High+School

toc media type="custom" key="1113509"

=Agenda=

Introduction
What the Research Tells Us About Student and Learning Today

Case Study #1 (Akram Bhatti)
Using google docs to highlight the following 21st Century Standards. Google docs comprises of online spreadsheet, document and presentation. Model lesson plan is based on biology and endangered species.

Students follow the directions looking for information regarding their endangered species. See the following link http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dmt7wrg_131f7ktb38r&hl=enHigh School

Students would use the stickie notes and/ or google docs to record, gather and synthesize their information. All images and text would then gathered and shared and placed into a presentation within google docs. All information is one place to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

In the final outcome the teacher and technologist would create a spreadsheet of the final projects and outcomes plus a form to guage whether or not utilizing google docs and question other aspects of the project as to its effectiveness. students produce their own materials in collaboration and inside and outside the classroom with access to the internet students can work together on spreadsheets, documents and presentations transparent process from where we get information all the same search engines for students and teachers alike technologist and teacher guide students to information students work together to create the information and collaborate to refine and synthesize what they have done they become scientists active producers of information and knowledge students control their own presentation and participate in a classroom learning community
 * From consuming to producing
 * From authority to transparency
 * From the expert to the facilitator
 * From "access to information" to "access to people"
 * From "learning about" to "learning to be"
 * From passive to passionate learning
 * From presentation to participation

I could highlight student's projects done in our class as well the standards both NECC and PA Science.

Case Study #2 (Scott Snyder)
Being a scientist requires individuals possess a number of key skills. This activity will help students learn how to observe experiments and what kinds of observations should be made when an experiment is in progress. Students will acquire and develop these skills by making their own observations and seeing what kinds of observations others make.

1. The activity would begin with an experiment where a lot is going on and can be observed. (The purpose of the activity/lab might not be announced.) Here is a sample video taped experiment. The experiment could just as easily be performed live. media type="custom" key="1063813"

2. As the experiment begins, students begin blogging their observations, which will be broadcast to and shared with the entire class using the live-blogging tool [|CoverItLive].
 * The activity cold be somewhat focused by having teams responsible for certain types of observations: (a) concrete data coming out of the experiment, (b) make inferences about what is going on, or (c) propose scientific theory explaining the experiment.
 * Practice with the live blogging concept by clicking on this link.

3. At the end of the experiment, students could do the following:
 * apply previous knowledge (book learning, past experiments) to this experiment to predict what the intended outcome is
 * graph the concrete data
 * complete a traditional lab write-up

4. Finally, go over the intended outcome with the students; compare and contrast their observations and conclusions with the intended one.
 * Analyze: how close where they in getting it right?

5. When might this technique be useful?
 * Need for students to see how others interpret events/happenings
 * Limited time
 * Limited resources (not enough material for lab teams to each replicate the experiment)

6. Curricular connections
 * PA Standards: 3.1.10 B, C, D & E; 3.2.10 A, B & C; 3.4.10 A & B (Covers both during and after the activity)
 * NETS•S Standards: 1, 2, 3 & 4

Case Study #3 (Aly Tapp)
Digital Storytelling in the Science and Technical Classroom

What is Digital Storytelling? Bernard R. Robin, Ph. D., works with the Instructional Technology Program at The University of Houston's College of Education. He offers insight into the concept of [|Digital Storytelling].

The scientific community is moving away from text and more toward brief, illustrative video. A recent [|eSchool News article] articulates this. The logical next step is to encourage our students to create the same type of multimedia products.

Innovative teachers are empowering their students and engaging them in 21st Century skills through the Digital Storytelling medium:
 * Students //design and execute a product// that demonstrates understanding. They are no longer passive consumers.
 * Students //collaborate// in small groups.
 * Students //communicate// with each other and even with those beyond the classroom walls.
 * Students //delve deeply into the subject// instead of skimming excessive surface facts.
 * Students //determine the direction of their inquiry//.

Most people quickly grasp the power of Digital Storytelling in conveying a personal story. Applications in the more clinical scientific and technical classrooms are emerging. Some teachers are redefining their standard practice:
 * Replace the traditional written lab report with a multimedia product. Students write a script instead of a report. They supplement their conclusions with images. These images may be gathered from other sources, or the students may produce digital pictures as they complete the steps of a lab. Students can also incorporate video in their presentations.
 * Stimulate student interest in a subject before you teach it by assigning students to investigate some real-world topic with that serious science behind it. Students then make digital stories that convey the understanding they gained through research. Lead them from this "hook" into the deeper study of the science.
 * Direct students to use digital storytelling tools to demonstrate the steps in any progressive reaction.
 * In a technology class where students are designing a product, require them to create a "sales pitch" of their product using digital media. Connect them to the concept of external audience. Help them develop their persuasive communication skills.
 * Think in terms of what you already do, and then consider how adding voice, image, and even music might enhance learning!

Digital storytelling is //not// a piece of software. Digital storytelling is a //concept//, and there are new tools emerging all the time. Some of these tools are free dowloads (like [|Photo Story 3 for Windows]). Mac users know these tools as ones they already use -- iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, Keynote, and iDVD. Still others are entirely web-based, and Mac and PC users alike can access them from any Internet connection. Alan Levine maintains the excellent cogdogroo wikispace, where he catalogues a vast array of digital storytelling tools. He even organizes them according to the function of the products they generate -- slideshow generators, timeline tools, and map mash-ups, for example.

The following are examples of digital stories from the world of science and technology. These are offered here as examples of what is possible, but these are not entirely without flaw or weakness. As with any lesson, the teacher must provide clear instructions and rigorous expectations. Rubrics for assessment and an exemplar should be available to students before they begin working on their products. [|The history and evolution of X-ray technology]. [|An explanation of Seborrheic Keratosis] [|Photosynthesis -- It's What Plants Do]

=Questions/Wrap-Up:= 1. Become powerful advocates for change. Regardless of who inhabits the White House next year, educational technology must play a more prominent role in our national education policy. 2. Share your knowledge and your passion. Help others take steps to ensure their growth as teachers, Davis said--so they can help students grow as learners. 3. Showcase your work, and students' work, in innovative ways. Invite parents and community leaders into your schools, or take students' projects to them with the help of podcasts and other technologies. 4. Dream big. Have high expectations for your students because the possibilities that educational technology offers are "endless." 5. Use all of the resources available to you as you try to effect change. These include ISTE's many online resources, such as the group's National Educational Technology Standards and its research-based reports.
 * Some points from Trina Davis at NECC.

=Resources and Web Links= [|Teaching the Periodic Table in a 21st Century Way] [|21st Century Lesson Planning (A great example)] http://www.willard.k12.mo.us/co/tech/videos/googledocs/forms/forms.html [|CoverItLive]...a moderated live blogging tool Cogdogroo Wikispace -- a helpful index of web-based digital storytelling tools.

=Presenters' Contact Info=

Aly Tapp
CFF Coach York Suburban High School atapp@yssd.org

Akram Bhatti
CFF Coach Millcreek School District Erie, PA [|bhatti@mtsd.org]

Scott Snyder
English Teacher, Department Chair Cedar Cliff High School Camp Hill, PA ssnyder@wssd.k12.pa.us