Modern Technology or More 'Traditional' Paper Based Methods

Hello All,

Humor is important.  I believe both modern electronic technology and more 'traditional' paper based methods can be effective in the classroom. 

Happy viewing,

Mrs. A

Secondary Content Review...

On and off, it’s good to brush up on content.  Sometimes it is more a matter of looking for a source that will better reach students or to save the teacher time in creating videos/presentations for flipping lessons. Online learning is a great place to start.   Two sites I like that cover a variety of subject areas including science are Khan academy and  Hippocampus.  SparkNotes is another outstanding site covering many branches of science and other subject areas.  While the first two sites have video presentations, SparkNotes is truly in a written note format. 

Happy learning,

Mrs. A 

Lab Safety Training

Hello all,

The Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI) and BioRAFT are offering a free lab safety webinar on June 25 from 1-2PM EDT with James Kaufmann, PhD presenting.  View the link for more information on topics to be covered.

The use of Flinn Safety Contracts and tests are popular in school districts around this area.  Flinn offers free online high school and middle school laboratory safety courses with a certificate option.  The site includes other safety related courses and PD opportunities as well.

Stay safe!

Mrs. A

Digital Footprints...

Hello all,

I find it ironic Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, thinks the Internet could use a delete button, since Google is busy collecting users information as they surf and contribute on the Internet in order to improve its search engine and marketing database.  This seems a change of heart from his previous anti-privacy comments from a few years ago.  Let’s face it, the youth we are teaching represent a significant portion of the data being collected.  Do they get it? Do they care??   

While I like to believe the majority of schools are doing their best to educate students and their families, I don’t think some students truly comprehend how what they post today could impact their university or employment prospects later.  As a digital immigrant, I’m still learning about privacy settings and how to protect my digital footprint, not to mention trying to keep up with the popular apps students are using such as Snapchat and Instagram.  The May 17, 2013 posting of the study, Learner Profiles: Middle School Learners and Technological Privacy, takes a closer look at the understanding middle school students have of their online actions.  While the study focuses on one specific school, it raises the question of how comparable these results are to the students we are teaching in our schools.

Enjoy the statistics,

Mrs. A

Some Music for Science

Hello all,

I was in a classroom last week with students singing the Bill Nye the Science Guy theme song.  OK...I gave them permission to sing it, if they knew it.  The brief encounter reminded me music can be a great hook for a lesson.  It can also be useful in helping students recall information and encourage them to become more familiar with vocabulary.  Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

Greg Crowther Music Links  Plenty available for Biology, Life Science, and Biochem.

Coma Niddy University Science Raps  Dark Matter, String Theory, Nanotech, Gen Science.

Educational Science Raps Great Water Cycle Rap.

Mr. Lee Gen Science, Earth Science, Life Science.  Huge fan!!

Rhythm Rhyme Results  Gen Science, Earth Science, Life Science (some require payment).

AGHS Lab Safety Rap FREE Lab Safety Rap, uses the Lab Safety rap from Rhythm Rhyme Results.

The Singing Zoologist  The name says it all.  May be better suited for elementary students.

Have Fun Teaching  Quite a variety here, including subjects other than science.

The Hurricane Song Classic song about hurricanes.

The Element Song Classic by Tom Lehrer.  Updated list, including elements Fl and Lv from 2012.

Mr. Edmond’s Density to the tune Popular  He has many other, mostly Physical Science, videos with visuals here.

I’ll save the Mole Day goodies for closer to the special date ;-).

Happy listening,

Mrs. A

Thinking NGSS and Literacy??

Hello all,

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are out! I’d like to share with you Understanding the Next Generation Science Standards MOOC through the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh STEMlab with Dr. Eric Brunsell. A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course.  The course is free, but for a small fee students can earn a certificate proving their participation and completion of the course.  If you haven’t discovered Paul Anderson of Bozeman Biology on You Tube, he has a number of excellent short videos to help navigate the NGSS that will eventually cover all of the Science and Engineering Practices, Cross Cutting Concepts and Disciplinary Core Ideas.  I was a big fan of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) resources in the past and I continue to be with the webinars and journal articles regarding the NGSS.  I highly recommend joining NSTA.  The organization was a tremendous help to me when I was starting out as a science teacher.  I also recommend joining the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers.  Their conference will be held in Appleton next spring.  NEW ChemShare has also been beneficial from the presentation on NGSS to listening to teachers bounce ideas off one another to learning about upcoming professional development opportunities. I'd be happy to forward you the contact information for NEW ChemShare if you contact me.  Sometimes it’s just nice to meet new people working out in the field.

Happy viewing,

Mrs. A

Earthquake Blogging

Hello all,

I’ve been in search of two blogs relevant to my unit topic for class, earthquakes. I discovered the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) and the Seismo Blog out of the University of California Berkley Seismological Laboratory. The PNSN blog focuses mostly on the Washington and Oregon areas.  A January post shows seismographs pickup on more than ground vibrations from earthquakes, such as sonic booms from bolides entering the atmosphere. It’s fun to click on the seismograms link and view the station clusters and activity. I truly enjoyed the variety of earthquake information available on the Seismo blog. The site offers current news stories, information on recent earthquakes, and content on earthquake predictions and warning worldwide. 

Happy viewing,

Mrs. A