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Module 04 Reading Assignment and Journal Reflection

It was at first very intimidating! When they say they have over 6000 resources available for you to look at how do you pick out which one to do first?!  After exploring and seeing the different topics that they offered it became a really extremely useful resource. I found some fascinating simulations of volcanoes and plate tectonics.  I had some idea of what was available when I did the ArcGIS assignment.  Some of the resources that I found were so in-depth and detailed that I couldn't help but instantly save and forward their sites for use in my classroom this week! The visuals that were clear and explained the concepts of plate tectonics are going to make these lessons so much more fun for the students.  I am excited to see what they think of them.   Secondary science teachers seem to have the short end of the stick.  The resources that are readily available seem more geared to lower grades and middle school.  While many of the re...
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Module 03 Reading Assignment and Journal Reflection

     I have had experience using some of the interactive maps that were discussed in chapter 6.  The rest of the resources that were discussed in the chapters I had never seen before.  This has made these readings both more interesting and much more concerning.  My current school does not have a lot of resources and is relatively new.  I switched from being a history teacher to being a science teacher.  I wish I had known these resources before doing the switch.  GIS is an incredible resource which would have been much more helpful than the static images I had access to at the start.      My school has no probeware.  I work in a STEM charter school.  I have recently taken over the science class which I had been waiting to do for four years!  Sadly the school did not have a lab or any types of glassware or probeware for the students.  I am currently in the process of setting up the science lab and ordering eq...
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Module 2 Reading Assignment Journal For this module I got to go use the WISE system! It was a blast.  Easy to use and lots of cool pictures and videos really help bring the lessons to life.  Especially for those teaching middle school science this could be a great resource for teachers to have!  I went through a couple of the different lessons that WISE let us preview.  I did a quick comparison of the ones that offered a distance learner to see what was different.  It was very cool!! As a teacher who has both distance and in classroom kids it is a difficult task to pace all the different students.  The distance learners being an especially difficult task.  With no camera or mic half the time we can't tell where they are.  WISE let the student self pace but still involved them with both the teacher and the class as a whole!  My favorite one was the density and buoyancy lesson.  That incorporated so many different ideas and subjects. ...
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Module 1 Reading Assignment Journal One thing kept popping into my head when I was reading the first two chapters.  It was the dates of these studies.  I couldn't help but wonder if there has been any significant changes in the data if the studies were done in modern times.  Technology has taken vast steps forwards since the last studies were taken.  Are the conclusions from decades past still applicable? Or did the onset of new technology and ease of access change these findings? The week one readings had us think about "making thinking visible."  This phrase can be applied to many topics of study but I believe that science in particular benefits from this.  English and math you can see on the papers in front of you and begin to understand the concepts.  Science on the other hand has concepts and ideas that are very hard to imagine and even harder to imagine correctly!  This phrase :"making thinking visible" means show how the process work and pu...
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