ImagineIT Timeline
Looking Back
The task at hand is to review my year long project, reflect on what I would do differently and use that reflection to plan for the rest of the year. Looking back on my Final report I stated that I wanted my students to use technology to express their knowledge. I am still in awe of what they accomplished! Reading their reflective essays I noticed that many of them wished they could have used technologies that other students had utilized; I want to give them that opportunity. I feel that students connected with the river and how they impacted the watershed. I wish to continue that connection during our exploration of evolution and genetic concepts.
Planning technology tasks that challenge my students and continue to have students reflect on how they impact the world around them are two areas to expand my project. My two main goals are:
To do this I wish to plan short tasks that students must share on our Google classroom site. I would like to complete 2 short tasks and 1 involved task. I am still thinking about the 2 short tasks but I am certain I would like the last involved task to be another technology recording much like what the students completed after the Ecology Unit. This time I would like the students to complete individual projects where they reflect on what they have learned throughout the school year. I would like one short task to be associated with Evolution and one short task with Genetics. The reflective task would focus on reflection of the various Ecology, Evolution and Genetic concepts covered throughout the year.
The task at hand is to review my year long project, reflect on what I would do differently and use that reflection to plan for the rest of the year. Looking back on my Final report I stated that I wanted my students to use technology to express their knowledge. I am still in awe of what they accomplished! Reading their reflective essays I noticed that many of them wished they could have used technologies that other students had utilized; I want to give them that opportunity. I feel that students connected with the river and how they impacted the watershed. I wish to continue that connection during our exploration of evolution and genetic concepts.
Planning technology tasks that challenge my students and continue to have students reflect on how they impact the world around them are two areas to expand my project. My two main goals are:
- Plan out shorter tasks that challenge students to use technology to express their knowledge of science content.
- Continue to challenge students to explore how they impact the world around them specifically the local watershed.
To do this I wish to plan short tasks that students must share on our Google classroom site. I would like to complete 2 short tasks and 1 involved task. I am still thinking about the 2 short tasks but I am certain I would like the last involved task to be another technology recording much like what the students completed after the Ecology Unit. This time I would like the students to complete individual projects where they reflect on what they have learned throughout the school year. I would like one short task to be associated with Evolution and one short task with Genetics. The reflective task would focus on reflection of the various Ecology, Evolution and Genetic concepts covered throughout the year.
ImagineIT Spring Update #1
My goals for this semester were as follows:
To facilitate my first goal I have my students utilizing Google Classroom; a work in progress but we are getting the hang of it while we finish up our Evolution Unit. Students are completing activities that provide evidence to support the theory of Natural Selection. The smaller tasks that students have completed include making graphs of various data from our activities using google sheets and posting them on google classroom. Recently I hit a snag; I could not figure out how to format a certain type of graph.
My remedy, go “old school”.
Students make graphs using graph paper, take a photo with their Chromebooks, and then post to google classroom. I was surprised that my students found this to be challenging in various ways. Some students had no idea how to take a photo, others had difficulty how to align both graphs in one photo that is viewable.
- Plan out shorter tasks that challenge students to use technology to express their knowledge of science content.
- Continue to challenge students to explore how they impact the world around them specifically the local watershed.
To facilitate my first goal I have my students utilizing Google Classroom; a work in progress but we are getting the hang of it while we finish up our Evolution Unit. Students are completing activities that provide evidence to support the theory of Natural Selection. The smaller tasks that students have completed include making graphs of various data from our activities using google sheets and posting them on google classroom. Recently I hit a snag; I could not figure out how to format a certain type of graph.
My remedy, go “old school”.
Students make graphs using graph paper, take a photo with their Chromebooks, and then post to google classroom. I was surprised that my students found this to be challenging in various ways. Some students had no idea how to take a photo, others had difficulty how to align both graphs in one photo that is viewable.
I was impressed how students worked and shared their knowledge! While this took longer than I wanted, many skills were learned/applied/reinforced. Students thought about how to scale their graphs (something automatic in google sheets), they were communicating their needs to others, collaborated to complete the task, and shared their experiences. Students who have informed me at the beginning of the Ecology project that they, “don’t know how to do anything with a Chromebook”, are gaining digital confidence!
I still need to work on connecting Evolution Concepts to what is happening in the Chicago River Watershed. I plan on addressing this in the upcoming weeks by having students reflect similarly to their reflections on the Ecology Unit. These reflections will then be used at the end of the year to help students in their final project.
I still need to work on connecting Evolution Concepts to what is happening in the Chicago River Watershed. I plan on addressing this in the upcoming weeks by having students reflect similarly to their reflections on the Ecology Unit. These reflections will then be used at the end of the year to help students in their final project.
ImagineIT Spring Update #2
My goals for the spring semester was to:
The 2nd short task for my students was to address a Evolution misconception visually. Students were to:
I was impressed with their ideas! Students found a free comic maker! (http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/)
I was impressed with how students adapted the assignment to meet their needs. Some students posted photos but others used digital artwork.
- Plan out shorter tasks that challenge students to use technology to express their knowledge of science content.
- Continue to challenge students to explore how they impact the world around them specifically the local watershed.
The 2nd short task for my students was to address a Evolution misconception visually. Students were to:
- Find a common misconception. I listed them in a data table within in the assignment.
- Discuss the misconception and why it is incorrect. Students created a google doc and in a short paragraph described the data supporting the correction to the misconception.
- Create a piece of digital artwork that addresses the misconception. This could be a meme, comic, or a photo of an illustration they created.
- A rationale behind their artwork. Why did they choose that particular media.
I was impressed with their ideas! Students found a free comic maker! (http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/)
I was impressed with how students adapted the assignment to meet their needs. Some students posted photos but others used digital artwork.
My plan is to have them reflect on this experience. What did they learn about not only Evolution but about how to present information? What did you have to think about when you were creating your artwork? What new digital tools have they used?
I am still brainstorming about how to connect back to the local environment. Now that they have artwork, I am going to have them reflect and think about how the information they learned. I will be posting in my google classroom the following question.
How does this apply to how we interact with the Chicago watershed? What are we doing to the Chicago watershed organisms’ evolution???
I am interested to see what they say.
I am still brainstorming about how to connect back to the local environment. Now that they have artwork, I am going to have them reflect and think about how the information they learned. I will be posting in my google classroom the following question.
How does this apply to how we interact with the Chicago watershed? What are we doing to the Chicago watershed organisms’ evolution???
I am interested to see what they say.
ImagineIT Final Report
Throughout the year I have focused on infusing various learning experiences throughout my curriculum with the goal of students making connections between science and their daily lives. As I reflect on the year I have learned much about my students and myself. This entire process has made me more aware of how reflection and universal design has such an impact. In July I was challenged to think about what goals I have for my students. What big ideas to I want them to take with them into adulthood. I came up with “Empowering Students with STEM: Connections Matter”. Having the overall goal helped to shape the learning tasks throughout the year. Using authentic tasks and infusing technology helped to make these connection happen in my classroom.
I reached out to the peer and student groups I spoke with in October and was extremely impressed with what they had to say. Students reported to me that the technology projects I assigned throughout the school year not only were educational but they have more self-confidence to tackle technological tasks. This was unexpected! Creating videos, memes, animations and comic strips helped them boost their confidence and creativity. I noticed their body language while students were reporting to me. When they discussed these projects, their shoulders became straighter and they sat taller. Students also reported that they enjoyed Google Classroom; they enjoyed the various readings, videos and computer interactives I chose for them to aid in instruction.
I have learned much about teaching and this has influenced me greatly. I always knew that I impacted students but I now realize that my influence is more than academic. Fostering skills and exposing students to numerous technologies in addition to science content is essential for student success beyond the classroom. As I plan units, I must be more aware of the various skill sets that students must learn to not only understand science content, but apply and extend that content to situation that have yet to exist! The Next Generation Science Standards Crosscutting concepts are a good guide to help me meet this goal. However, in the future I will be aware of technology skills in addition to the crosscutting concepts. I feel I am a better teacher because of this experience but the more I live, the more I learn and realize that there is more I need to know!
I reached out to the peer and student groups I spoke with in October and was extremely impressed with what they had to say. Students reported to me that the technology projects I assigned throughout the school year not only were educational but they have more self-confidence to tackle technological tasks. This was unexpected! Creating videos, memes, animations and comic strips helped them boost their confidence and creativity. I noticed their body language while students were reporting to me. When they discussed these projects, their shoulders became straighter and they sat taller. Students also reported that they enjoyed Google Classroom; they enjoyed the various readings, videos and computer interactives I chose for them to aid in instruction.
I have learned much about teaching and this has influenced me greatly. I always knew that I impacted students but I now realize that my influence is more than academic. Fostering skills and exposing students to numerous technologies in addition to science content is essential for student success beyond the classroom. As I plan units, I must be more aware of the various skill sets that students must learn to not only understand science content, but apply and extend that content to situation that have yet to exist! The Next Generation Science Standards Crosscutting concepts are a good guide to help me meet this goal. However, in the future I will be aware of technology skills in addition to the crosscutting concepts. I feel I am a better teacher because of this experience but the more I live, the more I learn and realize that there is more I need to know!