Internet Resources-3 Great Sites

The Science Spot is a site I use regularly for my middle school science class, technology and high school biology classes.  It is created by a middle school science teacher in Illinois. Her units are well supported with differentiation and a variety of media: powerpoints, website links, interactive links, supply resources and worksheets.  

The Biology Project features problem sets and tutorials.  It is currently being updated to be compatible for people using assistive technology!  The students like to use the site because 

the text is considerate and they don't feel like they have to wade through paragraph after paragraph.  It is also supplemented with inter-active tutorials.

Nobel Prize My students are used to me saying "let's go visit the folks over at the Nobel Prize".  They like the educational games there and I have busted students playing them when they are not supposed to be.  The site contains lots of information about all of the prizes and their laureates, and of course lots of fun scientific games.

Article Assessment-2

Megan Fitzpatrick  mfitzpatick@sisd.org  March 11, 2009

Assistive Technology for Reading by Hasselbring and Bausch

Overview of the Article

For students with learning disabilities, assistive technologies can act as a lifeline.  The two areas of assistive technology discussed are Reading Support and Reading Intervention.  Reading Support software helps students with learning disabilities get through reading material for their grade-level.  It supports the students as they read.  Reading Intervention is a form of assistive technology in that it helps students improve skills with background videos and after-reading support for word pronunciation and spelling. Text-Reader Software is a tool many schools use.  It uses a sythentic voice to read text to students with the words highlighted as it reads. Some schools choose their textbooks based on the compatibility of the text with these programs.  Of course, learning is best based on quality instruction not just the medium through which it is delivered.

Reference Points

• One brand of Reading Support Software is Read & Write Gold which features word prediction to speed students ahead in their writing.
• Reading Intervention Software mentioned in the article was READ 180 featuring anchor videos and instruction on difficult words.
• Read Write and Gold is an example of Text-Reader Software.  
• Word prediction is a feature of this software that suggests words when students pause in typing.  
• Textbooks with digital versions get preference when schools go to make purchases so they may be compatible with these programs.
• After use of Read 180, 18% of students in the study no longer needed special education services.  
• Video incorporated with the text aids in activating prior knowledge
• Remember the technology is just a medium for delivery, not the teacher.

Reflection

As soon as I read this article, I searched for the synthetic voice tools on my Mac that I have messed around with before.  The students also use these often, but I have never thought of trying to use it with their virtual textbooks.  Textbook reading is so loathsome to most of them, that having a synthetic voice read it to them may make it worse. 

Article Assessment-1

Megan Fitzpatrick    mfitzpatrick@sisd.org   February 4, 2009

The Overdominance of Computers  by Lowell Monke

Overview of the Article

Monke argues the common assumption that students will not be prepared for the 21st century unless they have access to computers in school.  He states  "preparation does not necessarily warrant early participation".  Educational focus should be on Inner Resources.  Computer use should be limited in elementary and increased just before graduation.  Class time should primarily be spent compensating students for the screen time they have outside of school with critical thinking skills.  The logic he implements is the analogy of driving a car.  We let 3rd graders drive cars because they are necessary for survival in the 21st century, there for we shouldn't let students drive a computer, an equally powerful technology, until they are capable of making informed emotional and technical decisions.

Reference Points

• Inner Resources include:  Self discipline, Moral Judgement, Empathy
• Unless students have knowledge of the physical world and community relationships, they are unable to infuse depth and meaning to their work
• The more students have access to computers the lower their tests scores (based on one international test)
• screen time needs to be compensated with real time
• Students don't lack technical skills, they need more qualities like parental care, community support, teacher competency, hope, compassion, enthusiasm
• students need to learn how to deal with the mess of technology's waste: nuclear, automobiles, antibiotics, and decisions related with technology like genetic engineering
• Do Jut-In-Time instruction before graduation
• Elementary school tools should be simple

Reflection and Significance

It would be interesting to title the units in my science and technology classes as empathy, discipline, moral judgement and use the content of cellular respiration, energy flow in ecosystems, and spreadsheets as ways to support these important "Inner Resources". Monke seems to consider all computers to be part of a network, which is often the case and is a real source of danger for students and computer use.  In our elementary classes, I see computers being used for maybe 30 minutes a few times a week.  These computers are only used for specific software. I agree that undirected computer use can be abused by students . I spend hours a week monitoring students explicitly and anonymously and sometimes disciplining them. The car analogy has its obvious weakness, we don't let young students drive but they do ride with us. Likewise we need to be guides of appropriate computer behavior and technique to students.

Creating an Ed Philosophy Video

This is a video I created last semester and lost with my hard drive.  The school has given me a new improved computer (and my own domain name for my class websites), but alas I must still work within the parameters of their rules, ie. No YouTube.  For the the TechCulture Assignment, I posted to the server. Using the server is out, too, as I am relocated right now so can not re-synch my computer with the school's server.  So here is my first successful video upload to blogger.

My Presentation of the Powerpoint

On the last day of school before Christmas vacation I recorded myself presenting the Powerpoint on Squirrel Power to Micro-Hydropower I created for the Energy project.  You can see the introduction to this exercise here.  This was the first time I have had the opportunity to observe myself not only teaching but doing any kind of public speaking at all. It was a disturbing experience and I couldn't bear to watch the whole thing. 

My speaking voice was loud enough but I could see first hand some mannerisms that I am aware of and have not resolved yet.  I often pause searching for the right word to use and speed up at the end of sentences.  This results in a very long winded presentation.  It went for almost 17 minutes to present 13 slides.  In the end I don't think I fully explained the obscure title of Squirrel Power.  I over-explained areas that weren't that complicated to understand and rushed through parts where I should have slowed down.  

The most revealing part of this project was the incredible and frustrating time I had uploading video to TeacherTube.  I had tried to upload video before to another blog and was not successful. With some assistance from the tech coordinator at our district, I was finally able to upload 1:39 minutes worth of footage to our school's server but we were never able to get it to TeacherTube. I have learned all sorts of techniques for compressing files and editing with iMovie as a result.  I plan to take advantage of these new found skills with the science class I am teaching.  The students have been documenting a year long science experiment they have been working on.   A final documentary is something they will enjoy producing.

Living in a house where we produce our own electricity, I am convinced that the bottom line to alternative energy is not that it is going to save the planet because of the source of the electricity, rather it is going to force system owners to CONSUME LESS energy.  Less consumption is the secret to our environmental crisis.  We all need to consume less: energy, food, manufactured products.  We have invested quite a bit of money into our micro-hydro system. We are now off of the diesel powered grid in Coffman Coveand, but replaced it with lead batteries and many other plastic and metal components of the system. However at the front of our consciousness now is to turn things off and keep them off. We also won't be purchasing unnecessary electrical appliances.  Items like the waffle iron, hairdryer, and can opener probably won't get used again.  The television and computer will be replaced with more energy efficient options: LCD screens and a laptop. 

Fortunately, I have really embraced constructivist teaching techniques so the students don't have to listen to me lecturing all that much and they can do the work of constructing their own knowledge with projects like building their own hydro-wheels and producing their own movies. A true learning experience.

Article Assessment #2: The Educators Guide to the Read/Write Web by Will Richardson

I.  My Info

Megan Fitzpatrick

mfitzpatrick@sisd.org

December 8, 2008

The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web  by Bill Richardson

II.  Overview of the Article

The internet is not just for consuming information anymore.  Users can produce their own writings/creations/knowledge.  Rather than passively receiving information students can be active participants in presenting what is going on in their minds.  How does this affect curriculum?  Students need to become editors as well as readers.

III.  Bulleted Reference Points

• Blogs--Weblogs rather than just a diary.  Blogs can draw out critical thinking, reading and writing skills.  Class resources can be accessed and students are creating.
• Wikis--Hawaiian for "quick".  This is an online encyclopedia edited anonymously.  THe beauty is that it is a commons that maintains the information.
• RSS--Really Simple Syndication.  Gives people the ability to subscribe to feeds of information.
• Del.icio.us--Provides a means to subscribe to people's bookmarks.  Give you access to like minded people on the internet.
• Podcasting--Home Radio Distribution Web.  Allows listener to listen on their own schedule.
• Literate internet users need strategies for sorting out, storing and using relevant information from this outpouring.  
• The author calls on teachers to become guides rather than  content experts, modeling the appropriate use of the technology.  
• Read only web--OUT
• New read/write web--IN

IV.  Reflection and Significance

Until I read this article, I had never reflected on my own addiction to education over the years as a form of consumption.  And my resistance and adversion to academic writing as a failure to give back to what I have been taking all these years.  Teaching in a small school where I teach five different subjects, the concept of being a guide rather than a content master reached me. However, I wonder how this statement could be approved in the time of NCLB endorsements and highly qualified teachers .  There are days where I am just enthralled with the information the students are giving back to me.  I have to wonder, are they reciprocating? Our school has participated in the Apple 1 to 1 program for three years.  I see the students on their computers all day everyday. I has been an effort to get them producing blogs and podcasts beyond MySpace. But the beauty of the technology is that as soon as one student sees the cool work of another they get motivated and se what the potential can be.  They seem to rolling, but it is a challenge to keep them on task and the bandwidth down.

Cabin Energy Consumption Spreadsheet

We have completed a list of all of our electrical appliances. Click here for the Excel spreadsheet version with formulas.  For the purposes of my investigation I really only need to know how many watts each appliance uses, but I included the weekly and yearly use to calculate yearly kWh. The primary use of this document will be for sticking on the refrigerator, so our 14 year old daughter can refer to it to see if there are enough watts available to run her curling iron when the refrigerator, lights, oven and computer are on.  (The answer is no.)

By looking at the UL electric nameplates I got the maximum wattage each appliance uses.  For example, when a refrigerator starts up it surges a bit and then settles into a lower energy use cycle.  Our inverter is designed for this, 6000 watts max with a 2400 watt continuous load.  So the watts I have listed on the spreadsheet really represent the maximum input the appliance would ever require.  For example, for my desktop PC tower to ever use 600 watts, everything would have to be running: all of the drives and some intensive number crunching.  I also have an old school CRT monitor.

I included the (potential) annual kilowatt hours from each appliance to get an idea of the savings we could incur by going off of the 52 cent per kWh grid. This annual calculation would be better served by looking at the power bills from our last residence, roughly $250-$300 per month.