Science Technologies

A couple of the science technologies I explored were the stellarium and google earth applications. The stellarium program was especially interesting in that it allows the user to view the sky from various points on the Earth (not to mention the Moon!) and at any point in history. Children can view the sky on the day they were born, during specific historical events, etc. I think there are many fun applications for this software. Children can view the sky as they study Christopher Columbus and his trek across the Atlantic Ocean; this activity would mesh science and history lessons and provide a truly exciting experience.
Goggle earth is another fun program children can use to learn about geography and can help children when studying any number of subjects. For example, if children are learning about ancient Egypt, they can 'visit' Egypt using goggle earth and see the pyramids first hand.

TPACK

I think the TPACK information is very interesting and rather important. I know that pedagogical knowledge should be second nature for teachers but many teachers refuse to use technology in the classroom and others simply don't have the resources. Although the latter of the two is a difficult situation to navigate through, both should be worked out. Teachers need to use technology because it allows children to learn in a hands on environment; sensory information vital to learning. Content information is also a gimmie for most teachers since you cannot teach what you do not know. All three aspects spoken of in TPACK are important and technology truly enhances content.

Questions for IP&T 301

Questions for modules 9, 11, & 36

1) Do all disabilities lead to handicaps?
- Some disabilities lead to handicaps, but not in all contexts. Example: being blind is a handicap if you want to drive a car but is not when playing the piano (pg 123).

2) True or False. Some children are both gifted and learning disabled.
- True (pg 166)

3) Which of the following is NOT one of the four broad abilities of emotional intelligence:
a) perceiving
b) understanding
c) integrating
d) exploring
(pg 129)

RSS & Web 2.0

The RSS and Web 2.0 really contribute themselves to a cyber classroom. Creating a blog for a classroom is a neat idea that will excite the students and teach them about technology. Adding a few RSS feeds into the class blog allows those students to have quick access to various news stories, pictures, and video that the teacher can tie into assignments and discussion found in the classroom environment. I know it's my job to keep up with the new and interesting ways technology is used; RSS and Web 2.0 are great examples of that and I look forward to using both in my class room to intrigue and expand the minds of my students.

How I Learned to Bathe Puppies (IP&T 301) Reflection 1

How I Learned to Bathe Puppies

I decided that I would learn how to bathe puppies since it seemed like a fun thing to do and I would be able to help someone out in the process. I know a lady whose two dogs had a total of twenty puppies (yes twenty) so I would have no shortage of practice. The idea was rather simple: gather materials (shampoo, towels, etc), run the water and allow it to warm up, put the dog in the tub, rinse, shampoo, rinse, and dry. Unfortunately, it rarely went that smoothly.
I learned a few things in the process, which I believe allowed the experience to flow much easier as I gathered more experience. Constant chatter seemed to help the dogs calm down and quickly drying the dogs fully allowed them to "forget" the trauma of being washed and scamper off to redirtify themselves. I also learned that keeping them from jumping was a definite plus…I understand that dog do not have the jumping ability of a cat, but they hop pretty well when they want to. Personality really played a factor in bathing the dogs; some were reserved and behaved quite well while others were very energetic and truly hated the experience.
I know the experience helped me in mastering the skill. An example of this was the speed in which the dogs were washed. The first few puppies took much longer than the last few, which was to be expected. Learning how to quickly dry the dogs was something I thought would be easier than it was because all of the dogs had a natural tendency to want to shake the water off. So instead of trying to stop them from doing it I figured it would be smarter to just slightly pull the towel off and allow them to shake away. Once the dogs were done dancing I could simply go back to towel drying.
All in all it was a good experience and something I looking forward to doing again.

Initial Post - Technological Background

I would like to believe that I have a fairly well rounded technological background. I've done everything from surf the world wide web to program my very own paint applications. I'm very familiar with Windows but I have used Macs in the past. I love technology and am not afraid of learning new programs; seriously what's the worst that could happen? You accidently access a restricted government website, launch several nuclear warheads and obliterate the face of the Earth? Um, yeah, I guess that's pretty bad.