Integrating Technology in Science

Well, it has been quite a busy year thus far.  I am enjoying the learning that is taking place.  I am especially proud of how well my students are embracing technology.  I am not talking about making a slide show on PowerPoint or printing out pictures from the internet. Instead we have been using Titanpad, SchoolTube, YouTube, and PBworks for much of our science activities.  As we moved from one task to another one and I shared with the students that they would work in groups, one student asked me to create new Titanpads for them to collaborate and collect research online.  What? Who would have thought that kids would ask you to include technology for them to get their work done?  If students see your passion to incorporate technology, they will appreciate it more.  However, the appreciation goes much farther when you have modeled how to incorporate the technology in the classroom learning experience.

I do have one recommendation for Titanpad: Make sure that you create your own account.  Doing this will give you more control of the pads you create for your students.

This week we will add one more thing to our technology resume and it is blogging.  Last year I used Weebly, but I have decided to check out Kidblog this year. If you use Kidblog, I would love to hear how it works for you and your students.

Continuing my journey...

YouTube: An Invaluable Tool

When I use to think of videos in my classroom, United Streaming from Discovery Education, quickly came to mind.  However in the last year or so, I now realize that I have another great resource that is only clicks away.  YouTube is a wonderful online resource that can really make a difference in the how my students acquire new information.  When I first stated using YouTube in the classroom I would try to use videos that held three qualities:  student-made, under 10 minutes, and engaging in some way.  Over time, I realized that I could really enhance how I was using YouTube in my classroom.    I can make playlists for my students to view, I can upload my own content, and I can even make my videos more interactive.  Of course, I have to crawl before I walk so to speak, but I am learning quickly.

Now, I no longer feel like a YouTube newbie!  I am challenging myself to continually learn how to master all the features that YouTube has to offer.  Most importantly, I am creating my own content unique to the needs of the students in my classroom!  I believe this is what makes using this resource powerful in education.  I am looking forward to sharing my classroom video content with my students and using their feedback to improve!

Check out my new classroom YouTube page!

Continuing on my journey...

VodPod: Using Videos to Support Science Instruction

For the last couple of years, I have tried to steer away from videos in the classroom mainly because of what I see when I pass by other classrooms.  However, I am seeing more and more ways that teachers are effectively using videos to support instruction in science classrooms.  Let’s face it: It’s no run in the park to see students sleeping, drawing, and passing notes during a video right as an administrator is walking by your room.  How can we—as science teachers—get our students to appreciate videos when we integrate them into the lesson?  One educator talks about the importance of previewing video clips and creating video questions. The National Center for Technology Innovation (2010) addresses the relationship between video technology supporting literacy in science.  Of course, I am sure there is more literature for video integration in science classrooms, but I want to leave you something to search more on! 

 

Well, I found Vodpod, which is a site that allows you to take all your favorite videos and place them in one library.  You can upload from YouTube, Teachertube, Schooltube (use the old url code for this one) to name just a few.  My favorite feature is the ability to add a Vodpod widget to my blog page for my students to check out videos that support topics we are covering in class.  The advantage of such a feature to your teacher website is that it doesn’t limit you to just sharing videos during the school hours.  Perhaps, students can be assigned to watch a video and be prepared for classroom discussions on a new topic.  The ideas are limitless when it comes to effectively using videos in science!

The Power of Reading

I have updated this posting because the original no longer works. In the meantime, enjoy the power of Tubechop. After watching the original clip you will see why this could be a great tool for cutting parts of YouTube videos out.


The Before:


The After:


I don’t know about you, but I am excited about the endless possibilities of using this resource! I would love to hear from you and how you can use this site for your classroom!