Erica and I went to Kansas City to the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) convention. We drove down on Wednesday and Erica walked me to the convention center where I met my group for the first learning activity I had scheduled, which was a 'behind the scenes' tour of the zoo. Life Science is one of my favorite. The tour guide took us to a place public usually doesn't get to see, which was a quarantined glass room (we were outside the glass, of course) for a frog that was extinct in the wild from a fungus. They were breeding these frogs and reintroducing them to the wild by the thousands. The problem was that last year they counted only four released frogs still living (they were all chipped with tracking devises). They predicted that all amphibians would be extinct within 25 years. Their skin is so absorbent that toxins were highly problematic to their systems.
I went to a session by J.Carrie Launius and E.Wendy Saul on 21st Century Science Inquiry, a session by Cathy Wissehr on Building an Outdoor Classroom, a session on Discovery-based Middle School Science on the PASCO SPARK Science Learning System (which is a hand-held computer devise used to teach science to students which combines science discovery with data collection). Grant Wood has 6 of these devises, so I plan to figure out what grant sites are using them and I hope to help them use the devises on site.
The science exhibit hall was full of great hands-on science learning. I could have spent all day in there. They certainly have some amazing stuff. One piece of equipment was of special interest to Erica, so we tried to win it. It was a digital microscope that hooks right up to the computer. We stayed for the drawing and we WON!!! Erica had wanted to show this to a lot of schools, so now she has the opportunity to do that!!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Oct 22-25
IMSEP, or the Iowa Math and Science Education Partnership, sent a group of us to Washington D.C. for the U.S. Science Expo. We left the 22nd, and stayed at the Plaza Hotel. I learned how to use the Metro, and enjoyed seeing the beautiful architecture in D.C. Saturday morning we met to explain the exhibit to all of those who would be working at the booth. Erica, Jim and I had 2 exhibits to explain. One was "Catching the Wind", which was a windmill that kids can make out of an orange carton and several other things from home. The other was a propeller/rubber band on a line that could be wound to go. These two activities came from EIE (Engineering is Elementary) and FOSS. We showed people how they worked, and split up the 2 hours shifts. We had people come early, so Erica and I started off with a 3 hour shift. The kids were very interested in our activities, because we asked them a lot of engaging questions, and they liked figuring out the engineering behind the activities. Erica ran the propeller activity. She asked them if they thought they could make it go. Almost all of the kids began to blow on the propeller. She did not tell them what to do, but gently led their thinking by asking questions until they had success in winding the propeller. Then they had to figure out how to make it go the other way, which took winding the propeller the other way (counter clockwise, for instance, instead of clockwise). She had similar responses from 18 year olds blowing on it as she did 4 year olds. The art of questioning was the secret to unlocking the learner's potential understandings. I ran the windmill exhibit. I asked them to choose a blade system that they thought would make the windmill turn. They would choose one, and we would turn on the fan, which represented the wind. They tried several, and through questioning they noticed that blades could have different shapes, materials and numbers on each system. It was not possible with this activity to come to a certain conclusion as to which shape of blade worked best, because we had too many variables, (being homemade blades and homemade systems which were not exact), but through our observation we could see that some work better than others. One of the other things that the visitors learned was about how the windmill converted wind energy into mechanical energy when the windmill lifted the bucket. Little ones especially loved putting weights into the bucket to see if it could do work. We then let them design a blade and choose a material for the blade to put on our engineering design chart. I told them that they were being 'engineers' when they did that, so they would take home the idea of an example of what an engineer does. We also had two activities at the other table which more precisely compared blade systems and their effectiveness and measured the wind speed in exhaled breath.
We worked the booth both days, and had a little time to look at the other exhibits, but it was a pretty packed weekend by the time we worked our booths and did all the walking required to get from place to place (even with the Metro). We did get to the National Archives, and walked a long way to leave a note on the Veteran's Memorial Wall for a friend. We had a bomb scare at one point in which we had to leave our exhibit, and we were not allowed to go see Lincoln Memorial, which we had walked a long way to see, but we didn't get blown up on the Metro, which we later learned had been a foiled plot, so all was well.
We felt like we reached hundreds and hundreds of kids and that we passed on hands-on energy ideas to many teachers, and we felt like our booth was successful in its mission. The NASA booth across the aisle asked how we got so much interest in our booth. We knew it engaged the learner. Well.
We worked the booth both days, and had a little time to look at the other exhibits, but it was a pretty packed weekend by the time we worked our booths and did all the walking required to get from place to place (even with the Metro). We did get to the National Archives, and walked a long way to leave a note on the Veteran's Memorial Wall for a friend. We had a bomb scare at one point in which we had to leave our exhibit, and we were not allowed to go see Lincoln Memorial, which we had walked a long way to see, but we didn't get blown up on the Metro, which we later learned had been a foiled plot, so all was well.
We felt like we reached hundreds and hundreds of kids and that we passed on hands-on energy ideas to many teachers, and we felt like our booth was successful in its mission. The NASA booth across the aisle asked how we got so much interest in our booth. We knew it engaged the learner. Well.
Friday, October 15, 2010
October 14
Today I went to Des Moines for a meeting with the Iowa Department of Education about the state-wide STEM initiative and the Common Standards that would replace the Iowa Core Curriculum.
We learned that the Iowa Core and the Common Core will become one document by the end of the year. Rita Martins and Judith Spittle spoke about the transition of the Common Core to the Iowa Core and said that the Common Core is not a curriculum..but rather, it is a set of common goals. It will be grade specific..not in spans like 3-5 etc...
We discussed how we could increase STEM learning in Iowa. Changing the funding, teaching in a more project based way, putting STEM into the vision of ELI and Evey Student Counts were some of the ideas.
There is a website for us to use called Iowastem.org.
They said that minority populations of students are being accelerated out of STEM fields and we need to level the number of minority students going into STEM fields so it matches the percentage of population they represent in Iowa.
We met as a science group after lunch. We were asked to nominate a secondary science teacher for the presidential teaching award. Yvette McCulley led this part of the meeting.
These are the NSTA strategic goals:
1. Promote active participation of all teachers of science in improving science education.
2. Advocate for the central role of science education to benefit students and society
3. Support high quality science teaching to improve student learning for the 21st Century.
4. Influence research in science education and promote it's wide application to improve science teaching and student learning.
Mary Sullivan talked about data and evaluation. We discussed using information such as what professional development corresponds with what kind of achievement scores. We discussed sharing information better. One of the university representatives said that she'd like more information on how students excel so she could lead them better to a career in college.
I was really wondering about how we compare our data with other nations and whether most countries send all children to school the way we do...such as low functioning or low sociology-economic populations. I asked Mary Sullivan, and she said she didn't know, but she'd find out, and she took my business card to hopefully get back to me.
-Colleen Anderson spoke about Theory of Action. We made short, medium and long term goals for science education in Iowa.
-Evan Abbey talked about online learning initiatives..the website is http://bit.lyonlineinitiatives
-There will be a statewide Moodle server with online tools being developed
Moodle.aea11.k12.ia.us/moodle
-We received a 2.7 million dollar grant for Iowa schools to deliver online content courses, especially for districts to offer courses to small numbers of students.
-Iowa learning online is a DE initiative
OLLIE. Is online learning for Iowa educators
Jeff Weld is going to have Tonja Richards interview me next week for their newspaper. He said I'd be a great STEM story.
It was fun to go to a Department of Education meeting. I've never been to one before, and it was nice to learn about what they are like. I didn't know that the universities were communicating so well with the Department of Education, and that's nice to see!
We learned that the Iowa Core and the Common Core will become one document by the end of the year. Rita Martins and Judith Spittle spoke about the transition of the Common Core to the Iowa Core and said that the Common Core is not a curriculum..but rather, it is a set of common goals. It will be grade specific..not in spans like 3-5 etc...
We discussed how we could increase STEM learning in Iowa. Changing the funding, teaching in a more project based way, putting STEM into the vision of ELI and Evey Student Counts were some of the ideas.
There is a website for us to use called Iowastem.org.
They said that minority populations of students are being accelerated out of STEM fields and we need to level the number of minority students going into STEM fields so it matches the percentage of population they represent in Iowa.
We met as a science group after lunch. We were asked to nominate a secondary science teacher for the presidential teaching award. Yvette McCulley led this part of the meeting.
These are the NSTA strategic goals:
1. Promote active participation of all teachers of science in improving science education.
2. Advocate for the central role of science education to benefit students and society
3. Support high quality science teaching to improve student learning for the 21st Century.
4. Influence research in science education and promote it's wide application to improve science teaching and student learning.
Mary Sullivan talked about data and evaluation. We discussed using information such as what professional development corresponds with what kind of achievement scores. We discussed sharing information better. One of the university representatives said that she'd like more information on how students excel so she could lead them better to a career in college.
I was really wondering about how we compare our data with other nations and whether most countries send all children to school the way we do...such as low functioning or low sociology-economic populations. I asked Mary Sullivan, and she said she didn't know, but she'd find out, and she took my business card to hopefully get back to me.
-Colleen Anderson spoke about Theory of Action. We made short, medium and long term goals for science education in Iowa.
-Evan Abbey talked about online learning initiatives..the website is http://bit.lyonlineinitiatives
-There will be a statewide Moodle server with online tools being developed
Moodle.aea11.k12.ia.us/moodle
-We received a 2.7 million dollar grant for Iowa schools to deliver online content courses, especially for districts to offer courses to small numbers of students.
-Iowa learning online is a DE initiative
OLLIE. Is online learning for Iowa educators
Jeff Weld is going to have Tonja Richards interview me next week for their newspaper. He said I'd be a great STEM story.
It was fun to go to a Department of Education meeting. I've never been to one before, and it was nice to learn about what they are like. I didn't know that the universities were communicating so well with the Department of Education, and that's nice to see!
Oct 13
Today I met with Jim Thornton to go over plans for the November 4 luncheon and program for the new grant recipients. Jim is such a big help to me because he really has a handle on everything that should happen. What a safety net he is! He is a retired administrator who helps with the STEM-Grants as a part time job, and his expertise is invaluable. We went through the slides for the slide show and changed what we needed to change. We discussed who would need to present, the food, and the schedule. I have a list of what I need to do before then, and we're in good shape.
After the meeting with Jim I spent the rest of the day going through the grant applications and checking them off with the e-mails, going to the front desk and to the mailbox to make sure I had them all and then organizing them. I made a copy of the ones that didn't have more than one copy so that Jim could have a copy of each of them. He also wanted a typed list of them. I finished this and put them in a file for him, because we'd be meeting at the CSI-OSO (Corridor Stem Initiative Out of School Opportunities) meeting at 4. I barely finished all this in time to get there, but made it on time to Prairie for this meeting. We reported that we had more grants than we'd be able to accept, and we may be able to take 3 out of the 6 or 7 (we may have 7...still checking on one that may come in) instead of 2. We will have a grant reading committee with people from different disciplines on the 19th, at which time we will choose one. The Daughters Night out for STEM is this coming Monday evening, and Christopher, Jim and I were the ones there from Grant Wood. I met Dick Whitehead for the first time. He mentioned a name; Paula Loffsguard (spelling?), which I am pretty sure is a Newton name from my past. I need to find out. This meeting went a little later than they usually do, and I wasn't home till 6, and I knew I had to be back at Grant Wood by 6:20 A.M., so it was a whirlwind day!!
After the meeting with Jim I spent the rest of the day going through the grant applications and checking them off with the e-mails, going to the front desk and to the mailbox to make sure I had them all and then organizing them. I made a copy of the ones that didn't have more than one copy so that Jim could have a copy of each of them. He also wanted a typed list of them. I finished this and put them in a file for him, because we'd be meeting at the CSI-OSO (Corridor Stem Initiative Out of School Opportunities) meeting at 4. I barely finished all this in time to get there, but made it on time to Prairie for this meeting. We reported that we had more grants than we'd be able to accept, and we may be able to take 3 out of the 6 or 7 (we may have 7...still checking on one that may come in) instead of 2. We will have a grant reading committee with people from different disciplines on the 19th, at which time we will choose one. The Daughters Night out for STEM is this coming Monday evening, and Christopher, Jim and I were the ones there from Grant Wood. I met Dick Whitehead for the first time. He mentioned a name; Paula Loffsguard (spelling?), which I am pretty sure is a Newton name from my past. I need to find out. This meeting went a little later than they usually do, and I wasn't home till 6, and I knew I had to be back at Grant Wood by 6:20 A.M., so it was a whirlwind day!!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
October 12
Doug Johnson was the keynote speaker today at the second day of the I-Tech Conference. His topic was about teaching the Next-Gen (next generation) learners.
He said that discrimination and evaluation skills are important, and students need guides more than ever with all of these new technology tools. He spoke about their learning styles, and said that they are social learners...they seek personal information and are informal learners...they have hypertext minds who read visual images, they like inductive discovery, they learn by dong, and they shift their attention rapidly and expect fast responses. He said that they need engaging activities...not just entertaining activities.
His message was to use technology in the schools instead of banning it. He liked the use of cell phones to have students respond to surveys. He advises that we
teach copywriter rules from the point of view of the creator by having them create things that they wouldn't want copied and discuss it.
Have them work on things that matter...give assignments that are worth their time..make sure assignments are relevant to them.
He said that it will be easier to teach the next generation learners by changing the way we teach than changing the way they learn. I liked his speech very much, and agreed with him. I mostly liked the respect he had for the learners of today, and the way he wished for them to be embraced for the amazing learners they are and to embrace technology for the amazing tool that it is. Especially with guidance!
I went to Vendor Hall and asked a lot of questions of the vendors to find out what was new. I ran into someone who was working with Mount Vernon to get their one-to-one initiative going; hopefully this year.
My favorite session today was by Morrie Reece, and it was on using i-pad in the science classroom. I learned about a lot of nice apps for the i-pad, and I didn't know that you could use a wireless microscope (a pricey one...though) with the i-pad. He used a document camera to project the i-pad to the screen. He had one that zoomed in on the parts of the internal anatomy...even into the ventricles of the heart.
He said that discrimination and evaluation skills are important, and students need guides more than ever with all of these new technology tools. He spoke about their learning styles, and said that they are social learners...they seek personal information and are informal learners...they have hypertext minds who read visual images, they like inductive discovery, they learn by dong, and they shift their attention rapidly and expect fast responses. He said that they need engaging activities...not just entertaining activities.
His message was to use technology in the schools instead of banning it. He liked the use of cell phones to have students respond to surveys. He advises that we
teach copywriter rules from the point of view of the creator by having them create things that they wouldn't want copied and discuss it.
Have them work on things that matter...give assignments that are worth their time..make sure assignments are relevant to them.
He said that it will be easier to teach the next generation learners by changing the way we teach than changing the way they learn. I liked his speech very much, and agreed with him. I mostly liked the respect he had for the learners of today, and the way he wished for them to be embraced for the amazing learners they are and to embrace technology for the amazing tool that it is. Especially with guidance!
I went to Vendor Hall and asked a lot of questions of the vendors to find out what was new. I ran into someone who was working with Mount Vernon to get their one-to-one initiative going; hopefully this year.
My favorite session today was by Morrie Reece, and it was on using i-pad in the science classroom. I learned about a lot of nice apps for the i-pad, and I didn't know that you could use a wireless microscope (a pricey one...though) with the i-pad. He used a document camera to project the i-pad to the screen. He had one that zoomed in on the parts of the internal anatomy...even into the ventricles of the heart.
Monday, October 11, 2010
October 11
Today I went to an ITEC conference (Iowa Technology Education Connection). One of my favorite things that the keynote speaker said was that a great leader was knowledgable, trustworthy and generous with their time. She said that technology needs to be 'people-centric'.
I went to Vendor Hall, where they had all kinds of great technology from Smart Boards to battery back-up systems to keyboards and software. My favorite was a new document camera called a 'Lady Bug' that is more well designed, in my opinion, than the one I have used. The price for the least expensive one is two hundred some dollars. I Will encourage some of the teachers I know to apply for a grant to get one. I'd like to see more of these in classrooms.
I took a flier to show some people.
My favorite workshop was called 'Gadgets!'. I learned about a lot of new programs like Google Talk, which will turn notes into a document using optical character recognition. I took note of a way to send RSS feeds to myself, such as newspaper articles on particular subjects. They stressed that Twitter was a good educational tool, and it could be used to feed updates to a website using Widgets.
I went to a workshop called 'What's New from Apple'. I was disappointed in this session, which was more geared for authorized purchasers from schools.
I look forward to going again tomorrow. I'll know my way around a bit better and I'll be able to enjoy even more technical gadget information! I really do love technology!!!!
After the conference I went to Mount Vernon to meet with the ELP teacher about EIE kits. She was interested in one of them, so I left the manual for her to read. I also told her that I might want to work with the fourth graders so that students outside of ELP(Extended Learning Opportunities...which is the gifted and talented class for Mount Vernon) also got to experience EIE (Engineering is Elementary).
I went to Vendor Hall, where they had all kinds of great technology from Smart Boards to battery back-up systems to keyboards and software. My favorite was a new document camera called a 'Lady Bug' that is more well designed, in my opinion, than the one I have used. The price for the least expensive one is two hundred some dollars. I Will encourage some of the teachers I know to apply for a grant to get one. I'd like to see more of these in classrooms.
I took a flier to show some people.
My favorite workshop was called 'Gadgets!'. I learned about a lot of new programs like Google Talk, which will turn notes into a document using optical character recognition. I took note of a way to send RSS feeds to myself, such as newspaper articles on particular subjects. They stressed that Twitter was a good educational tool, and it could be used to feed updates to a website using Widgets.
I went to a workshop called 'What's New from Apple'. I was disappointed in this session, which was more geared for authorized purchasers from schools.
I look forward to going again tomorrow. I'll know my way around a bit better and I'll be able to enjoy even more technical gadget information! I really do love technology!!!!
After the conference I went to Mount Vernon to meet with the ELP teacher about EIE kits. She was interested in one of them, so I left the manual for her to read. I also told her that I might want to work with the fourth graders so that students outside of ELP(Extended Learning Opportunities...which is the gifted and talented class for Mount Vernon) also got to experience EIE (Engineering is Elementary).
Sunday, October 10, 2010
October 7-8
Thursday and Friday of this week were spent in Ames, Iowa at the ISTS (Iowa Science Teaching Section) Conference. We started off at a leadership team meeting (after our GPS took us to a cornfield where we decided it probably wasn't, being that there weren't any buildings there). It was interesting to hear from the different AEA's what was going on in their necks of the woods. Money was a main issue, and trying to meet the needs of the teachers when they couldn't get the teachers off for meetings due to budget constraints. There were strategic conversations about how to best lead...and it was brought up that perhaps meeting with the teachers at the beginning or the end of the year might not be the most effective way to guide, but that a model being used in Cedar Rapids was quite effective, which had to do with helping the teachers along as they go and guiding them to lead themselves.
After this meeting we went to the NSF Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Banquet. The award was for a Des Moines North High School Physics teacher, Jessica Gogerty. Her physics teacher was there to share in the honor (which I loved, because it made it a two for one honor). After her speech there was a presentation from IPTV (Iowa Public Television) on Iowa's One-Room School Houses. I sat by a man who had gone to a one room school. The thing I took away from that was that schools have changed a lot over the years, but I did not wish for them to go back to one room; but rather to remember that the bond between the teacher and the students was one of the most important things we shouldn't lose as we change through time.
On Friday we went to a church called the Cornerstone Church (because the original location had been flooded). The church was huge. I can't get over its size. It had 2 or 3 coffee shops in it, 2 auditoriums (one that holds over a thousand people) and a gymnasium, and a bridge that goes over water, and that's just a brief description of the massive building. Anyway, I started off in a session called "Must have STEM Resources from IPTV-'I had no idea'". I have a whole list of programs I want to check out from this session, but the one that I am most interested in is called, "NOVA- The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers". I'm thinking that I want to get the grant sites to show several of these (spread out)to get the kids more interested in science as a career. They feature scientists and their hobbies...making scientists look more fun and less Geeky. The one I saw featured a female science college student at MIT who also was a cheerleader.
I went to a session called "Accessing NASA Professional Development", which was about some free professional development opportunities from NASA and how they can be brought to the school. There is one grant that has to do with space, so I will see if that fits their activities.
I accidentally went to a session about a curriculum on water and waste-water treatment (I meant to go to another session, but there was a room mix-up misprint). I got a CD that I may or may not use.
Next, I went to a session called "KISS the Wind", which was brought by Pat Higby of UNI, who was part of the Washington DC trip planning (although she said she isn't going). This activity was going, however, along with two of her students. This was a device that measures wind speed, which was used to test several things we built out of a motor and fan blades.
We went to a luncheon that honored several people with ISTS awards, and then we went to a program in the auditorium. This was a portrayal of Galileo through the presenter, Michael Francis, dressing up like Galileo and showing us how he discovered several things that were new to the time (and contradicted the teachings of Aristotle). He really knew his stuff, and took questions about his life, which he answered in depth with enthusiasm. This is actually a good assignment to give a student who is interested in theater in order to learn scientific thinking and historical science perspective.
The last session I went to was by Richard Heathcote and Erica on "Educational resource in geology and ecology at Whiterock Conservance, Coon Rapids". This was a presentation to feature the interesting geological features that could be used to enhance learning via a field trip to the Whiterock Conservatory and landscape.
There were exhibits in the foyer that I also looked at. One that Erica wanted me to be sure to catch was on some probes that we own at Grant Wood. I would be able to use these with schools, so I went and talked to the vendor to find out how they worked.
We got home at 6:30 or so, and it was a lot to take in, but worth the drive.
After this meeting we went to the NSF Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Banquet. The award was for a Des Moines North High School Physics teacher, Jessica Gogerty. Her physics teacher was there to share in the honor (which I loved, because it made it a two for one honor). After her speech there was a presentation from IPTV (Iowa Public Television) on Iowa's One-Room School Houses. I sat by a man who had gone to a one room school. The thing I took away from that was that schools have changed a lot over the years, but I did not wish for them to go back to one room; but rather to remember that the bond between the teacher and the students was one of the most important things we shouldn't lose as we change through time.
On Friday we went to a church called the Cornerstone Church (because the original location had been flooded). The church was huge. I can't get over its size. It had 2 or 3 coffee shops in it, 2 auditoriums (one that holds over a thousand people) and a gymnasium, and a bridge that goes over water, and that's just a brief description of the massive building. Anyway, I started off in a session called "Must have STEM Resources from IPTV-'I had no idea'". I have a whole list of programs I want to check out from this session, but the one that I am most interested in is called, "NOVA- The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers". I'm thinking that I want to get the grant sites to show several of these (spread out)to get the kids more interested in science as a career. They feature scientists and their hobbies...making scientists look more fun and less Geeky. The one I saw featured a female science college student at MIT who also was a cheerleader.
I went to a session called "Accessing NASA Professional Development", which was about some free professional development opportunities from NASA and how they can be brought to the school. There is one grant that has to do with space, so I will see if that fits their activities.
I accidentally went to a session about a curriculum on water and waste-water treatment (I meant to go to another session, but there was a room mix-up misprint). I got a CD that I may or may not use.
Next, I went to a session called "KISS the Wind", which was brought by Pat Higby of UNI, who was part of the Washington DC trip planning (although she said she isn't going). This activity was going, however, along with two of her students. This was a device that measures wind speed, which was used to test several things we built out of a motor and fan blades.
We went to a luncheon that honored several people with ISTS awards, and then we went to a program in the auditorium. This was a portrayal of Galileo through the presenter, Michael Francis, dressing up like Galileo and showing us how he discovered several things that were new to the time (and contradicted the teachings of Aristotle). He really knew his stuff, and took questions about his life, which he answered in depth with enthusiasm. This is actually a good assignment to give a student who is interested in theater in order to learn scientific thinking and historical science perspective.
The last session I went to was by Richard Heathcote and Erica on "Educational resource in geology and ecology at Whiterock Conservance, Coon Rapids". This was a presentation to feature the interesting geological features that could be used to enhance learning via a field trip to the Whiterock Conservatory and landscape.
There were exhibits in the foyer that I also looked at. One that Erica wanted me to be sure to catch was on some probes that we own at Grant Wood. I would be able to use these with schools, so I went and talked to the vendor to find out how they worked.
We got home at 6:30 or so, and it was a lot to take in, but worth the drive.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
October 6
This morning I'm trying to plan for the whirlwind month coming up. I leave for Ames tomorrow, to be there through Friday, and then Monday and Tuesday I'm going to a technology conference in Coralville. As I look through the breakout sessions available for Monday and Tuesday to find the ones most needed for my current position, I see that one is about using social media in the classroom. Last week when I visited Mount Vernon I encountered a question about whether using Facebook as a classroom tool was appropriate (and I don't know the answer yet). I wrote to the person who asked me to tell her about this conference so that perhaps she could learn the answer. I also saw a computer program spotlight on using Read Naturally on the computer to enhance fluency, so I e-mailed about that workshop to the reading teachers in my district, in case they were interested in going to that. I also wrote to the ELP teacher at my school and offered to try out an EIE kit with her so we could learn it together.
I devised a new assessment survey for the Grant Sites that should gather data more efficiently on the number of science careers students are interested in before and after the programs. I sent it to our Mount Vernon grant site (Susan) to ask her opinion of it and to make suggestions.
I wrote to Mary Lou Erlacher today and told her how impressed I was with the WLC (Workplace Learning Connection) yesterday at College Community School District. I wouldn't have known how they were behind the scenes without having gone to the WLC meeting in Iowa City and having them explain their work to me.
I may be going to Mount Vernon on Monday after the ITEC conference to show the ELP (gifted and talented) teacher 3 ideas I have for EIE (Engineering is Elementary) kits that she could use with the K-2 kids. These go with the FOSS kits they are currently using in the regular classroom to extend their learning in the engineering field. One is about designing walls and is tied to a story about the Great Wall of China, one is about designing windmills (and this is the one we're taking to Washington DC) and one is about designing play dough. I looked through the grant site applications and it is unclear which EIE kits they want to use, then I found the checkout for last year to see which ones they used, and it looks like these would be available to use unless someone adds a kit and I don't know about their plans. 2 of each kit isn't very many to go around once we get people going on these (and I'm pretty fired up about them!!).
I devised a new assessment survey for the Grant Sites that should gather data more efficiently on the number of science careers students are interested in before and after the programs. I sent it to our Mount Vernon grant site (Susan) to ask her opinion of it and to make suggestions.
I wrote to Mary Lou Erlacher today and told her how impressed I was with the WLC (Workplace Learning Connection) yesterday at College Community School District. I wouldn't have known how they were behind the scenes without having gone to the WLC meeting in Iowa City and having them explain their work to me.
I may be going to Mount Vernon on Monday after the ITEC conference to show the ELP (gifted and talented) teacher 3 ideas I have for EIE (Engineering is Elementary) kits that she could use with the K-2 kids. These go with the FOSS kits they are currently using in the regular classroom to extend their learning in the engineering field. One is about designing walls and is tied to a story about the Great Wall of China, one is about designing windmills (and this is the one we're taking to Washington DC) and one is about designing play dough. I looked through the grant site applications and it is unclear which EIE kits they want to use, then I found the checkout for last year to see which ones they used, and it looks like these would be available to use unless someone adds a kit and I don't know about their plans. 2 of each kit isn't very many to go around once we get people going on these (and I'm pretty fired up about them!!).
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
October 5
Today I went to College Community School District to see their Career Day. It was held at the high school, and it was organized by WLC, (Workplace Learning Connection), which is an organization that schools pay to connect them to career experiences and opportunities (and internships).
This was highly organized and well done. The speakers I went to were:
Department of Anesthesia, UIHC
Pam Jacobs, RN, BSN, CCRC
Clinical Research Coordinator
This one was a nurse who works in research. She loved her job, and presented by giving students pre-written questions which she had brought with her. These were numbered. She asked each student to give their name before asking the question, and she said, "Nice to meet you, __________" before answering. She did this because she didn't find public speaking to be an easy thing to do and found this tool beneficial to her speaking style. It worked well, and involved the students in a non-threatening manner.
UNI
Dr. Chad Heinzel
Geologist and Professor
This professor had put together an activity to involve the students. He divided up groups and each group had a set of questions and a 'role' they were to be in to answer the question. The group that I sat with was to answer the questions from the role of the government, and the questions had to do with the supply and production of petroleum. It was interesting that the kids didn't really understand the supply and demand of oil in the United States, nor the role the government would have in decisions affecting it. They were asked how the government my use scientists in this role. They were guided to the idea that research was needed in finding other resources since oil's supply was lower than its demand in the United States.
My Chiro
Bruce Weisbein
Chiropractor/Owner
This chiropractor used a lecture style to tell the students about his career path and his job as a chiropractor. He had some guiding questions he used from WLC, such as, "What personality traits are needed for this job?". He did a good job explaining his job, but didn't get a lot of interaction out of the kids. He handed out a business card, which I was wondering about (our school just had a big to-do about advertising in school).
Clipper
Mike Cavanaugh
Manufacturing Engineer
This man had quite the business background. He used the overhead (or a computer..I didn't notice which) to put his work experience up on the screen. He had worked in at least 10 different places, and made it clear that with a science/technology/engineering degree he was marketable in many kinds of businesses. He did a good job of showing that people who like to work hands-on with machines have many kinds of opportunities, and he went to Kirkwood, which gave career day a nice well-rounded kind of educational opportunity portrayal.
I stayed till just after noon and felt that I had a good sample of Career Day so I went back to the office to catch up on my STEM activities.
I finished proofreading the toolkits "Living Things" and "Measuring Time" yesterday and met with Val to go over my corrections, which I had printed out for her so that she could easily find what I was correcting. There was only one broken link and the Iowa Core was the only one that needed to be more specific, except for Mediagraphies, which links to a link. Val said that it needed to do that or it times out. The vocabulary was one of the main places where format was not uniform. Some were capitalized lists, some were not, some were bulleted, some said that there was no vocabulary and some said that this was the vocabulary, but then had a blank (because there wasn't any). So we made that uniform. I made a lot of grammar and spelling corrections, mostly subject/verb agreements.
Today I went through all of the TIR files for the handouts, agenda and information needed for the Nov.4 meeting with the new grant recipients. There is a lot of stuff there, including speakers, a Power Point, handouts, forms, agenda....assessments for pre and post data collection, and more. My head is spinning. I e-mailed Jim and asked him if he had time to meet tomorrow. My chances of him being able to are probably not high, but I have no time to waste in getting ready. I didn't really realize I had to organize this, so I'm trying to get right on it.
Jeanne and Erica, you have been awesome, and I want to thank you for your guidance, patience and faith in me. I'm trying my hardest to make the most of this wonderful experience. I feel blessed to be here, and I'll do everything I can to give it all I have.
This was highly organized and well done. The speakers I went to were:
Department of Anesthesia, UIHC
Pam Jacobs, RN, BSN, CCRC
Clinical Research Coordinator
This one was a nurse who works in research. She loved her job, and presented by giving students pre-written questions which she had brought with her. These were numbered. She asked each student to give their name before asking the question, and she said, "Nice to meet you, __________" before answering. She did this because she didn't find public speaking to be an easy thing to do and found this tool beneficial to her speaking style. It worked well, and involved the students in a non-threatening manner.
UNI
Dr. Chad Heinzel
Geologist and Professor
This professor had put together an activity to involve the students. He divided up groups and each group had a set of questions and a 'role' they were to be in to answer the question. The group that I sat with was to answer the questions from the role of the government, and the questions had to do with the supply and production of petroleum. It was interesting that the kids didn't really understand the supply and demand of oil in the United States, nor the role the government would have in decisions affecting it. They were asked how the government my use scientists in this role. They were guided to the idea that research was needed in finding other resources since oil's supply was lower than its demand in the United States.
My Chiro
Bruce Weisbein
Chiropractor/Owner
This chiropractor used a lecture style to tell the students about his career path and his job as a chiropractor. He had some guiding questions he used from WLC, such as, "What personality traits are needed for this job?". He did a good job explaining his job, but didn't get a lot of interaction out of the kids. He handed out a business card, which I was wondering about (our school just had a big to-do about advertising in school).
Clipper
Mike Cavanaugh
Manufacturing Engineer
This man had quite the business background. He used the overhead (or a computer..I didn't notice which) to put his work experience up on the screen. He had worked in at least 10 different places, and made it clear that with a science/technology/engineering degree he was marketable in many kinds of businesses. He did a good job of showing that people who like to work hands-on with machines have many kinds of opportunities, and he went to Kirkwood, which gave career day a nice well-rounded kind of educational opportunity portrayal.
I stayed till just after noon and felt that I had a good sample of Career Day so I went back to the office to catch up on my STEM activities.
I finished proofreading the toolkits "Living Things" and "Measuring Time" yesterday and met with Val to go over my corrections, which I had printed out for her so that she could easily find what I was correcting. There was only one broken link and the Iowa Core was the only one that needed to be more specific, except for Mediagraphies, which links to a link. Val said that it needed to do that or it times out. The vocabulary was one of the main places where format was not uniform. Some were capitalized lists, some were not, some were bulleted, some said that there was no vocabulary and some said that this was the vocabulary, but then had a blank (because there wasn't any). So we made that uniform. I made a lot of grammar and spelling corrections, mostly subject/verb agreements.
Today I went through all of the TIR files for the handouts, agenda and information needed for the Nov.4 meeting with the new grant recipients. There is a lot of stuff there, including speakers, a Power Point, handouts, forms, agenda....assessments for pre and post data collection, and more. My head is spinning. I e-mailed Jim and asked him if he had time to meet tomorrow. My chances of him being able to are probably not high, but I have no time to waste in getting ready. I didn't really realize I had to organize this, so I'm trying to get right on it.
Jeanne and Erica, you have been awesome, and I want to thank you for your guidance, patience and faith in me. I'm trying my hardest to make the most of this wonderful experience. I feel blessed to be here, and I'll do everything I can to give it all I have.
Friday, October 1, 2010
October 1, 2010
Today I started the day off early. I was at Mount Vernon High School by 7:20 to see the virtual reality project they were doing. I was supposed to meet Phyllis there, so I waited in the office until 7:30, but she didn't come. I've tried to bring Grant Wood together more with Mount Vernon but things keep happening to get in the way of that.
The teacher I arranged this with was Richard Scearce, but there was another teacher in there named Joe Wallace (I looked him up and he's not on the staff list...so he's either brand new or he's a student teacher, and I didn't catch which). He and Richard are both on the syllabus they gave me. The students were at the very beginning stages with their projects. Richard wanted them to come up with a project that had a learning objective within the technology objective. I knew the kids in there, and got some hugs, so that was extra fun. Richard told them that "Mrs. Gunn would probably be willing to help them come up with better objectives than I could..maybe she'd be willing to let you e-mail her." So I gave them my e-mail address and told them I'd be happy to help them with that.
I met Erica at a coffee shop in Cedar Rapids for a meeting after going to Mount Vernon. We went over some things she thought I'd like to see, such as a career day that would be going on at College Community. We discussed the virtual reality experience and how we could use Richard's great syllabus to aid other people who needed some guidance.
After meeting with Erica I went back to the high school. First I talked to some teachers who wanted to know about my new job, which led us into a discussion about something they wanted help with. The yearbook leader wanted to use Facebook for a social networking group in which the yearbook team could communicate. She asked my thoughts on that and I said I'd check it out. I'll run this by Kay Rewerts and see if other schools are doing that. I know there are Wiki's that might work for that too.
I located Richard, and asked him about sharing his syllabus. He told me where he got his ideas, and said that he'd e-mail all his files to me along with a grading rubric for the virtual reality project. He also would provide the e-mail of the teacher that gave him some of his ideas, which Richard had revised, but could also need approval from before I share the documents with others.
I had a whirlwind week with a lot of meetings and a lot of new things to digest. I need to go back through my e-mails and make sure I didn't miss any. Also, in registering for so many conferences I need to get my registrations in one place.
It was nice to touch base with the people in Mount Vernon. It is Richard's wife, Deanne, that is the ELP teacher that wants to use the EIE kits. I need to read those manuals so I can get going on that.
The teacher I arranged this with was Richard Scearce, but there was another teacher in there named Joe Wallace (I looked him up and he's not on the staff list...so he's either brand new or he's a student teacher, and I didn't catch which). He and Richard are both on the syllabus they gave me. The students were at the very beginning stages with their projects. Richard wanted them to come up with a project that had a learning objective within the technology objective. I knew the kids in there, and got some hugs, so that was extra fun. Richard told them that "Mrs. Gunn would probably be willing to help them come up with better objectives than I could..maybe she'd be willing to let you e-mail her." So I gave them my e-mail address and told them I'd be happy to help them with that.
I met Erica at a coffee shop in Cedar Rapids for a meeting after going to Mount Vernon. We went over some things she thought I'd like to see, such as a career day that would be going on at College Community. We discussed the virtual reality experience and how we could use Richard's great syllabus to aid other people who needed some guidance.
After meeting with Erica I went back to the high school. First I talked to some teachers who wanted to know about my new job, which led us into a discussion about something they wanted help with. The yearbook leader wanted to use Facebook for a social networking group in which the yearbook team could communicate. She asked my thoughts on that and I said I'd check it out. I'll run this by Kay Rewerts and see if other schools are doing that. I know there are Wiki's that might work for that too.
I located Richard, and asked him about sharing his syllabus. He told me where he got his ideas, and said that he'd e-mail all his files to me along with a grading rubric for the virtual reality project. He also would provide the e-mail of the teacher that gave him some of his ideas, which Richard had revised, but could also need approval from before I share the documents with others.
I had a whirlwind week with a lot of meetings and a lot of new things to digest. I need to go back through my e-mails and make sure I didn't miss any. Also, in registering for so many conferences I need to get my registrations in one place.
It was nice to touch base with the people in Mount Vernon. It is Richard's wife, Deanne, that is the ELP teacher that wants to use the EIE kits. I need to read those manuals so I can get going on that.
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