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!