GLOG PROJECT GUIDELINES
DUE THURSDAY 10/4/12
by the time you come to class.

1 1.) Two graphics from the glog library that are hyperlinked to websites that give some information about 

        atoms.  These sites must be educational!

   2.)  Embed a video on atoms – THIS video MUST BE APPROVED BY ME before its use

          Good sources of videos include:

•     YouTube
•     KhanAcademy
•     HowStuffWorks

   3.) Four (4) notes that give details about atoms.

          Include: 

•     Charges & locations of each subatomic particle (proton,electrons,neutrons)
•     Definitions of Ions & Isotopes
•     Basic Information about Democritus
•     Basic Information about John Dalton             

   4.) A labeled diagram of an atom that you have created (think drawing in PAINT or using symbols in word 

        documents)

   5.) NAME YOUR GLOG AFTER YOUR FAVORITE ELEMENT NAME ON THE PERIODIC TABLE, 

        include a note that tells why you chose this as your favorite name.

   6.) A note that includes your bibliography and website sources.

Top 10 Tech Tools I Can't Live Without

1.) IPAD, IPHONE, & Applications - Unlimited capabilities

2.) Computer - Laptop or Desktop, I cannot imagine having to teach without one of these at my disposal.

3.) Twitter - Easily relays important information & announcements.  Also great for collaboration.

4.) Edublogger - Any Blog service would do just as well.  Very good for relaying information and announcements.

5.) Smartboard - versatile and easy to use.

6.) Prezi - provides a more interesting way of presenting information than through powerpoint.

7.) ELMO document camera - Great for reviewing information with students as they attempt to learn.

8.) Digital Projectors

9.) EasyBib - easily creates and checks entries for a bibliography

10.) Animoto

MOBILE APPS FOR IPODs, IPADs, or IPHONES.

These are just a small sample of the applications that can be downloaded and used on electronic devices in the classroom.  The best part is they are all FREE!  Check back later for a larger, more inclusive list of science and education applications/technologies.

1.)  ITUNES U - This application is in my opinion the single most important application available for any type of apple associated device.  This application brings together open course ware from leading departments, universities, and even some fellow secondary educators around the globe.  These courses offer insightful knowledge and ideas on how to relate difficult information to students in a variety of ways.  Users are able to download any type of course from computer technology, to math, to science.  Once they download the course they will have access to tutorials, assignments, and even links to various other sources of information.  Making ITUNES U the central hub for online education  open course ware. 

2.)  ATOMIC ELEMENTS (CAROLINA) Lite version- This application is comes from Carolina laboratories.  It is very useful as because it comes with two basic functions.  One portion of the application gives a brief overview of the development of Atomic Theory, which is great for AL state standards.  the other portion of the application is a game where students are prompted to build an atom of a  random element that is pulled  from the periodic table.  This allows the student to practice atomic math and reading the periodic table without being overwhelmed by trying to find the element amongst the entire table.  However, if you are looking for an application that produces a more realistic version of building the atom or a more detailed and entire periodic table then I suggest using the paid full version of NUCLEAR from Escapist Games.

3.) SCIENCE 360 - This application is a created and distributed by the National Science Foundation.  It is a network of current videos that covers a variety of topics in math, science, technology, and engineering.  The videos come from experts in each field of study, scientists, colleges, and even the National Science Foundation itself.  It is a government run web application so copyright issues are non-existent and the videos are available to each user as embeddable pieces of information to their own personal sites.  You can search through the videos by skimming through them as they appear, or by searching for them using tags.  There is also a portion of the application that is a news feed offering publications of various scientific findings from around the globe.  Warning, because this site is focused on videos it uses a ton of data.  Therefore, it is a good idea to only run this application when you have a WiFi connection.

4.)  VIDEO SCIENCE - This application produced by Science House is a collection of very unique and easy to replicate science experiments.  The narrator walks you through step by step instructions of how to create small and large scale experiments that can be recreated cheaply from the larger more expensive parent experiments.  I use this application and even the parent web page associated with the application to demonstrate to my students some labs that we are unable to accomplish, due to time constraints or other limiting factors.

Digital Citizenship

Why is important to be a good digital citizen?  It is important to be a good digital citizen because it is important to be a good natural citizen!  The same rules apply.  It is not rocket science, just because the realm in which we choose to interact changes we do not suddenly have the necessity to change the way in which we treat people.  However, many people insist on proving their ignorance and naivete, when it comes to the ways in which they interact online.  Everything that is posted or transmitted digitally leaves a mark, or footprint, and can be tracked and traced back to the user/sender whether it is deleted or not.  Yet when confrontations arise, or legal ramifications are presented, those people that are responsible for the transmission of the material are often dumbfounded and surprised.  So what values should a good digital citizen present?  I believe they are the same as those of any regular citizen that has a fine upstanding reputation.  The values of the Golden Rule and Thumper from "Bambi".  All other rules are simply offshoots from these principles, because when it all comes down it is all about integrity both online and off.  How do you act and what do you say when no one else is around? 

Material Generators

Among all the types of material generators I have used in my teaching career there are a few that I could not do without.  The most important device would have to the Examview software that accompanies. my text.  While I have slowly ventured away from even using my text books (did not even assign books this year), except as a reference source, the tests are still relevant and easily produced or modified.  The software allows me to quickly add or remove questions from previous years to accommodate new findings or to adjust types of questions for students with IEP's or gifted requirements.  But the true value of the test generator software was evident in my first year of teaching when I was completely lost while attempting to make out my very first test, until a mentor teacher across the hall introduced me to the software.  Another generator I use most often for making forms such as safety contracts and various forms parent consent forms for my athletic teams is the Adobe PDF maker software.  I was intrigued however by the idea of using the software to create forms that could be posted online and be filled out via the computer.  I simply use the software because it creates a very nicely formatted document with much more ease than in word.  But I will definitely be posting the forms to websites and blogs in the near future to help facilitate the information.  One type of material generator I would like to use would be the rubric builder.  Generally the rubrics I use are plain and simple.  They are usually hand written and on a sheet of scratch paper with very few criteria for each benchmark.  I need the rubric builder to force me to sit down and create something that is more comprehensive and concise but also looks and feels more professional.

WEB 2.0 Resources

I consider myself a pretty intelligent and technological person.  Until this assignment I thought I had a handle on how to use technology and that I was up to date on what all was available for education purposes.  Well it turns out that I was wrong once again and I am already a dinosaur when it comes to technology.  I had no clue about all the various resources like Glogster and Animoto, not to mention all the other choices.  What I came to find out was that if I take a little time to search for different methods of transmitting information to the students then my options are virtually limitless.  I really liked the process of making the videos in Animoto and feel like that software would be beneficial to today's attention deficient youth.  I would however like to see the software have more options on the free version.  The glogster site I was not as thrilled with.  I can see the merit in having it for the use of making classroom posters or bulletin board material.  But, outside of having the kids use the site for creating simple homework poster projects (instead of the white posters we used as kids), I really feel I missed the point.  My other choice of FAKEBOOK (1,2) was intriguing because I feel like the students would see that as a way of tying their educational practice to their, misconceived, important social networking lives.  What I would have liked to have spent more time with were the other options listed like VOKI, BLABBERIZE, and VOICE THREAD.  I think those would be fun and ideal items to use for students who may be more soft spoken or shy because they can share their answers and opinions anonymously with the class.

Five Types of Instructional Software

Technology is a key component in today's society.  So its inclusion into schools is a necessity to facilitate the education of the tomorrow's workforce.  There are five main types of instructional software used in classrooms.  The first is drill and practice is a directed teaching strategy that gives students the opportunity to answer questions and get immediate feedback.  Drill and practice technologies include items such as Quizlet, and online flash card study program. Another type of instructional software is the tutorial.  This type of software is a self contained unit that acts as a teacher or tutor to the student.  The software gives the student all the instructional activities, information, and practice that are fundamental to learning the material.  An example of a tutorial would be the popular Khan Academy.  The next type of instructional software is the simulation.  These are often models of various real life problems and experiences that help teach the students through demonstration.  A great science simulation site is PhET.   Probably the most used type of instructional software is the instructional game.  This type of software is much the same as drill and practice but the students are more motivated to participate because the aspects of fun and competition are often involved.  Jeopardy Labs is an example of an instructional game.  Finally, there is problem solving.  This instructional strategy is what every teacher should be using on a daily basis, simply because this type of mental capability is how all humans process information and problems/solutions.  This type of instructional software is relevant because it gives students the opportunity to learn problem-solving skills they will need to answer the problems of the future that, as of now, do not even exist.  An example of problem-solving technology can be seen here.