Academic Integrity

I agree with Leslie that we need a uniform policy on academic integrity. I'm am hoping for it to be very specific and with consequences. I don't think they need to be dire like failing the class. I prefer the approach in which students have an opportunity to make up for their poor choices. For example, re-doing the project, writing an apology letter, appearing before a formal student-teacher academic integrity committee...things that are uncomfortable enough (yes, a little shame never hurt anybody...ha ha ha) to be a strong deterrent. I think we need to be tougher on them much sooner, before they make mistakes when it really counts (like in college) that could negatively affect their futures.

Thing 9 - Bill Nye On Demand

I had heard that SPPS had United Streaming some time ago. But it is hard to find time to sit down and learn a new application or explore a new resource with all the seemingly important immediate demands on our time. So I really appreciated looking at US at our last meeting and digging into it enough to make it useful. Soon after that meeting, Marcia and I downloaded some videos and burnt them to CD's. Once you walk through the process, it makes it so much easier in the future. My goal is to run through as many videos as I can looking for videos to support our Science 9 and Chem curriculum, then burn it on to CD's for our video library. (I don't want to depend on actual streaming for our core curriculum.) So the trick will be finding time to do this. Hmmm...maybe my TA can help with the downloading and burning process. I look forward to reporting back on our progress.

Thing 7 - The Proof is in the Planning

More on the Harding Science Fair...

I didn't use the RPC exactly, but I did lay out a schedule of due dates from the day the project was assigned. We had a due date for each of the following:
* Brainstorm of possible topics
* Final research question
* Procedure
* Background research write-up with references
* Preliminary data
* Final data
* Draft layout of poster board

I had students turn in a copy of each of the above. I started a spreadsheet to track their progress, but I didn't keep up with it as much as I would like. I had a hard time tracking my 165 students. So I didn't chase down students who were behind as much as I would like. I reminded students of due dates and most kept themselves on track. But some were still running experiments the day before it was due.

I reserved the computer lab ahead of time and put all those dates on their due date calendar. That helped quite a bit. It also kept my stress down, so that I was not scrabbling for computer time at the last minute. I also felt like I gave my students access to the resources they need. On our first trip to the computer lab, I directed their research to the Grolier Encyclopedia Americana. I spent some time exploring all of SPPS's on-line learning resources the night before and found that Grolier gave the most appropriate information at the appropriate level for the background info on their science projects.

Thing 6 - Harding Science Fair

All 9th graders at Harding are required to complete a science fair project. I've guided non-IB students through this process in the past. I've also guided 11th & 12th grade IB chemistry students through their "Group 4" science projects. This year I have pre-IB chem 9th graders. My goal was to keep the requirements for my 9th graders as close to the requirements for the full IB "Group 4" project as possible. The biggest difference was pushing them to investigate more challenging questions (no product comparisons or taste tests), to make the questions quantitative and objective, do a more in-depth job on the background research, and to complete a proper bibliography.

My students have done a great job selecting both challenging and quantitative questions. With few exceptions, their questions are as good as the questions by my full IB chem students. Ex:
* What is the relationship between the dissolved oxygen content in various samples of lake water and the amount of bacteria contained in the water?
* How does the quench temperature affect the strength of an iron rod after heat-treatment?
* How does the % sugar in a water solution affect the index of refraction of the solution?

A few things I did at the beginning of the project:
* Showed them past projects from the 11th/12th gr IB students, not 9th graders.
* Gave them a limited list of well-written quantitative questions. (If the list is too long, they tend to choose questions right off the list, rather than come up with their own questions.)
* Insisted that I would not accept any product comparisons or tests that rely on human subjects or opinions.
* Listed some of the cooler equipment at Harding they could use: vacuum chamber, UV lights, ovens, incubators, chromatography paper, Vernier LabPro detectors (motion, sound, light, pH), etc.

For students that struggled with coming up with questions, I gave them the list of science fair web sites. That helped some students. Eventually, I started just talking with the students about their hobbies: skateboarding, dance, music, food, etc., and we would go from there. Some questions that came out of these conversations:
* From an interest in Chinese lanterns -> What is the effect of % starch in a water solution on the amount of light transmitted through the solution?
* From an interest in music -> How does the length of a wind chime affect the frequency of the sound produced?

I hadn't read the RPC in detail until now, but I appreciated the emphasis on the front end...developing good questions. I think emphasizing the front end helped my students the most.

Thing 5 - Eating my words....

Ok...I went to the Urban Plant help page and figured out how to set up events. Urban Planet creates both a list of due dates and an interactive calendar. Yeah! Now I just need to figure out how to make my website "pretty".

Thing 5 - My web page

Here is my website: http://harding.spps.org/Jamie_Thompson.html

Leslie gave a great class at Harding on Urban Planet. We were up and going in no time. Now I just need to sit down and add all my content.

I used to have a page at www.teacherweb.com. I'll have to say that I really liked it because it was easy to customize without having to know html. It was $30/year & much easier to use than Urban Planet. It had an amazing calendar function and the ability to send out email updates to students and parents with the click of a button. Hopefully, I can make my website more functional with some advanced training and creativity. So, Leslie, we are looking forward to your next visit!

More on Thing 4 - "WhatShouldIReadNext.com"

"Library Thing" reminds me of a great website I came across called www.whatshouldireadnext.com. You enter the books that you have enjoyed reading, then it gives you a list of books that you would enjoy reading next. You can also exclude books. Love it!

Thing 4 - You Gotta Love those Librarians

Libraries have always held a special place in my heart. When doing research projects in high school, I did feel overwhelmed by the number of resources at our public library. But once I dug in, I felt I had all the resources I needed to do a thorough job. Now, whatever sense of "overwhelmingness" I had among the stacks pales in comparison to doing research on the internet. At least there was a finite end to the resources at the library. Internet research requires far more picking and choosing. I think our students need help dealing with feeling overwhelmed also. Perhaps we should construct more assignments that are scoffalded...using just 1 databases, then 2, then 3, etc. I've always had great experiences with librarians and have been amazed at how quickly they can find information.

Power Standards-Power Session

Today was a professional development day at Harding, part of which consisted of "unpacking" the science 9 scientific method standards in student-friendly language. The laptop & projector made it incredibly easily. Everyone was thrilled with how productive we were. I pulled the standards up on my computer, expanded the font, and projected then on the screen. I typed as everyone spoke. It made it so easy to discuss each person's ideas and the wording of each SWBAT. We finished the entire standard in less than the time alloted. Normally, our frustration at trying to edit a document together tends to spur us to further vent about the standards and why we are doing what we were doing. But giving everyone a place to focus made it extremely clear and productive. There were fewer fights, tangets, and vent-sessions. We actually left happy with one another. Thanks metronet!

What the Terminator taught my kids about quarks...

Today (well, 2 weeks ago, but I couldn't get into blogger), I did a lesson on subatomic/fundamental particles. I have almost all of my atomic structure notes on power point now. So I did the notes on quarks (up, down, top, bottom, strange, & charm) on power point. As part of the powerpoint, we had pictures of particle pathways in bubble chambers, linear & circular accelerators, and the equipment at CERN in Switzerland. I even credited the pictures I used...quite miraculous for me! We then connected to the internet to see pictures of the inside workings of an accelerator and to get a sense of their relative size...huge! Finally, I played a clip from the Terminator 3 DVD on my laptop. Although "Hollywoodized", the scene in which the terminator is chasing the hero through a circular accelerator is a pretty good representation. OK, minus the blinking neon lights. Also, the scene emphasizes the use of strong magnets. (The terminator, made of metal, sticks to the accelerator when it is turned on and the magnets are activated.) Goofy, but memorable. Could I have done all of this prior to getting this equipment? Sure. In fact I have, but it was like running a circus...flipping between the overhead projector, a borrowed LCD projector & laptop, and cueing the VCR repeatedly for this one scene. With the metronet equipment, it took about a 3rd of the time in the end, and I was able to show and explain more. I felt like having the equipment I need to do a good job is respectful of both my time and my students' time.

Aha! Finally got into blogger...

Hmm...I'm not sure why but today was the third time I had a really hard time getting into blogger. The site? My internet connection? Who knows? But I tried again this evening and haven't had any delays so far. So I am behind on my blogs....

Working myself out of a job

I am so happy to have this laptop and LCD projector. I get so much more work done...home, school, coffee shops. I love it! Attendance is easier, updating grades is easier, everything is easier. I am looking forward to getting my website set up on Urban Planet. I had one on teacherweb.com, but it cost me $30 a year. I uploaded assignments and class notes.

I've been putting my class notes on PowerPoint. It is not that I couldn't have done that before, it is just that without my own laptop and LCD I can't depend on getting a hold of a lap top for sure. So there is no point planning on PowerPoint. But now I can! In fact, I put my notes for the Atomic Structure Unit on Powerpoint. One of my students was out sick that day, so when she came back, it was very easy to just print out a copy of the class notes.

If all goes well, my students will be able to download all the notes and homework from my website. Then they won't need to come to class and I can stay home and eat bon-bons all day. Ha ha ha!

More on Thing 3 - NPR Podcasts

I searched for a news summary and found a nice 5 min daily podcast from NPR. I didn't realize that a large number of feeds were podcasts & movies. I could actually see playing this for my homeroom students daily. I love news summaries...but I prefer printed.

Thing 3 - RSS is real simple

Thanks to the code from Ann, it was easy getting my feeds set up. I looked for additional feeds...including from the world of ballroom, of course, but it was tough to find things really valuable in the format of a blog. I can see using RSS if my students each had blogs on which to post questions and chemistry HW tips. It would be very easy to see what they are thinking.

History of the Atom Project

I am very grateful for Marcia's help with getting my 9th grade pre-IB Chemistry up to speed with the databases on connect.spps.org. She also showed them how to use easybib. Their assignment is to research the major contributors to our modern model of the atom: Dalton, Thomson, Bohr, etc. They then have to present what they learned in the form of a poster, skit, poem, rap, etc. The bibliography with complete citations from reliable sources is a big part of their grade...no wikipedia allowed!

Bells & Whistles Finally Working

I finally got my avatar working! I was surprised how addicted I got to making the perfect avatar. But what I enjoy the most is helping other people get things working on their blogs or websites. There are a few new teachers here that rec'd laptops as part of the new teacher initiative.
Because the effective use of laptops and LCDs is on my mind, it was easy to help out our new physics/chemistry teacher. I got her set up with webelements, orbitron, and how she could use her favorite physics websites in class.

Who are you?

OK...a major frustration of mine concerning blogs and on-line communities is setting in big time. I've been reading everyone's blogs, but I can't tell who is who. I'm trying to connect a face I remember from the meetings with an avatar or nickname. It is not going well. My request: can you put your name, school, & subject area somewhere at the top of the page? A real pic would be helpful, too. Yes, that's my glamour shot photo below. Cheesey, but at least you know who you are talking to. :)

More on Thing 2 - 'ringing my Hands over Bells & Whistles

Help!
I have created an avatar and attempted to add a site counter and a picture. But I can't figure out how to get the avatar on my blog and my site meter is coming out in Japanese. My pic only shows up in the blog itself and not in my profile. I followed their directions for getting the pic into the profile 5 times with no luck. Any ideas? Arigato!

Thing 2 - Murky Waters

I confess...blogging is not my cup of tea. It is like wading into the murky waters of a seemingly isolated inlet on the coast of the pacific northwest...you think it is just you and maybe a few friends out for a beach party. But in reality, there is a vicious riptide sucking your thoughts and words right into the thermosaline-based currents towards South America.

I've seen way too many students and young family members dragged under by myspace; suspensions and arrests among the worst results. Let's teach our students how to use it wisely. Personal boundaries apply to both face-to-face situations and in cyber-space.

Now that I have vented, there are, of course, some benefits to blogging. I can absorb people's opinion with a quick skim rather than hearing every word in a meeting that has to fit everyone's schedule. Students are used to it.

More on Thing 1...Info Literacy is mandated but easy to ignore

Information literacy, technically, is mandated in education, but it is spread so thinly through so many content areas that it is easy to ignore by any one content area. It needs to be a major standard in at least one content area at a very specific grade level so that every student is guaranteed the opportunity to learn and master accessing and using reliable data. Right now it is hit and miss.

Some thoughts:
Elementary school - basic computer skills
Middle school - research using reliable databases
9th grade - complete a research paper using reliable databases and proper citation
10th-12th grade - the above skills are expected and assessed in all research-based assignments

Thing 1 - Core - Information Semi-literate but Stale

I thought I was "Info Girl", able to access large quantities of information in a single click. But I realize that I'm more like "Info Girl" with a hang-over. I used to be up to speed and unafraid of digging through stacks of musty reference books in the library basements, but when it comes to internet research, my gusto is lacking. I was a googler and wikipedier because they are easy. I knew how to find reliable information or who to ask to get me there, but I was out of practice and stale. I didn't want to be organized, do a logical keywork search...that is once I got the password to the databases from the reference librarian. Finally I sat down with the Queen of the Harding Castle, our illustrious and regal librarian Ms. Preller, to walk me through the databases available through spps connect. I think that was the most important thing I needed: a hands-on walk through, then it is up to me to practice, practice, practice. Marcia and I are going to come up with some worksheets asking the students to find particular facts that they will only be able to find using the academic databases, not google.