I thought all of the technology tools that we looked over in class were really cool and I would love to use them in my class room. The Microscope was neat because it lets children see what is really all around them up close and personal. It is also very kid friendly and allows them to take pictures, print them and make videos. I would definitely use this in my classroom when taking about cells and other tiny objects that usually seem so abstract. I thought the thermometers were cool as well because they provide a more hands on approach to learning about temperatures. It is also a fun easy was for students to use graphs and watch their work as the temperatures change. Many of the templates and tools shown in class really bring science to life and make is easy enough for kids to enjoy. I hope to be able to use these sorts of technological tools in my classroom when I am a teacher!

http://tecchelsie.blogspot.com/ Chelsie McCage

http://alyssah287.blogspot.com/ Alyssa Hipps

http://nataleeb.blogspot.com/ Natalee Biggs

For my activity I will be bringing in some different types of leaves and I will bring in pieces of onion skin and other materials that might work. I will then place these objects under the microscope and examine the plant cells. I will also be making slides using paper and tape as described in class to create slides for my materials. I will be taking pictures of my observations using the microscope and computers. From looking into the the microscope and taking pictures I will take notes of the characteristics I can see of the plant cells. For students I will provide worksheet where they can record their observations and draw what they see. They may use color penciles or markers. They will then create a list of characteristics of the plant cells that they see. Not for this class but if I were doing this in real life I would follow up this lesson with a second lesson where I would with my students then explain the different names for the parts of a plant cell. I would then have my students go back and try to identify the different parts of the cells, looking into the microscopes. I would have them draw and lable the parts.

The content I will be focusing on will be to observe and become familiar with the different parts of a plant cell they will also work on their observational skills as they observe and make a list of characterisitcs that they see.

The pedegoy I will be using is a more discovery based lesson or apporach. I believe that science is all baout discovery and drawing inferences on your own. I think that my looking at the cells, drawing pictures and creating characteristic lists they will actually get to be the scientist themselves rather than reading from a book what is what and then just memorizing it. This makes science much more fun in the classroom.

The technology I will be using will be the microscopes that we got to try out in class. This is a good fit because it helps students "see" what is really all around them. Gather their own materials such as leaves and then getting to actually see something so small is something that children would never get to do if it wasn't for technology. Taking pictures and putting them in their journals or on their worksheets is also good because now the students can take home and keep what they were able to observe in class.

I thought this was an interesting assignment and I understand how it could be used for a lot of different subjects in the classroom. It can also be a good teaching tool. I like it because it allows the children to see the earth different than jusr flat on a map. It allows them to go and see real life images that maybe they will never have the chance to see for themselves. I think it helps the children to make a lot more connections with different ares and people around the world. However, this might not work with younger grades such as kindergarden or first grade unless heavily supervised. I think that they might get confused on what they are looking for or clicking on. Also I think that using google earth would really only work if there were enough computers in the classroom to allow all the students to have a closer look at what was going on. working in groups might be a better choice. Another down fall might be if the images were not comming in clearly or fast enough which might cause the children to loose focus and do other things. hopefully I will be able to work in a classroom that provides enough equipment and I actually rememeber this information so that I can use it in my classroom one day.

I viewed and commented on
1) Audrey Sanders
2) Natalie Biggs
3) Markie Franc

Terrains

http://laurenmac.pbworks.com/Google-Earth

The core curriculum I am attempting to address is that students will value and use science as a
process of obtaining knowledge based upon observable evidence. They will use this visual tour of different terrains and animals to help them learn how to use observations to construct a reasonable explanation. Students will take the information and observations they made and wrote in their journals to help them construct explanations about the differences of climate, geography etc. Using the google map is helpful because it shows the students exactly where these places are in relation to the world and other countries around them. This gives them a better perspective of location. this also allows them to see real life pictures that show detailed descriptions of where they are at and what they are looking at.

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1.Taking students to the Amazon Rain Forest located in the upper section of Brazil south of the Equator.	Students observing a certain animal that lives in the terrain, writing in their journals two characteristics of the animal. Then have students observe the terrain, writing in their journals two characteristics they observed.	Looking for picture of animal and taking students to the location of the Rainforest.
2.taking students to the Kalahari Desert located in the southern part of Africa, and the geography is a portion of desert and a plateau.	Students observing a certain animal that lives in this particular terrain, writing in their journals two characteristics of the animal. Then have students observe the terrain, writing in their journals two characteristics they observed.	looking at a picture of an animal native to the Kalahari Desert, and taking them to a part of the Kalahari Desert.
3.Taking students to the southern most part of the world, Antarctica. Looking at the areas of Emperor penguin populations.	Students observing an Emperor penguin that lives in this particular terrain, writing in their journals two characteristics of the animal. Then have students observe the terrain, writing in their journals two characteristics they observed.	Taking students to Antarctica and looking at a picture of the penguins and terrain.
4.Taking students to a spot in the Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian Islands to observe the migrating Humpback whales.	Students observing a Humpback whale that lives in this particular part of the Ocean, writing in their journals two characteristics of the animal. Then have students observe the terrain, what it looks like in the ocean, writing in their journals two characteristics they observed.	Taking students to a certain spot around the Hawaiian Islands and having them observe the ocean and a Humpback Whale.

I commented on

Kim Brown,

Audrey Sanders,

Alissa Hipps

Chelsie McCage

Markie Franc

Natalie Biggs

I think the most challenging things would be getting enough computers for the students to work on in class. Some students may not have computer or digital camera at home so asking the students to complete the assignments at home may not be a fair way to teach or assess. Also students may not have the skills ready for this type of assignment. Another issue may be the amount of time this will take during the day because students may be working slower depending on their amount of skills with computer and pictures and music.