3rd Grade Science Activity

Technology is becoming more and more prominent in our culture, especially for the rising generation.  As teachers, it is our responsibility to incorporate technology into the learning process in order to connect and reach the students in an effective way.  Technology is hands on and helps the students to learn on a more individual level and

 interact with the content knowledge.  

By using technology in the classroom we are touching on all three knowledges of TPACK.  This lesson uses the appropriate te

chnology to teach the Utah Core Curriculum for 3rd grade science.  Our lesson plan is based on these objectives:

Objective 2: 

Describe the movement of Earth and the moon and the ap

parent movement of other bodies through the sky.

   b.  Use a chart to show that the moon orbits Earth approximately every 28 days.

   d.  Use a model to demonstrate why it seems to a person on Earth that the sun, 

planets, and stars appear to move across the sky.

To teach objective 2b the teacher will have their students explore Google Earth to discover the placement of the moon. Once they have found the moon they can begin the science project.  This activity will take 20 minutes of each day over the course of 28 days (the time it takes for the moon to orbit the Earth).  Each day students will take a screen shot of the phase of the moon for that day and describe what they see.  Students will post their screen shots and descriptions

 on their blogs daily.  Once students have a collection of the 28 day orbit of the moon, they will be able to recognize all of the phases of the moon and that it orbits the Earth to cause these phases.  This orbit is repeated each month.  Each phase looks different because

of the placement of the moon in relation to the Earth and the Sun.  This science activity could be set up as a center. 

To teach objective 2d, the teacher will direct a student discussion using the program Stellarium.  Stellarium is a way to watch the atmosphere pass by the Earth from a stationary location. The class will use their city as the location from which to observe the sky.  The teacher will pick an object, such as the moon or a constellation to focus on and show the students its movement across the sky.  On Stellarium there is an option to speed up tim

e. This is a visual demonstration that illustrates the objective.  The teacher can conduct a discussion about why the stars and planets appear to move across the sky.  Students will understand that the Earth rotates on its axis as it orbits the sun.  After the discussion, students can take turns exploring Stellarium in greater detail.

For this lesson plan the teacher relies heavily on technology. It enhances the project in many ways from teaching how to use technology and learning from it in a way that couldn't just be observed. While using the blogs to post the pictures of the phases of the moon, the students are logging their observations. This displays the information in a way that they can annalyze what they have seen and come to a conclusion about the different phases of the moon. Using google earth is a great way to incorporate technology because the children can do it in or out of class and weather will not be an issue. 

TPACK and Stellarium!

This week I learned that TPACK is a combination of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. Content knowledge is when the subject being taught in class is really well-known by the teacher (for example, a college physics professor would have a very large content knowledge). Pedagogical knowledge is the knowledge and skills of how best to teach the content knowledge. So those teachers who were really good at helping you understand the material have wonderful pedagogical knowledge. Finally, technological knowledge is using technology to enhance the learning of the content or material.

When I was in high school I had teachers who were examples of all three of these knowledges. My math teacher was REALLY smart and he had an amazing understanding of algebra II and Pre-calc. He understood the ins and outs of math like no one else I know. In other words, he had great content knowledge. And he also had wonderful technological knowledge because he used technology to teach us how to use IT-83 calculators. But he did not have the full TPACK because his pedagogical knowledge was terrible. He would stand at the front of the classroom with his back to the class writing endless notes and explaining them in a monotone voice. He was not at all skilled in helping us better understand the content in ways that would reach all different learning styles. Usually I fell asleep during class (bored out of my mind), and then tried to decipher the scribbles I had made from the notes I had taken while half asleep.
On the other hand, my US history teacher had the complete TPACK: he knew his history (content), he used technology to play songs into our classroom which were about the history we were learning (technological), and he had some amazing skills in helping us understand the material and making it apply to our own lives (pedagogical).

For the science technology project, I am planning on using Stellarium. I think it is an amazing program and I wish I had know about it sooner! It would have been so helpful for Physical Science 110 A and B. I am excited to explore it more. Also, I think we might use google earth and sky as well. I think these programs will be great for helping children collect their own data about the orbits of the earth and moon.

RSS and Web 2.0 Tools!!!

Wow, I learned a lot this week about technology. First I learned what an RSS is: A shortcut to the internet where all of the websites I like to check daily can be brought immediately to my own website. This is so convenient because whenever anything changes I will know immediately by checking just one website. This is a big time saver. I can include all of my favorite websites: cnn.com, teachers websites, the weather forecast, etc. For me personally, I think it will allow me to be more informed about the news, because I usually don't check the news very often. But because of the RSS, I can put news websites onto my blog, and whenever a news article pops up that is interesting to me, I can read it and become more informed about the world. I think that this will be helpful in my teaching because I can use the RSS for teaching websites that will keep me updated on the latest teaching articles and information.
My favorite thing that I learned this week was the Web 2.0 Tools! We learned how to use delicious.com, which is an online bookmarker, and goodreads.com, which is a way to keep track of all the good books out there in the world. You can be connected with friends and see what books they recommend. You can rate the books you have read and write your own book reviews. I feel that the goodreads website is going to be a great tool for my teaching because I will be able to keep a well rounded repertoire of books. It is a way for me to remember all of the wonderful books out there that I can use in my own classroom. Also, I will be exposed to new books by looking at the new books that my friends have read, rated, and reviewed. I am really excited about this website. It is something that I plan on using all through my teaching career!

Technology Background

Well to be honest, I do not have much of a technology background, so I'm pretty nervous about this class. When I was young I played some computer games like Monopoly, this Ice crystal math game (I can't remember what it is called), and Oregon trail (like most everyone). In elementary school once of week we would go to the computer lab and learn to type using the typing program. I really enjoyed doing that- I even had a different typing program on my computer at home that I used because I enjoyed typing so much. When I got older I loved playing the Sims computer game where you would build your own houses.
In high school I took a computer class where I learned the ins and outs of PowerPoint, Word, the internet, and some other programs. I also took a computer art class, which was definitely out of my comfort zone- most of the time I didn't know what I was doing. But I learned how to use Photoshop and another Illustrating program (which I don't remember too much about anymore).
At my house, we used dial-up until the summer after my freshman year of college. So I used THE slowest computer all through high school. Now that I am in college I feel like I have been much more exposed to technology. I got my own laptop for the first time, I've learned how to download pictures onto my computer from my camera, I know how to research on the internet, I know how to email and use facebook. Before college I didn't even know what the difference was between a PC and a Mac- but now I do, and thanks to the exercise science class from last semester I sort of know how to use a Mac.