After fiddling around with Google Earth for a while flying around the world, I thought of possible uses for it in Biology. The one topic I could see myself using it in is Ecology, it could certainly enhance some parts of the unit and allow for a more constructivist and applied approach to learning about human population dynamics or different types of habitats.
They need to search the coordinates for the park, and find them on Google Earth.
They mark the spot with a placemark, explore the area and take a screenshot indicative of their habitat.
They look at terrain, weather, images, videos to infer the type of wildlife that would live there, and answer questions such as "What abiotic factors would come into play in an environment like this?", "What are the biggest threats that wildlife in this kind of environment face?" etc.
The entire project could take the shape of a class wiki or even offer the possibility of collaboration between several classes. Each group would make a page for their habitat including all geographic as well as ecological information, include links, photos, videos...
Going back to my ed-tech guiding principles though, I wonder whether this is a tool I could realistically use in my teaching. Would it be a worthy time investment? Would it help the students understand the topic better than they would without it? Would they be able to do something with this tool they weren't able to do before in terms of building on their subject knowledge? I think the answers to these questions would depend very much on that particular group of students. Might be good as an extra credit project for the more motivated students in the class.
This week I really saw the power of all these networking sites. It was great "recognizing" people in different places, seeing how others have been networking. An example of this is the bio network I joined called "The Synapse". Someone there saw my blog questions about copyrights, send me some links, signed up to follow me on Twitter, I'm now following him, etc and I "see" a lot of familiar faces, all sending out really helpful info... ahhh, so this is how it works! Some examples of what I found through my PLN this week:
Royalty Free music- Soundz Abound (from gardenglen via twitter)
Thanks to @berrendsci for directing me to Cmap Tools software for making concept maps. Along the same lines, I found an awesome list of other concept mapping tools through a link sent to me by @cytochromec. Check them out here!
Scott McLeod has a blog called "Dangerously Irrelevant" which I started following and he sent a link via twitter to his top blog posts which are thought provoking and some reports from the NECC. I especially liked his post called Web 2.0 Smackdown post with a list of webtools that people presented.
From rabernt I learned about Clif's Notes blog which has a lot of useful info, like the presentation with tips on ways to use video cameras in the classroom which I posted earlier.
and the list goes on...
On a more personal note, I apologize for not replying to my blog post comments, tweets or reading other people's blogs in the past couple of days. I was having a baby... here is the newest addition to our family, Sofia, born this past Friday 3rd, right on time. And no, I wasn't blogging while giving birth! I had written up a couple of posts at the beginning of the week and had them "Scheduled" to be posted so they would be spread out through out the week (to schedule a post, click on "Post options" below the blog post edit box and set the date and time you want it published). We need to stay in the hospital for a few more days, so I might be a bit slow getting things out. Still working on the copyright post, coming soon...
I can't remember where amongst my PLN I got this link from over the past week, but here is a neat little online tool called MyStudyio for making quizzes. It is free, very easy to use, creating a quiz only take a few minutes and you can stick in video, audio or images within the quiz to make it multimedia. You can chose between multiple choice and open-ended questions, set a time limit for each question and display results at the end. Use them as a fun add-on to your blog or for assessment purposes with your students. Sharing them and embedding them into your website just takes the click of a button. Try this one I made...
I have come accross several sources listing PhotoPeach as a great tool to use with students. It's a free, web-based tool that uses still images to create a slide show/ video. You can create a "digital story" within minutes following these basic steps:
1. Uplodad photos from your computer, Picasa or Facebook. 2. Arrange them in the order you want them to play (easy click and drag). 3. Add a title slide and music from the selections available. 4. Edit the story to add captions to slides and change the speed at which it plays.
Students could this tool:
to present a topic (eg. The Link between Malaria and Mosquitoes)
to summarize a lab experiment using pictures of their procedure and results (eg. Making Biofuel in the Chemistry Lab)
to explore a guiding question using only pictures and captions to explain their answer (eg. Why Do Species Become "Endangered"?)
to document a field trip
to introduce themselves in 60 seconds at the beginning of the year (can't remember where I got this from, but not my idea).
to review a topic (eg. Forces, Human Circulation, Metals and Non-Metals)
Here is an example that I made about the places I've lived in the past 30 years.
My Pit Stops on PhotoPeach
The slideshow can be shared via email, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and it can also be embeded or linked. Then people who watch it can leave comments. It is pretty limited in what it can do other than the steps mentioned above (ie. you can't download your own music, or edit the text or slides you add), but it's perfect to use in the class because the process is so straightforward and the uploading of images is fast. They could come to class with their photos and notes and finish puting together the digital story before the period is over. This could be followed by screenings and discussions the next lesson.
There are more advanced tools for making digital stories (eg. those that allow you to add your own voice recording to the story or edit transitions between images). Animoto is similar to PhotoPeach in terms of ease of use, and has a couple extra features like adding your own audio and spotlighting images for more emphasis, and it automatically creates cool effects around your photos but it takes a few minutes for the video to be created for you and you need to pay for an account if you want unlimited full length videos (I think this may be different if you apply for a class account, check here). Fun though, worth checking out and the customized audio possibility would allow students to create an audio recording to go over their photos as a narrative.
You can also use movie editing programs like iMovie, Movie Maker or even PowerPoint to create digital stories, though they require more of a learning process and time for editing. Please comment if you have had students make digital stories in your classroom or if know of any other related software/ webtools. Thanks!
Find links related to (more advanced) digital storytelling here.
Since we're exploring the use of digital images and videos this week, here is a presentation created by Tom Barrett on tips for using a video camera in the classroom, some great ideas!
Another online webinar I recently attended in Live Classroom 2.0 was about the newest social network for teachers, officially launched this past weekend at EdubloggerCon 2009: LearnCentral (www.learncentral.org). Steve Hargadon and Gailene Nelson, involved in the creation of LearnCentral, were the guest speakers. The full recording can be found here: TheBUZZ about LearnCentral
Learn Central, has been designed as a platform from which to access other Web 2.0 tools. It is still a work in progress, so there are still bugs and features that don't work, and they welcome any suggestion you have about how to improve it or what addional features you want to see. It includes Profile (used as an electronic portfolio), Forum (for discussions), Photo/ Video/ Audio (content repository), Directories (to find people/ PLN), Groups (use as learning teams).
What can be done on Learn Central (in their own words)
Connect with your peers worldwide
Share ideas, discuss issues, solve problems
Meet with colleagues in real time
Develop and share standards-based curriculum
Access a library of peer-rated resources
Discover relevant content for your classroom
Improve skills and increase effectiveness
Create and maintain a portfolio of learning content
Join and create groups
Collaborate on projects and best practices
Mentor and be mentored
Increase visibility of an academic institution
Conduct professional development training
Attend events with thought leaders in the education community
Participate in a global dialogue to help transform education
I haven't explored it enough yet, I am sure there are a number of great features that I have yet to discover, but as of right now, I think the main feature that sets Learn Central appart from other teacher networks is that each member gets their own free Elluminate vRoom. This is a virtual room in which you can invite colleagues to hold online conferences (three people at a time). My favorite thing about Elluminate are being able to share your desktop (so you can show people how to use different webtools, and they can follow what you are doing on your computer in real time).
With so many already established education network sites out there, I'm curious as to where it's going to go... You can follow the latest updates re: Learn Central on twitter @learncentral
Has anyone joined yet? I would love to hear your impressions.
Here is a list of places (other than YouTube and TeacherTube) where you can find free videos to show in your Science classroom. Please add any other you know of as a comment below and I'll add them to this list!
PBS Nova A collection of Nova Programs which can be watched online for free, though not downloaded. Can be searched by topic and are divided into chapters so you can show specific segments in class.
Snag Films Stream full length documentaries from free (from biggies like "Supersize Me" to smaller projects by first-time filmmakers). You can "snag" any of them and post them on your own website as a widget. You can search by topic and movies have ratings and reviews.
Vega Science Trust Videos A UK collection of free Science videos for streaming. Include interviews with Nobel prize winners, discussions on current issues in Science, lectures, career profiles and research highlights.
Next Vista A free, online video library of educational videos made by teachers and students for other learners worldwide. Videos divided into three categories: Light Bulbs (Introductions to topics), Global Views (perspectives around the world) and Seeing Service (about those who are making a difference).
Secrets of The Sequence Videos I have used these frequently in my Biology, Biotechnology and Forensics classes. 50 free videos and lesson plans about Life Science topics- the genetics ones are great! You can stream or download them. Provided by Virginia Commonwealth University.
HHMI- Biointeractive Video clips provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Segments of their lecture series on different topics related to human health, can be searched by topic and also have animations and lesson ideas to go with them.
Discovery Channel Videos Get video clips from Discovery channel shows, web-exclusive sneak previews and mini documentaries and you can also watch some full-length shows. Videos can be shared via Facebook or delicious for example, but not embedded.
Encyclomedia A free video clip encyclopedia that covers a variety of topics including health, nature, people and science. You need to pay for the full-length video, but the clips are complete enough to show in class as a supplement to a topic. Teacher's Domain This is an awesome site I just came accross. It has great resources for teaching and professional development, and its well organized and easy to navigate through. Free, just register, then search for Science resources- great videos and other teaching materials. Worth checking out!
National Geographic Channel Videos Watch hundreds of documentaries (some full length, others segments) and even embed them into your blog/ website. Here is an example about deadly Australian spiders...
.jpg)
Flickr/mtoran
Twitter/mtoran
YouTube/mtoran2978
Del.icio.us/mtoran
GMail/Marta
Diigo/mtoran