I Tigers

2010-05-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

i touch

2010-05-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

i chem

2010-05-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

We performed a lab a month ago that used the touches to balance equations, and also determine the amount of reagent and products needed in a chemical reaction. This lab required the students to balance an equation. After balancing the equation, they used the touches to check their answers. This was done by using the application I Chemistry. This application displays an interactive periodic table that allows you to click on an element and add it to a chemical equation. After the entire equation is created, you have an option to balance the equation. Using the lab write up, the students were then given the amount of one of the reactants in the reaction. They placed this mass into the mass calculator portion of the touch, and it gave the masses needed to react with the given amount of reagent. This helped us out in this lab because it allowed the students to do something that they would other wise not be able to do in this course. We do not cover stoichometry in this class, and the kids would not be able to determine the amount of other reactants needed without the power of technology. Our kids were excited using these devices for this purpose. They later used these masses to actually perform the experiment at hand.

There were a couple of problems with the applications while using the i-touches. First, the students thought the screen size was too small. Some students had difficulty clicking on the correct element, and moving around the screen.

A Little Overdue....

2010-05-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the iMovie I made as a "model" for my students when they were working on their energy projects. I made mine on "Lab Safety," just to give them an idea of how iMovie worked. Anyways, just thought I'd share....... its a little goofy, but the kids enjoyed it :)

Class Project

2010-05-28T08:15:00.001-07:00

Last week we finished up our unit on Waves by making a class electromagnetic spectrum. Each class was divided into seven groups of 2 or 3 and assigned a specific region (UV Light, Gamma Rays, etc.). The students used the Macs to complete their research, and I think for the most part they prefer the MacBooks over PCs. They have said its more user friendly. Sometimes I'll bring a COW in if the Macs aren't available, but its amazing the reaction I get when the students see the Macs sitting on the tables when they come into the classroom. They seem much more excited to be in class, which also makes me happy!

using the flip camera

2009-12-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

The flip camera is a valuable resource to enable us to film weekly labs, so that students who are absent and return to class are able to view the filmed lab or sometimes a demo and still be able to participate and complete a lab. This also gives them knowledge that benefits them on lab quizes or tests. They have proved easy to use and are one of our favorite pieces of equipment.

Sync cart

2009-12-10T10:44:00.001-08:00

Sync cart is now working.

The great thing about the itouches

2009-12-10T08:01:00.001-08:00

There are some things that make the I touch great in the classroom. Many of these things can increase student performance and participation in the classroom. First, when there are Apps. that can apply for a lesson, they are usually successful lessons. Early in the year, we wanted to find an app. that used the physics concept of speed by using distance and time. We found an app in which the students are given a distance, and then they run their fingers along the track on the screen. As this goes on the app. is taking the time. When they finish the race if finished, the students can determine their average speed by dividing the distance by the time. We did not get to completely use this app. in our classes, because we found it after this unit. However, I tried it with a couple of students (and teachers), and they loved it. This assignment could have been done on a worksheet, but the touches make this assignment more interactive (hands on), and the students loved the competition of racing each other. I plan on using this during the review for our final when we talk about speed.

Secondly, the I touches allows students to catch up for tutorials and assistance by simply pressing play and listening to a pod cast. One problem that many teachers face is the fact that more and more students miss days for various reasons. It is sometimes difficult to keep up with all of the students that missed a day. One way that the I touches can and have made this easier is that they allow teachers to record lessons, and labs (in the case of science,) for students that missed class. This eases the teacher's responsibility because they don't have to repeat themselves over and over again for each student that missed a class or a lab. With the touches, the teacher simply records 1 lecture out of a class, and then sync the lecture or lab on an I touch. Now, the students can get a touch, and simply press play. The teacher is still there for assistance if the there is any confusion, but many of the higher level students can watch a podcast and catch up on a lesson. This is a big advantage of the I touches.

Finally, the touches give students a personal feel. This means that they can use them and send information or say things via the microphone and sync application, which they normally would not express on front of the class. This is great for the speaking portion because they can send a voice note directly to the teacher. This personal touch to the i pods make them great for educational usage.

overall use of equipment

2009-12-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

This semester I have not been able to use the equipment for a number of reasons:
1. Our curriculum is already set to the calendar with little to no room for extra time to do other things
2. There are no Physics based apps available at the high school level
3. Time it takes for all students to use equipment ex. 3 macbooks when you have 28 students in a class
4. it was suggested we use italk with students discussions, the problem with that is I have 5 sections with a total of 120 students. the time it would take to listen to what the students talked about would not be a smart use of my time as compared to what the students gained from the exercise.
5. there are more apps available for the spring sememster of chemistry that I hope to use it more often but to just let the students use the technology just to use it will not accomplish the goals of teaching the TEKS for IPC

Energy Project Success!

2009-12-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

We finally finished our Energy Projects the Friday before Thanksgiving- I am so proud of the students. Each was assigned a group and chose an energy topic of their choice (renewable/ nonrenewable resources, global warming, types of energy, etc.). After researching their topic, they created short videos using iMovie to present to the class.

They absolutely loved iMovie. It wasn't hard getting them to work with the program- they all jumped right in. They love anything new and different.

We learned a lot- I think I learned the most. One thing I regret is that the kids were so hyped up about the equipment and program that they "forgot" about content- it seemed like they were more interested in making an "awesome looking" video rather than checking spelling, keeping track of sources, etc. We will definitely be using this program again, so I think the next time we won't have that problem.

I also had a couple of kids complain about the differences between Macs and PCs, for example, getting used to the different programs and Mac specific features. It would also be nice to have a class set of the Macs- it would be great for each student to get accustomed to the software in a shorter amount of time and they could work more on individual or partner projects rather than in larger groups.

Overall, this was a HUGE learning experience for all of us. I am excited to do this again in the future and with all the positive feedback from the students I know they are as well.

Mrs. Spicer

Podcasting a test for the first time

2009-10-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

The first attempt to make a podcast of reading the IPC test for my Sped students was basically successful, but did have its challenges. The first thing I learned was to practice reading the test aloud more before making the podcast. I realized after listening to a playback that I should go more slowly sometimes, faster other times, have the papers I read from spread out in front of me so that I do not waste time fumbling for the next thing to say. Allow more processing time for students to think before going on to the next question. Anticipate what questions might be asked regarding the section that I am reading and make clarifications. Give students the opportunity to evaluate whether they prefer using a podcast vs. having the test read aloud in person. Some students were bothered by the large headphones, and I know didn't replay the questions as often as they would have asked for them to be read, by a living breathing person.

Sometimes the process is more time consuming that it might seem to be worth.

Newton's Site Enjoyed by all

2009-10-13T08:50:00.001-07:00

My students used the Discovery Newton's site that Ms Spicer found and loved it. I also think it was a great review of Newton's three laws. Using only 3 laptops were ran out of time and not everyone finished so we will be finishing this week

Ms Kohler

Logging on to the internet from home.

2009-10-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

The first couple of fustrating problems that I had with the Macs involved logging in at home. The first time, we were unable to log in at all because there was a networking problem. This was soon fixed from the district. The second problem was being able to access my wireless network from the Macs. This was needed to browse itunes for application downloads. I was told to click on the airport and select my connection. When I did this, I received a prompt that asked me for an administrators pass word. I created a video that I tried to up load to this blog that did not work (for some reason). I later figured out how to solve this problem. I figured out that I can click on Safari. When I click on Safari I received a message that told me that I did not have internet service on this computer. A click on icon appears on this screen as well. If you click on it the computer searches for networks in the area. At this point, you can click on your network, and you will be connected. I whish this could have been solved in a more timely fashion.

Welcome Back Tigers

2009-08-18T12:32:00.001-07:00

You are now part of the I Tiger team. Continue to check this blog page for future updates and instructions.