Week 5 Web Tools Exploration 2: Exploratree

Thanks to a post by Sarah Tabor, I looked into Exploratree and made a very simple one to try it out...and to try to decide what to do for my project! I like using concept maps in my biology classes and this web tool looks like a great way to make them. Exploratree calls them "Thinking Guides".  I tried to link mine here, but it didn't work.  Let's see if I can make a screencast image of it...

Week 5 Web Tools Exploration 1: LiveBinder

Thanks to Mary's mention of LiveBinders in one of her posts, I decided I wanted to try it. So I started my first binder...

Linda Kocian Websites

Week 5 Reflection: Blogs and Wikis...and Moodle?

I have been thinking a lot this week about how I want to set up the online component of my biology courses this fall.  Should I use a blog, a wiki, Moodle, or a combination of all three?  The Science 2.0 articles on blogs and wikis make good cases for both.  All of these platforms allow students to be active participants both inside and outside the classroom.  But after reading Eric's reply to a question I asked him... (http://teachingsscience20.pbworks.com/w/page/42245268/onlinediscussion), I decided to keep Moodle as my class page (teachers at our school are supposed to do so anyway) and maybe link a blog and/or wikis to that.  I just haven't figured out yet how best to utilize those in my courses, or if I even need to since we use Moodle.  One of the things I thought I could do with a blog was to have a different student responsible each day for posting a summary of what we did in class.  Those posts, along with comments from classmates, would give us a complete record of the entire year.  As for wikis, maybe they could be used for projects since students can be collaborating on them at any time from any location.

Generating an Argument Activity

I thought I would post the link for my DDT and Malaria activity here as well as on the class wiki...

http://teachingsscience20.pbworks.com/w/file/42296180/Generate%20an%20Argument%20-%20Linda%20Kocian.pdf

Simulations

I love using simulations in my biology classes.  I find students have much more success understanding certain concepts when there is a visual attached, especially one that is interactive.  Chapter 3 of the text does a good job of discussing why computer simulations enhance learning and gives helpful guidelines for their use.  The learningscience.org website is a great resource for so many topics.  I have used many of the websites listed on that site.  The BBC Interactive Human Body would be useful as a review and the johnkyrk.com cell biology animation site looks good (I had never seen that one), but I like the Cells Alive site better for my students.  Although ExploreLearning.com looks like it has interesting ones, I shy away from sites that are not free.

Here are some that I have incorporated into my curriculum in the past and found to be useful:

Food Webs: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/line_experiment14.swf
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/index.cfm
http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm
http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm

Virtual Pig Dissection:
http://www.whitman.edu/biology/vpd/main.html

Circulation:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/heart/heartmap.html
http://www.ehc.com/vbody.asp

Digestion:
http://kitses.com/animation/swfs/digestion.swf
http://exhibits.pacsci.org/nutrition/noflash_nutrition.html

Evolution:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/evolution/
http://www.becominghuman.org/

Cells:
http://www.cellsalive.com/index.htm

Genetics:
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/ (home page –great website!)http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/karyotype/
http://nobelprize.org/educational/  (this is a great website, not just for genetics – scroll down on this page to see a list of some of the interactive games!)http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/analyze.html (DNA fingerprinting)http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/dna/

Rainforest:
http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/rforest/index.htm

Population:
http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

Week 4 Reflection: Using Online Data and Generating an Argument

Using Online Data:

Chapter 6 of our textbook has encouraged me to use online data in my biology classes.  I have never really done so, at least not to that extent.  The text makes a good point that online data sets “extend the possibilities of inquiry beyond the limitations and constraints of available equipment and geographical locations.”  I think this is particularly true in biology since labs involving living things are quite restricted.  I was happy to read that research shows all levels of students “increased their science content knowledge and improved their inquiry performance” because this is a major concern of mine.  I still think it is valuable for students to generate their own data in the laboratory, but I recognize the benefits of using online data sets as well.  Each type of lab experience has its own advantages and I would think a course that utilizes a combination would be “the best of both worlds.”

I was not aware prior to reading the text that there were so many data sets available for teachers and students to use.  I appreciate the list of websites in the Life Science section at the end of the chapter.  They will be a great place to start!  I also found the Guidelines for Best Practice helpful.  Some of the topics I found particularly suitable for my students to analyze are migratory routes, tap water, population trends, and water monitoring.

I looked at some of the online data sets linked to the wiki.  The Atlas of the Biosphere maps and data sets through iteachSTEM would be excellent resources.  I especially liked the Human Impacts and Ecosystems sets. 

Generate an Argument instructional model:

I can definitely see the value in the Sampson and Grooms model to support scientific argumentation.  I agree that it is important for students to learn to think more like scientists and this model does a great job of encouraging that.  The four steps flow logically from one to the next and students are held accountable for their progress, both as groups (steps 2 and 3) and as individuals (step 4).

Putting this model into practice by designing my own classroom activity will be challenging, not only because it seems like it will take a long time to do so, but also because I might have to modify it to make it less daunting for many of my students who are very concrete learners.  I am curious to know if any research has been done concerning using this model with different levels of students.  I do think that this model will be easier for students of any level to follow than the Argument-Driven Inquiry model since the data is already provided for them.  The other concern I have is the amount of class time it will require for full implementation, especially as this same procedure should be used often to allow students to improve on these scientific and communicative skills.  I might be able to spend the time in one of my courses since I am the only teacher of that course, but in the other course I teach I am restricted by a curriculum and schedule that all the teachers of that course must follow.

I like the "Backward Faded Scaffolding" approach mentioned in the wiki.  I can envision designing the first lab experience of this method using the Generate an Argument model and then gradually leading the students through less teacher-centered and more student-centered activities.  I would think this tactic would make the students feel more comfortable as they participate in what might be their first inquiry-based course.

Web Tools and My Smartphone

I am slowly catching up with the 21st century.  I have owned my iPhone for a year now and am finally connecting it to the web, thanks to my daughter.  I am currently in Seattle visiting her for the 4th of July weekend and she is trying to get me more smartphone savvy.  Yesterday we downloaded the Twitter app and tweeted two pictures, one from the beautiful Kubota Gardens and one of her dog.  By the way, I learned a lot more about using the camera on my phone, giving me more image experience!  We also downloaded Google Search app which allows me to get to Google Reader, which has helped me keep up on all the blog posts from wherever I am at.  I finally connected my gmail account to my phone as well.

I just e-mailed myself a picture from my iPhone to include in this blog post.  These are horsetails that were growing at the Kubota Gardens.  During our plant unit, we talk about horsetails and now I will have an image of them that I took myself. 

I can see using my iPhone now to capture images that are biology-related to use for class.  I am also planning on connecting my phone to our school e-mail, which many teachers already do.  I guess it just takes me awhile to get going!