Class is over...now what?

The best aspect of IPT 286 has been writing lesson plans. The opportunity to create a grading rubric and a lesson plan using technology was valuable and relevant. I will use these lesson plans in some form in future classes. The most challenging aspect of this class was remembering to do assignments, remembering where to turn in assignments, and the requirements of the assignment because of the lack of a paper syllabus. Also, finding access to the internet was occasionally difficult because I do not have the internet at home and the lines for computers on campus are only getting longer. My attitude has changed toward technology in so far that I am more aware of ethical issues regarding technology use in the classroom. I am not more or less inclined to use technology in the classroom, but I will be more judicious about using it when I do use it. The two things I will take away from this class are a working knowledge of blogs and an idea of how to integrate technology into my lesson plans.

Start young...

I was talking to my roomate (a third grade teacher) about what she is teaching her kids in science and math. She was writing lesson plans about measurement. It hit me how important it is to teach correct principles in the early grades. A lot of elementary teachers I have talked to recently have said that they dislike teaching science, even to the point of avoiding it as much as they can. Especially the physical sciences. Part of the problem may be that it is hard to teach physical science without the math background, but maybe the teachers just aren't prepared for it. I don't know because I am not an elementary teacher, but maybe if elementary teachers weren't so disinclined to teach physical science, kids would have a better foundation by the time they get to high school and show up in my chemistry classes. It is so important to build on the sense of wonder children have. The math can come later, but children need to see and touch and build conceptual ideas about what things like gravity, friction, heat, energy, reactions, etc. really are. If children have a strong foundation of correct principles, they will be so much more prepared to take more formal science classes in high school.

Lambert-Beer Law lesson plan

In this lab, students will use spectrophotometry to determine the concentration of ions in solution.

Subject matter/Grade level

This lab is designed for a high school chemistry class with access to a spectrophotometer.

Utah Core Curriculum

Stadard II, objective 1. Evaluate quantum energy changes in the atom in terms of the energy contained in light emissions.

Technologies


Students will use a spectrophotometer to measure absorbance at at specified wavelengths for several ions. They will measure solutions of Cu+ , Cr+, and Ni+ at various concentrations, and then determine the concentration of an unknown solution provided by the teacher. They will use excel to chart their results.

Teacher Crafted Example

The final product to be turned in for this assignment will be a lab report. The students will prepare lab report written according to formal lab report guidelines. This means that students must include an abstract, a background section, a procedure section, a results section, a conclusion, and an error analysis. They will include a description of the work done in the lab, the data they collected, the analysis of the data from Excel, and their final answer for the concentration of their unknown ion.

Assessment of the Final Product

Students will be graded on their lab report. They will get points for accuracy, and the lab report will be graded according to correctness. There will be a rubric assigning points to each section of the lab report, and describing what students recieve points for.

Ethical Considerations

The biggest area of concern for this lab is disadvatage for the students without computers at home or knowledge of Exel. To compensate for this, the students will have time in class to work on their calculations and analysis, and I will work with them in small groups to make sure that everyone knows what to do. This may create a management problem, so I will be aware of what is going on in the classroom and if certain groups seem to finish early, I will have a special project (i.e.-cleaning the lab) prepared if they create problems.

Our Deepest Fear is that We are Powerful Beyond Measure

Nelson Mandela said that we are frightened by our light, not our darkness. He said that we are all children of God, and our playing small does not serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. I know for me, this is true. I have shied away from the power within me many times. I have been afraid of letting people know who I really am. By overcoming this fear, we can help others bring out the best in themselves. Teachers can play a special role in helping their students recognize the light they hold within themselves and let it shine. Teachers need to be a model for students of confidence and of someone who is living up to a set of principles. They need to recognize that each student is a child of God and has the potential to shine and to manifest the glory within them. Students need opportunities to shine and we can give them these opportunities in class.

Ethical Issues

Recently, our IP&T class completed a discussion on ethical issues with technology in education. We covered software and media copying, flexible copyright, fair use, privacy and security issues, and cheating with technology. We talked specifically about how these issues affect teachers.

What I Learned About Ethics

This discussion opened my eyes to the wide variety of ways to break the law. Even though there are fair use laws making it easier for teachers to use copyrighted materials for educational purposes, there are still many issues to be aware of when using copyrighted information. I was aware of the basic copyright laws, but I was not aware of the specific details for some types of media. For example, I was not aware that it is only okay to play 30 seconds of a song from a cd. I also became aware of flexible copyright options. I like the idea of flexible copyright. It puts the power in the hands of the author or creator of the work. I realized that privacy and security issues have greater ethical ramifications than I had previously supposed. Letting students use the internet at school provides a way for them access content that is outside of the teacher's direct control. Teachers have an ethical responsibility to protect their students from inappropriate content. I don't know much about firewalls or other computer protection software, but if I use the internet in my classes, this will have to be something I learn. Our discussion about cheating also opened my eyes to the temptation to cheat that students face. I suppose I was somewhat naive as a high school student and didn't really pay attention to the different ways for students to cheat. Technology increases opportunities to cheat.

As a Teacher...

The thing that was the most useful to me about our discussion about ethics was the information about fair use and cheating. This information is directly applicable in teaching. As a teacher, I will probably be using the internet to find information and create assignments for my students. It was helpful to know what I am allowed to use, how much I am allowed to use, how I am allowed to use it, and what I am not allowed to use. I need to make sure that the software in my classroom all has the proper licensing. When I make handouts for my class, I need to avoid information that is copyrighted or not permitted according the fair use guidelines. I will also have rules in my class to help students avoid cheating. A big issue in chemistry could be calculators with programming capabilities. Students will not be allowed to program equations I expect them to memorize into their calculators. In class, we discussed the potential for students to copy their homework off of the internet. I do not see this a major problem in my class. If a student is concerned enough about their grade to search the internet high and low for a problem exactly similar to the one I assigned, well, good for them. But, it won't help them on a test. I expect students to work together and use whatever resources they need to figure out the problem. They may need to be taught how to work as a team without cheating by simply copying each other's work. I can have students practice this in class by assigning problems for them to work on as a group and monitoring how the class is doing at cooperating.

Lesson Plan Overview

Acid/Base Titration Lab
In this lesson, students will learn about acid/base equilibrium. They will titrate an unknown sample of KHP (potassium hydrogen phthalate) with NaOH (sodium hydroxide). They will determine the %KHP in their unknown sample by plotting their data using Excel and finding the equivalence point.

Subject Matter/Grade Level
This lesson will be designed for an AP Chemistry class in high school.

Utah Core Curriculum Standard
Students will understand the properties that describe solutions in terms of concentration, solutes, solvents, and the behavior of acids and bases.

Technologies
Students will use a pH meter to make measurments during their titration. This lesson can be adapted depending on the resources of the school. A software program and a buret with a stepper motor could be used to run the titration, but these resources are infrequently available in schools. Instead, the students can record the data by hand. They will also use Excel to analyze their data.

Teacher Crafted Example
The final product to be turned in for this lesson is a lab report. The lab report will include a description of the work done in the lab, the data that was collected, the analysis on Excel, the calculations, and the final answer for the % KHP in the unknown. The lab report will be written according to 'formal lab' guidelines. This means that students must include an abstract, a background section, a procedure section, a results section, a conclusion, and an error analysis.

Assesment of the Final Product
Students will be graded on their lab report. They will get points for accuracy, and the lab report will be graded according to correctness. There will be a rubric assigning points to each section of the lab report, and describing what students recieve points for.

Video Modeling Reflection

Here's the link to our group's video modeling reflection:

video modeling

Wiki Assignment

To Natalie and Chris who are working on the geiger counter and telescope wiki pages- I did some formatting on the wiki today, I'm not really sure what else needs to be done. What do you guys think? I looked at the assignment sheet and the only thing I think we might be missing would be links to other pages in the wiki. I'm not really sure what this means though.

Webquests

I don't know how many of you have heard of webquests, but they are nifty tools to use in class. A webquest gives a student a task, or a 'quest', and provides them with instructions and links to help them find and organize the information they need. There are all sorts of webquests in every subject area. We had to write webquests for my methods class. I've put a link on this page to the webquest portal site where you can search for webquests on any topic.

Insights after the release of Blackboard 6.0

Normally, I am not one to rant and whine about things, but I am wondering if anyone else has noticed a new phenomenon this semester after the release of Blackboard 6.0. It seems to me that every professor at BYU wants students to get everything off of Blackboard. There are all sorts of new homework assignments, online readings, and announcements to keep track of due to the popularity of Blackboard. I am getting to the point where I can't remember if my assignments are supposed to be submitted in class, on blackboard, or in the boxes in the Benson building! And, since Blackboard runs all day and all night, professors can have (and frequently do have) homework and quizzes due on days when we don't even have class. Also, who in their right mind can keep track of whether you are supposed to post something before 10:00 pm or before 2:00 am? As far as I am concerned, someone needs to tighten the reigns on the rampant use of Blackboard at this university. Talk about a great example of technology inhibiting learning.

Virtual ChemLab

Dr. Brian Woodfield at BYU has created a program called Virtual ChemLab. Students across campus (including me) use it in college chemistry courses to model laboratory experiments. It is also used in high school chemistry classes around the country. It is a great way for students to simulate laboratory experience without using dangerous or expensive chemicals, and without taking hours to actually do the experiment in the lab. Teachers can prepare unknowns for students to analyze. The program simulates actual lab procedures and conditions. If students do a reaction that would create an explosion in a real lab, they witness an explosion in the virtual lab. Virtual ChemLab cannot take the place of actual bench chemistry, but it increases opportunites for student learning.

Dr. Woodfield is giving a lecture about the Virtual ChemLab project on Monday, September 13th, at 4:00 pm in W140 of the Benson Building.

Reflecting on Technology in My K-12 Experience

My first recollection of using technology in school was about 4th grade. Our school had a tiny Macintosh computer lab that our whole class marched down to visit once every two weeks. We would spend an hour playing games on the computers. My family did not have a computer until I was in 10th grade, so this was a novel concept to me. We generally played one of three games. The first was the classic Oregon Trail. We spent 45 minutes mousing around the model of Independence Missouri taking our best guesses as to what "supplies" we would need to go west. The last 10 minutes of our computer time was spent racing to "Oregon". The other games we played were math games. One was an adventure game...something along the lines of slaying the dragon if you answered math problems correctly, and the other was a mystery game...solve the mystery by answering the math problems correctly. These experiences were nothing more than a different way to practice problems learned in the classroom. This use of technology was valuable insofar as I had the opportunity to learn how to manipulate the mouse, use a keyboard, and understand what a disk was, but my academic knowledge was not enhanced by the use of technology. This was in the early days of technology in the schools, so maybe the point was simply to have students get their hands on computers and learn to feel comfortable with them.

In high school, I remember being assigned powerpoint presentations. I had to do several presentations, and while I detested it at the time, I appreciate it as I look back. I was assigned a project on Nathaniel Hawthorne where I had to read two of his books and create a presentation on him and his work. One benefit was that I learned to use powerpoint software at an early age. Using the presentation software helped to teach students to organize their thinking. The problem I saw with this assignment was that the teacher was so focused on making sure we could use the technology that she did not teach us how to go about analyzing the literature we read. If I were to give advice to teachers about the use of technology in the classroom, the most important thing I would say would be to use technology as a tool for learning, not as a nifty gadget to play with. The incorporation of technology into the classroom must not eliminate student-teacher interaction and feedback or inhibit participation in groups. It is easy to become an isolated learner and this is the main thing teachers must guard against as they incorporate technology into their classes.

Rules of Thumb for Successful Technology Integration

After reading "Changing How and What Children Learn in School with Computer-based Technologies" by Roschelle et al. and "Computers as Mindtools for Engaging Learners in Critical Thinking" by Johassen et al., I have come up with the following rules of thumb for teachers who want to integrate technology into their classroom.

• Technology must facilitate interaction, not replace it.
• Teachers must be comfortable enough with the technology that it becomes a learning tool, not a fancy gadget to show off.