iPod uPod wePod

Acadamic Physics Final Post - Wilkes

2010-06-01T06:50:00.001-07:00

Keeping up with this blog page has been an challenge. I felt like it was one additional task that I had to undertake in addition to the many other tasks that I was currently doing. I soon realized that I did not have enough hours in my days or weeks to do all that was required of me, so I put those objects in order of importance. What I should have done was give this assignment to any student that needed extra credit. That would have solved the problem.

As far as implementing the grant into the curriculum, I found out that I have a problem with perfectionism. For the first several months, I would create pod-cast lessons using garage band and then start over because I forgot to say something or I just did not like them. I actually slept with that Mac book numerous nights as I attempted to just get them created. That was extremely frustrating. After spending a large portion of my holidays redoing the lessons, I mentioned it to my students. One of them suggested that they video tape the actual lectures and discussions whenever I introduced a new unit. Several flip cameras were position around the class and the students videotape. They then showed me how to piece together the videos to create one video. Now the students were teaching the teacher and they loved it. Now this summer, I can begin editing the videos to begin my collection of pod-cast lessons that will be used for students that are ill, at DAEP or in in-school-suspension. Of course, I will have to repeat the entire process for the first semesters units but I least I know what I am doing now.

The students also used the flip-cameras and I-pods for their electrical project during the second semester. They video taped there progress as the constructed and electrically wired a doll house. They also feft messages for each other on the flip cameras if they were going to be absent. In addition a few groups inputted some of the video- clips into their final slide shows. Throughout their project they used the Dell computers and only used the Mac books to show their finished products. I should have allowed them to use the the Mac books the entire year because they were very good with them. Unfortunately, we only obtained 6 of them which was not enough. However, now I realize that their use of the Macs would have decrease my learning curve. (smile)

Was this grant as useful as I wanted it to be? Yes and No. Yes, because of the flip-cameras and lessons that the students created. They will be used for future students. Yes, because of the I-pod. My students actually did reviews and research on them and not used them just for face book and e-mails. I wish I had made them more assessable to them. I will do that next year. No, because my learning curve was larger than I expected. Also, I did not think creating a pod-cast lesson would take so much time.

Would I suggest that every teacher be given this technology? No! It should be up to the individual teachers to decide when to use this technology and how to use it.

Did my students have fun? YES. They remained focused and completed their work faster because they were trying to get in a few minutes to play on the I-pod and camera for personal use. I actually had several students come in after school to use them for other projects. Will I use this technology in the future? You bet I will. Now, if someone could just invent a way to slow down the clock and give me more hours in day I would be eternally grateful.

Deborah Wilkes
Academic Physics
Spring Woods High School

Flint's final post of 2009-2010

2010-05-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

So first
Number of students served by this grant: for my classes 91 students

Summarize how the grant impacted the students it served:
Many of them didn't know how to edit a video or add subtitles and that you could add pictures to a video. By the end of the year they had improved on these skills. When I had to be absent for a couple of days when we were starting a unit my students didn't get behind like they would have due to me podcasting the lesson I was going to teach at home and then coming to school to upload the lesson to the i-pods. When the students would use the devices they would pay more attention since this was a new experience for them.

Briefly share a couple of specific experiences that went well
Using the podcasts for absent students as well as when I was out went very well.
Also when I had the students using the ipods for the flashcard app the students
would always try harder and I believe they learned more when using them.

Your plan for next year – how you plan to take the project forward next year
I plan on making more podcasts during the summer in order to have most of my lessons on the i-pods so I can be more effective at teaching students that are absent as well having my AP chem students watching the notes before hand more often so we can do more hands on activities in class. I would also like to learn more about moodle and see about setting up a site so I can have students possibly use their ipod touches to take self assessment quizzes that I can create. Finally I would like to learn more about google docs to see what I can incorporate into my classroom and how my kids would benefit the most from using them.

digital lab write up

2010-01-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

Last week we performed a limiting reactant lab and I had the students video the lab as they were performing it. While their products were in the oven drying they were uploading their videos and editting them on the macbooks as well as using keynote to make a title slide, material slide, data table, and answer some post lab questions. Keynote worked fine, I still do not know how to do everything in it like where subscripts are so we just made due with what we could figure out. We ran into issues on some of the computers because as they would boot them up it would tell us that it was going to have to reboot after installing an update. Imovie thought that it was in use when it wasn't and would not close so I had to force quit and that didn't work so I had to hold down the power button. This caused the computer to go crazy by shutting down and rebooting, shutting down and then rebooting over and over so our Tech had to reimage it in order for it to work. I luckly had a few extra mac books so we continued to work.
The next day I had my 4th period doing the same thing my 1st and 5th did on the previous day. I got their early and made sure everything opened and had it ready to go to make sure I didn't have the same problems but today two of the six computers would not recognize the flipvideos so we could download the student's films, it would work on my computer but not on the macbooks which did recognize the flipvideos the day before. The students just did what they could by making sure their keynote slides were complete.
We waited until the following friday to complete the lab since I needed to try to figure out what was wrong with everything and since I needed a break from the equiptment since I felt out of control since things were not working and I didn't know how to fix it.
The day before we finished I stayed 3 hours after school to set up every computer and make sure they all had the students videos and their keynote presentation ready to go for the next day so we wouldn't have to worry about all of that since I could not afford another day in class working on the lab.
The time I spent was well worth it since there was no issues the next day everytime worked well. Some groups did not finish but they did not break up the work like they were suppose to, some grouops that came very close, and some groups finished. If the groups did not finish they had one week to come in after school to finish their video. Everyone has not finished at this point but they have until Friday.
After this experience I will try making another video lab with the class but hopefully since we have all been though it once it will run much smoother.
Jamie

Helping Others Out

2010-01-21T07:12:00.000-08:00

On Thursday January 15, my second period class video taped the simple machine station labs so that absent students may used the videos to observe the labs instead of completing the labs alone. To verify that they had the correct information, the students voluntarily performed the labs first to obtain data. They wanted to verify that they truly understood the concepts that were being investigated. Unfortunately, the sound was very weak and you could hear the background of the other lab groups. Therefore, this class has decided to use the Garage band to re-create the voice on the tapes. On today during the circular motion lab, the class again use the flip cameras to video tape a lab. This lab required everyone to have an active part, so no one was able to just observe. The video taping of the lab allowed them to review the procedures and discuss the outcome of the lab. D. Wilkes

Taping a Lab in Physics

2010-01-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, January 5, I decided to allow one of the lab groups in my 1st period to video tape the lab. I wanted to get a feel for how it would appear, sound quality and the ability of the students. The lab equipment covered a large area, therefore the camera was set further away than I would have like it to be. When one of the students tried holding the camera, he had to rapidly move the camera to keep up with the action; due the the lab itself. Also, the recording student was more involved with videoing the lab instead of learning the concept of the lab. After recording for about 15 minutes, the student and I reviewed the quality and found it to be very poor, due to the noise of the other groups. Therefore, it will be necessary to use Garage Band to describe what is happening during the lab. (AHHH - another task) Another noted fact, which is very important, is to make sure that the students understand the importance of not playing in front of the camera. Overall, I believe that this would be a good process for other students to make-up a lab, but it will require addition time for the teacher

cool sites

2010-01-04T18:59:00.001-08:00

So today I made some screen casts before I left school so when I got home I could add sound so my AP students could sync their i-pods tomorrow. After I finished making the screen casts which took about 45 minutes for two lessons I realized I didn't have a flash drive with me and the videos were to big to e-mail so I was pretty upset. I looked on the web to see if their was a website that could help and I found filedropper.com which is a free website that will hold large files for free and you just open the webpage link they give you when you get home or give it to another teacher. This is an easy way to share videos or lessons. I also used zamzar to convert my files from .avi to .mov so they would pay on my macbook so I could add sound to the lessons. This is also a free website that will convert files from one ending to another and then send you the link to download your converted file. I found both of these site to be very easy to use and very helpful today.

Physics I-Pod Review

2009-12-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

Using IFlipr, my Academic Physics classes used the I-Pod touches to review their vocabulary, equations and units for equations. This was the first time they were able to used them. Each student was given a worksheet, when a word, equation or unit appeared they were to write their initial thoughts, then check the true meaning of the word, equation or unit. My initial intentions for the I-pods were to provide Pod-cast lessons for students that needed to hear the lecture again, were absent for the original lesson, assigned to ISS or DAEP. Implementing that plan is taking longer than I anticipated due to timing in my schedule. I have now scheduled two days of the holiday break to create several pod-cast lessons. (Let's hope that goes well). As for the review, comments from the students were:
- "I enjoyed using them."
- "I could review at my own pace. Which was easier for me."
- "I prefer the lecture review. However, it did help."
- "Ms. Wilkes, can we take a quiz on the I-Pod touches."
- "It was cool! It was easier than using paper reviews."

Perhaps, my second semester plans will go well. I have several students that are willing to help me create pod-cast lessons using Garage-Band. They are very patient and excited by the chance to help the teacher and the class.

Time, Time, Time

2009-12-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

So here we are 3 months into school with our power to learn equipment and what have I learned. Well, for starters, I think ambition far outweighed ability to fully implement our grant proposal. When we sat down last spring to write the grant our expectation was that we would get the equipment over the summer and have time to develop some lessons. Unfortunately, circumstances being what they were, we were unable to get the devices before the 3rd week of school which greatly reduced the amount of time to really develop any lessons. Add to this the incredibly steep learning curve for the Macbooks, programs, and ipods, and you have a recipe for disaster. Trying to incorporate new techology into the classroom and replace or enhance exisitng activites without disrupting the curriculum flow just hasn't been possible. There are several reasons for this. Piloting eduphoria has been a drain on time, losing instructional time to GEAR UP activities, making sure students are prepared for TAKS, and for me, having a student teacher and new chemistry teacher on my team have created addtional time constraints. The biggest issue is TIME. There simply is not enough of it. On the bright side my students have used the Flip cameras to record labs that have been used to create a folder of videos that are available for any student to review chemistry topics that were covered in the lab. Of all the equipment the Flip cameras have been the most useful and I will continue to use them. As far as the iPods go, I just don't think we are ready for them. Perhaps in time we will be able to develop some really good lessons but for now their use is limited to enrichment activities (which is a recent idea that has not been created yet). My own limited knowledge of the technology has also severly limited what can be done in the classroom. My hope is that I can spend time next summer developing some lessons. I simply was not prepared for the amount of time and effort that this was going to entail. So, as soon as someone can manufacture, stop, slowdown, or rewind time, let me know. It is the only way I will be able efficeintly learn to use and implement the technology.

Egg Drop Videos

2009-12-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today was Egg Drop day and the Physics students enjoyed using the flip-cameras to video tape their drops. Very little to no training was needed to get them started. They embraced the process of collecting data from the video with an open mind. In addition to video taping, they were instructed to down load their video into the student folder and the teacher folder. I am anticipating an easy transition to the data from the video to a data table then into a graph.

What's been going on

2009-12-02T11:42:00.000-08:00

So at this point in the grant all of my classes have used the i-pods. My AP classes have used the flipvideos. The podcasts for AP have been successful just time consuming. The kids enjoy being able to relisten to the lecture as many times as they need to understand a concept. The kids also like the flashcards I make for them since they know if they understand a concept right away instead of waiting until they get to school to find out they missed all of the homework problems.
I had my AP chem kids video a lab that took 2.5 hours of class time since many kids were out for a field trip. I was able to shorten the videos and make a podcast of the important pieces of the lab so the absent kids could just download the lab and watch what happened and record their data from that. This saved the students and myself from having to stay for long periods of time after school to make up the lab. My goal is to start doing this for all labs and at least once a semester have them make video lab reports in which they would record the lab, edit the lab, and answer questions pertaining to the lab and turn in the video.
My pre-AP kids did a lab that used the i-pods. I made a worksheet with names and formulas on it and the students had to write the one that wasn't given on the worksheet. I made a flashcard set that had the same questions as the worksheet so they could go in the order of the flashcards and be able to check their answers to make sure they were doing it correctly.
I've also had my pre-AP kids use the i-pods when they come in afterschool for tutorials to memorize their polyatomic ions. Finally when they finish a test they can use the i-pods to play the math or vocab games that I put on the i-pods. This has worked out so they are not bored waiting for everyone else to finish and they are not disturbing anyone else.

2009-10-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

Today we downloaded iFlipr and created quite a few flash cards with the program. This was very easy to do and downloading to the iPods were easy as well. There were other flash card programs that we looked at but iFlipr was the easiest to use. We would recommend this program to anyone who would like to create simple flash cards for their students to use.

Technology Sucks!!!!

2009-10-15T07:57:00.001-07:00

Okay, I just need to vent. Technology sucks bad, bad, bad. It took 30 minutes to create a new gmail account to use with a new student flipchart program, server connections are sporadic at best (we'll see if this posts before I get dropped again), can't seem to figure out which Mac program does what, and this room is freeeeezing (ok, so maybe this isn't a tech issue). Let's just say that 2 hours into it I am quite frustrated! Is it time for lunch yet.

Fustrated

2009-10-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

Today, we were scheduled to work as a team to create flash card on iflipr and to discuss others activities that we would be using. One-half of the team was sick. In addition to that, the server disconnected us several times, I could not create a g-mail account for my students after numerous attempts. Now we have to go to the school to pick up another i-touch because apparently my software was removed while I was doing something else. I really want to get started making my pod-cast lesson. I WISH I HAD A HARD COPY MANUEL TO READ! This would make it much easier for me.

Deborah

Flip out over Flip camera

2009-09-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

Okay,

Used the flip camera todayto record a demo for students who were absent. It Will need to work on edititng. I look like a dork and sound like one too! Would like to upload but it isn't working. Will try again later.

Having Fun

2009-09-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Shawn is like a child in a candy store. We will have to take vitamins to keep up with him. With every assignment, a new classroom application is opened to us.

2009-09-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Well, today we attended Mac training. Overall, the team is excited and ready to get started. Using the Macs will require a small learning curve. Oops, we now disagree on the size of the curve. It would have been great if we had received the equipment over the summer. Well, since we did not, adjustments will have to be made to allow for implementation.

MacBook Arrives

2009-09-11T06:15:00.000-07:00

Well, the equipment arrived today and I had a looksee to determine how hard this is going to be. Turned on the Macbook, had a look around, turned off the Macbook. Guess I've been corrupted by Microsoft since the Mac GUI looks so foreign to me. Not as young as I would like to be and not sure if I'm ready for the extremely steep learning curve. Maybe I'll feel better after the Apple training.

Welcome to our blog

2009-08-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

We created our blog today with not much fanfare because it took 6 college degrees to read the silly authentication code in order to create a Gmail account!