Now I can say I am tech savvy...

Now I can say I am tech savvy...

It is hard to believe that over the course of a semester, I have gone from never dreaming of creating web pages to creating many with the help and motivation from my instructional technology course at Ashland University (EDCI 505).  Over the past couple weeks, I have become quite fond of Weebly, a site that makes web authoring easy.  

I first made a WebQuest on the applications of DNA technology.  A WebQuest is an inquiry oriented lesson in which some or all of the information required by the students to complete the lesson comes from the internet.  WebQuests follow the same format of providing an introduction to the lesson, a summary of the task being asked of the students, a step by step process the students should take, and plenty of additional resources to help the students complete the task.  All this information prepares the students for the measurable outcome of the lesson, the evaluation.  I chose to design a WebQuest that highlights real world applications of the principles of genetics.  I can see incorporating a multitude of practical applications via lessons presented as WebQuests both in the classroom and/or as separate assignments.  This is a great way to bring the most current resources directly to your students to facilitate their learning and spark their critical thinking skills.  

You can view my WebQuest here:  http://docklipfellscience.weebly.com/

For the final project of my technology class, I made my own electronic portfolio that includes all the different technologies I practiced over the semester.  This is a great way to reflect on learning these new skills, as well as to provide potential employers with a beautifully presented showcase of my ability to integrate technology into the classroom.  

You can view my Electronic Portfolio here (work still in progress):  http://docklipfellscienceportfolio.weebly.com/

More technology for the classroom!

Over the past few weeks I have learned lots of new technology. I learned how to create my very first educational movie using MovieMaker for Windows and then posting it on YouTube.  I made a movie that highlights the stages of embryonic development.  I personalized it by using ultrasound pictures of my niece and nephew and set it to the music that my nephew was born too; it made it a lasting emotional tribute to them and the beauty of development.  

You can watch my YouTube video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2UX1NV4pW4

Last week I made my very first WIKI!  This was a completely new skill for me as prior to this course, I had never made a webpage.  That is how I view my Wiki, as my own website.  I reviewed two additional new and emergent Web 2.0 technologies, LiveBinders and Pixton for Schools, as the initial content for my Wiki.  Setting it up with Wikispaces was much easier than you might think which both surprised and encouraged me.  Prior to making my Wiki, I had thought that I would eventually use this blog as my educational website for communicating information to my future students, but now I am not sure if I will use my Wiki or my Blog.

You can view my Wiki page here:  http://klipfell-education-technology.wikispaces.com/home

Google Docs!

Over the past few weeks I have learned how to use the free online document office service called Google Docs, or Google Drive.  Anyone with a Gmail account can create, edit and store documents online (on the Google cloud) and grant access to anyone with the direct link to the document or by specifying colleagues email addresses.  I utilized the spreadsheets and the forms within Google Docs for my instructional technology course.  

Google spreadsheet works almost exactly like Microsoft Excel, with similar intuitive functionality, so it does not take long to get started creating your own spreadsheet.  I created a sample grade book that I could easily use from any computer by signing into my Gmail account.  The nice thing about Google Docs is that you no longer have to email attachments back and forth to yourself or your colleagues when working on a project that requires multiple revisions.  Not only does this save space in your email inbox and on your computer hard drive, but it takes the stress and extra organization out of having to keep track of which file is the most recent.  Google Docs automatically updates and saves your new work so that the next time you open your document, it is the most recent version.  Kind of neat! 

I also explored Google Forms to create an online quiz or homework assignment.  There are multiple ways of creating questions to suit any need you may require.  Once you write your quiz, you simply give your students the link to the quiz.  The students will then take the quiz online and submit their answers.  Flubaroo is an application that works with Google Forms to grade the quiz and automatically enter the results into a Google spreadsheet.  Once all the results are in the spreadsheet, it is easy to do statistics on the class spread of results.  The best thing about Google Forms is the ability to easily create a quiz, homework assignment, or test, and then have Flubaroo automatically grade them all for you!  This will be a huge time saver in the future!

Introduction to Instructional Technology

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog that will be showcasing the different modules I have learned in my Instructional Technology course at Ashland University as part of my transition from a career in scientific research to a career in science education of tomorrow's innovative leaders. The course started out with an introduction to get familiar with some of the many things we will be "learning by doing" throughout the semester. I have to admit that I was surprised to find that I had never heard of most of these educational technologies, but was eager to dive in and learn how I may be able to implement these new technologies in my future classrooms.

This course takes advantage of multiple Web 2.0 technologies which provides educators with a variety of resources allowing them to build a shared internet environment to enhance the students learning. One such Web 2.0 technology is Symbaloo EDU which is a platform on which either the teacher or the student can create a personal learning environment (PLE). These PLE's allow teachers and students to create individualized information portals to organize websites, videos, guidelines, tutorials etc. on a given content area or more specifically a topic within a unit of study.  Symbaloo EDU is the perfect resource for teachers to provide additional helpful resources for each unit of study, or for students to organize their own self directed online learning.

Here is the link to the Symbaloo EDU personal learning environment that I created: http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/docklipfellscience

Another Web 2.0 technology we learned about was Glogster EDU which is a free interactive poster, also called a glog, or graphical blog.  These interactive posters can be used as instructional aids by the teacher creating one for a particularly difficult subject the students are learning. However, I think the most appropriate use of Glogster EDU is to spark students creativity in learning by assigning them to create their own glog on a given or chosen topic that they are learning in the classroom.  This assignment will help them become more knowledgeable about their glog content, as well as the glogs their classmates created.  All could be publicly available so all students in the class can view their classmates glogs as additional educational aids.

Here is the link to the Glogster EDU interactive poster that I created on Mitosis:
http://klipfell.edu.glogster.com/mitosis

Stay tuned for more reflection on the next instructional technologies I will be learning in the coming weeks!