674+Discussion+Questions

674 Discussion Questions

==** Create a new page titled "674 Discussion Questions on your wiki. Cut and paste the following questions and answer them on your wiki. Please view other student's response to question 3. You do not need to respond to anyone else's discussion questions. When you have finished this assignment, please go to Marian Online and submit this assignment for grading. You do not need to upload anything to Marian Online. ** == ==**__Discussion Question 1 - completed during Weekend One __**==

What do you know about using technology with students?

At present, I am good with microsoft Word and Excel (but rusty with PowerPoint--I and other faculty have expressed that PP is being over-used and is falling out of favor given all the other types of media/presentation options available). I am quite good at getting my computer (on my desk) into the web, surf it reasonably quickly and retrieve useful stuff--document, audio and video. I am also getting (slowly) up to speed on the District Website that has been installed--Moodle. The dedicated computer projector and a dedicated document camera (instead of a SMART Board) were installed in my Physics room about 2 weeks before the end of last semester. The timing is perfect!! I'm half-way thru my Masters program and excellent, dedicated, equipment has been put into my hands in my own room. What do you want to know about using technology with students?

The key thing for me I think is what can I do, what can I use without having to depend upon huge support and rapid forward thinking/progress from my adminsitration? They have provided technology equipment for me. That is a very good thing. I am afraid though, that key decision-makers in my district think that is about all they have to do for now--they think the hardware is "the technology". There is so much more that can be done, so much more that should be done but I have no idea how quickly they will get on board.

==**__Discussion Question 2 - completed during Weekend One__ **==

Look at the Essential 21st Century Skills List - Select one skill and discuss how you already meet this skill via your current instruction.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY

I think I do a good job of making it very clear to students from day one who is responsible for their grade. I make a point of reminding them early and often in the semester that from a grade standpoint, I am a bookkeeper. I help them keep track of their grade. I don't "give grades". They "earn grades". I generally don't have a problem with that being misunderstood later on in the semester BUT despite online access to their grades from home via a secure password, students still don't keep very close track of their grades on their own. This leads me straight to the second 21st Century Skill that I need to work on.

Select another Essential 21st Century Skill that you may NOT already touch upon and project how you might be able to meet that need in future instruction.

SELF-DIRECTION

As I stated above, even with online access from home, way too many of my students don't keep very close track of their grades in progress throughout the semester. I really want to help my kids do a better job of that and as an obvious (and even more difficult!!) extension of this idea, they should become more involved in directing their own learning. This is definately a 21st Century Skill that I want to help my students develop and own!

==** __Discussion Question 3 - to be completed one week after the Weekend One__ ** ==

Find a TeacherTube/YouTube video that you could use for instructional purposes and copy and paste the address of the video for others to view. Explain how you would use this with your students.

NOTE: Since there are so many videos to choose from, please avoid any repeats.

As you and my cohorts know, I teach Physics, both the regular version plus an Honors section each semester. The video I have chosen is from the "Mythbuster's" TV series and will be used in both of these types of classes. Jaime and Adam have done lots of outrageous things over their nine (or is it ten?) year run on TV but many of the episodes cover good engineering or physics stuff. They are extremely thorough and have the resources to tackle things that many of us Physics Teachers have to cover with simpler equipment, or approximations or just plain hand-waving. This YouTube video is the final few minutes of a classic experiment in Physics: The famous "bullet drop vs bullet fired" demonstration. Physicists have known for centuries that gravity plays no favorites, that is, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of weight (if air resistance can be eliminated). This is an easy demonstration to do with a rock and a wadded-up piece of paper. Even though they have much different weights, both will fall and hit the table at the same time--at least they do to the naked eye. The paper wad does fall a little slower due to air resistance but it is not practical to remove the air from the classroom. The "Bullet Drop" demonstration is intended to show that a bullet dropped from exactly the same height and at exactly the same time as an identical bullet is fired (exactly horizontally) from a gun will result in BOTH bullets hitting the ground at the same time. The dropped bullet will take the same amount of time to fall to the ground by gravity as the fired bullet does. However, the fired bullet will end up perhaps hundreds of feet away from the muzzle due to its high horizontal speed. Many people simply cannot bring themselves to believe this. Using high-tech equipment and high-speed cameras, the Mythbusters dramatically prove this classic Physics Demonstration with a .45 caliber handgun in a big empty warehouse. It is typically spectacular Mythbusters stuff and is a dead-nuts fit to my Physics Curriculum. I will show this video clip as part of the unit on Horizontal Ballistics that we study in mechanics.

The link is:

[|www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9wQVIEdKh8]

View two other students’ videos.

==**__Discussion Question 4 - to be completed Saturday/Weekend Two__ ** ==

To complete the KWHL- what have you learned from the readings, activities and discussions from this course about using technology with your students?

I really appreciated that in this course a good amount of time was budgeted for us to "snoop" around and see just what's out there Technology-wise. At this point in this Masters Program it is beyond obvious to me just how much amazing stuff is available to me as an educator. A common lament by me and my compatriots at my High School is that we don/t get enough (any!!??) time to help each other and share ideas. The In-Services seem to be servicing someone other than the staff. I keep complaining that administration should do things that will help me help the kids. That's what we are all in this business to do for Pete's Sake! In this class we got a chance to do a lot of that--look around and find quality things for our own professional development as well as great stuff for the kids! And, what a bonus, we get lots of chances to share them with colleagues.

I am leaving this class more assured than ever that even though I will never catch up to my students in terms of my technical skills/knowledge matching theirs, I am gaining enough skills and knowledge to catch them off guard and challenge them to use their skills for things other than just games and their own personal interests! I am gaining in my own technical literacy and I am going to be able to challenge my kids this fall even more.