week 9

First of all, when I visited two different preschool classrooms, I noticed how much school funding really influences the technology that is available. One school had very few resources, with only a CD player, an overhead, and a VCR (with the tv). While these are decent resources, they seemed outdated in comparison to the other class, which had those resources as well as several new computers (along with updated educational programs), a projector, a digital camera, and access to bigger speakers than just a CD player.

It was interesting to see the teachers' differing attitudes about technology. The teacher with fewer resources seemed more indifferent about its effects in helping the children learn and did not seem as concerned about how to integrate technology with lesson plans. The second teacher who had access to more resources displayed a very healthy and balanced approach to technology--she acknowledged how beneficial these tools were in helping her to teach and also in helping kids to discover the world from different perspectives.

I think the biggest way that technology influenced both classrooms in a preschool setting was just how much music played a significant part in the kids' experience. Both teachers had access to technology that could play music, and although better funding equates to better quality of music, teachers can still grab kids' attention so much and teach so much by using this tool regardless of its quality. So although it is nice to have more up to date technologies, the most important part is using the technologies that are available and incorporating those into the lesson plans.

It is very interesting to see how different teachers view technology and I hope that when I become a teacher, I appreciate whatever resources that are accessible to me.

Also, I completed parts 1 and 2 for this week (the mid-course evaluation and the informed consent).

voice thread for science activity

Week 7 planning

Description of Science Activity

Students will use Kidspiration as they test out different objects to see whether they will sink or float. First, they will be separated into small groups and each group will be given a bag of 10 small items as well as a beaker filled with 75 ml of water. After the students are given instructions concerning the activity, they will proceed to predict which items sink or float, then test these items. As they discover which items float, they will list these items in the “Sink or Float” Activity in Kidspiration. As the students discover which items sink, they will record how much the water level increases (by ml). Conclude with a class discussion about the students’ observations of their results and how the objects’ buoyancy may have been the same or different than what they predicted.

TPACK
Content:
First Grade, Standard 3 (Students will develop an understanding of their environment)
Objective 2 (Investigate water and interactions with water)
B. Compare objects that float and sink in water.
C. Measure and predict the motion of objects in water.

Pedagogy:
The pedagogy I will be using is helping the students observe objects as they sink or float, compare these objects, and then measure the level of water (when it increases from sinking objects). This pedagogy is a good fit for the first grade content since it allows students to engage in the scientific process at an appropriate level (considering this age group and this buoyancy activity).

Technology:
Kidspiration –Sink or Float Activity. This technology is helpful for this content and pedagogy because it allows kids to categorize objects in a visual way. Also, this program brings greater clarity and organization to the process of measuring and recording data for this activity.

Virtual tour

Tours I viewed:
1) Angela (Clocks tour)
2) Caroline (Cultures tour)
3) Lizzy (Nature in Utah tour)

Learning about this tool was very intriguing, but I can definitely see how using virtual tours on google earth have pros and cons when used in an elementary classroom (especially in the earlier grades, where I will be teaching). Although this teaching tool is an excellent visual and has the potential to really engage kids in activities, it could also become distracting or even too complex for the younger kids. Also, from a teacher's point of view, it takes quite a bit of time to prepare tours, so this tool would be most effective if used sparingly. Overall, a virtual tour in google earth is a great resource with the potential to really help kids learn when it's used in the right situation.

google earth virtual tour

Here is my final tour on various religious places: Tour

Also, I changed a few parts of my tour from my ideas in my table last week (although I did have the other images/videos ready to use from my previous plans).

Here is the embedded tour on these religious sites as well:

virtual tour prep

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Jerusalem--3 holy sites: Dome of the Rock Western Wall Garden Tomb	Watch the clips and write down the following 1) Your reaction to each site 2) Why you think there may be conflict because of these sites being close together in the same city.	3 short clips on these sites
2. Vatican in Rome, Italy	Describe 3 things you notice about this place	3 different images of the Vatican
3. Salt Lake Temple in UT	Visit the site and write down 3 new facts you learned about this structure and how it was built	Link to site
4. Taj Mahal in Agra, India	Respond by writing your thoughts on this video. What did it teach you about this place's culture?	video on YouTube

The core curriculum I chose to address was for 3rd grade social studies: Standard 2 (Students will understand cultural factors that shape a community) and Objective 1 (Evaluate key factors that determine how a community develops: a) identify the elements of culture, such as language, religion, etc.)) I chose to do a virtual tour on this topic because I felt that it would be interesting to students to see how different religious structures/sites are located around the world and also notice how these locations influence culture. A Google Earth tour would be more effective in demonstrating the distance between these locations and would more easily captivate students in learning about religious sites.

video (with music credit page added)