Hey group, Jeff here, I have been kicking around the idea for inquiry project number one and I have been thinking about a focus question centering around, “What Internet websites/ resources do students view to be the most useful and content rich in the subject of chemistry (exact subject to be determined soon) and by what criteria do they choose so?” I have a few questions that I’d like some input on. 1.) The focus question appears too cumbersome. How can I condense it without taking the central question out? (If necessary) 2.) Am I trying to bite off too much in this question? Is it too broad? 3.) How large of a focus group should I use? I want enough data to see significant patterns, but I don’t want to get hung up swimming in data. 4.) Who should my focus group include? Students of similar ability, similar achievement level, etc? The scientist in me says, “Eliminate variables” but I am uncertain what to eliminate and what should serve as the controls
The basic concept is to equip each student with a laptop and have them search one or multiple topics within chemistry, recording where they went, why they went there, and their interpretation of strength of content. Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated! I look forward to collaborating with the group!
Jeff, I just have a few things to say. First of all, I think that is a great project idea. I know in your other post you mentioned you are a Science teacher, so that seems like a very suitable question for the students you are around each day. I am not sure about your first point, but I think you will be able to do well with this. If you teach middle, or high school students, you most likely have periods. If that is true, I would do maybe one or two groups as you focus group. It can't hurt to perhaps look at what others use, but if you stick to using those two groups you shouldn't end up with too much information. Also, I think you should remove as many variables as possible such as learning levels. The lower students will probably use different locations for information than the higher level learners. Whichever you choose, a good scientist will note which variables he used, so as long as you state which group you focused on it should make for an interesting assignment. With that being said, you may want to focus on a few students in each class that are higher level learning. If you are like most teachers, you have a variety in each class. Just some things to think about, but I think it sounds like you have a great idea started!
Laura, Thanks for the feedback. I have a question, the response to my first comment on too big a research question. Did I interpret you correctly to say you think I can work with what I have, or it could be streamlined? I was thinking about focusing on the ability level of upper level students in this particular study because I agree they might have a fundamental difference in the cognitive ability to seek out, filter, and process Internet information. Keeping mostly, let's say "A and B" students, might be okay to make certain assumptions, such as they have "similar" educational patterns of behavior...I'll have to think on that, I'm not sure if that'll fly or not. My general plan is to select the students and have them participate after school in a session on certain Chemistry topics. This eliminates the constraint of the bells at school, but also gives me just the information I need from the students selected. I won't have to filter out the lower achieving students but could be used for later comparison if I decide to extend the study. I look forward to seeing your plan!
I have been wrestling with what I want to work on all week. All I really have are some ideas, but I am still trying to figure out what and how exactly to format it into the project.
I teach first grade students and having them do searches on their own just yet might be a little to much for them. On the guidelines it stated that we could do group work. We are currently working on weather and mapping in science and social studies. We have been graphing the weather where we live, and comparing it to Barrow, Alaska. To do this, I have hooked the computer up to the T.V. in the classroom and we have been looking at Weather.com, as well as web cams to see Barrow AL. I am trying to think of a project having to do with weather in different areas, and how we locate ways to find it. I thought something like that would be appropriate because it goes along with our curriculum, since at this age staying after school isn't really an option. Do you all think that I would be able to come up with a project idea based on this information or do you think it will be completely off base? Thanks for the input.
I do think that you have a good question, it doesn't seem like too much, and I almost think if you do change it, you would lose some of the central question ( which I know you are afraid of).
Now one question I have after reading your idea a second time is: have you thought of your topic for Chemistry yet? There are lots that you could do I am sure. It has been a long time since I took Chemistry but I do remember enjoying that class and the experiments etc. that we did. With all of the options available on the Internet, you can really make your students enjoy it! Good luck!
I think both of your ideas are off to a great start. Jeff, I like your focus question. I was thinkin it could be shortened to just content rich instead of useful and content rich. I just thought they sounded similar, but it's just a suggestion:-) I have a similar question that you do about the levels of students to do the investigating on. I think you could focus on similar levels of cognitive abilities or different levels. Maybe look at what it is your trying to show through your investigation. For example, I am thinking about showing that the information a student gains and thinks about while researching on the internet is related to their level of cognitive abilities. What do you guys think?
Laura, your idea seems great for 1st graders! I am an elementary teacher as well and will be doing my investigations during our regular computer time too. I think your idea of having them find sources to help track weather will be an awesome way to get them involved with the curriculum in a meaningful way. Well done! I think your right on. Maybe doing whole group searches will benefit you since they will have a hard time doing it on their own. Good luck Jeff and Laura!
My idea relates to a project my 3rd grade students do mostly at school and a little at home. They make a NF Animal bk. This correlates to our Science GLCE's and Reading and Writing GLCE's. The kid's LOVE this project! I hope this fits with the format of this inquiry project. I am planning on picking a few students at different learning abilities and monitoring them in two different situations. The first being that they find sites about their animals on their own. The second situation is that I give them sites they can go to. The hypothesis is that students will learn more about their animal from the sites I give them. In closing, I will show them how to find sites that are credible and content specific to their needs. I would gladly take any ideas you guys have to offer me. Thanks!
Hi everyone, I think all of your ideas sound good. Jeff, I was having the same thoughts that Monique had, in that it could be interesting to track the information a student gains and thinks about while researching on the internet and how it relates to their level of cognitive abilities. I think your focus question sounds good but could be shortened up a bit. I agree with Monique about eliminating useful and sticking with content rich. Your idea of having some students stay after school to help with this project makes sense to me. I would be difficult to fit it into your regular class schedule.
Laura I think your project idea with a focus on weather in different areas would be very appropriate with first graders. I agree with Monique that whole group searches would be best with your students.
Monique I really like your idea of comparing a group of students that would do a search on their own, and then doing one with a website list you provide for them. I think the results could be very interesting.
I'm interested in doing my project on Rocks and Minerals since it is our first Science Unit in 3rd grade. I'm thinking of having four research teams. Each team could generate a specific question that they want to explore related to the topic, and then develop a plan for locating resources, checking for reliablity of sources,and a method for organizing their findings.
Focus Question: How does a cooperative research group plan,search,find,evaluate,organize, and make use of Internet resources in order to answer a compelling question related to a specific content area?
I am curious about the direction that the students would go with all these pieces, but maybe it is too much. Let me know what you think.
I am just brainstorming as a I go here. I really like the idea of encouraging our students to ask great questions, seek answers, and make connections, but I am wondering whether I should let them generate a question in their group, or if I should provide a variety of questions related to our curriculum standards in our Rocks and Minerals Unit and then let the groups choose one off the list. I would appreciate any feedback on this.
Hello all, This is Todd. I just wanted to chime in and say hello. I am still working out the finer details of my project but I will share what I am thinking and you can give me your feedback.
I teach adult students. These are working staff and Faculty here at MSU. I teach them how to design and build web sites. So sticking along those line here is what I was thinking.
Get a group of 5 to 10 volunteers that have taken my web design class. Give them a list of 5 rarely used elements (Web page tags) and have them research the attributes and possible values of those attributes. I will then observe and report on the search methodologies that they employ.
In my classes I have several sites that I show for reference, W3C, Web Dev Guru, but there are many other that exist.
This is my initial idea. Please let me know what you think.
Laura, I think that your idea with the first graders is perfect. I think that at that age level a large group project is the perfect thing. No one has to work alone and they all get to feel that they had something to contribute to the outcome of the project. The fact that it followes along with the curriculm is a bonus. You will not have to take any time away from normal studies to do this project.
Jeff, I think your project has promise. to look at your questions:
1. Once you narrow down the exact subject, I do not think that this will be cumbersum. The exact subject will automatically narrow the focus.
2. Again, the exact subject will narrow the focus and you can always add some constraints to the subject matter to further nawwor the focus.
3. I think that a few small groups for high school or a couple of larger groups for middle school would be perfect.
4. I would not pick the groups based on Grades (only A and B students). I would look for students that have a strong computer connection and use them. I do a lot of work with young boys in the BSA. I see that many of them are just lazy. They could achieve better grades if they gave more effort but just do not want to. To semi quote something I read from Dave Perkins (Teaching for Understanding fall 1993)in CEP800:
If two students took a spelling test and one scored perfect and the other did poorly, Does that mean that one is smarter than the other, or could it mean that the second just did not care about the test and did not give the correct answers.
Hey Gang, Thanks for all the feedback. It helped to give me some better direction for my project.
Laura, I like the aim of your project and agree with the group that a group based project would be most appropriate for 1st graders. You spoke of the idea of researching weather in different areas and a site popped into my head that I had seen a while back in a class I took, it's the NOAA. It's a government site but it's full of all kinds of information on weather and other atmospherically relevant information. There is a ton of archived data and lots of maps, graphs and others. Maybe you can use this site and maybe you can't but I thought I'd throw it out there. Two other things I thought about. 1.) If you are planning on doing a group search, how are you going to get the kids involved? (Ask them what you should type in, etc.) 2.) Maybe, if computers are available to students and they have somewhat of an ability to function on them, you could research credible sites and teach them both content and what to look for. Then after you have looked as a group and talked, you could set them off to find even one credible site, just to see to what extent they can use what they learned about computer technology in their learning. This wouldn’t have to take more than one half hour either. This might be totally way off in terms of feasibility and expectations of 1st graders…remember though, I teach high school
Monique, Your experiment seems very simple, yet will provide you a wealth of information. The idea (I am assuming) that carefully crafted searches, done by you, will provide enhanced and more effective learning for your children sounds like a good hypothesis to me, but one question to think about though is how will you judge who learns more? Will it be whoever has the most facts written down, etc? Just curious and probably a dumb question coming from a guy in a technology class…what’s an NF animal bk? (Nonfiction Animal Book maybe?)
Ann I like your idea. A couple things that came to mind as I read your thoughts 1.) Is it possible to have students research the same question? 2.) If so, you could brainstorm as a group (get those great questions out!) so it appears to be a group thought/driven brainstorm and will hopefully give them the feeling it was “theirs” 3.) Different topics will certainly work, but with different topic comes different resources on the web. Some topics might just yield less “useable” information. Of course if you’re looking at their process then maybe it won’t matter much. 4.) My immediate thought was that, “plan, search, find, evaluate, organize, and make use of…” might be a lot to analyze in such a short period of time for this project. Perhaps look at one aspect such as finding and evaluating, or making use of in their report or presentation or whatever it might be.
Todd, Your project sounds interesting as well. I actually had to look up what tags, elements, and attributes were before I looked silly and made a comment that didn’t make a ton of sense. So let me get this straight, you are going to give them 5 rarely used browser commands and have them research attributes of them for relative value, documenting where they go and how they go about their work? That sounds good! I look forward to seeing how it begins to take shape.
Jeff, I think that Monique made a good point about shortening the question by taking out useful. When I looked over the question by taking that out, you didn't lose the central focus but the question was less wordy. Overall it is still a really great idea and I am looking forward to see how the project turns out.
Monique, first of all I may sound very unintelligent for asking this, but what is an NF Animal bk? I figured bk means book, and from your project idea, I figured they get to research animals and find out information about them. I think that is a very strong project. If I had this project towards the end of our school year, I would have done something similar because we do the rainforest and the students look up animals in each layer and do a project on them. It is such a fun project because they get to take responsibility for their work, while learning ways to use the Internet to their advantage. I think you will get some really good data from this project!
Ann, I think your idea of using a cooperative research group for your project is off to a good start. Are you going to fill in the (compelling question related to a specific topic) with a specific question? Either way I think condensing the question will allow you to keep the same idea but it will be quicker to the point, if that makes sense. Maybe something like this: How does a cooperative research group answer (a compelling question related to a specific topic ) by making use of the many Internet resources? In your explanation you can address the areas of organization etc, so you will still show how they did this, but you don't have to say it in the question. What do you think? I do think you have a wonderful idea however you choose to word it because cooperative research groups are usually very interesting!
Todd, sounds like you have a good idea planned. I am not as familiar with some of the things you mentioned, so I may not be much help. It sounds good so far though!
Now for mine, I think I have figured out somewhat of a question:
In what ways can we use the Internet to help us understand and learn about weather in different places? What types of places can we look to help us, and which seem the most useful?
It seems so simple and LONG though, that is my trauma at the moment. What do you all think. I am just struggling with a group project I can do with my little first graders? Thanks for your input.
Jeff, thank you so much for your input. I am going to check that site out this weekend. We have our own computer time, and I think I will take advantage of that time to see what they will and will not be capable of doing! You gave some nice points. Thanks!
I like your idea. Sounds like it will be fun. I would agree with your comming up with a list of questions and they get to pick one and run with it. It may be hard for third graders to come up with a question on a topic that they are just starting to cover.
I do not think that this will be too overwhelming. Once you pick your questions, this will narrow down the scope of what they are going to search for and the type of information that they are going to want to find.
I like your idea with the amimal book. Why do you think that they will learn more from the sites that you give them? Just courious as to your thoughts.
Oh yeah. I am making the assumbtion here that this is an animal book. I asked my 10th grader but she did not know either.
Sorry for the confusion about my project name. It's called a Non-Fiction Animal Book. They will first research four areas about their animal. Its habitat/needs for survival, life cycle, adaptations, and classification. After they find the information on the four areas above, they put it into a non-fiction book format with photographs and captions, table of contents, glossary, index, diagram with labels, and bold words. I am thinking about changing the focus of my investigation to about how my students will find information about the four focus areas above while among plenty of other information. Thoughts???
I was reading your comments last night and realized that the terms that I was using are a bit vague to non-web developers. So to rectify what I am speaking of when I say Elements, Attributes, and Values, I have created a short one minute + video which I hope with explain and put into prospective. You can view it here:
http://www.ttsite.info/EAV/EAV.html
Just copy and paste the link into a browser window. This is a short, unedited video so forgive the crudeness.
Laura, After reading your question and thinking about it for a bit, I had one question and a possible suggestion. The part that says, “What types of places can we look for information” might yield just websites (such as website x and website y) which won’t necessarily tell you a ton about the way in which they/you found them in the first place. Maybe if you structure your question something like, “Which sites did the students find most useful and what commonalities do they have that make them useful?” would get at what you’re trying for a little better. Then again, maybe it won’t, but I just thought I’d throw it out there…
Monique, By saying that your students will be searching through, “plenty of information” do you mean that they will be going through a number of different sites that you give them, or will they be finding sites on their own? For third graders, the former might be a better idea (depending on their ability level) and one thing I might think about now will be how you will have them communicate which sites they went to/picked out of the list and why they went to them. What information will this give you and what will you take out of the inquiry? Just some ideas for ya’.
Todd, You use Dreamweaver! That’s cool, so do I, but I am a mere novice. I guess I know where I can go if I have a question, right Nice work on the tutorial. I think your project sounds great. It’s simple, to the point, and it will give you some insight into how people structure their searches.
Hey Group, I had a change in my inquiry idea. This change has me excited because it is more focused, a little more controlled, and more interesting to me. Below are the basics. Please let me know what you think!
Basic Observations leading this Inquiry Project: -Many students use limited Internet based resources for research investigations in subject matter (chemistry). -Wikipedia and other heavily used sites are common sources of internet citations (even while many times they yield extremely useful content) -Searches tend to be quick, skimming the surface and not looking fully into a page/site.
Goal
To better understand the thought process of high school aged students as they navigate the Internet in search of science information (Quality chemistry demonstrations) by determining what criteria students consider when choosing a website for information.
Focus Question:
What criteria do high school students consider when investigating Chemistry demonstrations on the internet?
Hypothesis:
Students tend to look at the first few hits of common search engines and continue down the list, going one by one. The search queries are typed directly into the search window and limited thought is given to web page credibility. It is almost, “First come, first served” in their research method for finding a webpage to use.
Experiment:
Students will be given the search topic of, “chemistry demonstrations appropriate for a high school chemistry class”. All students have taken chemistry with me as their instructor so they all have a solid understanding of chemistry and the activities and labs that could be considered appropriate. They will search for a period of 30 minutes and document how they initiated their search, including which major search engine(s) were used and why, search queries and what hits each yielded. They will document only sites they visit and analyze each site they do, documenting major components of each and if they consider it pertinent or not and why they believe so.
Pertinent issues include (pros and cons of site, layout and its effect on their interpretation, etc.)
Follow up: (Optional depending on feasibility)
The following day a discussion will take place with all ten students. Discussion will be audio recorded through Audacity and analyzed for further information. Audio will be cut and snippets will be put on gcast for access and linked to my PowerPoint presentation.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think I may just listen to that and change mine around a little bit. Things sometimes sound better to yourself than they do to others, as I am thinking my idea may have. Your suggestion opens up some more doors and gives my project idea more of a direction to go in. Thanks again.
Monique, Your idea to change seems like a good one. You could also see which types of words yield more appropriate searches. For example, you can help them choose words that may help them bring up relevant information vs. off the wall pages. I know this was a problem my kids found last year when we did a similar project. When they typed in animal x, things came up that were completely irrelevant. When they typed in specific information, habitat of animal x, or lifespan of animal x etc. the search result would be expanded. The idea is appropriate for third graders.
I'm still trying to pinpoint exactly which direction I want mine to go in, but I have had some good experiences between last week and already today that have given me a few ideas. We'll see how it goes. I hope everyone else is coming along with their projects. The ideas all sound great!
Thanks Laura and Jeff for your ideas and comments. After hearing all of your comments and putting more thought into my project, I will focus on how students choose sites that I give them from a list over others and how they find specific information within a site.
Jeff,
I think your ideas are specific, and should give you plenty of information. I agree with your hypothesis and I have to say that even 3rd graders seem to search the internet very similar to what you said. Your idea to audio record the group discussion will be a great wrap up and an opportunity to hear the student’s perspectives, which will give a personal touch to your project.
Laura,
I agree with Jeff's comment about changing your focus to more about why they choose certain sites and their similarities. I only have one short computer lab time a week too so I understand the time constraints. How many students are you focusing on? Just curious since I'm trying to figure out how many to focus on.
Your video was helpful for the visual learners like myself. I created a site using dreamweaver a few summers ago. That was the first time I looked at codes. We briefly talked about code and that was it. I remember that writing a code instead of using a tool can help with time and you can be more specific. I think your idea of having people look at the elements, attributes, and values of code will be useful information for them. I hope I understood your project right.
Thanks for your input. I appreciate everyone's input. I am planning on focusing on my whole class. I may do a little side note on those students who are capable of doing their own searches because as I mentioned earlier, half of my kids can't read. We have mainly been doing whole group searches, and the students have been telling me what to type and why. Then I have been reading the websites that come up and we decide which ones we want to click on. We have been looking at different ones and then deciding why we liked others better, which seemed to have more useful information and which seemed to offer little help. They are improving as far as which ones they like. (improving meaning that they are looking for sites that have more information.) I have to read almost everything we find, and let them decide. I don't know if this makes sense or not.
All, I just wrapped up my data collection today. Yesterday my study students did their internet search and today we conducted a group interview that was audio recorded. Overall, pieces of my hypothesis were correct, such as the idea that students tend to look short sided at the results page of Internet searches but other pieces were incorrect, such as my thought that most students did not look for credibible websites. I have plans this weekend for extensive analysis of the responses. Then I'll post some more concrete work and some conclusions.
I decided to go with the following focus question and science question.
Focus Question: How does a cooperative research group of third graders plan, search, find, and use Internet resources in order to answer a compelling question related to a specific content area?
Science Question: What is the difference between a rock and a mineral, and what kinds of investigations would you as a junior geologist need to perform in order to determine what the ingredients are in a given piece of an earth material?
Students will be asked to meet in their group to come up with a plan on how they will go about doing their search for information.
Students will go to the computer lab to do their search.
Students will document their steps taken in their hunt for information by filling out an Internet search journal.
As the students find resources to help answer the question, they will record the information on their journal.
Students will use their information to create a poster of Guidelines for Studying Earth Materials.
Predictions: I think students will all come up with their own ideas for what they want to search, and do their own thing within their group, and then meet to discuss.
I think students will use Google to search for information.
I think just a few students may think to cut, copy, and paste bits of information into a word document to use for their poster, but most will just record it in their journal.
I think a few students may create their poster on the computer and some will ask for paper and markers.
Today I had the students meet in their groups to talk about their plan for doing their Internet search, and then we went down to the computer lab.
Students all used Google. I noticed that many of the students got so intrigued by cool things they were seeing about rocks and minerals (ie.,pictures of crystals) that they forgot what the focus of the search needed to be. They had a natural desire to explore sights by interest level.
All four groups were able to find sights that gave them information about the difference between a rock and a mineral, but weren't able to search for info. on the types of investigations that geologists perform in order to identify the various ingredients of a given piece of earth material.
I felt a little nervous allowing them to do a Google search in fear that they still may fumble across something inappropriate. For the most part things went just fine. Toward the end of our computer lab time, I did have two girls that were typing some words in the search space and below it gave several drop down possible searches underneath, and they started to giggle. I went over to see what was going on and one of the choices in the drop down list was very inappropriate, so I helped them to click one of the other choices. I felt very uncomfortable about what happened. Luckily we were just getting ready to log off the computers and to head back to class.
I want to provide the students with another opportunity to search more on Monday, but I am unsure what direction I should take at this point. I'm thinking about making a list of lead phrases that the students can choose from to continue their search, and also providing them with 5 or 6 websites that they can use to search for the rest of the information that they need. Then I can make observations on how they do with the added structure compared to their first search attempt on their own. Let me know what you think.
Jeff, Sounds like your project is coming along nicely. I like your idea of doing an audio recording of the follow-up discussions. I'm sure it will help you to analyze the thought processes that your students used during their search. I look forward to hearing more about your results. I used my video camera and taped a few of the students conversations during their planning stage, and while they were searching, and I hoping I can use it in my Power Point as well.
Laura, How is your project going with your first graders? When I was searching for more articles and resources to read I found I website that I thought you might like. A first grade teacher shares her experience with guiding her first graders to use the Internet. Let me know what you think.
Getting Started on the Internet: Searching the Web Is as Easy as ABC
Thanks for the website, it was very informative and interesting to read another teacher's view on the concept of the Internet and youngsters. The project ABCs online sounds like one our Kindergarten class does.
Jeff,
Your project seems to be clicking together right on track! I like the idea of audio. I, like Ann, would liek to do a little video with my class on Monday. We have been doing mostly whole group activities and searches, but the students have been offering me questions about the weather in different places and we have taken those opportunities to research their questions to find answers. I have taken their ideas and been keeping tack of what they want me to search, and I have asked them why they want me to search a certain way. It is somewhat comical to hear some of their responses... out of the mouths of babes. Overall, I am happy with how it is turning out and am going to spend then next couple of days trying to organize and plan out my slides. I am still learning all of this technology stuff, so I am hoping to figure out how to add the video to my powerpoint. We'll see.
Ann and Laura, You both mention the desire for audio/video. The problem with video is that in most cases, even a small clip is a huge file, which in my short experiences, have been tough to upload. I came across a program called Audacity.com which is a simple downloadable program. You can then link, or upload your sound bytes to gcast.com, another server which houses your audio. From here it's like a podcast, where people, kids, whomever can access and listen to your products. I recorded mine and was astonished to find the size of a 15 minute conversation was the size of a one page word document. You just need audacity to download and listen to it. The program itself is SOOOO easy to use to, just push buttons, cut out what you don't want, save and export to wherever you'd like (gcast). I am experimenting with podcasts of essential chemistry lessons in my classroom currently.
Ann, The plan sounds like it's moving along. So what's in these internet journal logs that will provide you with your data? They will be using these for the sites you've picked out too, right? So then, what criteria will you be looking at? Will you compare qualities of each site? Will you contrast the sites to illustrate your hypothesis? Just a few thoughts to help you guide your Monday's lesson!
Jeff, You make a good point about video taking up huge amounts of space. I used Audacity once in CEP 812. I will have to give some thought about trying that. Can I upload my videos on Audacity and just get the audio from the clip? The students recorded some info. on their Internet logs, but not like I had hoped. I will have them use the logs for the sites I provide for them too. Thanks for the questions to ponder regarding the data. I need to think about it, as I am not clear on this yet. I won't be taking the kids back to the lab until Tuesday, so I hopefully I can get these things ironed out by then.
Laura, I'm glad you liked the website. Apparently she has some other links too that sounded pretty good. Sounds like your project is going well!
Does anyone know where we are supposed to put our discussion comments for the topic this week? I feel like an idiot, but I can't figure it out. Thanks!
Laura, I don't believe we have a discussion topic this week, just continue to discuss what we've already been doing, interesting findings and whatnot. My interpretation for this week is to 1.) get your three annotated posts up on the PbWiki, 2.) write your "appreciating the reading" piece, 3.) Get your PowerPoint done by Sunday.
Participate in the CEP806 Discussion. This week's topic is "What is so engaging about learning with computers?" Complete work on Inquiry Project #1: Finding, using, and evaluation Internet information. This week's tasks are collecting and analyzing the data you've collected, discussing interesting issues from your analysis of the data with your Team, and writing the final report.
I definitely see what you're talking about on the schedule. I am wondering if that was tentative since it was put out the first week. Maybe he's went through and altered stuff each week. I will shoot him an email as well just to be safe and see if he responds to one of us. If you hear anything, will you post it and let me know? Thanks!
Well, I hope all of you are more creative than I at getting your power point together. I have all of my information but am trying to get my slides to "run smoothly". I am wondering if we are allowed to put student work into the power point as well? Do any of you know? One of the things I had my students to was to chart differences between the weather forecast from different sites, and I am wondering if it would be appropriate to somehow put that into the power point. What do you think. Well, thanks for your help.
Laura S.
P.S. Jeff, no response yet, but I bet you are right about the tentative schedule changing. Many of us are teachers so we understand the need for flexibility!
Hey group, Jeff here, I have been kicking around the idea for inquiry project number one and I have been thinking about a focus question centering around, “What Internet websites/ resources do students view to be the most useful and content rich in the subject of chemistry (exact subject to be determined soon) and by what criteria do they choose so?”
ReplyDeleteI have a few questions that I’d like some input on.
1.) The focus question appears too cumbersome. How can I condense it without taking the central question out? (If necessary)
2.) Am I trying to bite off too much in this question? Is it too broad?
3.) How large of a focus group should I use? I want enough data to see significant patterns, but I don’t want to get hung up swimming in data.
4.) Who should my focus group include? Students of similar ability, similar achievement level, etc? The scientist in me says, “Eliminate variables” but I am uncertain what to eliminate and what should serve as the controls
The basic concept is to equip each student with a laptop and have them search one or multiple topics within chemistry, recording where they went, why they went there, and their interpretation of strength of content.
Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated! I look forward to collaborating with the group!
Jeff, I just have a few things to say. First of all, I think that is a great project idea. I know in your other post you mentioned you are a Science teacher, so that seems like a very suitable question for the students you are around each day. I am not sure about your first point, but I think you will be able to do well with this. If you teach middle, or high school students, you most likely have periods. If that is true, I would do maybe one or two groups as you focus group. It can't hurt to perhaps look at what others use, but if you stick to using those two groups you shouldn't end up with too much information. Also, I think you should remove as many variables as possible such as learning levels. The lower students will probably use different locations for information than the higher level learners. Whichever you choose, a good scientist will note which variables he used, so as long as you state which group you focused on it should make for an interesting assignment. With that being said, you may want to focus on a few students in each class that are higher level learning. If you are like most teachers, you have a variety in each class. Just some things to think about, but I think it sounds like you have a great idea started!
ReplyDeleteLaura,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. I have a question, the response to my first comment on too big a research question. Did I interpret you correctly to say you think I can work with what I have, or it could be streamlined?
I was thinking about focusing on the ability level of upper level students in this particular study because I agree they might have a fundamental difference in the cognitive ability to seek out, filter, and process Internet information. Keeping mostly, let's say "A and B" students, might be okay to make certain assumptions, such as they have "similar" educational patterns of behavior...I'll have to think on that, I'm not sure if that'll fly or not.
My general plan is to select the students and have them participate after school in a session on certain Chemistry topics. This eliminates the constraint of the bells at school, but also gives me just the information I need from the students selected. I won't have to filter out the lower achieving students but could be used for later comparison if I decide to extend the study. I look forward to seeing your plan!
Jeff V.
I have been wrestling with what I want to work on all week. All I really have are some ideas, but I am still trying to figure out what and how exactly to format it into the project.
ReplyDeleteI teach first grade students and having them do searches on their own just yet might be a little to much for them. On the guidelines it stated that we could do group work. We are currently working on weather and mapping in science and social studies. We have been graphing the weather where we live, and comparing it to Barrow, Alaska. To do this, I have hooked the computer up to the T.V. in the classroom and we have been looking at Weather.com, as well as web cams to see Barrow AL. I am trying to think of a project having to do with weather in different areas, and how we locate ways to find it. I thought something like that would be appropriate because it goes along with our curriculum, since at this age staying after school isn't really an option. Do you all think that I would be able to come up with a project idea based on this information or do you think it will be completely off base? Thanks for the input.
Oops... forgot to respond to you Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI do think that you have a good question, it doesn't seem like too much, and I almost think if you do change it, you would lose some of the central question ( which I know you are afraid of).
Now one question I have after reading your idea a second time is: have you thought of your topic for Chemistry yet? There are lots that you could do I am sure. It has been a long time since I took Chemistry but I do remember enjoying that class and the experiments etc. that we did. With all of the options available on the Internet, you can really make your students enjoy it! Good luck!
Jeff and Laura,
ReplyDeleteI think both of your ideas are off to a great start. Jeff, I like your focus question. I was thinkin it could be shortened to just content rich instead of useful and content rich. I just thought they sounded similar, but it's just a suggestion:-) I have a similar question that you do about the levels of students to do the investigating on. I think you could focus on similar levels of cognitive abilities or different levels. Maybe look at what it is your trying to show through your investigation. For example, I am thinking about showing that the information a student gains and thinks about while researching on the internet is related to their level of cognitive abilities. What do you guys think?
Laura, your idea seems great for 1st graders! I am an elementary teacher as well and will be doing my investigations during our regular computer time too. I think your idea of having them find sources to help track weather will be an awesome way to get them involved with the curriculum in a meaningful way. Well done! I think your right on. Maybe doing whole group searches will benefit you since they will have a hard time doing it on their own. Good luck Jeff and Laura!
My idea relates to a project my 3rd grade students do mostly at school and a little at home. They make a NF Animal bk. This correlates to our Science GLCE's and Reading and Writing GLCE's. The kid's LOVE this project! I hope this fits with the format of this inquiry project. I am planning on picking a few students at different learning abilities and monitoring them in two different situations. The first being that they find sites about their animals on their own. The second situation is that I give them sites they can go to. The hypothesis is that students will learn more about their animal from the sites I give them. In closing, I will show them how to find sites that are credible and content specific to their needs. I would gladly take any ideas you guys have to offer me. Thanks!
Monique W
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteI think all of your ideas sound good. Jeff, I was having the same thoughts that Monique had, in that it could be interesting to track the information a student gains and thinks about while researching on the internet and how it relates to their level of cognitive abilities. I think your focus question sounds good but could be shortened up a bit. I agree with Monique about eliminating useful and sticking with content rich. Your idea of having some students stay after school to help with this project makes sense to me. I would be difficult to fit it into your regular class schedule.
Laura I think your project idea with a focus on weather in different areas would be very appropriate with first graders. I agree with Monique that whole group searches would be best with your students.
Monique I really like your idea of comparing a group of students that would do a search on their own, and then doing one with a website list you provide for them. I think the results could be very interesting.
I'm interested in doing my project on Rocks and Minerals since it is our first Science Unit in 3rd grade. I'm thinking of having four research teams. Each team could generate a specific question that they want to explore related to the topic, and then develop a plan for locating resources, checking for reliablity of sources,and a method for organizing their findings.
Focus Question: How does a cooperative research group plan,search,find,evaluate,organize, and make use of Internet resources in order to answer a compelling question related to a specific content area?
I am curious about the direction that the students would go with all these pieces, but maybe it is too much. Let me know what you think.
I am just brainstorming as a I go here. I really like the idea of encouraging our students to ask great questions, seek answers, and make connections, but I am wondering whether I should let them generate a question in their group, or if I should provide a variety of questions related to our curriculum standards in our Rocks and Minerals Unit and then let the groups choose one off the list. I would appreciate any feedback on this.
Hello all,
ReplyDeleteThis is Todd. I just wanted to chime in and say hello. I am still working out the finer details of my project but I will share what I am thinking and you can give me your feedback.
I teach adult students. These are working staff and Faculty here at MSU. I teach them how to design and build web sites. So sticking along those line here is what I was thinking.
Get a group of 5 to 10 volunteers that have taken my web design class. Give them a list of 5 rarely used elements (Web page tags) and have them research the attributes and possible values of those attributes. I will then observe and report on the search methodologies that they employ.
In my classes I have several sites that I show for reference, W3C, Web Dev Guru, but there are many other that exist.
This is my initial idea. Please let me know what you think.
Todd
Laura,
ReplyDeleteI think that your idea with the first graders is perfect. I think that at that age level a large group project is the perfect thing. No one has to work alone and they all get to feel that they had something to contribute to the outcome of the project. The fact that it followes along with the curriculm is a bonus. You will not have to take any time away from normal studies to do this project.
Todd
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI think your project has promise. to look at your questions:
1. Once you narrow down the exact subject, I do not think that this will be cumbersum. The exact subject will automatically narrow the focus.
2. Again, the exact subject will narrow the focus and you can always add some constraints to the subject matter to further nawwor the focus.
3. I think that a few small groups for high school or a couple of larger groups for middle school would be perfect.
4. I would not pick the groups based on Grades (only A and B students). I would look for students that have a strong computer connection and use them. I do a lot of work with young boys in the BSA. I see that many of them are just lazy. They could achieve better grades if they gave more effort but just do not want to. To semi quote something I read from Dave Perkins (Teaching for Understanding fall 1993)in CEP800:
If two students took a spelling test and one scored perfect and the other did poorly, Does that mean that one is smarter than the other, or could it mean that the second just did not care about the test and did not give the correct answers.
Great Project idea Jeff. Run with it.
Hi again,
ReplyDeleteI noticed after I posted last night that my name came up as my user name smithan6. I changed it afterward to Ann.
Hey Gang,
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the feedback. It helped to give me some better direction for my project.
Laura,
I like the aim of your project and agree with the group that a group based project would be most appropriate for 1st graders. You spoke of the idea of researching weather in different areas and a site popped into my head that I had seen a while back in a class I took, it's the NOAA. It's a government site but it's full of all kinds of information on weather and other atmospherically relevant information. There is a ton of archived data and lots of maps, graphs and others. Maybe you can use this site and maybe you can't but I thought I'd throw it out there.
Two other things I thought about.
1.) If you are planning on doing a group search, how are you going to get the kids involved? (Ask them what you should type in, etc.)
2.) Maybe, if computers are available to students and they have somewhat of an ability to function on them, you could research credible sites and teach them both content and what to look for. Then after you have looked as a group and talked, you could set them off to find even one credible site, just to see to what extent they can use what they learned about computer technology in their learning. This wouldn’t have to take more than one half hour either. This might be totally way off in terms of feasibility and expectations of 1st graders…remember though, I teach high school
Monique,
Your experiment seems very simple, yet will provide you a wealth of information. The idea (I am assuming) that carefully crafted searches, done by you, will provide enhanced and more effective learning for your children sounds like a good hypothesis to me, but one question to think about though is how will you judge who learns more? Will it be whoever has the most facts written down, etc?
Just curious and probably a dumb question coming from a guy in a technology class…what’s an NF animal bk? (Nonfiction Animal Book maybe?)
Ann
I like your idea. A couple things that came to mind as I read your thoughts
1.) Is it possible to have students research the same question?
2.) If so, you could brainstorm as a group (get those great questions out!) so it appears to be a group thought/driven brainstorm and will hopefully give them the feeling it was “theirs”
3.) Different topics will certainly work, but with different topic comes different resources on the web. Some topics might just yield less “useable” information. Of course if you’re looking at their process then maybe it won’t matter much.
4.) My immediate thought was that, “plan, search, find, evaluate, organize, and make use of…” might be a lot to analyze in such a short period of time for this project. Perhaps look at one aspect such as finding and evaluating, or making use of in their report or presentation or whatever it might be.
Todd,
Your project sounds interesting as well. I actually had to look up what tags, elements, and attributes were before I looked silly and made a comment that didn’t make a ton of sense. So let me get this straight, you are going to give them 5 rarely used browser commands and have them research attributes of them for relative value, documenting where they go and how they go about their work? That sounds good! I look forward to seeing how it begins to take shape.
Jeff V.
Hey group!
ReplyDeleteJeff, I think that Monique made a good point about shortening the question by taking out useful. When I looked over the question by taking that out, you didn't lose the central focus but the question was less wordy. Overall it is still a really great idea and I am looking forward to see how the project turns out.
Monique, first of all I may sound very unintelligent for asking this, but what is an NF Animal bk? I figured bk means book, and from your project idea, I figured they get to research animals and find out information about them. I think that is a very strong project. If I had this project towards the end of our school year, I would have done something similar because we do the rainforest and the students look up animals in each layer and do a project on them. It is such a fun project because they get to take responsibility for their work, while learning ways to use the Internet to their advantage. I think you will get some really good data from this project!
Ann, I think your idea of using a cooperative research group for your project is off to a good start. Are you going to fill in the (compelling question related to a specific topic) with a specific question? Either way I think condensing the question will allow you to keep the same idea but it will be quicker to the point, if that makes sense. Maybe something like this:
How does a cooperative research group answer (a compelling question related to a specific topic ) by making use of the many Internet resources? In your explanation you can address the areas of organization etc, so you will still show how they did this, but you don't have to say it in the question. What do you think? I do think you have a wonderful idea however you choose to word it because cooperative research groups are usually very interesting!
Todd, sounds like you have a good idea planned. I am not as familiar with some of the things you mentioned, so I may not be much help. It sounds good so far though!
Now for mine, I think I have figured out somewhat of a question:
In what ways can we use the Internet to help us understand and learn about weather in different places? What types of places can we look to help us, and which seem the most useful?
It seems so simple and LONG though, that is my trauma at the moment. What do you all think. I am just struggling with a group project I can do with my little first graders? Thanks for your input.
Jeff, thank you so much for your input. I am going to check that site out this weekend. We have our own computer time, and I think I will take advantage of that time to see what they will and will not be capable of doing! You gave some nice points. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnn
ReplyDeleteI like your idea. Sounds like it will be fun. I would agree with your comming up with a list of questions and they get to pick one and run with it. It may be hard for third graders to come up with a question on a topic that they are just starting to cover.
I do not think that this will be too overwhelming. Once you pick your questions, this will narrow down the scope of what they are going to search for and the type of information that they are going to want to find.
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteSorry about the spelling in question #2. It must have been time for coffee. LOL
Todd
Monique,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea with the amimal book. Why do you think that they will learn more from the sites that you give them? Just courious as to your thoughts.
Oh yeah. I am making the assumbtion here that this is an animal book. I asked my 10th grader but she did not know either.
Todd
Group 4 Members,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the confusion about my project name. It's called a Non-Fiction Animal Book. They will first research four areas about their animal. Its habitat/needs for survival, life cycle, adaptations, and classification. After they find the information on the four areas above, they put it into a non-fiction book format with photographs and captions, table of contents, glossary, index, diagram with labels, and bold words. I am thinking about changing the focus of my investigation to about how my students will find information about the four focus areas above while among plenty of other information. Thoughts???
Monique W
Good Morning Group
ReplyDeleteI was reading your comments last night and realized that the terms that I was using are a bit vague to non-web developers. So to rectify what I am speaking of when I say Elements, Attributes, and Values, I have created a short one minute + video which I hope with explain and put into prospective. You can view it here:
http://www.ttsite.info/EAV/EAV.html
Just copy and paste the link into a browser window. This is a short, unedited video so forgive the crudeness.
Thanks
Todd
Laura,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your question and thinking about it for a bit, I had one question and a possible suggestion. The part that says, “What types of places can we look for information” might yield just websites (such as website x and website y) which won’t necessarily tell you a ton about the way in which they/you found them in the first place.
Maybe if you structure your question something like, “Which sites did the students find most useful and what commonalities do they have that make them useful?” would get at what you’re trying for a little better. Then again, maybe it won’t, but I just thought I’d throw it out there…
Monique,
By saying that your students will be searching through, “plenty of information” do you mean that they will be going through a number of different sites that you give them, or will they be finding sites on their own? For third graders, the former might be a better idea (depending on their ability level) and one thing I might think about now will be how you will have them communicate which sites they went to/picked out of the list and why they went to them. What information will this give you and what will you take out of the inquiry? Just some ideas for ya’.
Todd,
You use Dreamweaver! That’s cool, so do I, but I am a mere novice. I guess I know where I can go if I have a question, right Nice work on the tutorial. I think your project sounds great. It’s simple, to the point, and it will give you some insight into how people structure their searches.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteFeel free to ask questions, You can use the forum at http://www.ttsite.info/teaching2.
Thanks for the comments.
Todd
Hey Group,
ReplyDeleteI had a change in my inquiry idea. This change has me excited because it is more focused, a little more controlled, and more interesting to me. Below are the basics. Please let me know what you think!
Basic Observations leading this Inquiry Project:
-Many students use limited Internet based resources for research investigations in subject matter (chemistry).
-Wikipedia and other heavily used sites are common sources of internet citations (even while many times they yield extremely useful content)
-Searches tend to be quick, skimming the surface and not looking fully into a page/site.
Goal
To better understand the thought process of high school aged students as they navigate the Internet in search of science information (Quality chemistry demonstrations) by determining what criteria students consider when choosing a website for information.
Focus Question:
What criteria do high school students consider when investigating Chemistry demonstrations on the internet?
Hypothesis:
Students tend to look at the first few hits of common search engines and continue down the list, going one by one. The search queries are typed directly into the search window and limited thought is given to web page credibility. It is almost, “First come, first served” in their research method for finding a webpage to use.
Experiment:
Students will be given the search topic of, “chemistry demonstrations appropriate for a high school chemistry class”. All students have taken chemistry with me as their instructor so they all have a solid understanding of chemistry and the activities and labs that could be considered appropriate. They will search for a period of 30 minutes and document how they initiated their search, including which major search engine(s) were used and why, search queries and what hits each yielded. They will document only sites they visit and analyze each site they do, documenting major components of each and if they consider it pertinent or not and why they believe so.
Pertinent issues include (pros and cons of site, layout and its effect on their interpretation, etc.)
Follow up: (Optional depending on feasibility)
The following day a discussion will take place with all ten students. Discussion will be audio recorded through Audacity and analyzed for further information. Audio will be cut and snippets will be put on gcast for access and linked to my PowerPoint presentation.
Thanks!
Jeff V.
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions. I think I may just listen to that and change mine around a little bit. Things sometimes sound better to yourself than they do to others, as I am thinking my idea may have. Your suggestion opens up some more doors and gives my project idea more of a direction to go in. Thanks again.
Monique, Your idea to change seems like a good one. You could also see which types of words yield more appropriate searches. For example, you can help them choose words that may help them bring up relevant information vs. off the wall pages. I know this was a problem my kids found last year when we did a similar project. When they typed in animal x, things came up that were completely irrelevant. When they typed in specific information, habitat of animal x, or lifespan of animal x etc. the search result would be expanded. The idea is appropriate for third graders.
I'm still trying to pinpoint exactly which direction I want mine to go in, but I have had some good experiences between last week and already today that have given me a few ideas. We'll see how it goes. I hope everyone else is coming along with their projects. The ideas all sound great!
Thanks Laura and Jeff for your ideas and comments. After hearing all of your comments and putting more thought into my project, I will focus on how students choose sites that I give them from a list over others and how they find specific information within a site.
ReplyDeleteJeff,
I think your ideas are specific, and should give you plenty of information. I agree with your hypothesis and I have to say that even 3rd graders seem to search the internet very similar to what you said. Your idea to audio record the group discussion will be a great wrap up and an opportunity to hear the student’s perspectives, which will give a personal touch to your project.
Laura,
I agree with Jeff's comment about changing your focus to more about why they choose certain sites and their similarities. I only have one short computer lab time a week too so I understand the time constraints. How many students are you focusing on? Just curious since I'm trying to figure out how many to focus on.
Monique W
Todd,
ReplyDeleteYour video was helpful for the visual learners like myself. I created a site using dreamweaver a few summers ago. That was the first time I looked at codes. We briefly talked about code and that was it. I remember that writing a code instead of using a tool can help with time and you can be more specific. I think your idea of having people look at the elements, attributes, and values of code will be useful information for them. I hope I understood your project right.
Monique W
Monique,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input. I appreciate everyone's input. I am planning on focusing on my whole class. I may do a little side note on those students who are capable of doing their own searches because as I mentioned earlier, half of my kids can't read. We have mainly been doing whole group searches, and the students have been telling me what to type and why. Then I have been reading the websites that come up and we decide which ones we want to click on. We have been looking at different ones and then deciding why we liked others better, which seemed to have more useful information and which seemed to offer little help. They are improving as far as which ones they like. (improving meaning that they are looking for sites that have more information.) I have to read almost everything we find, and let them decide. I don't know if this makes sense or not.
How are everyone's projects coming?
All,
ReplyDeleteI just wrapped up my data collection today. Yesterday my study students did their internet search and today we conducted a group interview that was audio recorded. Overall, pieces of my hypothesis were correct, such as the idea that students tend to look short sided at the results page of Internet searches but other pieces were incorrect, such as my thought that most students did not look for credibible websites. I have plans this weekend for extensive analysis of the responses. Then I'll post some more concrete work and some conclusions.
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteI decided to go with the following focus question and science question.
Focus Question: How does a cooperative research group of third graders plan, search, find, and use Internet resources in order to answer a compelling question related to a specific content area?
Science Question: What is the difference between a rock and a mineral, and what kinds of investigations would you as a junior geologist need to perform in order to determine what the ingredients are in a given piece of an earth material?
Students will be asked to meet in their group to come up with a plan on how they will go about doing their search for information.
Students will go to the computer lab to do their search.
Students will document their steps taken in their hunt for information by filling out an Internet search journal.
As the students find resources to help answer the question, they will record the information on their journal.
Students will use their information to create a poster of Guidelines for Studying Earth Materials.
Predictions:
I think students will all come up with their own ideas for what they want to search, and do their own thing within their group, and then meet to discuss.
I think students will use Google to search for information.
I think just a few students may think to cut, copy, and paste bits of information into a word document to use for their poster, but most will just record it in their journal.
I think a few students may create their poster on the computer and some will ask for paper and markers.
Today I had the students meet in their groups to talk about their plan for doing their Internet search, and then we went down to the computer lab.
Students all used Google. I noticed that many of the students got so intrigued by cool things they were seeing about rocks and minerals (ie.,pictures of crystals) that they forgot what the focus of the search needed to be. They had a natural desire to explore sights by interest level.
All four groups were able to find sights that gave them information about the difference between a rock and a mineral, but weren't able to search for info. on the types of investigations that geologists perform in order to identify the various ingredients of a given piece of earth material.
I felt a little nervous allowing them to do a Google search in fear that they still may fumble across something inappropriate. For the most part things went just fine. Toward the end of our computer lab time, I did have two girls that were typing some words in the search space and below it gave several drop down possible searches underneath, and they started to giggle. I went over to see what was going on and one of the choices in the drop down list was very inappropriate, so I helped them to click one of the other choices. I felt very uncomfortable about what happened. Luckily we were just getting ready to log off the computers and to head back to class.
I want to provide the students with another opportunity to search more on Monday, but I am unsure what direction I should take at this point. I'm thinking about making a list of lead phrases that the students can choose from to continue their search, and also providing them with 5 or 6 websites that they can use to search for the rest of the information that they need. Then I can make observations on how they do with the added structure compared to their first search attempt on their own. Let me know what you think.
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteSounds like your project is coming along nicely. I like your idea of doing an audio recording of the follow-up discussions. I'm sure it will help you to analyze the thought processes that your students used during their search. I look forward to hearing more about your results. I used my video camera and taped a few of the students conversations during their planning stage, and while they were searching, and I hoping I can use it in my Power Point as well.
Laura,
ReplyDeleteHow is your project going with your first graders? When I was searching for more articles and resources to read I found I website that I thought you might like. A first grade teacher shares her experience with guiding her first graders to use the Internet. Let me know what you think.
Getting Started on the Internet: Searching the Web Is as Easy as ABC
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr028.shtml
Ann,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the website, it was very informative and interesting to read another teacher's view on the concept of the Internet and youngsters. The project ABCs online sounds like one our Kindergarten class does.
Jeff,
Your project seems to be clicking together right on track! I like the idea of audio. I, like Ann, would liek to do a little video with my class on Monday. We have been doing mostly whole group activities and searches, but the students have been offering me questions about the weather in different places and we have taken those opportunities to research their questions to find answers. I have taken their ideas and been keeping tack of what they want me to search, and I have asked them why they want me to search a certain way. It is somewhat comical to hear some of their responses... out of the mouths of babes. Overall, I am happy with how it is turning out and am going to spend then next couple of days trying to organize and plan out my slides. I am still learning all of this technology stuff, so I am hoping to figure out how to add the video to my powerpoint. We'll see.
Monique and Todd, how are your projects coming?
Ann and Laura,
ReplyDeleteYou both mention the desire for audio/video. The problem with video is that in most cases, even a small clip is a huge file, which in my short experiences, have been tough to upload. I came across a program called Audacity.com which is a simple downloadable program. You can then link, or upload your sound bytes to gcast.com, another server which houses your audio. From here it's like a podcast, where people, kids, whomever can access and listen to your products. I recorded mine and was astonished to find the size of a 15 minute conversation was the size of a one page word document. You just need audacity to download and listen to it. The program itself is SOOOO easy to use to, just push buttons, cut out what you don't want, save and export to wherever you'd like (gcast). I am experimenting with podcasts of essential chemistry lessons in my classroom currently.
Ann,
The plan sounds like it's moving along. So what's in these internet journal logs that will provide you with your data? They will be using these for the sites you've picked out too, right? So then, what criteria will you be looking at? Will you compare qualities of each site? Will you contrast the sites to illustrate your hypothesis? Just a few thoughts to help you guide your Monday's lesson!
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about video taking up huge amounts of space. I used Audacity once in CEP 812. I will have to give some thought about trying that. Can I upload my videos on Audacity and just get the audio from the clip? The students recorded some info. on their Internet logs, but not like I had hoped. I will have them use the logs for the sites I provide for them too. Thanks for the questions to ponder regarding the data. I need to think about it, as I am not clear on this yet. I won't be taking the kids back to the lab until Tuesday, so I hopefully I can get these things ironed out by then.
Laura,
I'm glad you liked the website. Apparently she has some other links too that sounded pretty good. Sounds like your project is going well!
Does anyone know where we are supposed to put our discussion comments for the topic this week? I feel like an idiot, but I can't figure it out. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLaurs
Laura,
ReplyDeleteI don't believe we have a discussion topic this week, just continue to discuss what we've already been doing, interesting findings and whatnot. My interpretation for this week is to 1.) get your three annotated posts up on the PbWiki, 2.) write your "appreciating the reading" piece, 3.) Get your PowerPoint done by Sunday.
-Jeff V.
On the MSU angel class schedule, it says:
ReplyDeleteWeek 4: Sept 28
Participate in the CEP806 Discussion. This week's topic is "What is so engaging about learning with computers?"
Complete work on Inquiry Project #1: Finding, using, and evaluation Internet information. This week's tasks are collecting and analyzing the data you've collected, discussing interesting issues from your analysis of the data with your Team, and writing the final report.
I emailed Prof. but e didn't write back yet.
I definitely see what you're talking about on the schedule. I am wondering if that was tentative since it was put out the first week. Maybe he's went through and altered stuff each week. I will shoot him an email as well just to be safe and see if he responds to one of us. If you hear anything, will you post it and let me know? Thanks!
ReplyDelete-Jeff V.
Well, I hope all of you are more creative than I at getting your power point together. I have all of my information but am trying to get my slides to "run smoothly". I am wondering if we are allowed to put student work into the power point as well? Do any of you know? One of the things I had my students to was to chart differences between the weather forecast from different sites, and I am wondering if it would be appropriate to somehow put that into the power point. What do you think. Well, thanks for your help.
ReplyDeleteLaura S.
P.S. Jeff, no response yet, but I bet you are right about the tentative schedule changing. Many of us are teachers so we understand the need for flexibility!
Laura,
ReplyDeleteIn the directions for the powerpoint slides, he says that student quotes and data are appropriate, so I'd say go for it...
Jeff V.
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ReplyDelete