Week 2

Looking over this week’s technology, our first resource was spreadsheets and databases. I am familiar with both of these as I readily utilized databases and spreadsheets in my undergraduate studies in Animal Biology at Texas A&M. By using Microsoft Excel I was able to list my results from my experiment, plug them into a graph, and determine things such as standard deviation for my lab reports. I came across a website of http://www.kabt.org/2008/05/08/hardy-weinberg-spreadsheet-model/. Here students were using spreadsheets to model population genetics using Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. This may be more for the advanced AP courses in high school, but can be adapted for the regular classes as well. This actually surprised me since I hadn’t thought of using this in a spreadsheet.  I had spreadsheets for experiments and reports, but mostly to determine the standard deviation and if the experiment was successful. 

Since I am not currently a teacher, I know that I will be using Excel frequently in my biology classrooms to organize data such as experiments, grades, and student information. Being able to quickly type in the data collected and then being able to construct a graph of any sort for reports is both efficient and easy. If I do utilize databases, it will be for my own usage such as keeping track of information such as phone numbers, addresses, etc., for my students. Even though I have had training in Access, I find Excel easier to use for the purposes that I need.

We also delved into the world of Wikis. As a student for many years, I really only knew about Wikipedia which out professors banned us from every using material in any of our reports which a promise of an automatic 0 if we ever did. You can say that I just thought all wikis were this way, just because it had been crammed in my head for many years to stay away! After going through the readings and the websites, I found that wikis weren't actually a bad thing for things such as classroom websites. One site that caught my eye was http://bergmannscience.wikispaces.com/Science+8. This teacher, Dr. Bergmann who is the author of this wiki, is so amazingly detailed with the material. He has a calendar for assignments which even points out homework in the color red for students to remember. He has a parent portion where it tells them the subject the students are working on as well as questions for dinner discussions at home. There is a link to pictures and videos, as well as links for the syllabus, class information, and the units they will be working on. You can tell this teacher spends a lot of time on this wiki to help out his students. What Mr. Bergmann has for his students is along the lines of the same type of wiki I would like for my students, but I want to add a discussion board for assignments as well as a place for students to post questions that everybody can help answer. I want to make this wiki an interactive site where students can post research and information for projects and presentations.

We also looked into three technological explorations such as Mindmapping, Animoto, and PhotoPeach.

I have to say, I am impressed. What will technology be able to do next? I had heard of brainstorming maps before and had actually utilized them in grade school, but I didn’t know they now had webpages where you could do this all online. A mind map is a diagram used to represent words or ideas that branch off from a main idea. These maps are used to organize and structure information. This is a good tool to have in helping you organize and structure for an important paper or research report. Bubbl.us is a free mind mapping site where you only have to set up an account to save your material. If even helps assist in how to construct a mind map. It’s a very basic site, not hard to navigate or figure out at all. Wisemapping is a little more advance where you actually download the software to your computer at no cost. They run off donations. They offer tutorials and seem to be very helpful all the way through the construction process. Since it’s been a while that I have used any type of brainstorming maps, it took me a little bit to navigate how to construct one, but this website is a little more advanced, more features, and better quality than Bubbl.us.

I am not currently a teacher, but this is something that maybe beneficial to my students. These maps would be useful for my students in organizing and brainstorming their ideas for a research paper or even a presentation. A student can quickly construct a mind map and be able to see how they want to lay out the paper and presentation so that it flows from start to finish. Sometimes students have a difficult in planning out how they want a paper or presentation to sound. I have found it easier to use something along the lines of a mind map to organize my thoughts, write out what I want to write or say, and then plan out the process of constructing the paper or presentation.

I would recommend this for educators to use in the classroom. It could be very useful with all grade levels. If students have never seen or been taught how to construct a brainstorming map on paper first, you will have to go over the basics of how to construct one and what they are for. After this, you could teach them how to construct one on the computer through a light tutorial. If the student has used a computer before and has a little of word processing background, this won’t be difficult at all for them to use. It is free for both, Bubbl.us and Wisemapping.com, all you have to do create an account and you are ready. Bubbl.us I would recommend for first timers and beginners, Wisemapping.com I would recommend for students who have previously constructed a mind map and have worked with word processing before.

What will they come up with next? I remember when I had to record a presentation, my mom had to bring out the huge video recorder that weighed a ton and looked more like a boombox! Now with the use of Animoto, teachers can create videos and presentations with the ability to incorporate images, video clips, music and text. 

Animoto also offers an array of tools to help with this. They make it easy to share your videos via email, Facebook, YouTube, or downloaded to a computer for use in presentations. There is a large library of music to choose from or you can upload your own MP3. They also offer HD video. They offer cinematic technology that evaluates and combines images, video clips, words and music with the same post-production techniques that are used in film and television. It also presents unbranded video with no logos or advertisements that appear across the screen if you pay for the more advanced plans. There is also a mobile application so you can record your videos with the use of your smartphone either through IPhone or Android.

I am not currently a teacher, but this is something that maybe beneficial to science my students. It could be very useful to construct presentations that need top of the line technology for a graduation presentation. Something that needs HD quality for a portfolio or higher level class. Especially for the sciences, you could add images from your lab procedure so that you could visual present the information to students. You could add an MP3 of certain jungle noises or mating calls of a certain species of birds that you recorded to the presentation for an audial effect. Even though phones generally are not allowed in class, you could use the mobile version of this application to take a video on a field trip or record a special video out in the field that you needed to upload to a certain website.

I don’t believe this is something that I would recommend for the average educator. Although it is very easy to use and incorporate your own images, media, and audio, the price is really what threw me off. You can sign up for the free services but it only offers unlimited 30 second videos as well as limited styles and music. You could purchase the Plus which is $30 a year and offers unlimited full length videos with limited styles and music and this service allows you to download it to your computer or a DVD. If you need more, you can purchase the Pro for $249 a year which offers unlimited full length videos, free HD, unlimited music and style choices, downloadable to your computer, unbranded labels, and you receive priority customer service. Most educators I know need more than 30 second videos, so the free service is not very useful. If you don’t really need something very advanced, the Plus would be sufficient, but you need to consider if this something you really need for your classroom. There are plenty of resources out there to make presentations for free if you have the right technology with the ability to import videos, media, and audio if need be without having to worry about logos and advertisements. They do have a mobile application of this, but as most phones are not to be used during the school day this might be difficult and violate school policy.

PhotoPeach is a site where you can create a slideshow for your friends or family. They can add background music, captions, and comments so you can expand on your story. You can set the transition speed and the effects. You can add quizzes on your slides, three privacy levels of public, unlisted, and private so you can protect the photos however you need to, and there is a comment function where others can comment on the slideshow. There is also a PhotoPeach Education! Here they inform you this site can help you put together works of art for a presentation which assist in the learning of media literacy. It is useful for all age groups and all subject areas. You can have the free sign up account which has ads and 30 maximum photos per album. The personal premium account doesn’t have ads, unlimited photos per album, downloadable to your computer, and you add your own music. The class premium allows the educator to create and manage multiple email accounts, organize projects with tags, students can’t delete anything so educators, and helps students avoid seeing any improper contents. There are plenty of ways to use this site! Some teachers used it to teach computer applications. A library used it to present slideshows of new books that were coming and some schools used it for teacher training. This site can be used for all places from a business office to a class reunion.

I am not currently a teacher, but this is something that maybe beneficial to my students. This can be used to put together projects or presentations. With the ability to put in quizzes, you could add a different aspect to your presentation to where your audience has the ability to participate instead of just sit back and listen. You could also use this for a slideshow for graduating seniors at the senior pep rally. Here you can add music and text to personalize it. I also think this would be useful for field trips where you could load up the pictures from your classroom adventures to present to the parents or to place on your wiki.

I would recommend this for educators to use in the classroom. It could be very useful with all grade levels. It is very easy to use but there is a fee involved for a premium service. The free account doesn’t offer much to be useful in the classroom, it’s more for a personal use. For $9 you have one educator and up to 50 student emails. If you have a small class or small school this would be good for you to use, but I plan on teaching high school biology where I will have about 100 students a semester. For $25 you have one educator and up to 150 student emails. According to their site, they can accommodate more students but you have to contact them personally. This would be a good resource to add to the classroom.