Thursday, June 28, 2012

Enviro Science quick and easy, Day #7--taking science by storm

Though environmental science is not a class required by most schools, elements of the class are taught in most curricula. And, technology elements and applications are actually spun from this science. Therefore, it makes sense to use technology to study the science in order to improve other technological advancements.

Here's a quick run-down of some of the best environmental science applications and resources:


  1. Lisisoft's App finder with 25 different apps for the iPad:  http://appfinder.lisisoft.com/ipad-iphone-apps/environmental-science.html
  2. Planet Save's 10 climate science apps for the iPad:  http://planetsave.com/2011/01/13/10-climate-science-apps-for-the-iphone-ipad/
  3. Idea blog on the creation of enviro science apps and their ramifications (as well as some apps):  http://www.idea.org/blog/2011/02/21/making-of-science-apps-not-the-usual-suspects/
  4. How stuff works' top 5 "green" mobile apps:  http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/5-green-mobile-apps.htm
  5. Environmental Science Masters' 19 essential applications for teachers/professionals:  http://www.mastersinenvironmentalscience.org/19-essential-web-applications-for-environmental-science-professionals.html
  6. The Exploratorium's 10 "cool" sites on environmental science:  http://apps.exploratorium.edu/10cool/index.php?category=6&cmd=browse
  7. Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Earth Guide with many activities, apps, and resources:  http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/
  8. Education index of environmental science resources:  http://www.educationindex.com/environ/
  9. Internet for Classrooms' Earth Science guide:  http://www.internet4classrooms.com/earthspace.htm
  10. Science Buddies' enviro science project ideas:  http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/Intro-Environmental-Science.shtml
These are just the beginning of the many geology, earth science, and environmental science resources and apps available to teachers and students. Stay tuned for the top Agriculture apps and resources! 
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Phantastic Physics, Day #6, Taking science by storm

Though elementary students will not be taking advanced physics classes nor will they be using some of these applications, these are all examples of what you can do in the classroom. In fact, most you can adapt to fit elementary students. Take a look at some favorite resources and applications.

The American Association of Physics Teachers has a ton of links to sites for Physics teachers of all grade levels. Some great links listed include NBC's science of the Winter Games--a site where students can do experiments related to the Olympic Games.

Illinois State University has a decent Physics pages with multiple resource listings (primarily for the secondary level).

The University of Maryland Physics Education Research Group page gives links to a lot of great physics experiments that can be adapted for various grade levels.

comPADRE is a Physics community whereby teachers and students can share digital resources and engage in conversations.

This site lists all different units within physics for secondary education (though, I think these can be adapted for elementary students). These are all very useful.

Stay tuned for agriculture resources (being in a small, agriculture-rich district, I have plenty to share!)
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, June 15, 2012

Connecting with Chemistry, Day #5--Taking science by storm

In the social context, we are all brought together via the Web. Likewise, the Web and apps allow learners to look at humankind on a molecular level. Hence, chemistry is just one of the many sciences advanced by technology--and one of the many science contributing to technology's advancement. So, let's take a look at the technology that's helping chemistry students and teachers improve chemistry technology.

Top chemistry resources:


Stay tuned for the top resources and apps in Physics and Physical Science. 
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Bonus Biology Resources, Day #4--Taking science by storm

Biology apps and resources allow students and educators to not only share their knowledge, but to stay abreast of the latest innovations. Genetics and human research are changing from the technology around us. Therefore, it makes sense to teach students with that technology so that they, too, are prepared to advance beyond the existing technology.

Some helpful resources are:


Stay tuned for chemistry resources and apps!
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Anatomy, piece by piece, Day #3--Taking science by storm

Google's Zygote Body is just one of many anatomy applications available to teachers and students. These applications allow learners to not only advance their own knowledge, but become ushers of new technology. By utilizing resources, students and teachers become of the power to change anatomy--they are provided with a skill set to change science.

Since science and technology work together, there is a plethora of anatomy resources and apps available to teachers and students.

Mobile:




Resources:

  • Anatomy Arcade: Tons of interactive games and videos for students--divided by bone and muscular structures
  • Zygote Body: Interactive body browser originally created by Google/Zygote
  • Source Book for teaching science: Contains a listing of anatomy and physiology resources for both students and teachers
  • Free Tech for Teachers: Top 7 Anatomy resources AND applications 
  • Geriatric Nursing Certification: Great site with 101 anatomy resources for teaching--all are divided into sub-categories
Stay tuned for biology resources and apps tomorrow! 
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Advancing astronomy in the classroom, Day #2--Taking Science by storm

Science is at the forefront of technological advances. In fact, it spurs the advances and the advances spur it to advance further. Therefore, it is logical that astronomy would follow suit.

However, before I dive into some helpful astronomy applications, check out this article on science and digital literacy. Just as students and staff must be digitally literate in Communication Arts, they must also be so in technology and science. And, this is the premise of taking science by storm--how to make students literate in the technologies and skill sets so that they may be the leaders of scientific and technological change tomorrow.

Below is a listing of some great astronomy apps and resources for the classroom--for both students and teachers.

Mobile:






Resources: 

This is merely the beginning of the resources available to students and teachers of astronomy. Continue to check out the taking science by storm series. 
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Taking science by storm in ten days, Day #1

After focusing on literacy for the past month, it's time for a change. Science, however, governs technology. Therefore, it seems logical that it would harvest the latest tools. Take a look back to the instances in history when science has sparked a significant change. Take, for instance, the Industrial Age. It was triggered by several new technologies like the steam engine and textiles. These inventions changed our jobs, our lifestyle and our time to focus on new inventions.

Now, we reside in a time when the scientific advancements are improving upon the last upgrade. Eventually, you will only be able to add so much RAM and space to a hard drive before a new invention replaces the computer as we know it. With the use of cellphones and other communication methods, we've seen the same thing happen to traditional land line phones. We live in an age of change. Each generation knows a different world than the previous generation. However, students today know a different world from elementary to high school.; The speed of change is quicker. Therefore, it is important that we teach our students the skills to prepare them for a rapidly changing society. In fact, in Science, we are preparing the people responsible for creating the next wave of change. In this way, we have power over our future generations.

So, let's start now with a glimpse into the current technologies related to science and discuss how these can be taught to not only prepare our students for a changing world, but to prepare them for being the agents of change.

Over the next nine days, stay tuned as I focus on technology in science as it relates to the following topics:


  1. Astronomy 
  2. Anatomy
  3. Biology
  4. Chemistry
  5. Physical Science
  6. Physics
  7. Agriculture
  8. Geology
  9. Environmental Science


To get started, read this great article on science and society from UC Berkeley. 
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Writing Apps Wrap-up, Day #10--Top 10 Writing Apps

Starting from the top, writing apps take students and teachers from brainstorming, topic selection, thesis/topic statements, and citations to sharing and publishing. The writing process is no longer just limited to the walls of the classroom and the school community, but to a larger, global group.

In case you missed any of the daily features, you can catch them below.

Brainstorming: Wridea, Wallwisher, and Lino are my favorites; however, there are other sites that also enable students and educators to brainstorm and create concept maps.

  • Bubbl.us site: Allows you to create your own bubble maps and share them with others. You can embed them, export them, and collaborate on them with others. 
  • Mind 42: This is another mind mapping software (free). Once again, you can share, collaborate with others, export the maps, and embed them into a Web interface. This tool allows for a lot of customization. 
  • Mind Meister: In addition to Mind 42's abilities, you can integrate a Skype video into the map. You can also import maps. However, you are limited to 6 free maps.
  • Mindomo: Like the others, this tool can share, collaborate, export, and import. And, it is far more detailed. You can also add it on as an extension to your Google Apps for Education account so everyone at your district can use it. 
  • Gliffy: Like Mindomo, it is also available through Google Apps

Topic Generators: Similar to brainstorming apps, these are great for thinking of ideas to construct.

  • Stumbleupon: This site generates random pages. These pages can be filtered by topic as to help students narrow down a broad interest they have. Just be sure they enter with a goal in order to avoid getting lost in the maze.
  • TDB Special Projects Generator: This generates random three-word phrases that can help spur ideas and thoughts. 
  • Random Quotations: Quotations are a great way to generate writing ideas. This site provides random quotations each day to provide students with writing topics. 
  • Wikipedia Random Page: Yes, this is Wikipedia. However, it's Wikipedia with a twist. Each time you press Alt+Shift+X, you'll have a new random Wikipedia page. Once again, these pages can give students topics to ponder. For instance, when I clicked on the link, I was directed to a page on Podocarpus milanjianus--a species of conifer. This can generate topics on plants or even plant locales. 
  • Google's Photo of the Day on iGoogle: This takes the traditional use of photographs to a new level.
  • Random Photo Browser: This gives you a random assortment of photos each day. 



Dictionaries and Vocab Builders: What would the writing process be without a little bit of grammar? These sites enable students to build their vocabulary as they construct writing pieces.

  • Lingro: Though this Website is mainly for translating all of the text on a Webpage and defining each translated word, it is still useful for giving definitions of a student's writing that he/she typed--it's a great proofreader. 
  • Merriam-Webster: This one goes without saying. The online version is more easily used by students as this is the format they are familiar with. 
  • Word Hippo: A translator/dictionary 
  • Your Dictionary: Build your own dictionary
  • Word-curious: This allows you to build your own glossary lists. Students can use this to build lists from what they write. 
  • Vocabahead: This one helps improve SAT vocab.
  • Got Brainy: This features different words with their definitions.
  • WordItOut: Transform text into word clouds
  • Wordia: Play games with sentences



Showing vs. Telling: These apps help students become more descriptive writers.




Thesis and Topic Statements:  These are divided by elementary and secondary grades to help in categorizing.




Citation/Bibliography Generators: Check out the links below for sites that will generate bibliographies and/or Works Cited pages.

  • Noodle Tools: This is designed for grades one-five. However, if you purchase subscriptions, you can have it feature more advanced grades. This is an online storage space/reference management system. 
  • BibMe: This site is more geared toward bibliographies and is, therefore, more suited for elementary grades. 
  • Son of Citation: This is, perhaps, one of the most well-known. It is user-friendly for grades five and up. It is compatible with MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago. And...it even has it's own Facebook page!
  • Knight Cite: This site helps with MLA, APA, and Chicago.  It is part of the Herman Library at Calvin College.
  • Purdue OWL: Though not necessarily a citation creator, it does have valuable resources to guide students through creating a citation. 
  • eTurabian: This works for Chicago and MLA. 



Sharing and Collaborating: The following offer ways to share with others and give suggestions on how best to collaborate in a safe environment.




Publishing: These gems give students and educators tips and tricks for how and where to publish student writing.

  • Tips and Tricks:
    • Check out this Scholastic Article on how to effectively publish and share student works. 
    • The National Writing Project has a section on the teaching of writing--publishing, which gives links to a variety of articles on how to publish student writing. 
  • Publishing sites and tools: 
    • The National Writing Project has a multitude of resources and lists of sites for student publishing.
    • The Web English Teacher has a solid list of four-five sites for student publishing. 
    • Read Write Think has "student interactives" that feature different stages of the writing process. Browse through them to find the one geared toward publishing. 
  • The National Writing Project is a great project to join, so check for your local chapter. Within the Writing Project, you can find a plethora of writing tools. 
And, that wraps up the writing process. Stay tuned for the ten days of "taking science by storm" starting tomorrow!

Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Publishing 101 on the Web, Day #9--Top 10 Writing Apps

We've progressed through the many stages of the writing process and now, it's time for publishing options. As with sharing, it is important to gain student and/or parent/legal guardian permission. It is also necessary to make sure the publishing sites are student friendly and do not exploit student work. While it is great to give students voices in the publishing arena, it is more important to make sure their voices are safe and not jeopardized.

So, I've outlined some tips and tricks of student publishing as well as some useful publishing tools and sites:

Tips and Tricks:

  • Check out this Scholastic Article on how to effectively publish and share student works. 
  • The National Writing Project has a section on the teaching of writing--publishing, which gives links to a variety of articles on how to publish student writing. 



Publishing sites and tools: 

  • The National Writing Project has a multitude of resources and lists of sites for student publishing.
  • The Web English Teacher has a solid list of four-five sites for student publishing. 
  • Read Write Think has "student interactives" that feature different stages of the writing process. Browse through them to find the one geared toward publishing. 
The National Writing Project is a great project to join, so check for your local chapter. Within the Writing Project, you can find a plethora of writing tools. 

Each of the sites listed above contains many different links, so be sure to look though each carefully. Stay tuned for a writing wrap-up. 
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, June 4, 2012

Sharing student work digitally, Day #8--Top 10 Writing Apps

Unlike the traditional approach to sharing student work--making paper books of student work to send home, hanging posters on classroom walls, and holding class presentations--sharing 2.0 (as I call it) enables student work to be shared globally. Though traditional formats should still be used as they are useful within school walls, sharing 2.0 tools must also be utilized. This new sharing ability gives students a power and voice that they did not have before since traditional methods do not speak across the globe. This power is what spawns digital citizenship and digital literacy education. I have combined the sharing 2.0 resources within this writing series, but these methods of sharing can be applied to any content area and grade level.

So, what are some great methods to share? First, you need to remember the rules of digital citizenship--copyright, Web safety/filters, and appropriate content. Student work may only be shared with written consent from the student and parent (if under the age of 18). And, you should also inspect the safety of the sharing forum as you do not want students subjected to spam or their work used inappropriately.

And, where do you go to share?

Of course, one of the best places to begin sharing work is on Google Docs/Google Drive (beware--Google is updating Google Docs to Google Drive to give more innate syncing ability with files on your computer). With a Google Apps for Education account, you can limit access to the files down to the student or class. And, you can see who is accessing the documents and who is commenting on them. In terms of safety and collaborative ability, Google Docs/Drive is the best.

Other sites that allow for collaboration and a safe environment include:


And, some sites that offer insight on collaborative writing and sharing student work include:
Stay tuned for the best places to publish student writing! 
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, June 1, 2012

Citation magic, Day #7--Top 10 Writing Apps

Getting students to properly pay homage to other sources in their writing seems to be half the journey. Therefore, I have included several sites today that make citations simpler. They, are not, however, sites used in teaching information literacy. Check out my series on digital storytelling for a more in-depth look at information literacy.

Elementary:



  • Noodle Tools: This is designed for grades one-five. However, if you purchase subscriptions, you can have it feature more advanced grades. This is an online storage space/reference management system. 
  • BibMe: This site is more geared toward bibliographies and is, therefore, more suited for elementary grades. 


Secondary: 

  • Son of Citation: This is, perhaps, one of the most well-known. It is user-friendly for grades five and up. It is compatible with MLA, APA, Turabian, and Chicago. And...it even has it's own Facebook page!
  • Knight Cite: This site helps with MLA, APA, and Chicago.  It is part of the Herman Library at Calvin College.
  • Purdue OWL: Though not necessarily a citation creator, it does have valuable resources to guide students through creating a citation. 
  • eTurabian: This works for Chicago and MLA. 

All links listed are for bibliography and citation creators. They are not tools of instruction, but tools for student use. Within education, there has been discussion on how to teach citation skills. And, though these do not teach that, they do teach the importance of citing sources. 

Stay tuned for tools/resources that aide in sharing written works!
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)