Stevenemerson's Weblog

MS Word Tools

stevenemerson — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:08:07 +0000

I learned some new tricks for MS Word, and honed my skills and talents for tools I was already familiar with. Check out the document! Steven’s Word Stuff

Hire Me

stevenemerson — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:24:05 +0000

This is the link to my Hire Me page. <http://sites.google.com/a/eden.rutgers.edu/steven-emerson/Home> It is very basic, but I used several tools to prove that I am able to develop a site if I so choose to do so in the future.

Windows MovieMaker

stevenemerson — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:54:09 +0000

I worked for a while on editing a movie on Windows MovieMaker. It turned out very good; I utilized several of the functions and tools available to me. However, I am still waiting for it to be accepted by google video. When it is available, I will post the link here: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-4947894851828680127&hl=en” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash”>

NOTE: The previous link now works (although I appologize for the sloppy way in which it is presented). If for some reason it still does not work, please follow the following directions.

This is a .doc file of my movie. You will have to save it to your computer and replace the .doc extension with .wmv: steves-movie-project

DonorsChoose Proposal

stevenemerson — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:48:03 +0000

My biological science class is devoid of a periodic table. While the chemistry rooms of my school are supplied with a periodic table, my department does not believe that funding should be used to give one to our biology classrooms. However, it is impossible to discuss many biological processes without discussing the chemical processes that affect them. For $50, my class could benefit from a periodic table specifically designed for biology classrooms that is large enough to be displayed on the wall. They could then more easily compare the various elements that make up all organisms.

Proposal

stevenemerson — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:01:06 +0000

For our biology classrooms, we should employ the use of TurningPoint. By having students anonymously submitting answers to questions during class and displaying the spread of answers to the students, classroom discussion will generated. Thus, students will engage in argumentation and scaffold with their peers. As a teacher, I will be able to use this discussion as a formative assessment throughout my units and lessons. More information about this technology can be found at www.turningtechnologies.com. I am confident that by ordering the trial package, life science teachers in our department will be able to see how this technology can easily be incorporated into our lesson plans before we are obligated to purchase. Also, by observing my classroom, you would be able to witness a demonstration of the quality peer-interactions that are invoked by utilization of this tool.

Temperature Probe Lesson

stevenemerson — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:31:36 +0000

To satisfy the learning goal of having students understand the flow of energy into and out of compounds as they move through various states, they could complete an experiment as basic as starting with ice, melting it, and then re-solidifying it. The vernier temperature probe would record the change in temperature on a graph, showing the rise and fall of temperature, along with the constant temperature during phase changes. The students could conclude the lab by discussing as a class why the temperature remains constant during this transition.

Side Note (Week 5)

stevenemerson — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:12:30 +0000

The projects for Teaching Life Science are located here: http://scienceeducation.wikia.com/wiki/Life_science_projects

Journal 3

stevenemerson — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:32:46 +0000

I tinkered with a wide variety of simulations. There was one fun one that showed infection of a new disease among individuals. Another great one was about predator/prey interactions of wolves and sheep. I think a great time to utilize these simulations is on half days when teachers normally show a movie instead of ‘real work’. I think the simulation of infected individuals could keep students watching and amazed for the entire 20 minutes. However, I could find relevant simulations to the unit of that week and have a class discussion about what they expect to happen and why. We could also discuss what’s going on throughout the simulation, and afterward we could either have a class discussion on the results, or they could write about their thoughts in their blog that week.

Journal 2

stevenemerson — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:41:56 +0000

For my students’ wiki project, I chose to use wikia scratchpad. The research project may be viewed here: http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Biology_Research_Project. I chose this wiki platform simply because this is the one we used in class. Therefore, I have already had a little experience working with it. The learning goals of my project are that students will (1) gain experience working in groups, (2) gain experience in researching topics, and (3) summarize information on their individual subtopics in ways their classmates will understand. All of these goals will be met by students working together to summarize their topics. To assess the achievement of these goals, I will refer to their wiki pages as I go through the unit. During this time, I will be able to address anything that I believe is important and missing from their pages. Also, the students’ misconceptions (all students in the class, not only those that worked in that group) may also be addressed as I refer to these pages.

Before I began this project, I was not terribly excited to complete the assignment. However, once I started working, I began to see how this may actually benefit my biology classroom one day. I found it much easier to complete once I learned the syntax and utilized my old biology textbook as a resource. Challenges also included figuring how to divide up the work among groups and deciding what standards to hold them to (should I give them a word minimum for each section, for example). I found this to be different than if I were to assign them a research ‘paper’ to complete individually. I came to the realization that it should be more of an online database that they can use as a resource throughout the unit, and that they should decide (within reason) what and how much information is necessary. Furthermore, unlike research papers, (like I said) this has the benefit of being available to all students throughout the unit for reference. Also, I may edit (or as an added task, have the students constantly editing) the pages of material as I cover each topic in class.

Journal 1

stevenemerson — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:04:36 +0000

Biology & Society increased innovation in the classroom by showing us videos of a instructor in a classroom demonstrating the teaching practices we were learning. This is innovative for several reasons: (1) we did not need to visit the classroom; (2) we could pause her lesson to discuss her practices, what we expect to occur next, or even to complete an exercise ourselves before we continued; (3) we could rewind her lecture multiple times if there was something vague that occurred that we wanted to analyze in more detail; etc. In fact, even the instructor in the video was using innovative technology, such as a Smart Board.

In the course Environmental Education in the Schools, we were given the task of measuring attributes of a nearby stream. The purpose of the task was to learn various methods of having students complete experiments. We were given two sets of materials; one was a chemistry kit and other was a portable electronic device. We learned that due to time restraints within the class period, the electronic device was much more efficient in that at a push of a button with the probe in the stream, all of the data of the chemistry kit (which took much longer, and was much less accurate) appeared on the screen. Also, the data from the chemistry kit had to be recorded in a notebook, while the portable device recorded everything instantly and automatically.

RutgersOnline (eCompanion) was used efficiently and effectively for Wetland Ecology. The site allowed students not only to download notes and take online quizzes, but a chat room was operational that allowed students to study together before exams. Also, when our class was divided into groups for our research projects, separate chat rooms were created for each group so that we could meet with each other. Not only did this bring our class together as a community, but it also increased efficiency; it is very difficult to find a time when that many group members can meet, but they are much more likely to agree to a time if they know they can sit in the comfort of their own home.

Because the above examples all enhance a positive learning experience, they are all ‘good’ technologies. In fact, many of the examples above could have fit into more than just one category of innovation, efficiency, and community. They enhance the positive learning experience by making time management more efficient and by generating class interest (most younger people like utilizing and witnessing technologies).

I enjoy my courses that utilize technology within their lectures and lessons. However, in too many of these courses, instructors do not know what to do when a technology fails. For example, the first lecture for Statistics this semester, the professor attempts to attach his laptop to the projector to no avail. After spending a while working on it himself, he calls over a technician (who also cannot get it working). After about 45 minutes, he actually yells at the tech guy and complains that he lost 45 minutes. However, one of the principles of teaching with technology that I have learned in several of my classes is that you need to always have a backup. When a technology fails, the show must still be able to go on. This occurred in a guest lecture for another course, where the PowerPoint would not work. The speakers actually told us they didn’t know what to say for the first 30 minutes while someone attempted to fix the problem. Technology is great, but one must always remember not to rely fully on them; they can be unpredictable. If they fail, and you can’t discuss your material without them, then these technologies have the opposite effect of efficiency.