Essential #15 - Reflecting, Connecting and Planning

The journey is over - or we might say just beginning. My favorite essential was relearning how to use Delicious social bookmarking. No more hunt and peck for websites I think I might have seen in the past. Now they will be easy to find and incorporate into daily lessons.

The biggest thing that has changed since the beginning of this class is the setup and use of the ebeam in my classroom. It has made my classroom much more dynamic. Although it is still being used primarily to present PowerPoints, they now access web video clips, images and simulations, the class flows much better and my AP students have said they have enjoyed the change.

When I finished 23 Things from RESA this past summer, I made a list of things I would like to try. Some were done, some left behind. Here are my Essentials to think about as I finish this class.

Essential #1 - Record from my ebeam and with audacity, PowerPoint lectures for absent students.

Essential #2 - Attempt to maintain my calendar and make it a more integral part of my teaching process.

Essential #3 - Continue to create my PLN. Would I love to create a WEB 2.0 tool that easily manages all the people and places of my PLN. (maybe a personal wiki and/or delicious

Essential #4 - Make my ebeam more student interactive.

Essential #5 - Present my tech learning to the MI SUMMER INSTITUTE being offered at FHS this summer. (teachers taking graduate credit hours)

Essential #6 - Clarify and organize tags to include topic, course and objective.

I am sure as I am getting ready to start another tech class through RESA next week, I will begin to see even more uses for the WEB 2.0 applications.

I have enjoyed the class and look forward to networking with others on how they are using the tools to enhance student learning in their classroom. Thanks for a great experience.

Essential #14 - Resources for STUDENT USE

Well of course there are thousands of sites for students to use. The trick is really finding ones that are absolutely user friendly, content specific and age appropriate. I chose to focus on my AP Chem students as they are the ones most likely to go use the resources as their BIG test is fast approaching. These are both sites they can load to their fancy phones and use on the go. The first one is from a well known AP Chem guru who has posted practice multiple choice questions on all topics AP CHEM. It can be found at

http://www.adriandingleschemistrypages.com/apquiz.html

The next site is a blog with podcasts embedded into it, Each post on the blog is a topic covered in my class so it is easy find a specific topic you would need help on just by looking at post titles. It can be found at

http://hatakappodcast.blogspot.com/

At the beginning of most of my units I do give the students a list of web resources to explore for extra help so they are used to this. I did post them on my school website - a first for me (it was easy). I will continue to do this next year so I am not constantly hunting for the resources. I also think I will add to my delicious tag system to discriminate between student resource and teacher resource or both. HMM - loving that delicious again.

AN OPINION - we have to begin to allow students to use the technology they have in their pockets. If our schools had wi-fi we would be able to utilize these student resources with the kids, immediately and quickly without having to check out a lab or wheel a lab, that might or might not work, into our classroom. LPS has to get with the game in terms of technology. WEB 2.0 is passing us quickly by.

Essential #13 - Effective resources to support YOUR content area

Now that I have set up the delicious account this was an extremely effective essential to complete. Every time I came across a site, it could easily be saved for future reference.

One site I found was a list of many, many resources to use with my new ebeam. It includes simulations, virtual labs, molecular modeling, etc. All things that can make chemistry a subject students can see! This website is at

http://smartboardresources.pbworks.com/Chemistry

Another site that I found was a wiki where teachers can post and exchange lessons on specific Chemistry topics. http://eix.dyndns.org/~chemed/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

You could literally spend hundreds of hours looking through the websites related to your topic. The trick is to find the ones that will be most beneficial to your PLN. I am looking forward to continue to incorporate the new resource as I become more adept at the technology side of the resources.

Essential #12 - Social Bookmarking with Delicious

Okay this this my second go-around with Delicious and I must say the second time is a charm. The second video provided was a great, quick overview of the tools available. I did have a hard time reinstalling the buttons. I am hoping this will become a homebase for my PLN. I am all for using resources that have already been developed for free use and Delicious can provide a quick access to them. It could also keep track of good blogs as well as good websites. My user name is mbsjeep on delicious so you can check out some of my Chemistry resources. I am hoping to add teacher leadership as well as WEB 2.o resources as we finish the class.

I do feel this essential may have been better placed as the beginning of the list as a way to organize the many resources provided and found throughout the class.

Essential #11 - Personal Learning Networks

What is a PLN?

I look at a PLN as a personal roladex of resources. It includes great blogs, great websites, great people who can help me be a better, more effective teacher. The trick to creating an effective PLN is creating one that you will actually use to access the resources that are the most beneficial for you. I am trying to figure out a way to organize my PLN. Right now it consists of a google reader so I can follow good blogs. I have a Delicious account but am not using it effectively - that will be the next thing to add to my PLN. My PLN also includes a AP CHEM listserve to stay current with educators all getting ready to give the AP test in May. I love Google docs but have not yet brought many colleagues on board to use them. I started the Twitter account but I do not often go to the twitter page to see what is being added. Start small and add as comfort level increases. I will take this advice to heart.

Essential #10 - YouTube in the Classroom

I love using YouTube in the classroom. It brings in so many real life science examples. Mostly people trying out different chemistry concepts at home. I have used how to supercool your water, make slushy pop, using a pressure cooker and I am including a link to one of my favorites - The Symphony of Science.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cd36WJ79z4

I used it as a brain break in my classroom and students still request it when they need a break. You do need to look for videos of projectable quality, with good engaging content. I also use the videos to show a professors presenting the same topic I am. For example, I am finishing up thermodynamics in my AP Chem class and will show a 5 minute overview clip of Gibbs Free Energy before I start the lecture. It will serve as a brief overview for the students.

I have found students enjoy the break and also enjoy the search for great videos.

Essential #9 - Using Online Tools To Communicate

It is nice to return to the idea of blogs and message boards. I need to spend more time looking for beneficial blogs to follow. I have yet to find a Chemistry teacher who is using blogs with their students. I have a feeling it is my inability to search efficiently and not that they don't exist. Maybe I will send it out on Twitter and see what happens.

I was able to find one Chemistry teacher posting chem resources online.

http://chemistry-never-sleeps.blogspot.com/

Well after another hour of searching I was unable to find an actual blog website that shows how students and their chemistry teacher exchange information. I saw blogs that do not allow comments, being just a way to post the happenings of the week. I saw lots of interesting science blogs on a multitude of science topics. Despite all my browsing around the web and using different search tags I am beginning to wonder if there are any chemistry classrooms using blog technology effectively.

Check out this cool site

http://adventuresinscience.edublogs.org/

Essential #8 - Audacity and Podcasting

So I tried out the Audacity software to record something great that happened in the classroom. What I would like to really figure out is how to mesh together my powerpoint presentation, my audio track and the smartboard notations made during the powerpoint all together so absent students can experience the class just as if they were in the classroom. I am sure there is a way to get all three parts into one file and easily loaded to our teacher webpages. District tech training for a day on this topic for people who are interested would be great!

I would also like to see students create pre-lab VODcasts to help students understand how to complete the lab.

After scrolling through some of the other blogs I notice a common theme - people are having a hard time finding time to get through the essentials and having a hard time finding great ways to incorporate the essentials into the classroom. Hopefully LPS will realize that teachers are in desperate need of new technology in the classroom (smart boards, projectors, laptops, etc.) as well as great tech training, in order to fully incorporate the great ideas being presented in this class.

Essential #7 - Using and Editing Photos

As an avid scrapbooker, I was excited to try out the slideshow feature on the LPS website. I don't think I will ever use it. I would much rather create a power point and upload the power point in the resource section. My first problems came with the size of the picture and the slowness of the upload. My next problem is with the captioning of the pictures (very tiny on the bottom left of the screen). There are so many more option with PowerPoint, I would rather create just one presentation for my students and parents. I did learn how to change my file size in paint.

I used my scrapbooking software to edit the photos I had taken earlier this year of a lab I had completed with students. My hope was to create a PowerPoint with the pictures as an introduction to the lab procedure and also as a way for students who were absent to see the lab being completed.

I have included a picture of the brass penny my students made in lab!

Essential #6 - All about YOUR Website

So I had not been on my website since the first day. Too little training, too little time and not sure my students would actually use it. So tonight I have spent some time on the site trying to do some of the things I have wanted to do all year. I changed my home page to reflect my current schedule, changed the template in honor of the winter Olympics, learned how to add classroom activities to the calendar and most importantly learned how to upload my power points and worksheets given in class.

With having just installed an ebeam in my classroom, I am hoping I will be able to upload audio and video recordings my lectures, classroom discussions and labs for my students. I am uncertain how to do all this with the ebeam, but at least I now know how to get them from my files to the website. I will have to build this into my prep time and then start promoting the website with my parents and students.

Click here to link to my school web page.

Essential #5 - Google Applications for Educators

Time, time, time. Access, Access, Access. Both concerns when requesting students to use Google Docs as a required part of my classes. Also the time required to find meaningful ways to incorporate the Google Doc into class becomes as issue. Maybe a way to start is to have students create a list of resources that can be used to study for the AP test (good simulations, good podcasts, good problem sets, etc)

It terms of personally - I plan on using Google Docs as a way to have back-ups for PD presentations as well as a way to collaborate on PD presentations as well as classroom presentations. When working with another teacher, the old adage of two brains is better than one is certainly true. Also, their is no worrying about who forgot the flash drive or where the latest version is saved.

Essential #4 - Skype in the Classroom

I already had a skype account for family. I did go out and visit the provided links and put out my information in hopes of finding some Chemistry colleagues to creatively use skype with. One idea I did have was helping upper elementary students or middle school students with MEAP review in science. We could set up a virtual MEAP game or reviews, or content demonstrations for students to see and discuss via SKYPE - no need for busses or field trip permissions. I would like more training on the other features of SKYPE besides the video conferencing, like the file sharing and screen sharing.

My skype name is mary.beth.klawender

I am looking forward to skyping with other teachers!

Essential #3 - Twitter for Education

So I am now officially Tweeting. I found several science tweets to follow including National Geographic and the Science Channel. I put out my first tweet and what do you know - someone responded with really great links to use with my new ebeam in my classroom. I think I just need to practice processing all the information that will be coming my way. One difficulty I am having is finding chemistry teachers who are also tweeting. I will have to keep my eye out when reading chemistry teacher blogs to see if they are also tweeting.

My twitter name is: mbsjeep

Essential #2 - Sharing Information in Blogs

Blogs are great if you can find the one that suits your interest or if you love to "journal." The trick is trying to fins ones that will be beneficial to you and not just another thing to read. I need to get better at using Google Reader and visiting it everyday to get quick blog updates.

The blog I found many ideas on is:

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

This website provides a host of usable sites and ideas for incorporating technology into your classroom. Not all the ideas will apply to every classroom but good ideas always start with other good ideas. I am going to make an effort to get on Google reader each day to keep up with current news, ideas, etc. A new habit - takes about 3 weeks. We'll see in three weeks if I am still visiting Google Reader.

Essential #1 - Making the Connection

Great video. I feel there is so much information out there and those that will be successful in the future will be really good at sorting what is important and what is trivial. I need to learn to use the tools available on the web to help sort the information for myself as well as my students. The more often I see the tools the more I think I will use them.