Resources: Where and Why!

Web-Based Resources for Science and Technology: Tools and Activities for Teaching and Learning Curriculum Enhancement. Science as well as technology teachers struggle with having enough resources (access to money and teaching tools). The World Wide Web has a significant amount of free resources for teaching science and technology for elementary and secondary educators. Most of the resources are targeted for the typically developing students, so our challenge is to determine how these tools can be applied to those with diverse learning needs.Using several different suggested web-sites from the Access Center to create lessons and develop activities for my 5th graders, I find using web-based tools, such as resource web pages very helpful. Tools on this link include, but are not limited to: Lesson plans, interactive models, video and audio, manipulatives and games. All these tools, increase access to learning for all students at different levels. We (science teachers) must consider appropriate and responsible ways to use these tools. The link provided in this post on Web-based tools and activities is from the Department of Educations Access Center, and gives science teachers Subject-Specific Resources: Earth and Space Science Life Science (Biology) Physical Science (Chemistry & Physics) 

 

Voice Threads

We have been using voice threads to create our 5th grade digital science notebooks. I like it becasue it gives every child a voice, or a different way to participate while still protecting student idenity. My teacher certification placements digital science notebooks are made simply with a digital camera and voice threads, but there are many great ways to create voice threads (podcasts as I mentioned made on GarageBand are excellent). This tutorial is very useful in creating voice threads: http://voicethread.com/#c28              

 As a student at the University of Washinton Bothell in teacher certification my technology class is making podcasts this quarter, they have become very useful in our placements as well as personal reflection (shared learning). I like listening to the voice threads of the primary kids, it’s so funny. The “take home” message with voice threads is a great tool for motivating students. The kids love making PodCasts. I have seen voice threads used in various levels (K-College) and can speculate the age range using voice threads is limitless.

 

Great Example of Technology in Any Classroom

http://www.youtube.com/v/q8GKKjkclhg&rel=1

Had to share this YouTube on Technology in our Schools, powerful and beautiful: Enjoy

Notice the Science teacher using the Smartboard to teach Volcano’s, this was what I did last quarter in my dyad placement. Technology covers every level of education: from pre-12 to higher learning. In science it will be the virtual labs of the future. As the music in the video suggests, the future of technology in classrooms will be “The time of their life.” Once again, technology in classrooms, and especially science classrooms (virtual field work) is so important, due to limited resouces. Just using Smart/Acitive Boards have changed the face of my pedogogy, I use the white boards less, the document camera less, and the students love to come to the front of the class to work on the Smart Board. I was attracted to this video because I see it as a visualization of what my classroom will be in the future.

 

Science Wiki’s

Wiki Wiki, take the bus to sharing downloads. Wikis allow users to create, edit and link web pages. Classroom, or in my case science collaboration is easily done on a Wiki. Wikipedia is the best know of the Wikis. A Wiki can be thought of as a combination of a Web site and a Word document. At its simplest, it can be read just like any other web site, with no access privileges necessary or can be private, but its real power lies in the fact that groups can collaboratively work on the content of the site using nothing but a standard web browser. 

Wikis are great for creating simple websites, peer reviews or research tracking, group authoring, tracking a project, data collection and presentations. Today our science class Wiki (Secure for student protection or I would share) is using the Wiki to track the growth of our barley and pea plants. I have also downloaded several Powerpoint presentations on the class Wiki, which makes access from home convenient. Wikis should and can be used once students have reached the level of safe and resonsable computer/internet use. My placement school has a 3rd grade classroom that has a Wiki, and my opinion is that it appears to be a good level to consider usage (safety first).

  

Criteria for the best Wiki for science classroom (Great Place to Start)

  

 

Blogging in Science Classrooms

Everywhere, kids are blogging. What a perfect tool for the science classroom. Finding many great examples of what a Science Classroom blog looks like, I want you to see Mr. Hartman’s. This week he is teaching The Fluid Mosaic Model of an Cell Membrane and has his students comment and respond to prompts. What a quick and easy way to share teaching materials and receiving responses. So I guess my next question, since blogging appears fun and easy: Is blogging safe? After searching and exploring Mr. Hartman’s blog (classblogs), the students are completely safe, no matter what their ages. Just first names, no personal information and I’m sure Mr. Hartman is teaching his students proper blogging safety and etiquette.

My opinion, once students can use computers/internet safely, which comes at different times in social development, this can become a science classroom standard.

 

Overwhelmed

The sheer volume of available online tools for enhancing science instruction can make searching for the perfect tool a daunting task. Try not to be overwhelmed.

My advice is start by adding one simulation to an existing lesson, or perhaps let students experiment with a single image. As your confidence grows, so will your repertoire of technological tools.

The more experience students gain in using online tools, the greater their understanding will be of the connections between science, technology, discovery, and communication will be.

The reason for this reflection is, today I overwhelmed my class with TOO MUCH TECHNOLOGY, and put myself in the situation of having to reteach my lesson. I spent most of my instruction time on clarification. This was because the level of technology I expected my 5th graders to use requires several hours of instruction, we were using Adobe Movie Maker and Video Cameras. Oh Well, I learned something!

 

Sharing

Interactive Outreach Projects
Scientists rarely work in isolation. Communication and collaboration with others conducting similar kinds of experimentation are crucial components of scientific study. A wide variety of projects are available online and allow students to interact and share data with other students and teachers worldwide. When students share questions, data, and conclusions with others, they achieve the sense of connection felt by all scientists doing research on specific topics. Additionally, becoming part of a large-scale project reinforces the concept that science is used to solve real problems.The variety of free, online projects available is extraordinary. Students can become involved in projects ranging from comparisons of local ecosystems to measuring changes in the Earth’s magnetic field to conservation of resources and investigation of endangered species. The following Web sites will prove helpful in selecting a project that is right for you and your students.Pathfinder Science
http://www.pathfinderscience.net/The Bugscope Project
http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/The Jason Project
http://www.jasonproject.org/Roadkill 2003
http://www.edutel.org/roadkill/Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/

The projects provided above are more useful for science teachers, than their students as a whole. But, there are many excellent pages on each site meant for students. One great example is the Jason Porject from National Geographic. There are many ideas and areas for science teachers to consider, and some interactive pages for your students. I recommend this Project for primary through secondary teachers than their students.

 

Simulations

Virtual experiments cannot replace traditional laboratory experiences. However, some interesting and relevant questions are difficult or even impossible to investigate in the traditional laboratory setting. For example, studying the changes in momentum and velocity which occur when a truck and car collide, is not viable in the classroom. Due to budgetary or other restrictions, even a frog dissection might not be possible in some schools. Simulations offer an interesting and often quite realistic way to examine content best acquired through hands-on experience.

There are many advantages to using online simulations. They can provide access to equipment not available in most classrooms, and can mimic the behavior of objects or situations which may be too dangerous, too large, or too small to be studied in the lab. In addition, students are often highly motivated by computer simulations, increasing the desire to learn and the capability for retention.These resources for online simulations will prove helpful as you begin your search.Physics Web Interactive Experiments
http://physicsweb.org/resources/Education/Interactive_experiments/Listing of science simulations through the Metropolitan Association for Teachers of Science
http://www.hal-pc.org/~clement/science.htmThe Whole Frog Project (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
http://www-itg.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/Whole.Frog/Whole.Frog.htmlSport Science at the Exploratorium
http://www.exploratorium.edu/sport/index.html

Many of these virtual projects could be used from intermediate elementary to late secondary levels of education. I  used The Whole Frog Project in a 3rd grade class a few years back. The reason we used the virtual experiment wasn’t becuase of no funding or lack of resources, it was becasue using real frogs are too messy and scare the kids. In this case the virtual experiment was much more primary friendly, so when thinking what grade levels could use such technology, my thought is “most any, with proper instruction and help.”

 

Image Processing

Image processing involves examining and working with images to learn more about what they represent. Consider, for example, how a detailed, real-time view of a hurricane could be used to enhance meteorology instruction. By enhancing, manipulating, or even animating this image, students can investigate and collect measurable data about variables including size, speed, distance, and storm track. Are students learning about global climatic change? Images that illustrate the extent of snow and ice coverage over given areas can help students understand meteorology on a more global scale. My dyad placement last quarter, we did image processing for hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.

This type of online tool makes possible a ground-breaking instructional shift. Not only is the equipment to obtain these types of images first-hand unavailable in most schools, but the opportunity to view them in real time is nonexistent without the Web. Compare these advantages with studying static images from print material alone, and the difference is staggering.Consider the following Web sites as you search for applicable image processing tools and images.

Multimission Image Processing Laboratory
http://www-mipl.jpl.nasa.gov/General Science/Biology Files for the Mac/PC
http://science.exeter.edu/jekstrom/Web/ij.htmlHIPR2 Image Library
http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/HIPR2/library.htmNSF Science and Technology Center for Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization
http://www.cs.brown.edu/stc/Caltech Biological Imaging Center
http://bioimaging.caltech.edu/

This technology is difficult to manipulate, but at the same time readily accessable for free on the World Wide Web. I see it as more of a teacher tool, instead of a student tool. I am now working with an image processing program for the microscope to be used on Smart Boards. We are examining plant and animal cellular structures and their physiology. The best part of this technology in our work, is when you get a great slide, you can save it. You never lose your work, whereas before this type of technology the visual graphics from working with microscopes was by memory, journal drawings and digital imaging.

 

Photo Story 3

This is something every teacher should have in their technology tool box. I used it in a Teacher Certification Class, and the class loved it. Some of the Student Teachers made introductions for their field placements, others just had fun. Overall my experience with Photo Story 3, I found is one that I recommend for any educator.

Searching blogs for others thoughts of Photo Story 3 I found Mark Geary’s blog and he says:One of the ways I have used Photo Story 3 is with my “Integrating Technology into the Classroom” course at Dakota State University is by inviting a local fifth-grade class to visit our lab, then helping students build their own book trailer. Over the course of the hour, we help students scan or take digital pictures, import their pictures to Photo Story 3, add narration, motion and music. They take their movies back to show on morning announcements, to their friends, and to their parents.

I plan to use the technology next quarter to have my 5th gradeclass make science notebooks. With the use of a digital camera and copyright free music, I hope to make our notebooks something to share with the students’ families and community. I found the technology fairly user friendly and would have no problem working with Photo Story 3 and classes in second and third grades. Of course they would need instructional skills and supervision, but the outcomes with this science teacher tool outwieghts the difficulties achieving desired the outcomes.

 

Twitter in Classrooms?

 

Observing last month in a laptop science program, as the teacher taught, the students Twittered on their laptops and cell phones. So what is Twitter? It’s a way of describing your current situation in 140 characters or less. That’s the basic premise really but it’s also a way of responding to the updates/descriptions from other people. It’s a tool for conversing with people, again in 140 character limits.

The teacher I observed was using this technology to discuss different aspects of a experiment. I had seen Skyping in the same classroom but I like Twitter for a few reasons. It’s not a blog but it has a format like a blog. Write in a few words and send it out to the world, or in this case, communicate with other table lab teams. Also its a handy way of updating your friends and classmates for social agendas. Again, a free tool for sharing academically as well as socially.

The usefulness of this technology is that empowers silent communication. It’s great for multi taskers, and is much simpler than blogging or texting. My only concern with Twitter is my control over context of use in my classroom. The reason Twitter is so interesting to me is, the fact that classrooms and students can be connected by this technology. I would like to do a multi classroom science lab. Have four different science classrooms do the same experiement and Twitter data and conclusions back and forth.

 

Teacher Tube

When covering all the cool tools for science teachers, I have to give Teacher Tube a shout out. I have watched many lessons created by teachers and students that I found useful in my road to becoming a middle school educator.

This week in the Seattle area there is a debate over using plastic or paper bags in our stores. Sure the alternative of green bags has come up as well, but I found the video on Teacher Tube with two middle school kids debating the pros and cons. I now have a vision how I can do something like this in my classroom.

Check it out!

Usage of Teacher Tube is user friendly. I have to get the camera out, and tape a lesson or two and share it with my class. I feel the feedback will guide my work on teacher tube. This tecnology can be beneficial for any learning level and should be a resource provided to science teachers in every school distirct.

 

Slideshare!

Searching for cool technology tools that are free for science teachers’ today I found Slideshare. This is a place to upload slide shows and Power Point presentations, once again a great way to share instructional materials was well as science classroom work (shared or private).

I came across several very useful presentations for middle school science teachers. Check this one out, it is a template for “how to” make a science project: http://www.slideshare.net/eduk8r/science-project-experiment-template or Joe Wood’s first day of class presentation :Welcome

Wow now that I found Slidecast, on the same site I found you can integrate your Slide show with a pod cast: So in other words, a talking Power Point.

I have been creating podcasts in a class I am taking, but never thought how useful a talking Power Point could be to my practice. Having considered some of my opitions with this technology, I am creating a lesson for my 5th graders to develop a talking Power Point with a upcoming science lab on landforms.

These technologies (Slideshare, PowerPoint, and PodCasts) are all fairly easily taught and integrated, but at the same time I recommend starting to combine the technologies at the 4th to 5th grade levels. The usefulness of Slideshare goes beyond the point of a cyber storage area for slide shows, its a social networking tool and has many academic uses.

 

Podcasting for Science Teachers

Hang out at Radio WillowWeb

http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/ 

for great examples of how kids and teachers work together to share teaching/learning  experiences.

Willowdale Elementary in Ohmaha NE. has crossed the digital divide. Check out this Ms Wiederholt’s 1st grade class, and their fish presentations. Nice work kids, and thanks for sharing some great information: beyond fish. http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/shows/Willowcast28.html

Is this the future of edcuation? Sure instruction needs one to one, small group and whole classroom learning, but this is just another free tool to teach and learn with. Making PodCasts are easy, and a great way to teach a science write up, or facilitate a presentation.

 

Found a Winner!

Reach Beyond the Science Classroom with Online Tools (found on Teaching Today: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/beyond.phtml 8/5/07) Few disciplines require the successful fusion of so many diverse skills as science. These skills include question formation, research, data collection, data analysis, and communication. Science instructors utilize multiple tools and techniques to infuse content into the acquisition of these skills. While laboratory exercises, research, and group discussion and presentation activities occur in all effective science classrooms, today’s teachers have access to powerful technological tools which can enhance these learning experiences, tools which were not available in classrooms only a few years ago. Scientists seamlessly integrate technology into their work. Gathering and analyzing data and sharing findings with others can be accomplished more efficiently using technology. The potential benefits for students (any level) and teachers who utilize technological resources in science are enormous. From providing access to equipment and data unavailable in most classrooms, to furnishing opportunities for communication with scientists and other students across the country and even the world, powerful online tools can stimulate and motivate students to learn as never before.Three of the most exciting and potentially beneficial applications currently available include image processing tools, simulations, and interactive outreach projects which involve students and scientists from across the globe.

 

Annotated Bibliography

 Annotated Bibliography (more lit)   

Adams, F. (Ed.). (1984). Science and computers in primary education: a report of the educational research workshop held in Edinburgh (Scotland). Edinburgh, Scotland. Humanities Press. 

Editor Frank Adams synthesized computer education research from across Europe at the Educational Research Workshop held at St. Andrew’s College of Education 1984. The purpose of the research is to examine surveys of what can be achieved with computers in science that lend knowledge to the failures and successes in primary education. Also, he discussed ways to develop targets or goals which are both desirable and practical for initiating future development.  

Scholarly evidence suggests that the field of science involves curriculum reform in the method of technology. This research supports my thesis on improving science student empowerment through technology. The research uses dozens of case studies that focus on the future of science instruction in Europe’s Council for Cooperation. How primary science instruction is addressed as a whole is the issue.  It addresses whether or not historically science pedagogy has accomplished what is designed too do, and how computers change the genre.

Akahori, K. (2002). Qualitative analysis of information communication technology use on teaching-learning process. [Electronic Version] ERIC. AN: ED476960.  Akahori is a professor at the graduate school of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in the Human System Science. His work explores ICT (Information Communication Technology), which analyzes the value of computers in K-8 classrooms in this qualitative case study.  Some of this author’s findings include where students learn through modeling when using computers. He suggests that success in integrating computers into classrooms depends on opinions and atitudites of the users as well as teachers.  This research is useful to my research at the hands on level.  Akahori had developed a framework to define variables in technology classrooms, which is what I will be doing.  Centered around ICT are research variables like: the teacher’s role, curriculum, technical support, learning environment, learning strategies, student activities, and student competence. 

Cooper, J &Weaver, K. (2003). Gender and computers: understanding the digital divide. Mahwah, N.J. Lawrence Erlbaum.  

The authors address the inequalities in computer access and effects. With the premise that educates and motives our children to take their place in society, Cooper and Weaver qualitatively researched the issues of how laptops usage develops through social-economics, race and gender play a role in learning.

The ivy leaguers’ (Cooper and Weaver) evidence is scary to the classroom teacher, and shows that females have computer anxiety, and males have more access. Facts, that secure gender dominance in laptop learning is a sociologic problem that will have to be addressed in our society as well as schools.  My research directed at elementary/primary classroom laptop teaching/learning will need to research the inequalities in technology. The authors built a model or a visual way of reasoning that will become pivotal in my research because it helps understanding the problems from all perspectives: teachers, students, parents, peers and schools.  

Gabric, K., Hovance, C., Comstock, S., & Harnisch, D. (2005). Scientists in their own classroom: The use of type ll technology in the science classroom. New York. The Haworth Press. 

Linn, M. (1988). Perspectives for research in science teaching: using the computer as laboratory partner. ERIC. Ovid. ED308853. 

This research document on ERIC relates to a book by Linn on the same subject entitled Computers, Teachers, and Peers: Science Learning Partners. Linn changes her understanding from this 1988 paper to realize in 2000 that the computer has grown to be more than a lab partner; it has become a valuable tool in science teaching. Linn’s original assessment in this paper says that computers might lead to improved science instruction, but after more research and time Linn sees computers as fixing science education in our schools. I see this combination of old and new research as a growth in the research of technology in science classrooms. This isn’t a longitudinal study, but this comparison of the same author’s work from 1988 to 2000 at the same time provides data to that effect.

The larger picture to this work, which connects to my research, is that science is a life-long journey, and the knowledge acquired in science is scaffolded throughout the pupil’s life span.

Making the connection, an education week special report. (1996). Education Week, 15(16). 

Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. (2004). Personal messages that promote science learning in virtual environments. Education Psychology, 96(1), 165-173. 

McCann, T. & Jukes, I. (2001). Windows on the future: education in the age of technology. Thousand Oaks, California. Corwin Press. 

Interestingly enough, the authors are computer geeks, which is pivotal for the hands on approach and relationship between schools and technology I am creating in my research.  McCann is a school teacher in Vancouver British Columbia Canada and Jukes is the director of InfoSavvy, a group that works with schools and organization across the United States and Canada empowering these institutions with technology.

The purpose of their research is to help modify perspectives on technology, especially in education. Since computer technology is fairly new (1960s), and still very new in schools, the authors are addressing change in established communities and places. They call for the need for vision to see the future, which is computer based curriculum/pedagogy.  The big picture to this text, as well as how it connects to my research, is the ability to envision the evolving nature of change. Looking into the future teachers will use global networks of meta-analysis knowledge, technological fusion and strategic alliances from personal computers to enhance learning. Libraries will be vast databases of knowledge from around the world or someday the galaxy at a fingertip. This text offers ideas about promoting equality for humankind through computer education. 

Nilson, L. &Weaver, B. (Eds.). (2005). Enhancing learning with laptops in the classroom. San Francisco, California. Joessy-Bass.  

The editors and authors of several chapters are members of Clemson University’s faculty laptop development program. This text has two purposes: First is to make sure that university instructors do make pedagogic and productive use of laptops in classrooms. The second is to assist institutional leaders in making laptop mandates. Using examples from the teaching/learning community at Clemson, the editors show qualitative as well as quantitative evidence that laptops do offer rich learning opportunities in the classrooms.                                                    

 Supporting future classroom opportunities, this text becomes a way to tear down classroom walls, and making the world the classroom. It connects classroom work, such as readings, lectures and group discussion to the larger picture of internet evidence. Also, this work shows what laptops are good for and what you can do with them. Enhancing Learning with Laptops in the Classroom is useful to my research on editor’s evaluation of real time data collection and analysis in science fields.  

November, A. (2001). Empowering students with technology. Arlington Heights, Ill. SkyLight Professional Development. 

November, an alumni of Harvard’s Graduate of Education school, public school science/history teacher and technology coordinator, and now travels the lecture circuit around the world. His agenda is empowering students’ learning by expanding their relationships, which in this text is empowerment through technology. Interestingly, November was motivated to empower himself with technology by one of his students. The student was considered an underachiever, and a failure. One day the student broke into the computer lab, and was caught by his teacher, which was November. The student had written several computer programs, which even November couldn’t conceive. At this point November realized that computers were far more empowering that he, and many realized. This is something that I discovered the same as November.  

The larger picture is that computers are not just for programming/gaming and data collection, they should be used for problem solving. They are excellent sources to simplify calculations, accessing information, producing data logs and making long distance connections. The teacher’s real problem in the classroom is teaching problem solving, and what better resource can a teacher offer than a laptop. It is millions of books, a calculator, data processor, and a way to draw on others opinions, which in data/calculation analysis is crucial and time saving. 

Provenzo, E., Brett, A. & McCloskey, G. (2005). Computers, curriculum, and cultural change: an introduction for teachers. Hoboken, New Jersey. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 

The authors intended this text book to be a learning tool for the usage of computers in the educational setting. They wrote it to illustrate three issues: (1) How computers are redefining culture. 2). The computer is a tool for increasing efficiency and productivity in curriculum, and 3). The computer can enhance intelligence. Provenzo and Brett are professors at the University of Miami, and McCloskey at Merrimack College and they created this text and its software as a way to show how technology culture is shaping education today.  

I selected this text looking for approach and application to my research/practice, and found a how-to guide that is enhanced with several case studies as evidence. Also, in practice, I have seen this text as breaking ground in schools that are adopting laptop programs. The key to student success in these programs is educating them with competent user skills before the school year and curriculum begins. 

Richards, C. (1996). The impact of the internet on teaching and learning in education as perceived by teachers, library media specialists, and students. ERIC. Ovid. ED410943. 

This authors’ non journal masters thesis is a survey of teachers, students, librarians, and parents at Bell Atlantic World School in West Virginia. The World School is an internet-based school that enables students to access the world through computers. Similar to my research, this survey’s analysis suggests a very positive outcome. Richards claims that the use of the Internet is setting off a revolution in education, changing the way students learn and transforming the delivery technique. 

The real usefulness of Richards’s thesis is the reference list, methods and results. Bell Atlantic, now Verizon has empowered over 120 schools with wireless internet access in West Virginia. Her survey is a great tool for comparison in the area of the private sector’s influence on socially economic under privileged class sector. I would use this work as a tool to examine cultural educational change through technology in West Virginia, but at the same time will research the learning conditions/experience to see how they compare to my observation sites.  

Roach, L. (2002). Incorporation of technology in science activities. [Electronic Revision]. Norfolk, Va. Association for Achievement in Science. 

Roach’s research questions computer uses in education, and especially science. This author has synthesized several papers from SITES (Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education) 2002 conference. Roach, a researcher/professor from Northwestern State Louisiana University, teaches pre-service teachers and has compiled and analyzed some very useful data. The data on how computers allow students to investigate subject areas of their interest/linking to tie to classroom work is excellent. 

The larger scope of this research relationship to my work is the practical evidence it offers. One example is of an interactive program of “starry nights,” which allows a small group of student to interact and develop the spatial relationships between bodies in astronomy.    

Schofield, J. & L. Davidson. (1997). The internet in school. Arlington, Va. The National Science Foundation.  

This document is the scholarly product of the University of Pittsburg Center for Research. The authors conducted a four year study that explored the internet’s potential for improving education. It examines closely how the internet shaped, delayed, and constituted internet use in a large public school district.

The research revealed that there were problems in the areas of infrastructure (desks, chairs, internet connections, space, power outlets and computers), bureaucratic, and cultural positions of the students, teachers and families. These cultural positions have surfaced in many readings in this bibliographic research. In analyzing the usefulness of this research for my inquiry, I can see some of the difficulties that schools, pupils and teachers encounter in getting connected to the internet. Before I can examine how to empower students through laptops, I will just need to figure out how to get on line. 

Shane, P. & Wojnowski, B. (2005). Technology Integration Enhancing Science: Things Take Time. Science Educator.  Johnson City: Spring 2005.Vol.14, Iss. 1, p. 49-55. 

This work is the research results from project TIES (Technology Integration Enhancing Science). The author’s four-year research project focused on Technology Literacy K-8 and combined technology as a tool for teaching and learning with earth and environmental science education. This case study originally was developed as professional development, but became landmark at the National Research Convention in 1996. It offers helpful evidence for my work on the level of the transformation of traditional classrooms, and classroom where computers are now intricate parts of the curriculum.  

The authors used a scientific approach to their analysis, and the evidence suggests that the transition from traditional pedagogy will take time, having many obstacles, as well as opposition, but once integrated will be embedded until something better comes along. Finally, the results of this case study show that not only was there an increase in technology competency, but science aptitude as well. 

Steinberg, R. (2000). Computers in teaching science: to stimulate or not to stimulate. American Journal of Physics Teachers. 68(7). July.  

This author’s field of expertise is physics, and he teaches and researches at City College in New York City. In this paper Steinberg explores computer simulation in science pedagogy. His research question is “Do computer simulations help students learn science?  Supporting questions are: How can we tell? What are the negative implications using simulation to teach real world phenomena?  This case study is important because it suggests that the approaches to learning are significantly different, but on standardized tests, there was no significant difference.  

This study challenges my thesis and research questions, but the evidence supports my research and thesis. Steinberg’s research suggests the differences are in classroom dynamics, not in the student assessment or outcomes. The larger picture of this type of research and my query is the different methodologies it offers to challenge and test my thesis. The research may support my thesis, but leads in a different direction. Instead of student empowerment through technology, the research suggests that it’s how you empower students, irrespective of the methodology, using a blend of real life and simulation. 

Warschauer, M. (2006). Laptops and literacy: Learning in the wireless classroom. New York. Teachers College Press. 

West, P. (1996). Making the connection. An Education Week Special Report. n15, n16. 

This work is the complete collection from Education Week’s special report in examining how technologies bring home closer to school. West looks at virtual classrooms, electronic classrooms, electronic blackboards, equitable access to technology and most importantly, computers’ relationship to student motivation.  However technology in the schools bridges the connection into homes, usually it’s the children/students who are the ones proficiently versed in technology, and share these skills with parents and guardians.

One paper in the collection is titled Home Improvement; it is a case study in New Jersey in which a mostly Hispanic population has been given computers for their homes. The interesting fact of the computers at home was that the test scores for these kids went up in school. What a cool round about way of student empowerment.  

Wiske, M., Rennebohm Franz, K. & Breit, L. (2005). Teaching for understanding with technology. San Francisco, Ca. Jossey-Bass. 

These authors establish the roles of technology in teaching. Wiske is a lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education on technology, Rennebohm Franz is a Washington State school teacher, and has developed technology connections world wide, with public schools.  Breit is the former director of technology for the Waterford Massachusetts, public schools. The connection between the authors was that Breit and Rennebohm Franz were doctorial students at Harvard, and Wiske was their mentor. This text is a synthesis of over 20 years learning, and connects the Teaching for Understanding Project (good teaching analysis) and the Education Technology Center, both at Harvard. 

This research is useful to my query on the level of how teachers select appropriate technologies to enhance student learning. To examine significant educational benefits from technology is the first step to student empowerment in my research. It is a place to start, when the teacher accesses the laptop curriculum.  

 

Literature Review

  

Technology and Science!

This thematic review of the scholarly, educational, technological and experimental research literature investigates: 1) How computers are redefining educational philosophy. 2). How computers are used as tools for increasing efficiency and productivity in curriculum or what can be accomplished by using them.3). How access to laptops and the Internet changes the roles of students and educators. To better understand how this might work, this inquiry explores how teachers give power to students through increasing students’ technological awareness by using resources (laptop computers and access to the World Wide Web), and how the implementation  process determines instructional choices and roles; a futuristic approach.  By researching the three major issues addressed in this review, the inquiry hopes to learn how students can develop the moral and personal connections needed for them to understand the larger picture, which in this research is technological competency. This meta-analysis is based on the premise that an increase in laptop efficiency and overall efficacy in curricula will contour the learning pathway for future generations. The overall trends of the literature surveyed in this inquiry showed that research surrounding the questions is chronologically moving towards experimental research methodologies to support technology based pedagogy, and away from quantitative research. This explains how students develop relationships with technology, and thus science knowledge. (Provenzo, 2005)., November, 2001)

Shifting Instructional Philosophy:           

Although technology has become pervasive in our daily routines, it is one of the least understood aspects of our culture. Culturally, we spend little time comprehending why and how different forms of technology affect our existence. For example, how do telephones allow us to talk to anyone at a moment’s notice, and what are the social aspects of using transportation modes such as automobiles and airplanes? In retrospect technology controls many of our daily functions, and when combing technology into old tried and true educational practices, because it’s not understood, it’s problematic (Provenzo, 2005).            In a generation’s time, computers have drastically altered our society’s ways of living, learning and performing work, and it has now come to the forefront in educational research. Questions such as how teaching changes with computers or considerations for how learning environments are changed with technology are only a few of the limitless or limited ways to view technological learning. As educators, our common concern is how to empower or motivate student learning, and in fact the evidence from the “2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress indicates that student performance is improved with the use of technology in the classroom” (Roach, 2002. p. 2109). But many teachers do not have the exposure to technology that is needed to incorporate it (Shane, & Wojnowski, 2005., Provenzo, 2005).           

Chronologically, historical research by Larry Cuban (1986) suggests a skeptical introduction to technology in the classroom:(a)Reformers work hard to get an innovation introduced; (b) academic studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the technological innovation compared to conventional instruction; (c) scattered complaints surface about the logistics of use, the technical imperfections, and its incompatibility with current programs; (d) documentation appears on the disappointingly infrequent use of the new tool; and (e) administrators are criticized for leaving costly machines in closets and teachers are portrayed as intransigents who block the use of learning tools that studies have shown to be academically effective. (Greenberg, Raphael, Keller, & Tobias, 1998. p. 297-298). Cuban suggests that success will be the gradual process of implementation and change given the complexity of the context. Ten years after Cuban’s insights, in Making the Connection (1996) a study from the Office of Technology Assessment’s (OTA) revealed: “Despite technologies available in [U.S.] schools, a substantial number of teachers report little or no use of computers for instruction” (p. 1).Underlying principles behind this under-utilization include:

• Lack of access to equipment
• Lack of training
• Lack of time to learn and use software
• Different attitudes toward experimentation
• Pedagogical beliefs and practices of teachers

 But, once again, Making the connection makes the same claims as Cuban; the complexity creates a slow change process.             So, how can educators’ philosophically redefine education through technology? To help understand the potential of technology in the classroom,   first, we need to comprehend the rapid growth of technology. Second, technology creates borderless societies; we become one with the world. Third, those who possess technology possess a competitive advantage. Fourth, advancing technological learning processes facilitates success; for example, the Japanese automotive industry. Fifth, the changing market and job places dependence on technology and finally and most crucial, educators’ responsibility to prepare students. Mastering the ability for educators’ to change will be awkward, but necessary. Think back, when typing became the responsibility of educators, and what a struggle it was to adapt. Most the U.S. was either blue collar or farmers, and had no tolerance for technological changes; does this sound familiar? Today’s educators have a responsibility to instill proper keyboarding skills, as well as how to protect information by using passwords and security programs to their students.  These are the “Dick and Jane” (1950s and 1960s educational reader) or basics of 2007 in any classroom, which hopefully all have computers of some type (McCann & Jukes, 2001. pp. 10-11., Akahori, 2002. p 7).

Computers in Science Classrooms Accomplish Change:         

Understanding what can be accomplished with laptops in science classrooms and at home has to have an authentic learning value for students, whether interactive, participatory, experimental or hands-on. Attainment also should be judged by what cannot be done as well or with out a laptop. Using a framework developed at Clemson University (Nilson & Weaver, 2005. pp. 7-10) to meet the conditions set above, I discovered that they are similar to standard best practices used by educators’’ everywhere, but are specialized.

They involve: 

• Student Data Collection: Easy tool to collect and reevaluate data
• Student Assessment: Ease in proctoring and evaluation
• Student Self Assessment: reflective work, learning styles, career and IQ
• Student Research: a library at your fingertips
• Simulated Experiences: Labs and materials that are accessible through interactive process.
• Analysis of Digitized Performances: music, video clips and PowerPoint’s
• Student Collaboration: tools such as Blackboard or Tapped In
• Learning Exercises: Interactive lessons, homework or searching the web (instructor free, pre-designed)

 Evidence from laptop research at Clemson suggests more student engagement and learning occurs with laptops because of student motivation. The laptop is a new and interesting tool that stimulates learning curiosity (Nilson & Weaver, 2005).           

Science especially, because of quantitative reasoning and methodologies, is complemented by laptops. Steinberg (2000) examines how simulations are enhanced by laptops. In his study, the common element is that students are engaged in figuring out what is happening in an air resistance exercise. The students with laptops were readily able to access data (graphs, charts, definitions and visual aides), as opposed to merely witnessing the experiment and relying on standardized methods of textbooks and lectures. In both cases of simulation, (laptop assisted or not) learning occurred; it was the type of learning that differed. Different questions were developed by the assisted group, as were answers. The laptop assisted simulation lent to a more critical thinking experience, instead of limited conclusions that were dictated by the text and lecture. Another finding was that many experiments in our classrooms could not even be preformed without laptops, due to rising cost in materials and classroom safety.           

Virtual environments are another area that is highly researched in the relationship between science classrooms and technology. Moreno & Meyers (2004) suggest that even though there is no replacement for hands on experience, the cost of travel, supplies and the actual hands on implications can and should be reproduced in virtual environments. As educators, fighting economic inequalities for our students it is our duty to provide the best environment for learning, whether real or virtual. In a plant biology class for example, if the schools can’t afford cups, dirt and seeds: then a free interactive program from the World Wide Web is an alternative.             

Science in our classrooms is based on critical thinking or problem solving through scientific inquiry. What if students could virtually develop their own hypothesizes, experiments and conclusions, what if they could see through technology the way to create answers (right and wrong), not just regurgitate them from texts. Can laptops offer students the ability to be John Glenn, the first to travel anywhere, at least in their own thought processes? Gabric, Hovance, Comstock & Harnisch (2005) say: If the core of mathematics and science is about inquiry, then too many of today’s mathematics and science classrooms come up short. Students are crippled by content limited to the “What?” They get only a little bit about the “How?” and not nearly enough about the “Why?” Missing almost entirely is “Why should I care?” (p. 79) Laptops not only sustain old instructional practices, but empower students to experience the luxury and stimulation of knowing about and understanding science when there is no chance to have hands on learning.           

 Another example is collegiality. Building a classroom web site, that teachers’, students, parents and other teachers at your school have access to is a great way to build social understanding between the community. Having the students design the web site, where the teacher is the editor and advisor creates student ownership which empowers creativity and promotes student responsibility for learning.

Promoting responsibility will:

• Encourage and expect students to construct their own knowledge
• Allow students to work with their preferred media
• Choose real problems with more than one answer
• Allow students to add value to their community and the world
• Ask students to develop a team approach
• Let the teacher take on the role of collaborator
• Publish results of student inquiries
• Link problem-solving skills to standards (November, 2001. p. 52).

  Every teacher’s and students best ideas can be published on these web pages. It empowers the whole educational community, and allows parents a direct pipeline to their children’s work, and demostartes examples of how others perform/learn. It becomes the material used in hallway display case, science fairs, blogging area, and a way for the teacher and parent to communicate.            

There are multitudes of ways laptops in science classrooms accomplish new and old learning strategies everyday. Laptops offer something for all types of learners, whether individual or collaborative, visual, or kinesthetic, and auditory all styles can be used successfully on laptops. Generations X (our students) are techno-enthusiasts, and require the stimulation that laptops offer, such as multitasking, surfing, and fast communication. Looking at the internet as a learning/teaching tool would only naturally be the next step.

Access:           

The best way to start examining how crucial having access to the Internet is would be by examining Bell Atlantic’s “World School,” which is an Internet program in the West Virginia Schools and a project funded by the National Science Foundation called Common Knowledge. Respondents from this program were surveyed and overwhelmingly felt that the “use of the Internet is causing a revolution in education, changing the way students learn and modifying the [teachers] delivery technique. Integrating the Internet within education removes the constraints of the classroom from West Virginia teachers, library media specialists, and students, and provides a new global world of educational resources” (Richards, 1996. p. 64).  Common Knowledge was a four year study in a large school district in Pennsylvania and was a governmental test bed for studying Internet potential. Three years into the study, there were over 4,500 students and teachers who had access to the Internet. Then the study took a snapshot look at where the users went on the web. One example was a high school French class; they searched topics about Paris and French-English translators.

Another example was an elementary class that was looking at the weather and blogging with other students in Sweden. Although this is a small sample of the Common Knowledge research, it is representative of what the Internet was being used for. Overall, the study was not to make conclusions about learning, but of accessibility and usability (Schofield, 1997).  To refine the above access generalizations, a case study from Wiske, Rennebohm & Breit (2005) shows how access to the Internet saved a neighborhood pond. The students of Ms. Kristy’s 7^th and 8^th grade biology classes had been studying the water habitat near their school for years, but one year the students and Ms. Kristy noticed that the island in the pond was no longer inhabited by birds, due to pollution in the pond. The students applied their observations to information they found on the Internet. Accessing research on pollution, contacting others with helpful experiences, getting media exposure all led to the pond area regaining sustainability (p. 42-47).           

 An interesting way to look at access is through the lens of gender. What boys like is not what girls like, and vice versa.  Girls like access to shopping, and communication search engines like My Space and Face Book. Whereas boys seem to be attracted to gaming, sports and space. Both examples of what genders prefer are approaches that can be used to construct learning on the computer (Copper & Weaver, 2003).           

Today, the major concern for educators when considering laptops and Internet programs are the costs versus the benefits. The cost of laptops and Internet are decreasing rapidly, which is allowing access to education populations that would have never considered the technology in the past, and those that criticize technology advancement are in the minority. But, as educators we understand that the same reform dollars that are required for Internet and laptop programs are the same funds that other areas need (Warschauer, 2006).           

In analysis, the big question becomes “Does the use of computers and the Internet in science classrooms assist our work as educators, and ultimately your students’ work as learners?” The evidence from the literature shows that eventually it does.  But today the topic is still up in the air due to concerns with costs, how will learning/teaching change, how and who has access, training for computer rich environments, and the most concerning to educators is: how will the curriculum potentially change? Many “old school” teachers still resist change (Provenzo, 2005).            

Science educators must understand and redefine the following areas: the student, the curriculum, teacher needs, and context of instruction to allow for complete changing analysis in the relationship between classrooms and the use of technology. Broken down into these components, we must address further questions:

Students:

1. How do they learn?
2. How do we know what they learned?
3. What criteria do we use to evaluate success?

 Curriculum:

1. How does it relate to the real world of the student?
2. What is the place of science?
3. What should be taught?
4. How should it be structured?
5. How should it be taught?

 Teacher Understanding: 

1. What skills and qualities are needed?
2. How can they be developed?
3. How should research help?

 Context: 

1. How is it to be defined?
2. How is it to be organized?
3. What are reasonable criteria for success?
4. How can research help? (Adams, 1984. p. 7)

 It isn’t as though the above framework is different than many standardized frameworks of knowledge, but plug in science classroom technology and some areas of the framework gets sketchy. Using the curriculum as an example, how should it be taught? In the past if we had asked this question on say, photosynthesis, the answer would have been dictated by experience and textbooks. Today, we ask that question of laptops in science classrooms, and every educator would give a different and changing opinion. The discipline of science education is old and time tested, but now technology throws a kink into the mix. By its very nature, historically science is a discipline of developmental change, and in this case it will be slow in coming, but fruitful when it arrives.    

References:

Adams, F. (Ed.). (1984). Science and computers in primary education: a report of the educational research workshop held in Edinburgh (Scotland). Edinburgh, Scotland. Humanities Press. 

Akahori, K. (2002). Qualitative analysis of information communication technology use on teaching-learning process. [Electronic Version] ERIC. AN: ED476960. 

Cooper, J &Weaver, K. (2003). Gender and computers: understanding the digital divide. Mahwah, N.J.

Lawrence Erlbaum. Cuban, L. (1986). Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920.New York: Teachers College Press. 

Gabric, K., Hovance, C., Comstock, S., & Harnisch, D. (2005). Scientists in their own classroom: The use of type ll technology in the science classroom. New York. The Haworth Press. 

Greenberg, R. Raphael, J. Keller, J & Tobias, S. (1998). Teaching high school science using image processing: A case study of implementation of computer technology. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35(3). 297-327. 

Making the connection, an education week special report. (1996). Education Week, 15(16). 

Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. (2004). Personal messages that promote science learning in virtual environments. Education Psychology, 96(1), 165-173. 

McCann, T. & Jukes, I. (2001). Windows on the future: education in the age of technology. Thousand Oaks, California. Corwin Press. 

Nilson, L. &Weaver, B. (Eds.). (2005). Enhancing learning with laptops in the classroom. San Francisco, California. Joessy-Bass.  

November, A. (2001). Empowering students with technology. Arlington Heights, Ill. SkyLight Professional Development.  

Provenzo, E., Brett, A. & McCloskey, G. (2005). Computers, curriculum, and cultural change: an introduction for teachers. Hoboken, New Jersey. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 

Richards, C. (1996). The impact of the internet on teaching and learning in education as perceived by teachers, library media specialists, and students. ERIC. Ovid. ED410943.  

Roach, L. (2002). Incorporation of technology in science activities. [Electronic Revision]. Norfolk, Va. Association for Achievement in Science. 

Schofield, J. & L. Davidson. (1997). The internet in school. Arlington, Va. The National Science Foundation.  

Shane, P. & Wojnowski, B. (2005). Technology Integration Enhancing Science: Things Take Time. Science Educator.  Johnson City: Spring 2005.Vol.14, Iss. 1, p. 49-55. 

Steinberg, R. (2000). Computers in teaching science: to stimulate or not to stimulate. American Journal of Physics Teachers. 68(7). July.  

Warschauer, M. (2006). Laptops and literacy: Learning in the wireless classroom. New York. Teachers College Press. 

Wiske, M., Rennebohm Franz, K. & Breit, L. (2005). Teaching for understanding with technology. San Francisco, Ca. Jossey-Bass.  

 

Educational Technology in Science Classrooms

Hi, welcome to the on going conversation and research project that explores how technology is used in our science classrooms. My name is Mike, and I am a Graduate Student at the University of Washington Bothell in Education. Having spent about six months examining educational technology through literature and observation, I have come to the conclusion that Education Technology is the “Bottomless Pit” of growth, change and discovery. The real problem that I have encountered, is the scholarly literature takes more time to be published, than the rate of technological growth: so most the literature resemables a dinosaur.

I welocme all technology and classroom educators, or those with helpful skills to ascertain and share the latest knowledge (example: web 2.0 supporting learning in science) with eachother in this blog. My next few blogs will share the the scholarly literatue and observation fieldwork I have developed, but my goal in this blog is to take it to the next level. The level of cool, fascinating and futuristic. Finding stuff, and ways to use the stuff to help our students.

This blog was inspired by a fellow enthusiast and mentor, and we have determined blogging is the fastest, economical and convenient way to share technological knowledge.