The Need For A New "Sputnik"

In Thomas L. Friedman’s op-ed column titled “What’s Our Sputnik” the author suggests that the United States is standing at the crossroads that will determine our future.  One choice is to continue the “war on terror” and slowly but surely bankrupt ourselves into insignificance.  The other option is to meet the economic challenge that China is giving us much like how the country responded to the Soviet’s launching of the Sputnik, as Friedman states “I hope Americans see China's rise as the 21st-century equivalent of Russia launching the Sputnik satellite -- a challenge to which we responded with a huge national effort that revived our education, infrastructure and science and propelled us for 50 years” (Friedman, 2011).  

I agree 100% with Friedman’s idea that we need to stop being the world’s police force and focus on the real problems here at home.  There was a time when we could afford to try to build diplomacy by helping out other countries for favors down the road, but that time has passed.  The current state of our economy and school systems demand we need to reevaluate our priorities and make better use of our resources.  If we are to correct the downward trajectory our country has been facing the past few years, we need to find our new “fight”.  I think Friedman’s suggestion that it should be energy independence is a great starting point.  If we could break our ties to the oil barons of the world and rely on ourselves only for energy, we could free up money that could be used for improving our problems here at home.  Energy independence would not only free up money here, but also yet again reinvent our nation’s economy which would bring back jobs and money that have been sent out of the country.    

All that money that is now used to protect our interests in oil rich countries around the world could be redistributed into programs to help our urban schools, the poor, improve mental and physical healthcare and reduce our deficit.  I feel is one of the biggest problems we are facing now is the problem with the urban schools.  While our country continues to produce mega rich people, we are also creating an society where it is very difficult to rise from the poor and underprivileged classes.  Students graduate from these urban schools often with a skill set lacking the tools for success in an increasingly technical society.  They then are forced to take jobs that pay very little and keeps them in this depressed economically state.  This then creates more of an expense for social services which draws resources away from other important areas.  Until we can reverse or break what I feel is a cycle of poverty, we are going to continue to slowly decline in power and wealth.  

References

Friedman, T. L. (2010, Jan 17). What's our sputnik? New York Times. Retrieved from http://

search.proquest.com/docview/434270918?accountid=14872

Using Models in the Classroom

Last week I implemented a lesson on earthquakes with my 5th grade class.  I consider the lesson to be a success.  The objectives were to learn about plates and the movements that create earthquakes.  I used many different models throughout the lesson to help my students learn about these topics.  I started the lesson off with a Brainpop video on Plate Tectonics to give students some basic background information.  My school purchased a subscription for Brainpop and I find them to be great resources.  The students find them very interesting and I find them as great lesson starters.  Brainpop videos are great at taking difficult or complex concepts and present them in easy to understand kid friendly videos.  This video was great model of plate movement.  It had easy to understand animations of plate movement which we would later model in a hands on approach.  After the video was over I started a discussion on the different types of movements along faults.  

Once I felt my students had a good grasp of the types of movements, I then gave each student a piece of styrofoam.  The pieces were of different shapes and sizes, similar to plates.  Students then would push their "plate" against a classmates.  We then discussed what they observed while pushing their plates against each other.  By modeling the actions with the styrofoam the students were able to mimic the breaking of rocks and release of power associated with an earthquake.  My students found this activity to be fun and informative.  The styrofoam ened up being an excellent material.  It would bend and build up pressure and then just snap, much like real rock along faults.  The popping also added a fun little controlled explosion that added a touch of excitement to the activity that really engaged the students.  

Overall, I would say the lesson was a great success.  My students were able to explain what an earthquake was and what were the factors behind them.  They also were able to learn a little bit about plate tectonics and the continental drift theory, thanks to the Brainpop lessons.  This experience overall also helped to reaffirm the idea that models are great tools for teaching.  They help bring visuals to a lesson that a book or lecture just cannot offer. 

Helping Children Develop Humanitarian Ways

Natural disasters have the ability to be far reaching events.  They do not always just affect the immediate area, but sometimes can have far-reaching and world-wide impacts.  These far reaching affects are not always the results from that original disaster but could be caused by all the lateral damage associated with it.  Today is a very unique time for teaching children.  With the wonders of the internet, we can now see what is happening around the world at any time.  With this access also brings a sense of closeness to people around the world that previously was non-existent.  In a world where people are now only as far as a push of a button, it builds a sense that we are responsible for helping these previously unknown people, especially in times of need.  

One way of teaching my students to become more scientifically-literate and also a compassionate world citizen through the use of NASA’s Earth Observatory website. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Images/  This site is a great resource which can lead to great lessons on different natural disasters.  The website shows images of natural disasters around the world taken with different types of imaging equipment.  It shows all the current natural events that are happening around the world.  By teaching my students about these current natural events, it would hopefully build interest because it is an event that is currently happening.  These images could then lead into lessons where students would learn the factors that contribute to them.  By using a variety of easily found websites, such as the ones suggested in this week’s resources, students can learn all about the actual science behind them.  

And due to the fact that these are events that are currently going on, the lesson could also spin into a lesson on charity and fundraising.  Students could help by raising money or collecting supplies that could then be sent to areas of need.  With the use of programs like Skype, the teacher could set up contacts near or involved in the natural disaster clean up and have video chats to learn about the after affects and how people recover.  Will all these wonderful tools at our disposal now thanks to the Internet, it makes it easier to connect our students right to the events that are changing our world.  By connecting them to live real time events, it hopefully builds a greater appreciation in the student to the project/assignment.  With that instant connection also comes a great opportunity to learn about the natural disasters around the Earth and provides an chance to help out with the rebuilding effort.  

Evaluating Web 2.0 Presentation Tools

This week I decided to check out some of the many tools available for use in the classroom.  I'm going to focus on two online programs that can be a great asset in the classroom. 
The first tool I tested out was Prezi (http://prezi.com).  Prezi is a nice tool for creating multimedia rich presentations.  I was really amazed at how easy it was to set up a presentation.  I have never used the program before the other day and it was very easy to set up a presentation.  It has many different tutorials for every level of user.  The tutorials also were very easy to understand and very informative, which is nice. 
Prezi also allows for easy collaboration with others and the ability to share your presentations over the internet. 
Another great thing was they offer a teacher and student account that gives you extra data storage over the normal free account.  You could pay for an account for either $59 or $159 a year, but the free teacher account is equal to the $59 account.  All you need is a school email account and you can register for the teacher/student account.  

The next tool I'm going to discuss is Google Docs.  Google Docs is another free program that allows you to share all types of files with collaborators around the world.  You can create and share powerpoint type slideshows, word documents, spreadsheets, drawings and many other file types.  I currently use Google Docs with my fellow teachers.  The nice thing is how easy it is to share and collaborate on projects.  I currently use it to share and edit lesson plans with my In-Class-Support teacher.  It has a chat feature that allows you to discuss while you are working on your project, or in my case, lesson plans.  It has come in very handy.  I would say I still haven't used all the features it offers, but have been very satisfied with what I have been able to do with it so far.  I would definitely recommend this site for any time you need to collaborate with others and can not do it in person.  The ease of it is what sets it apart from other programs I've used in the past.  Instead of email items to people, you can just open it up in your browser and see what your colleague is doing and go from there. 

There are plenty of other wonderful tools out there but these were the two I like the best.  For some more suggestions, check out these sites:
1) http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Presentation+Tools
2) http://edudemic.com/2010/07/the-35-best-web-2-0-classroom-tools-chosen-by-you/
3) http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Presentation+Tools

21st Century Tools

The topic I decide to research as my “big idea” is the structure of atoms in different states of matter such as solids, liquids, gases and plasmas.  This is a concept that students must learn which will help them understand concepts such as melting points, boiling points, pressure, conduction of electricity and sound waves just to name a few.  I found many websites that provided students with access to lots of information about the topic as well as provided the students with simulators and other tools to help understand the concept.  One of the better sites was http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/589.  This site is great for students because all of the sites have been checked by the University of Missouri’s department of education for kid appropriate resources.  

The links provided from the site let students access many videos and models of how the atomic structure changes when matter changes it states.  This sites also are good at helping students gain a basic understanding of atomic structure and how things work by watching the videos from Brain Pop website, http://www.brainpop.com/science/matter/statesofmatter/. 

One activity I can plan to help my students gain knowledge is to allow my students to use the website and its various resources by creating a webquest.  I can have students go through the sites in search of answers that the students would be able to learn from the various sites linked to University of Missouri’s website.  The webquest would have the students visit several sites and learn about how atoms interact with each other and how matter moves through the states of matter.  This is a great activity to help build and increase the students' ability in researching topics using web resources as well as learning important information about atomic structure.

A challenge I can see arising from my use of a webquest would be students running into issues not being able to find the information on the websites.  In the past, I have found that some students can have issues reading through websites and locating information.  I think this issue can be reduced or fixed by grouping students in pairs so they both read through the websites and can help each other find the information needed to answer the questions.  Also by working in groups, the students can discuss the topics with each other to help clarify the information for each other. 

Heat Transfer Guided Inquiry

Cups, with "HOT" water.

This week I conducted an experiment to find out which material would insulate the mug of hot water the best.  I decided to use tin foil, wax paper, plastic wrap and a t-shirt.  The first three were materials I use in the kitchen and wanted to see which worked best for keeping something warm.  I decided on the t-shirt just because I thought it would be interesting to see it's heat retention properties and we use it for clothing to stay warm.  After putting hot water in identical mugs and then covering the mugs with the 4 materials as lids, I waited 30 minutes to then measure the temperature of the water inside.  I then compared my before and after temperatures and determined the temperature changes.  I ran three trials of my experiment before I was comfortable with my data's results.  I wanted to verify my findings were right because my first trial produced interesting results.

Materials Used

Predictions and data from first two trials.

The t-shirt actually was the best in 2 of the 3 trials and had the best average temperature loss.  It kept the water the hottest out of the 4 materials.  I was very shocked because I thought it would be the worst of the all.  After reading about heat transfer, I realized the reason the t-shirt worked the best because it had lots of spaces.  Space is a poor conductor of heat because it increases the space that the molecules have to move to transfer the heat.  It had lots of space and therefore was a poor conductor of heat, and trapped more heat inside than it let out. 

Trial three's data and average temperature change chart

Out of the 3 kitchen materials, the tin foil, plastic wrap and wax paper, the tin foil was best, followed by the wax paper and lastly the plastic wrap.  The tin foil was much better than the other two.  The wax out performed the plastic which was interesting to me.  The picture above shows the third trial's data plus the average temperature change chart. 





I would like to run this experiment with liquids of different densities.  I think if I used a thick gravy the results might have been different.  Because the gravy is denser than the water, it would probably retain heat on its own better, and then the covers might not play as large of a role as they did in the water experiment.  I would even try other materials like a hamburger or pasta.  Again, maybe the density of the object would affect the outcomes.

Pendulum Experiment

 The question I decided to investigate this week was “Which pendulum will come to rest more quickly- a lighter pendulum or heavier pendulum?”  To investigate this question I set up two pendulums of equal length (15 inches) but with different sized washers.  One pendulum had a washer weighing 28 grams, the other had a washer weighing 2.8 grams.  After conducting a few trials, my results were exactly what I had predicted to happen, the lighter one came to rest sooner than the heavier one.  This was a pretty easy experiment to conduct, there were not too many things that could go wrong.  I had a few issues at first trying to get the pendulum to swing without hitting into the desk it was hanging from, but after a few trials, I was able to get it to swing in a semi-strait path without any contact with the desk. 

Materials needed for the experiment, minus the vitamin water.

Some things that I could change to this experiment to get a different or modified result would be to change the question to “Does the length of the pendulum affect the time it will take for a pendulum to come to a rest?”  This would change the variable tested during the experiment from testing the weight to testing the length of the strings used.  I’m sure that with different variables would come different results. 

This experiment could easily be modified as a lesson for my 5^th grade class.  I could change the wording around to make it more engaging for my students.  Instead of using the word pendulums, which I would then introduce to them after they conducted the experiments, I could call it a swing experiment.  I would pose the question as “Does the weight of the person affect how long they will swing without being pushed?”   We could then use the swings on the playground to test out their hypothesis.  I think by changing some vocabulary and making it relevant to something they use in their free time during recess would make it more engaging for my students.  Also the fact that we would be using swings on the playground would increase the fun and interest level among my class.  I think that this would be a great way to teach the children about the affects mass plays in momentum of objects, much like the pendulum experiment taught me.