Hot Topics 3D printing and Augmented Reality - Activity 16 - We made it!

This is it!  We have made it.  My last blog of this class is on 2 hot topics in Technology - 3D printing and Augmented Reality.

3D Printing

I love science fiction, especially Star Trek.  When I watched some of the older reruns I realized that the once fictional technology, is now here!  If you watch Star Trek, their hand held devices are just like iPads and even technology that I thought was impossible like a replicator is now here as 3D printers!



Star Trek Deep Space Nine - 04x24

How it works

So how does a 3D printer work?  It starts with a 3D computer drawing.  Google even has a free program called sketchup you can use to make your drawing.  The drawing is then "sliced" into horizontal layers about 0.1 mm thick (varies) and the printer then prints (but not with ink) one 3D layer at a time, putting successive layers on top until the object is formed . Various materials are used instead of ink to make the 3D layers. The material is typically a powder of metal or polymer that is then fused together after each layer (often with a laser), a polymeric liquid that is solidified by cooling or cured by a laser or a solid laminate that is cut to the size of each layer and stuck together with an adhesive.  Specialty printers have even used food (chocolate) or skin cells as the "ink".  The Yoda below shows the process of the polymeric material being added 1 layer at a time.

Applications

The applications of the 3D printing are growing everyday. Hobbyists use printers to make special toys and prototypes like the above Yoda.  They can also share their projects on a google+ community.  You can own your own printer for about $200 from a company like Makibox or you can buy a kit to make one from pieces that were made with a 3D printer!   But 3D printing also can be so much more.  It can be used to make cars/car parts, bionic ears, bikinis, chocolate creations, bone reconstructions, buildings, furniture, chemical compounds, hip replacements, aerospace parts......NASA recently paid a $125,000 grant to a firm to build a food replicator to make pizza in space and the Wake Forest University Military Research Center is using 3D printer to print skin cells on burn patients as shown below.  Several sites list these interesting uses of 3D printers: 7 cool uses in medicine, 10 weird uses and top 10 world changing 3D innovations.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Google Sky Map App
by Danie van der Merwe

What is augmented reality?  It is the real world (live or video) that has been enhanced (overlain) by computer generated input of sound, graphics, text, pictures or even smells.  You have seen it as the first down line of a televised football game or in numerous smart phone/iPad apps (OK, I need to get a smart phone!).  I believe our school uses AR in our astronomy class.  If you place your phone/iPad camera towards the night sky there are many apps that will identify the stars/planets/constellations you are seeing.  Just as with 3D printing, the applications are growing everyday.  As they often say "There's an app for that!"  Many of the current apps revolve around geography/traveling.  You can see street names, distances, longitude/latitude, building names, nearby restaurants, directions, subway locations, friend locations and much more depending on which app you use.  There are numerous list of apps such as -40 best AR iPhone apps to find just what you need.  There are also cool apps to see what your house would look like if you bought that new coach, that directly translate signs in another language and numerous one to play video games that are set in your street or home (you can fight Zombies in your own yard!)

One of the latest trends in AR is to move away from hand held devices and see the augmented world through glasses.  Google is currently testing some glasses which will have a viewing device on the side.  You can talk to the glasses (like your smart phone) and have it display information or take pictures or movies.  The Google Glass view is shown below.

Applications to my classroom

I don't know how 3D printing and AR will impact my classroom, but I am looking forward to finding out and I am glad I know more about them.  I plan to continue to be a life long learner after this class and there seems to be so much to keep on learning!  That's a good thing.

My So Called Computer Life - Digital Storytelling - Activity 15

I am not going to be a voice over actress!  Sad but true - because it took me about 100 takes to get this down.  I really want to flip some of my classes - but I will have to get better or it will take too long!  I recorded this using screencast-o-matic the program itself was really easy and I highly recommend it. My digital story is about "My so called computer life" and looks back at my first computer memories and looks forward to how this Web 2.0 class will hopefully impact my teaching.

Professional development on the couch (not usually in my PJ's!) - Activity 14

I found 2 great sessions at the 2012 k12 online conference, both on flipping a classroom.  I chose them because I definitely want to do some flipped classes next year. The first one I watched was entitled The Flipped Class for Administrators by Jon Bergmann and the second was Sreencasting 101.  Even though the flipped session was listed for administrators, I thought it would have some tips for me and it did.  The major question he posed was "What is the best use of face-to-face time with students?" -which he states is  for active engaged learning not lecture.  He also talks about myths of flipping.  One of the myths was that flipping is all about the videos.  He says no! It's not about the videos, it's what you have time to do in the classroom.  I really liked this because I want to do more labs and activities with my students.  I also liked that he was a chemistry teacher!

The second video I watched was about screencasting by Laura Constantini.  She gives 7 reasons why to record and share a video (like saves repeating insturction and students can learn at their own pace).  She then describes several programs you can use to do your own screencasting and gives tips for making a good screencast (like put the dog outside and have a plan!).  I thought the information was helpful and I hope use information from both.  These professional development tools online for free are great and its almost pajama time!

Formative Assessments - Flubaroo, Socrative, and Padlet - Activity 13

Google forms - flubaroo

I'm really excited about these formative assessments!  Last year I wanted to add more formative assessments, weekly homework quizzes to tell if the students mastered the material and to give a way for the students to judge how they were doing.  Unfortunately, I didn't follow through with my goal - mostly because of time.  Even short quizzes, seemed to take 20 minutes or so and then add the discussion afterwards and half a class period was easily gone.  I love the idea of quick short quizzes students can take online and I also love all the tools for gathering the data.  The only drawback I see with these quizzes is that it is too easy for students to look up the answers and not do the work unaided.  I think I will just stresss academic honesty, not count them for points and just use for gathering information.  The google forms with the flubaroo grading application was easy to use to gather information.  I made a quiz for significant figures, a topic that feedback would really benefit students. 

Socrative

I also was really liked socrative, especially for the live quiz, exit strategy options.  We have clickers in our department but you have to check them out.  I find anything that is not in my room is used less often.  Before I had the projector in the room, I rarely checked one out.  Once it was mounted in the room, I found myself using it all the time.  I will have to see how many of my students have smart phones.  If enough of them can access the internet, I would like to try the live quizzes and exit slips.  If not, then socrative is also just another online, take later, quiz option like google forms, gnowledge and quizstar (all programs I have looked at and there are many more).  I plan on using some online quiz form next year on a regular basis.  I will not have time (except my own!) as an excuse anymore.

Padlet

Padlet was not a quiz program.  It was like a live bulletin board, where many people could simultaneously post comments or videos or pictures.  I tried one with a colleague (Jaime).  We first just talked back and forth and tried it as a straight feed or a random wall.  Then we thought our students could use it to brainstorm a question.  We imagined what they might said and I captured our wall below. 

 

More free stuff! - TedEd, Khan Academy, MIT, and PheT - Activity 12

Last year, I was really envious of one of my colleagues (OK, I can often be envious!) who flipped his class.  What a change in the classroom!  He often lectured before and the students took notes.  Now when I go by his class, students are always up and about doing a variety of tasks and not all the same ones.  Some will be on computers, some working on a lab and some discussing.  It is so much fun to see the transformation.  He had spent years perfecting his PowerPoints for his lectures, but now he taped his lecture with the PowerPoints and put them online.  Homework is watching the lectures and class time is everything else.  I wondered how I could do something similar, but I did not lecture as much and I have few PowerPoints that I could easily narrate and put online.  I would have to start from scratch - too much time! Here is where I might be able to use sites like TedEd,  Khan Academy, and MIT.

TedEd

I searched TedEd and they have limited chemistry resources currently.  I found one on Mendeleev that I might use, but not for flipping, more for just added info.The video is below by TedEd.

Khan Academy

Then I went to Khan Academy, and the problem is finding a video that you like the entire content or I should say that you like how they present the material.  I tried one on periodic table trends and it gave an oversimplified view of why alkali metals have low ionization energies.  They state that it is because if they lose an electron then they can become like a noble gas.  This fails to include the real reason - that due to the increased shielding (lower effective nuclear charge) and distance from the nucleus that the energy needed to remove the valence electron is small. (I know -Blah, Blah, Blah for the non-chemists).  Finding the right video, and the right content became a little bit more difficult.  I then tried another video from Khan and the lecturer kept calling the chloride ion, chlorine.  It is these errors that I am having difficulty with.  One way I have used a video in the past is to add disclaimers for students when viewing if the disclaimer is small.

MIT

The MIT open courseware is quite amazing.  The site has full classes online with lectures, notes, exams and everything.  It also has a section on chemistry demonstrations.  I put one of them below, by MITopencourseware.  I usually prefer to do the demo myself, but I may have the students go watch the detailed explanation of the demo from the videos after we do them in class.  I may also have my students watch all or part of some of the 1 hour lectures provided.

PheT

This site has great animations.  I really like to add these so that students can see what is happening on a molecular or atomic level.  This one shows what happens to gas molecules if you heat them in a closed container.

Me?

After looking at so many sites, I was still envious of my colleague.  I think if I want it (the lesson) to be like I want it -it would be great if I could at least do a few of my own videos.  I would like to learn more about how to do that too. 

Creative Commons - Reflections on copyright, fair use - Activity 11

By: www.lumaxart.com/

Oops! I am sure I have not always followed correct practice for using internet material, or properly informed my students of how to use it.  I hopefully was covered most of the time in the past by fair use and educational use because the material was not openly posted on the web, but what if we openly blog, or Google+, or create Weebly web pages?  I need to follow and teach proper copyright, fair use policies.  The creative commons site was great!  I had no idea! Now I can search and use material properly and feel more confident if the work is displayed online. I'm glad the creative commons quiz, did not involve questions about my past use of internet material!  I did get a 10/10. 

One thing that also struck me while learning more about copyright was ownership of material.  Do I own my own lesson plans, or does district 113?  I always assumed I did- but now I am not sure. 

Prezi, Voki, Blabberize and Gickr - Activites 8, 9, and 10

This week at Northwestern where I am doing research, I need to submit a short PowerPoint describing the project I am working on - I thought perfect! - I hope they will take a Prezi instead!  So I made my first Prezi (also below) .  It took awhile to get started but then it got easier.  I like the idea of an overall picture - story that the presentation is telling.  In my classroom, I can use it myself or have students create their own. I am sure I will do both next year.  Then after they are created, we can share them  in class or put online and share that way. For the Voki,I just learned that in the other Web class that I am concurrently taking so I included it here, but I also did the blabberize website (see Koala below!)  Both are fun little attention getters, that I hope to periodically use to spice up posts online (I haven't decided if I want a class blog or Google+ community - currently I am leaning to a community?)

As for the animoto, I also had done this in class last year.  My students made presentations on scientific instruments. They watched each others and graded them too.  Instead of doing another animoto, I tried Gickr.  You can make a little slide show, like flash, from pictures. I took some pictures from a bridge build project that I use to do in chem/phys class several years ago.  This too, may make a good element on a web page, blog or post (but it also kind of makes me dizzy!)  The Gickr can be found at animated gif maker.

Reflections on Google+ Activity 7

I just had fun video "hangingout" with my techie daughter.  It felt good because I had to explain Google+ to her and how to have a hangout.  A long time ago we use to Skype, this worked much better.  I also look forward to trying a live educational hangout later.  I am starting to realize how much is available "free" with Google.  The docs, spreadsheets, video conferencing all use to be from paid products.  It is amazing how much Google has to offer!

For my circles, I added our class, chemistry teachers, and family.  I really like the idea that I can share with just certain people.  I have a picture with my students that I put up just for our class and not to the public.  I can see a real benefit in personalizing who I share with.  I also joined some communities.  I chose some science ones and a Doctor Who one too just for fun.

#Thiswillbeastretch - Activity 6 - Twitter

I must admit that this will be a stretch - not the part about being on twitter, or frequently checking twitter, I already do that - but what I don't do is actively participate.  I rarely tweet myself, I simply use it passively.  It has been a great source of news and fun for me to follow the Northwestern basketball team and my favorite former players.  How else would I know the latest from Strasbourg France where John Shurna played this year or that he just had a workout with the Houston Rockets.  Yes, I even follow french tweeters!

My following also was just for fun.  No professional or school related topics.  So can I use it for school?  Do I need more than 1 twitter account?  One of the articles said you should have a focus as a tweeter.  Do I tweet just school related ideas for other teachers, or do I use it to communicate with students?  I guess this is what I will still have to figure out.  I tried to catch a live chat on chemistry, but I was a little too late in the evening.  I will have to give this a try next Thursday.  So where is the stretch for me?  I guess it is still thinking of what to say!  Do I have anything that I want to add in 140 characters and who will be listening?

Google Chrome "Overdrive"! - Activity 5

My initial thoughts on Google Chrome were OK - a browser is a browser (although I know one of my techie daughters says that they are definitely not the same!) so I realize that I am just in the exploration process. I was glad to learn that I could transfer my bookmarks/favorites from internet explorer, because I use them a lot.  Then I went to the Chrome Web Store and my mind was overwhelmed.  I must admit that I don't even like to shop at Jewel or Dominick's because the stores are too big and I have too many choices and it takes too much of my time.  I like my little neighborhood store, Morningfields (although Walgreen's is taking

My favorite store

their space!) instead.  So internet stores are just crazy too many choices and so much time needed to choose.  I  did try the ones suggested but with mixed feelings.  I liked the Read and Write Google Doc, although it is only a trial.  It was great to have the document read out loud!  When I edit, I sometimes read papers out loud to catch extra mistakes.  I think this could really benefit students.  Hearing and seeing can also reinforce learning.  After I found the little icon in the corner of Chrome for the Dictionary app, I did like that one too.  I am reading a lot of technical papers this summer and I tried one with the dictionary's help and it was great.  I wasn't fond of many of the others.  The Todo.ly task list could be done in the calendar instead and I am trying to avoid using too many programs all at the same time.  In the overwhelming category also I thought the sharing page on Edmodo was just one more site that I would not have time to go too.  I am a novice on some of the others, like the URL ones.  I guess I will need to see if they sometime will be useful.  I installed an extra chemistry periodic table app but it is similar to many websites I already use.  So words of advice from a Morningfields kind of person, let's just hang in there and use what helps and keep the rest in the back of our minds for maybe later and now I am hungry for some bakery!

Googling and goggling! - Activity 4

link to original picture

As I sit here in front of a computer at Northwestern University, where I should be working on photoanodes used for water splitting or sitting by the lake, I felt compelled to blog about all things Google (don't tell NU!).  I was inspired because I just sent my postdoc mentor a Google Doc of our meeting from this morning for her to preview and edit before I open it up and share it with the Professor! It is good that I am in this course!  I can see this being a real benefit this year.  In the past, I would do just like some of the videos we watched said!  I would email a draft of my NU paper to different people, they would separately edit.  I would then take or not take the edits and send the updated version to each person.  Sometimes it was madness! - so I am hoping this year it will be much better (although I do fear edits that I don't agree with - I believe Google does keep previous versions - I am interested in seeing how that works too).

I can see that this cooperative editing can be very helpful and I hope to also use this idea in my classroom.  I would like my students to write reports together and I want them to be able to critique other students writing.   I was thinking that I might split the class in half for each lab.  Half of the class (possible half of the lab groups) would be writers and half would be critiquers for each formal lab report.  One lab group would write the report and share it with another group who would be their designated critiquers.  After both groups were done, then they should share the document with me. Next lab, the groups would switch roles.

As for other Google applications, I also like the live spreadsheet.  Last year at the end of some labs, students frantically wrote their group's data on the board to share with each other for the analysis and then had to quickly write it all down before leaving class.  (I did let some use their cell phones to take pictures of class data on the board!)  A live spreadsheet would work great instead.  They could all add their data and access it from anywhere!  The form template was also interesting - I think I want to have a new student survey using the forms.

The Google calendar also brought great ideas to mind.  I've always wondered what all my students were doing at school activities.  I think I will have a calendar for each class where students can put down the play times or home soccer games or mathletes match - our own activities calendar.  I also have students do SciFri - science in the news on Fridays.  They are assigned dates for each quarter and often forget. A class calendar for that would also be great.  Finally, I do not know if I am ambitious enough to have a calendar of updated homework and due dates.  Perhaps if a student a week was in charge?  I will have to give it some thought.  There are still only so many hours in the work day!  (Oops - back to work at NU!)

Blogging as a reflective process - Activity 3 - Stretch

After reading the blog about blogging! I agree that it is important in teaching to reflect on our practices and blogging can be one vehicle to do this.  This course and my previous posts are already a start on reflecting about how Web 2.0 can, will and should or could be used in my classroom.  It also reminded me of 14 learner-centered principles that the district use to incorporate based on A Learner-Centered Perspective by Barbara L McCombs.   Principle 5 was entitled - Thinking about Thinking, it dealt with how this process can help "facilitate creative and critical thinking"  I think it also applies to thinking about teaching and reflecting on our practices.  This gives me more incentive to have the students blog, so they can think about their own thought processes and learn from it.

Video on Web 2.0 and the 21st Century Classroom - Activity 2

Here is a video I found on 21st Century Education.  I hope you enjoy!

Thoughts about Web 2.0 - Activity 2

Reflections from my past

A slide rule, if you have not seen one!
by Roger Mclassus derivative work Beao

I am showing my age, but when I was in college one of the chemistry professors for his introductory chemistry class taught his students how to use a slide rule and made them use it in class.  He thought it was very important and an invaluable tool, even though he was a young professor (20's) and his students had used a hand held calculator since high school (OK - it was 1975! and I first owned a TI SR 10 in high school).

Reflections from today

Sometimes, unfortunately, teachers are behind in bringing the tools of the day to the classroom, including myself.  Web 2.0 is a valuable set of tools that both our students and ourselves already use.  It must be part of our ever changing classroom.  Personally, I use the web to get my news, interact on message boards, see pictures of friends and family on Facebook, follow french basketball, check twitter and tweet.  My students likely do even much more.

My current and future use of Web 2.0 in the classroom

I have already taken advantage of some of the Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.  My students have: made their own Animoto videos, shared research projects on Weebly web sites, and used Google documents to collaborate on lab reports.  I have a school web page with assignments, targets, and handouts. However, I believe there is so much more available.  I have tried to envision some of what could happen in the classroom (I like to picture the end goals in mind! - see activity 1 reflection).  What might that look like?  Here was some of my initial brainstorming of what I may want to add to my classroom.  I expect the list will change as I continue in this course.

• Have more "find it on the internet" assignments - as our text
• Students and myself create videos for each target
• Critique other groups lab reports on Google documents before submitting
• Flip some class time (video concepts online - more lab time in class)
• Class blog or web site with get to know you section
• Online study groups
• Students assigned to keep - what we did this week section with references
• Skype other scientists - what careers are available
• Journal research
• Format quizzes online for students to check their own understanding
• Access equipment remotely online - like scanning electron microscope

To support my learning

I expect that my own learning will continue to be more and more Web based.  I have found that when I have a new interest or curiosity, I go to the Web to learn.  This school year I followed my favorite Northwestern basketball player as he graduated and then was signed by a team in Strasbourg, France.  The internet allowed me to follow games, watch video, relearn French with an interactive web program, find Facebook pages, read message posts and follow new people on Twitter.  It has been quite fun and I learned a lot along the way.  I always want to keep learning - school stuff too!

Reflections on lifelong learning - Activity 1

I consider myself a lifelong learner.  After viewing the video 7 1/2 habits of effective life long learners, I found myself identifying with some of the habits, falling short of others and wondering why some habits I thought should be included were missing.

Identified with...

Right from the beginning, I felt connected with Habit 1 - Begin with the end in mind.  When it comes to teaching, I am a big picture thinker.  I think of what I want my students to have learned in my class - what are the big goals (the end goals)?  I want them to be able to act and think like scientists.  I want them to be able to design their own labs, obtain good data, critically analyze that data, justify results, communicate findings, try something that fails and try again, etc..  I sometimes get frustrated when dealing with targets (although I find them very important and useful for my students.) My frustrations only come when they fail to include these big ideas and end goals in mind.  So what are my end goals as a student for this class? I realize that I do not make full use of the many advantages that Web 2.0 can offer myself and my students.  I am eagerly looking forward to learning what I can add to my classroom to increase student learning and communication. How can Web 2.0 help with my big end goals for my class?

Falling short....

I also quickly felt that I fell very short on Habit 3 - View problems as challenges.  Especially when dealing with technology, I view problems as headaches, a crisis to deal with, and not as learning opportunities.  I have often even avoided using technology because of the headaches and unreliability.  Even while I am writing this, I am feeling very hypocritical.  I tell my students all the time that failure in the lab (when you are designing your own procedures)  is to be expected and this is often where we learn the most.  I tell them they need to try again. This often frustrates them, but also is truly rewarding in the end, and it is the nature of doing science.  I have not had this same approach to technology, but it is true that I have learned many new tricks of the trade when mistakes have come along.  

Missing....

After the video, I felt like some important habits (or traits) were missing.  I think effective lifelong learners are people who are curious and follow through.  They always want to learn more and then find a way to learn it.  

Most need for for this course....

For me personally to succeed in this course, I think I want to concentrate on creating my own learning toolbox (or a better one) - Habit 5.  As I commented on this in the video, I have a good start with two of daughters who do web programming for a living (although I forget to ask them for help!), but I would like to learn more to help me in those crisis moments.  I want to be more confident in being able to use technology in the classroom and to be able to handle the problems as they come along, because they always do!