Gin's+Learning+Objects

=Special Note: Anchor and links....In the past few weeks, I've had several people ask me how I created links to my page that move to different sections of the page. I want to let you know that this is called links and anchors. If you would like instructions, check out the discussion section in Dan's Assignments page. Or click this link here: [|How to Link your Anchors]. There are several typos in this instruction, but I hope you find it helpful, if you haven't already figured it out yourself. = = = =Table of Contents: Click for short cut = =---= = = =**__Week 1__: Word Clouds,ViewPure, and TeacherTube** =
 * 1) ==**Week 1: Word Clouds, ViewPure, and TeacherTube**==
 * 2) ==**Week 2: Virtual Field Trip, Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, and NSDL Science Literacy Maps **==
 * 3) ==**Week 3: Untamed Science (Video in Class), Pixton (comic creator), and KidsHealth**==
 * 4) ==**Week 4: VoiceThread, Dare to Differentiate Wiki, and The Digital Disconnect Article**==
 * 5) ==**Week 5: Lesson Plans**==

**Competencies: Word Clouds** media type="custom" key="9088654" align="center" width="108" height="108"

For this week’s competency, I decided to explore word clouds. I’ve seen world clouds, a.k.a. wordles, before, however, I have never explored them myself. Above is an example of a word cloud from []. Word clouds resemble tags or graffiti art. Certain words can be made more prominent than others. You can even string a list of words into an image using [].

In science, students are introduced to new scientific vocabulary per unit. I have had students post new vocabulary on a wall designated as the, “word wall.” This is to remind student of new terminology they will practice using within the next several weeks. Instead of posting words to a wall in the classroom, each student can create their own mini word wall or in this case a word cloud. I could have a student produced a word cloud of a vocabulary list before a unit test or on the first day of introducing the unit. The students can have this visual as a reminder of the terms that they will study in the next few lessons or before a unit test. To make this more of an art project, student can also draw an object that is related to the study and have their new vocabulary be strung into that image. For example, below is a word cloud I created using terms related to the nervous system.

media type="custom" key="9088882" width="110" height="110" align="left"I created an image of the silhouette of a person and uploaded that imaged into tagxedo. Then I input the corresponding nervous system terminology. I initially tried the image of a brain, however, the image doesn’t show up as clearly. Wordle.net is more self explanatory and user friendly than tagxedo. I would recommend tagxedo for student who would like to challenge themselves. Tagxedo give more creative freedom.Students can input their own handwriting and illustrations. **Also, if you click on the words in your list, it will send you to a word search online and find the definition for you. So cool!!!** Word clouds are great to use in the classroom as emphasis on phrases, terminologies, or even as a poster for projects or advertisement. View this link on more ways to use word clouds: [].

**Resources:**
**ViewPure: []** This is a great website one of my previous master teacher passed onto me. I have not had a chance to use it in the classroom, however, I will definitely use it for future classes. This website filters out advertisements from youtube videos. I often show educational clips that are uploaded onto youtube. However, often times, the advertisements or links to other videos clutter up the screen and can be distracting or even inappropriate in the classroom setting. At this site, you just have to put in your youtube link, and it will send you to the uploaded video without all the clutter. I will also post this link on the resource page. The downside is it only works on youtube streaming.

**TeacherTube**: [] This site has videos created by teachers without advertisements. It also has lesson plans and other resources making it a very efficient place to turn to for resources. However, accessing some of these resources are not free. I need to subscribe to receive some of the resources. It is only ~$50.00 for the entire year and there is a 7 day trial. I think this would be a great place to turn to get ideas on different lessons for different units. I particularly like the graphic organizers.

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> =<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">__**Week 2:**__ **Virtual Field trips, Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, and Science Literacy Maps.** =

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**Competencies: Virtual Field Trips**
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A virtual field trip is a way for students to travel/navigate to places without having to actually go there. There are plenty of pre-made virtual field trips in different formats. Check this website for details: []. I like the idea of creating my own virtual field trip or having students created a virtual field trip on their own. I could create a virtual field trip by using a simple 2.0 website like wikispaces and link several websites in a logical order that would guide students through a concept or place. Here is a website that gives simple instructions on how to create a virtual field trip and the steps. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Virtual field trips have obvious benefits. It is financially sound, requires little resources, and engages students. A virtual field trip can be use to expose students to an trip before the trip. For example, the Exploratorium has many virtual guides and online simulation of its actual exhibits. Students can get use to the layout of the place. Another benefit of a virtual field trip for science is that there are many places are times in space that students cannot visit. For example, students can not student the universe directly. Below is a preliminary sample of a virtual field trip I would create for a class while we are studying Astronomy. As seen, I posted a video of the experience of passing through the Earth’s atmosphere, and then prompt student to search through sites about space shuttles before they could experience the trip themselves. After the students have substantial knowledge about space shuttle they begin their first trip to the moon and etc. I posted interesting images and a mix of video and sources. I also posted and will post questions along the way. Other resources I could use are music clips and maps. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ====<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Sample Virtual Field Trip for ITEC 601: **  ====

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Let's take a trip through the Universe. **
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Watch this video to see first hand how leaving the Earth might look like. You will not get to feel the change in gravity pull, temperature drop, or extreme lack of atmospheric pressure, however, you will still be amazed by the vibrancy of our planet from above.

media type="youtube" key="wtXquYhY7wo" height="211" width="361" align="center"

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">If we are to leave Earth, we need to visit our experts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Here we can explore the history of space shuttles and the mechanics behind them. Also we are also in luck, the next launching is soon. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Click on the links below: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">[] <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Question: When is the next space shuttle mission? Hint: It is scheduled for this month. **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">media type="youtube" key="0Z5t84Ktt_k" height="156" width="192" align="left"

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Alright buckle your seat belts, it's time for us to lift off!!!

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Next, after we have escaped the Earth's atmosphere, let's explore the conditions of our moon.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**Resources:**
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Bloom's Digital Taxonomy: []** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I am familiar with using Bloom's Taxonomy in my lessons to help me organize my objectives from lower order thinking to higher order thinking. However, this site structures how using twitter, web-editing, playing web games, etc can meet such objectives. This site allows me to be more aware of how the technology I use in the classroom is not only an extension of technological skills but can also be a completion of daily objectives.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**(NSDL:)Science Literacy Maps:[]** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Taken from the Science Resource site: [] from the resource page. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I found the literacy maps presented in the link above to be helpful and useful in developing a unit. The literacy map give specific details on the criteria I have to cover in order to meet a criteria in the [|AAAS Project 2061 Benchmarks] and [|National Science Education Standards]. I could use each statement in the maps as a check-list while I plan lessons or even after lesson have been taught.

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> =<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**__Week 3__: Untamed Sciences (Video in Class), Pixton (comic creator), and KidsHealth** = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**Competencies:** [|www.untamedscience.com] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Instead of just video blogging, I decided to use a site called UntamedScience to enhance videos that could be created for the classroom. UntamedScience is an EgoGeek crew that creates free Science videos, provides other Science resources as well. I’m mentioning them because they give advice on how to create your own documentary and other film for class and make it look semi-professional. They even give advice on how to work a camera for absolute beginners. While attending their workshop, the Crew talked about why they use video in class. Aside from videos being fun and engaging, videos can be used as an assessment as well. Student can created 15 seconds to one minute clips using their phone, computers, and even digital cameras. As a Science teacher, I can allow students to post clips on their understanding of the current topic. Below is an example of a clip of me explaining the process of condensation. I would expect my students’ videos to be similar in quality. This video was shot with my regular digital photo camera. It had a better picture quality, however, I could not upload a great quality to wikipedia because of the size of the original video. This is just to demonstrate that even with a digital photo camera, you could shoot videos. media type="file" key="condensation.mov" align="center" width="300" height="300"

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Here is another video from UntamedScience that shows the many ways a, “host” can be filmed. For example, in the video, it shows initially that the host does not need to be the narrator to demonstrate what is going on. Later in the clip, the host is narrating. The resources presented in this web site are not only for Science class, the tips on video making can benefit any content area that wants to explore film-making..

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**Resources:Pixton and KidsHealth** [|www.pixton.com/comic] Pixton is a drag and click comic book site. You can create an avatar for your profile that is very cartoon like. To start creating your comic, it has themes or types of cartoons already embedded for the program. For example you can created a, “Super Long” comic or a, “Sunday Style” comic. The great thing is this program is free. After you create your comic it can be saved as a jpeg file. It can also be posted to a blog as well. I think this is great way to engage students in apply their knowledge into a comic book project. The program is pretty simple to use.

[|www.kidshealth.org] KidHealth is an interactive website that give literature on health and body systems in a language and format that is kid and teen friends. Many of these articles present information that are outside of the required curriculum however pertain to the student's interest. The articles have an audio option where students could listen to the article which comes in handy for ELL students as well as students who have a difficulty with reading comprehension. There are also lesson plans already posted on the website about how to use the articles. This website would be useful in helping design project-based/research projects for science or health ed students after they finish learning about a system of the body or a nutrition unit.

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> =<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**__Week 4__: VoiceThread, Dare to Differentiate Wiki, and The Digital Disconnect Article** = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**Competencies: [|www.Voicethread.com]** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">In order to view the voicethread that I posted here you may have to download a program/player. However, if you can see the clip just press the play button. I don't want to spend too much time describing this program, because if you play the program you will see the many ways you can use this program in your class. Make sure you have headphones so you can listen to the narration of the voicethread. Just a short tidbit, I uploaded two of the competencies that are posted in this page to this voicethread. And then I demonstrate the many ways you can use voicethread to give feedback, instruction, use it as an assessment as well as clarify your work. Students can comment on each other's work through webcam, typing comments, or even narration. Check it out for yourself. Do be afraid to press play.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">media type="custom" key="9340020" align="left"

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When you first look at this voicethread, you can see the two icons, one the to left and the other to the right (hat). These are the people who have contributed to this voicethread and added comment. The one on the left is me and my profile picture. The one on the right (hat) is a supposed student.The more people contribute to this thread, the more icons you will see on the side panels.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">After my tidbit on the wordle diagram, I stated that the next part you will watch how to edit/comment a video. In order to see that next part, click on the bottom right hand arrow.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**Resources: Dare to Differentiate Wiki and The Digital Disconnect Article** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Flexible+Grouping** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">This is a great website to refer to when you are having a brainfart about how to group your students. I know everytime I have students work in groups, I take into account the sociability and heterogeneous skill set each student have per group. However, sometimes I feel like I've put students in various groups to the point where I'm not sure which groups is best for which activity anymore. Or I'll have students stay in the same group for too long. This wiki has resource that will guide you through whick type of students should be placed in which type of groupings during what specific type of activity. Check it out.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">// The Digital Disconnect // <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This short online article claims that even students who may now have access to technology in school use it heavily outside of school to help them complete their homework. The article is a great introduction to why we should implement technology, especially the internet in the classroom. This artilce is very general and doesn't not actually give substantial research. However, if I was introducing the importance of technology for the first time, say to a collegue that does not use technology, I would borrow some statements from this article. However, I would not use this article as heavy evidence, however it's a good starting point, even for your students to read.

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> =<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**__Week 5__:** = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">**Lesson Plans (Competency and Resource)**

Also posted here is my tech rich sample: media type="custom" key="9421236"

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