when I need to recall the information. The only problems with using Google Earth are that in some situations, not all of the children have the ability to see the tour (whether it be that there is not a projector to make it big enough or not enough computers for all to see it on). Also, if students are taking the tour by themselves, it will take time to instruct them on how to use this tool.

Here is the link to my biomes tour: http://browningclass.pbworks.com/Class-Content
It will take you to renown places on Earth that represent 4 different biomes.


Enjoy!!!

Virtual Tour Planning - the Major Biomes

The Major Biomes

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1.desert - The Mojave Desert	-Look at 5 pictures in the area: What kinds of plants do you see? From the pictures, what do you think the weather is like in this place?	-be able to see the terrain and pictures and weather -have ocean turned on
2.rainforest - The Amazon	-How is this place different from the Mojave Desert? What types of plants do you see? Describe the atmosphere? What do you think you would see, hear and feel if you were here?	-be able to see the terrain weather, and pictures
3.tundra - Northern Alaska	-What do you think the difference is between the weather here and the weather in the Amazon is? What effect does it have on the landscape? What types of animals could live here?	-ba able to see the terrain, pictures and the weather
4.savannah - Middle Africa	-How is the Savannah different from all of the other biomes we have visited? Which of all the biomes have we visited would you prefer to live in?	-be able to see the terrain, weather and pictures -have ocean turned on

Utah Core Curriculum 4th Grade Standard 5 Understanding Environment (so they will be able to identify the biomes in Utah)

Makin' Movies

I had the priviledge of being able to watch the videos of Leah, Daren, Kaitlin, Lauryn, Kellie and Mariah. I was amazed at the creativity and the amazing ability to choose, take and make pictures.
The difficulty of making movies in the Elementary Schools will be that students will be on so many different levels - even more than our college class had. There will be students that have a lot more experience than I have had and students that have never had access to computers. I will have to teach the different skills, and while I know that students should learn the technological skills, I will be too tempted to do all of the movie making myself. It would also be hard in many schools to be allowed enough time to enough computers. The classrooms rarely have more than two or three computers for students access, and if students have to take turns all the time, it will take away from class time.
However, I believe if I can make it work, I will, for it is an important skill and will be a better way to teach many objectives.