Continuing My Journey Elsewhere

Over the last couple of years, I have done quite a bit with technology integration.  My original goal was to blog about my experiences while reflecting on my successes, failures, and discoveries.  To be quite honest, maintaining two websites has been quite a challenge.  If you would like to continue to see how I technology in my classroom, please follow the link: http://msprincescience.blogspot.com. This is a more in-depth view of what I do with technology while providing science instruction to my students.

Back 2 School

School started on August 1st and it has been a wonderful start to a new year.  I met 100% of my homeroom during Open House, most of my paperwork has already been submitted to the administrative staff, and I am ready to get right into the learning tomorrow.  This by far is the largest class of gifted learners I have taught since I first started teaching gifted learners a few years ago.  I am even more excited about the potential wrapped up in each student as we get ready to start our PBLs.

Usually I spend the summer tweaking projects from the previous year; however, this summer was a bit different for me as it was the first time (in a really long time) that I was on vacation the entire summer.  So I will work on tweaking those projects in the coming weeks. I have time to get it done since I am busy teaching students how to do well in my class right now through various strategies.

This week is an ice breaker week for my students.  I want to decrease the anxieties they may have about physical science so I will be starting my year with a concept that most of them should be familiar with because they learned the basics of it in elementary school.

Well on to my first full week at school...

Missing in Action...but Back!

Wow! It's been quite awhile since I have been able to update this page.  This last year has been busy for me as I wrapped up on my doctoral journey.  While away, I have spent a significant amount of time developing my skills with many of the technological resources I have shared on my page.  My goal as this new school year begins is to continue where I've left off.  So much has gone on in the EdTech world in the last year and I have been keeping up with as much of it as I can.

I am looking quite forward to sharing with you my "Aha!"moments once again.  After reading so many articles this summer, I had to really reevaluate how I use technology.  There are some tools that I will use again in my classes this year, while there are others that I need to redefine their purpose in my science class.  As I look back over the last year, I can recall the various times that my parents and students saw the value in the different technological resources.  This made a profound difference in my instructional planning.  Where to go from there? Well that's easy! Now that I am more comfortable with the technologies that helped to enhance my classroom last year, I am going to step it up a notch and really demonstrate the power of the tools.

This year I am even more excited as some of my colleagues are interested in how I corporate technology in my classroom.  I can't wait to show them the potential it will have in their classrooms!

Continuing on my journey!

As I Approach the New Year...

I think of how this year started and how it comes to a close.  I constantly think about how my education has shaped me as a teacher this year.  While I have not been able to share day-by-day Aha! moments through my blog, I feel I should close this year out by reflecting on the following.

Technology Integration
It's not what you use to support education, but how you use it.  This year my understanding of technology to such a dramatic turn in my classroom.  I used to feel that the resources were not enough, but then I realized that I didn't need a million types of technology. I just needed to find the ones that work for my students and use them well.  Some technological resources that made a difference for my students this year were Titanpad, Video Software Tools, YouTube, Paper by FiftyThree, Explain Everything, and GoAnimate.  Each tool supported instruction both inside and outside of the classroom in a variety of ways.  Most importantly, my students began their own hunt for technology we could try in the classroom.  I remember one student who wanted to make sure I knew how to read my analytics for the classroom YouTube page.  I year ago I would have never imagined any of this.

Homework 
Over the years, I have been back and forth about homework.  One thing I realized was that I had to do what worked for me.  One idea that has definitely crossed the thoughts and movements throughout education is the flipped classroom.  While I do not follow all of the practices, it did help solve my homework issue.  The idea of what normally is done at home is now done at school. What about what use to be done at school? Well, that's where I break away from the flip model.  EVERYTHING is done at school.  My students watch the videos, listen to podcasts, and complete all tasks right at school.  This approach is the best for my students based on the current levels of need and support.

Demonstration of Mastery
This probably has been the most challenging task yet this year.  All my tasks are performance related, but I still limit the degree of freedom my students get in choosing how they will demonstrate. I typically give them choices or I choose one approach (like making a video) and they have full range for creativity and originality.  I have tried to increase the emphasis of creativity and originality in efforts to discourage  poster board projects, which are no longer acceptable forms of learning to me.  If you've seen one poster board, you've seem them all.   I love to see a 3D model, a PSA (public service announcement), or online infographic that my students create to demonstrate understanding.  Learning has to be more than just a colorful large sheet of paper.

Self-Development
One of the greatest changes in my teaching and personal life is content curation.  I used to be one who would just look at what others did and use that to support my classroom.  Now, I create my own work.  The benefit is that my content is targeted toward my audience: my students!

Reflection
What can I say about the importance of constant reflection of your teaching and student learning besides that IT IS IMPORTANT! You can't grow or change without reflecting on where you are and where you want to be in your teaching career.  At the same token, you have to think about where you want your students to be by the time their year with you is over. Take time to reflect at is is one of the most rewarding experiences you will have in your profession.

So I am ready for the New Year? Am I ready for new challenges? Am I ready to challenge myself even more? The answer to these questions is YES!

What about you?

Continuing on my journey...

Wishing you and your families a Happy New Year!

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...

Discovery Learning So Far

What a school year so far? I am not sure I can remember the last time I sat down in my classroom. Everyday we are actively learning new ideas and concepts in class.  As I think about the last six weeks of school, I need to ask myself whether I am providing my students with enough opportunities to discover. Of course, we are doing plenty inquiry-based activities, but I still find that perhaps I might be doing more coaching than I need to.  Perhaps, that is okay as this is new content and a new way of learning for many students. However,   I will need to start thinking of ways to build confidence in asking questions, learning independently, and demonstrating what is learned.  Of course, I am also looking to see what other teachers are doing in their classrooms.  Perhaps you have an idea or strategy you can share about discovery learning in a science classroom.  I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, but I always welcome more strategies to add to my current list!

Continuing on my journey...

The Power of Animation

In my last post, I shared the vital role YouTube plays in my science classes.  Today, I couldn't help but share another powerful technological tool: Go Animate.  Back in January I created a Go Animate account, but didn't spend too much time with the online resource.  Then it hit me--I could create short videos about what we learned in class after instruction was provided as a way for students to review what we were learning!  Go Animate has such a friendly user interface that I won't spend time on how to create one as so many others have done this already.  Instead I want to share what I have done so far for my students.  I hope that my work is an inspiration for other teachers that are looking for viable ways to support instruction, especially science instruction!

You can find my video page by clicking here. I would love to hear your feedback!


Continuing on 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...

A Little Science with a Dash of Technology (reblogged)

Below it my latest posting on my school blog.  I figured I would share it again on my personal blog.

What to do! What to do!  With several weeks of summer ahead of me I need to find time to relax and prepare for the new school year at the same time.  So when I am not busying visiting historic sites, museums, reading, and watching movies I will put together some new lessons and activities that seem to keep buzzing through my mind.  So what are these plans exactly? I think I will:


- make a Common Craft-like video
- make a GoAnimate video
- finish the energy song my students worked on this year
- buy some props for a few "mystery" lessons
- get familiar with Collaborize Classroom
- publish a few more podcasts on physical science topics
- learn how to use VoiceThread


Lately I have been looking at some of the experiences students may participate in once they get out into the adult-world and have been wondering how to take these events and structure a few performance-, project-, or problem-based activities around these settings.  Well I only have 7 more weeks to figure it out! I better get started...


One of the joys of being a teacher is that we always have the opportunity to improve instructional and learning strategies for the next school year.  After reflecting on the experiences my students had this year, I know that I am heading in the right direction in providing a learning experience that each child would benefit from.  So while some teachers go through experiences when they are dreading the first day of school, I am looking quite forward for the first day. I absolutely can't wait to get students involved in an exciting learning experience this school year.

What about you?

Continuing my journey...

As the School Year Comes to a Close

Well, my plan for reflecting on my school year didn't go the way intended. Nonetheless, I have learned many lessons of this process of reflection. Even though I could blog about it as much as I wanted to, I found myself constantly reflecting about how and where to improve, student engagement, and technology integration. One major realization is that I cannot be afraid to fail. If you can't accept that you will fail, how will you know when to improve? I have taken in so much from my PLNs this year and I think the connections I made over the school year really helped me in the classroom. I can only see improvement in my future.

Where am I on This Journey?

Wow! It has been such a long time since I last wrote a posting of my adventures in teaching this school year.  Let me say that my science class has kept me on my toes and quite busy.  Of course during my unintended absence to blogging for my audience, I did spend time with several technologies.  I will share my experiences with you!

Weebly for Education - My advance students write reflection journals about the learning experience in my class.  This website made it easy enough for my students to create their own websites, which are very creative if I may say so myself.

Edmodo - I love the recent updates on Edmodo since its creation.  My students easily download assignments, simulations, and just about anything resource I provide for them.  If they don't finish in class, they just post what they have, but then can go home, finish, and post their work again for my review.  I can easily post grades and share feedback about their work in their individual files.  While I am not completely bought on the badge reward system as yet, my students seem to like it.  After about a year, I will see if the badge system really works for eighth graders.

Flip & Video Editing Software - These have probably been some of the best learning resources since the start of the second semester.  Of course, my first recommendation is to make sure your school is equipped with media than can handle video files.  My students have been demonstrating their learning by making videos.  So far we've made infomercials, educational videos, and demonstration videos.  One of my students even videotaped his visit to the caves and narrated scientific concepts.  I felt like I was watching a documentary from National Geographic!

Explain Everything - This is my new favorite app on iPad.  I finally decided to get an iPad over the holidays and just researched the best apps out their for instruction and learning.  While there is a minimal cost, I believe this app is worth it!  I have made PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, and more.  I simply record my voice provided the necessary information then I upload to YouTube. Within the first two weeks I was totally impressed with the amount of views each lesson received.

YouTube - Okay, so after about a year of thinking about it, I finally decided to create a YouTube channel for my class.  If nothing else, this is a great resource for students who are absent.  Initially, I thought that this would be an ever time-consuming task; however, it has not been.  The programs I use to make video presentations upload my work straight to YouTube and my job is done.

GoAnimateforSchools - One word: FUN! I enjoy making the cartoons for my students as much as they enjoy watching them.  I make the information very basic so that all my students regardless of readiness level can understand the material.  I wait to share challenging material in class.  For those who like to flip the classroom, this might be a nice way to present information to share with students.

Well, I am going to sharpen my skills on many of these new resources and will reflect on their overall effectiveness once the school year ends.

How do you use these tools (or others) to support science instruction and learning in your classroom?

Continuing my journey...

Class Parrot

Over the summer, I subscribed to a service that would allow me to keep parents up to date via text messaging. To my dismay, I learned that many of my parents were not receiving the benefits of the text messages based on the type of mobile carrier.  While I am glad that the service provided many benefits, I knew that I didn't want parents to miss out on obtaining information relative to my physical science class.

Now, there is a reason why I love Twitter! After creating my own PLN (personal learning network), I have come across many great resources to support educational technology in my own classroom.  On two different occasions, I received tweets to check out Class Parrot.  I added the tweet to my favorites in case it would come in handy.  Well guess what? It recently did.

Class Parrot is a web service (currently in beta) that provides teachers with 500 credits at start-up (and 200 more every 30 days) to send messages to parents and students.  In addition to sending messages, you can create polls, check your history, review your members list, and adjust your preferences.  Class Parrot also allows teachers to set up more than one class in the event that different information must be conveyed to different groups/subjects.  I love options!  Another great feature of Class Parrot is the ability to provide two-way communication between teachers and students or parents.

How am I using Class Parrot in my science class?
1. Remind parents/students of upcoming due dates, team/school events, and more.
2. Send out trivia questions for drawings.

I am quite excited about the potential of this new resource in my classroom.  How will you use Class Parrot?


Continuing my journey...

Oh Don't Forget!

Towards the end of the last school year, I happened to come across a really neat website that I thought would be quite useful for my students.  If you haven't heard of Oh Don't Forget before, then let me introduce you to a wonderful tool.  Like the website states, it allows you to create scheduled text messages that are FREE to remind you of things you can't afford to forget.  I can recall the number of times I would cringe to the phrase, "I forgot that it was due today." After testing the simple-to-use website a few times, I realized the educational technological benefit this resource could play in my classroom.  Now, I am sharing it will fellow teachers to share with their students. 

Here's what you do:
1. Type in your phone number. (Don't worry it won't store your infomration.)
2. Type in the date and time that you'd like the reminder. (Caution: The reminder text has to be set for more than an hour into the future!)
3. Type the reminder message. This is what you will see when your phone alerts you.
4. Click create and you're done!


This would be a great tool to share with students and parents!

Music in the Classroom...Thanks RCA!

Somehow the sound of music has been absent in my classroom since I left the high school arena.  As I think back, I am not really sure why that was one component I didn't keep in my middle school classroom.  However, I found a renewed interest after visiting the Ron Clark Academy two weeks ago.  I saw the power of music in more than one content area and the impact it played on student learning and school culture.  I became excited that I decided to get straight to work that same night on finding ways to incorporate music once again.

Prior to teaching in middle school, I used songs like "Mission Impossible" and the Jeopardy Theme song to increase a sense of urgency in completing missions or time to answer game questions.  Was it because I transitioned from teaching high school social studies to middle school science why I couldn't figure out how to make it work? I am not really sure, but not being sure isn't a good enough reason to continue to ignore the benefits of music in the classroom.

In about another week, my eighth graders will embark on the Energy Unit. So I pulled the main concept, conducted an internet search, and found some really great music resources.  However, while the lyrics would do the job, I knew my students wouldn't get into the elementary tunes.  So what did I do? I did like the folks at RCA and found a song that was on the radio (which is hard if you don't listen to the same music as your students) that students liked (thanks to my daughter).  I realized the song was a bit longer than the lyrics I found online so I had to get creative and come up with a new verse and a bridge.

Now it was time to build interest among the students on the team.  I got the buzz going around that we were going to do something cool and that Ms. Prince was going to share a rap with the team on Energy.  I had students who jumped at the opportunity to help me put it together and even wanted to put a few moves to it.  While I don't have the flexibility to take my students and do some of the great things I witnessed at the RCA, I am hoping that our music debut will open up some doors for us and show the potential of music to our administration and school community.

I hope to revisit this topic in a few weeks to share the impact music played in my classroom learning environment.

Until then, keep a song in your heart (and your classroom)!

Keeping on my journey...

Video Assessment Probes

Over the weekend, I came across the YouTube Channel for MAXclassroom, and saw a wonderful way to integrate technology for students in a math class. Immediately I thought that this was something that I could replicate in my science classroom. I am always looking for ways to assess how much my students are learning, and when you are able to combine technology and assessment great things happen! After trial and error, I finally have the final product (see below).

Now how was I able to do this? 1. I chose a video from SchoolTube, but Vimeo, TeacherTube, YouTube, or wherever you can get an embed code will work. 2. I created the assessment through the Forms feature of Google Docs. 3. After saving the form, I opened the spreadsheet, click the form and embed form in webpage options. 4. To have the video and text side by side, use the following code
<table><tr><td>PASTE TEXT HERE</td><td>PASTE VIDEO CODE HERE</td></tr></table>


BUT to have the video and text in a vertical position, just place the codes in the posting window in the order that you want each to appear. Please keep in mind that minor adjustments may need to be made to the width and height depending of your class website or blog. I would love to hear how YOU could use a tool like this in your classroom! Continuing my journey...

A Quality Work Wall

I have been back in the classroom for the last six weeks and it is great to know that I am still fired up about my students' daily experiences. This year I have tried a few new twists to each lesson. If you walked into my room, you would find all the characteristics of a standards-based classroom. However, just making sure that my class has all these characteristics isn't enough. It is one thing for me to understand what a standards-based classroom is, but what about my students. Shouldn't we expect our kids to know what it is too? Too often we throw out new buzz words and never really consider keeping our kids in the loop. I mean, do your students really know what the NCLB Act means for them? After spending the last couple of days grading assignments from Choice Boards and Learning Contracts, one thing was definitely consistent. I made a mistake! I assumed that my clearly written directions would provide students with what they needed to know in terms of presenting a final piece that was filled with effort and high quality. I was wrong. My expectations were not clear for them. Of course, I can sit here and say that they should know what quality work is because they had to turn in writing assignments, artwork, and other products in other classes before. However, something that might have been acceptable for 7th grade may not be considered acceptable in 8th grade in terms of quality. My students could have just thought that since work was turned in one way in another class, it would be acceptable in mine. While this could lead into a new blog on teachers' perspectives on quality work, I will leave that for another day. In my reflection over my students' work this week, I have decided that I want to go beyond just showing one student exemplar for a specific task. Instead, I would like to create a QUALITY WORK WALL that show student samples of various types of activities that are done throughout the year in my science class. Students really need to see what it takes to submit different kinds of assignments, but assignments with the same level of effort and quality. Now, just posting work on the board will not do, nor will posting work with direct feedback be as effective. I want to take things a bit further. I envision a Quality Work Wall that is comprised of quality work that meets/exceed standards, has specific feedback, AND incorporates annotations filled with specific characteristics that must be obvious in student work. I think this will help set the tone for what I expect to see in student work. How will this go over? My hopes is to implement this as soon as we return to school next week and document the changes that I notice in quality and effort down the road. What about you? Are your students clear on your expectations for your class assignments? Do they understand what quality and effort mean for you and what it should mean to them? I encourage you to reassess your student exemplar wall or create one if your room is lacking in one today. ...the journey of a science teacher

Linking Things with ThingLink

Well it has been awhile since my last post, but I am back with a new tool that has great potential in any classroom.  If you haven't heard of ThingLink before that be prepared to read about what is has to offer your class!  Initially, when I started sharing photos with my parents I would upload pictures and then write a huge blurb to go along with each one.  With ThingLink all I need to do is upload a picture file and click anywhere on the picture to add text, links, audio, or video.  In a science classroom, it is always helpful for parents to see what their kids are not just learning, but experiencing in class. @AuntyTech brought ThingLink to my attention and has even created a blog post on how ThingLink can be used in schools. For additional ideas, try this link.

Here an example of how I am using ThingLink


Application in Science
1. Lab Photos - If students miss a lab they can use photos to follow steps .
2. Voicethread? - Well, it might require a few extra steps to be like the real thing, but students could create mini-podcasts and attach these podcasts to a matching picture on a concept.

Is Student Motivation in a Science Classroom Possible?

With each year, I have to really think about how to grabbed student attention and increase motivation levels.  In elementary schools, you have bear or color systems that seem to keep the little ones in line and task completion possible.  Once you enter the world of middle school somehow motivation really changes.  You really can't get your students to enjoy science without finding reasons that make science relevant to them.  I find that as one way to help increase motivation in class, but once we increase motivation how do we sustain it all year long.  Maybe it's time for teachers to share ideas of what works in the science classroom.  So I am going to put down the books and the research articles for now and starting asking my fellow science teachers about what works.

Information in a Cinch

This year, I have a great variety of students and with that comes a variety of learning styles.  When incorporating technology I want to make sure I am not just tailoring technology for my visual and verbal students alone.  I must provide something for my audio learners as well.

Over the summer, I came across Cinch, which is a website where you can record audio and post to share later.  I really like how it allows for individuals (in this case, my students) to follow and reply to podcasts.  I decided that I wanted to upload the widget to my classroom site so that my students could HEAR information.

I already can see that countless ways that Cinch can be used in the classroom:
1. share directions on assignments
2. record lectures
3. share student discussions on a group activity
4. share homework/project information

How can you use Cinch in your classroom?  Well, here's my sample of Cinch.  I hope to let you know how it turns out in my classroom.  Stay tuned...

Breadth vs. Depth

As I look over the last several years of teaching in the classroom, I always wonder if I was able to make a difference in the lives of my students.  Did they take anything from my class?  Had they met or exceeded my expectations?  Were they thoroughly prepared for science in high school?  I consider self-reflection a key characteristic of professional growth.  One thing I find that doesn't help self-reflection for the purposes of perfecting your skill is placing blame on other teachers and grade levels.  This won't be one of those conversations.  Instead, I want to revisit this idea of breadth versus depth in science education and address its impact on our students.

Each year students go over the scientific method.  The idea is that if they memorize the steps that they are sure to remember it for next year, right? WRONG! In fact, taking this approach is quite a disservice to our students.  I understand that there may be times that we are trying to keep up with pacing guides and curriculum maps, but why sacrifice depth for breadth?  The only thing breadth of content is good for is ensuring that students will ask you, "Ms., How does that go again?"  Breadth doesn't support critical thinking and application skills.  

If we want our students to understand the scientific process, we must make the time to go IN DEPTH from the very beginning.  We need to help students analyze each step and apply each step to different situations.  We need to provide our students with more opportunities for discovery and exploration and stop feeding them all the information.  THIS IS A DISSERVICE TO THEM.  I don't have time to point fingers at anyone else to felt breadth was more important the depth, but instead this is a great learning moment for me to capitalize on.  I want my students to delve into the inquiry process and not limit them by a pacing guide that tells me how long I need to address a topic.  A pacing guide doesn't serve learners' needs.  

What do you want your students to leave with when they move on to the next grade level.  For me, I want them to love and understand the scientific process.  For this to happen, I must want them to do more than just memorize steps.