What is our Sputnik?

When I read this article it forced me to really evaluate the need for a national promotion of science that filters all the way into our local and state governments.  My parents generation was pushed forward into the space race and eventually many of the technologies we use today stemmed from that era.  We need to promote the building of new technology at all levels of government by providing the students of today opportunities to take part in real life research using government grants.  Lets inspire a nation of students who ask why instead of why not, lets not allow partisanship to hinder scientific development.  It is time to get behind another cause, whether it be medical technology or something else to allow all students to become excited about the scientific fields again.  Lets offer scholarships for students who chose to spend at least five years in the clean energy field developing new ways to save our planet, but most importantly lets stop saying we can't and begin with a dream.  After all, isn't that what the moon landing was, a dream that came true through many years of constant perseverance.  It's time that we in America found a new dream, one that propels this decades students into STEM careers.

Natural Disasters

Students that I teach have had experiences living through natural disasters as they have all been through Hurricane Charly in 1995.  They get these type of natural disasters, but when different kinds occur throughout the United States and the world I try to allow my students to participate in classroom talks regarding different disasters.  It allows them to voice their fears and allows me to address misconceptions that they may have regarding the science behind these disasters.  We are part of the United Way fundraising campaign, so to allow my students to have a chance to participate in volunteering to help individuals who have been affected, I would get in touch with the individuals who are the representatives in my school and see what could be done.  I see that students really are impacted by the things that happen within their country and world.  It would be a good thing for these individuals to help others who have been through disasters.  

Ask a Scientist

Dear Colleagues,

Well I posted my question last week on ask a scientist, and it was prob. on of the most worthwhile things I have done in a while for one reason.  It forced me to find a question that I did not know the answer to in a field that I consider myself an expert in.  Through this experience, I was able to gain new knowledge and I began researching things inside the genetics field again and realized a lot has change since I got out of college.  I have yet to receive an answer, but i think this assignment gave me a new vigor for the process of keeping on top of the new advances in the scientific field in which I teach.

I think creating a blog with local scientist that mimics an ask the scientist like forum would be a great way to involve students with the local scientific community and pique their interests within the scientific research that is going on within their area.  Such a unique way to get both the buy in of the stakeholders within the community and the stakeholders within your classroom.  Buy in is key to any educational experience and can lead to students gaining more knowledge and being more successful in class. 

Presentation Tools

My goodness, I had no idea there were so many presentation tools available out on the web.  What I liked about all of them was their relative ease of use.  Most of them reminded me of a power point or photo story format, so these are very familiar to me.  I use them a lot already, so it feels like I am just expanding my knowledge.

At this point I think I am going to use Prezenit for a two fold reason.  One, I love the idea that individuals can access my presentation.  It to me seems like a great way to make presentations accessible to students who are absent or cannot be in class for specific purposes.  I also like the available pictures and the ability to upload pictures that you would like into your project.  The ease of use was exemplary because it not only was easy to use, but there were a lot of easy to read and use help sections. 

This evaluation was difficult for me, there are so many interesting and seemingly easy to use tools, but until you really get into the design and completion of you project will you really know how easy or difficult each program was.  I am excited to use and learn about these projects and I hope to eventually become an expert on a couple of these in order to increase my presentation skills within the classroom and add an ease of accessibility to my students who need the information at home. 

Tech resources

Share your topic and “most powerful” web addresses and hyperlink sites on your blog. This gives you and your colleagues an open resource of ideas to draw from on 21st-century topics and tools.

thinkcentral.com-our textbook site is one of the best things I have found
NASA.gov-perfect for looking at the universe and posting questions to astronauts

Explain how you expect these tools will help prepare your students to be 21st-century scientifically literate citizens.

These sites allow students to manipulate new science concepts because of the up to date technology they use to integrate new scientific discoveries into their learning.  They are also useful because many state are connected to these two sites, allowing the current NEST standards to be uploaded and part of their lessons

Describe at least one physical science activity you can plan around the use of one of these tools. Identify how this tool will help to engage students in the subject matter/topic of the activity.

I would like to look at the gravitational forces placed on objects on different places in space using the NASA website.  Students have a difficult time remembering the difference between weight and mass and the online sources they have regarding the gravitational pull of different planets on different bodies.  The website allows students to "travel" to the different planets which allows them to "see" what their weight would be on different bodies in the universe.

Share challenges you might face in integrating the use of this tool into your instruction.

The biggest challenge I for see is the ability to schedule time in our computer lab.  The issue is the fact that with online testing and teachers who need to be in the lab at certain times for state testing, it is very difficult for teachers to get into the lab.  Without this resource and the manipulation the resource makes available, it will be difficult to have our students actually see what is happening with their weight.

Week 4-Heat

What, specifically, would you like students to learn from this experiment? Did you achieve this goal when you engaged in the experiment?

I would like students to learn about insulation and more importantly how that insulation can help keep a body warm in cold weather situations.  It is important for the student to understand that every piece of science can solve practical problems.  It is important for students to realize this.

I accomplished this because I looked at it from a football fan stand point.  My parents and many of their closest friends are Buffalo Bills season ticket holders.  It is important for them to be able to keep themselves warm for extended periods of time because of the cold temperatures that plague many of the home games.  Therefore, I would like my students to realize that there are easy ways to test specific things so that they give you the most practical use.  Therefore, science can solve the simplest of problems that you or society may have.

Physical Guided Inquiry-week 2

During my experiment I looked at how friction would stop or hinder the momentum of a marble.  My results were that it rolled furthest on linoleum and concrete, and less far on carpeting and grass.  I expected the grass to have the most friction, but because it was just cut, it actually provided less friction than I originally expected

The experiment went pretty well.  I think that it was very beneficial that I brought home the walking meter stick for measurements so that they were as accurate as possible.  I would have really liked to use some sort of delivery device so that I could guarantee the velocity of the marble at the start of the experiment.  Instead i had to rely on my ability to roll it the same exact way.  I believe that this could have impacted my experiment.

I would use a ramp to start the marble next time so that it would have the same velocity and momentum for each experiment and trial.  Making sure to control all variables except the independent variable is important for not only reproducibility, but for accurate initial results as well

I think I would use toy cars instead of marbles and have the students determine how momentum would be impacted by different road surfaces. I would then have them right a proposal to the city council to defend their results for repaving the roads with a different surface than what is currently used. 

I would like students to really understand that everything will remain in motion unless friction is present.  I also think it is important for the students to realize that different surfaces will have different impacts on motion.  For the most part I achieved my goal in this experiment, so therefore with a few modification I would be able to do this with my students and have them understand the concepts that I believe this lab best represents.