Saturday, February 21, 2009

TPACK

What is the content you’ll be using in your lesson?

I will be using Grade Seven Social Studies Standard 1 Objective 1 which states: Students will understand the interaction between Utah’s geography and its inhabitants. The students will investigate the relationships between the physical geography and Utah's settlement.

What is the pedagogy you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?

The pedagogy I will be using is mainly observation. Students will observe the four locations using Google Earth. Also, students will record data and answer questions on the worksheets.
Observation and recording data are good fits for the content because the students will need to mentally and visually observe the physical geography of Utah in order to make deductions to why people settle in a specific region or why people do not settle in a specific region. Recording data is important so that the students do not forget what they thought and observed while working with Google Earth.

What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

I will be using Google Earth; it is a perfect fit with the content because it allows students to view physical geography. Not only do students see where a specific physical feature is located, but they can use the terrain label to see the physical feature from a three-dimensional perspective. Google Earth allows the physical features to appear on the computer screen just as they would in real life. Students get a real feel and sense of what each physical feature looks like. It is as if I brought the Great Salt Lake into my classroom for the students to observe! Google Earth is a perfect fit for the pedagogy because it is a program that allows students to observe and record data. Google Earth is kid friendly and it is a technology that is safe and easy to use in a classroom.

Plan a Tour






























Location ActivityGoogle Earth Content
1. Great Salt LakeStudents will learn that people do not settle right near the Great Salt Lake, but instead live up higher in the upper plains of the Salt Lake Valley. What do you think would happen to a house if it was built on the shores of the Great Salt Lake? (Shore erosion is a big danger) Is a foundation for a house stronger in the upper plains or close to the Great Salt Lake? (Upper plains because of shore erosion) What are some other reasons people do not live near the Great Salt Lake? (The answer to this question is that the shoreline smells because of decaying brine shrimp and brine flies that wash up on the shore)

Polygon-Draw a polygon shape to outline the Great Salt Lake

The terrain tool should be checked.

2. Arches and Natural Bridges ParkStudents will research the Arches and Natural Bridges Park on Wikipedia before viewing it on Google Earth. What makes this a national park? Why would people want to live near the national park? Why would people not want to live near the national park? List a few of the conditions as to why it is not a good idea to live near the national park (tourists, windy conditions, etc.).

Image overlay

A link to Wikipedia should be found on Google Earth.

The terrain tool shoul be checked.

3. Mt. TimpanogasStudents should make predictions as to why very few people settle on Mt. Timpanogas? Do more or fewer people live near the top of Mt. Timpanogas compared to the bottom? What are some dangers of living near the top (avalanches, erosion, wind, earthquakes, etc.) Terrain tool checked.
4. Salt Lake DesertStudents will be taught the conditions of a desert in general and why few people would want to move to a desert. What are the pros about living in a desert? Is the Salt Lake desert eroding as we speak? Terrain tool checked.
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:

Polygons will highlight borders, image overlay will show a picture, and paths will show trails or roads.

The terrain tool will be used for all of the sites visited.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

TPACK

The content I will be using is based on 3rd grade standard 1, objective 2 b, which states students develop language by viewing media (ads, video, etc.) and presenting with various forms of media. The students view the story video I make as an example to prepare them for making their own story videos. By creating story videos, students develop language through working with scripts. Also, students practice working with media such as scripts, pictures, and music.

The pedagogy I will be using is a writing project, and more specifically poetry interpretation. Students choose a poem and take the script of that poem and combine it with pictures and music to form a poetry story. Students will create this poetry story as a video presentation.

The technology I will be using is photostory. Photostory is a good program to use because it is free for PCs and easy for children to use. Multimedia projects can be created easily on photostory which corresponds with the content taught to the children. The content in focus includes viewing media and presenting projects, and in this case poetry projects, through media. Photostory is also a good fit for pedagogy because poetry stories can easily be turned into video poetry stories. Photostory is fun for children to use, and both poetry and technology are being introduced to children at the same time through this project.

Storyboard



Monday, February 2, 2009

TPACK Questions

The content I am focusing on in my lesson is the appearance of Earth and the moon, which content is outlined in Standard 1, Objective 1 of third grade science. This content focuses on the physical appearances (spherical shape) of Earth and the moon, as well as the motions of Earth and the moon regarding revolution and rotation.

The pedagogy I use is mostly observation. Students observe physical appearances of the planets and they observe the revolutions and rotations of Earth and the moon. Students also predict how Earth's axis rotates in order for night and day to occur; they get to predict then observe by viewing the actual motion of Earth's rotation on the computer screne. Once students observe Earth's rotation, they measure night and day in relation to the sun. Another pedagogy strategy students use is describing data; they describe relationships between Earth and the moon's physical appearance and between Earth's day and night in comparison with the sun. Students collect this data and can later analyze/study the data.

The technology I used is Celestia, a solar system program. Celestia is a good fit for the content and pedagogy; in fact Celestia is an almost perfect match. Celestia is a perfect way for a student to see the physical appearances of Earth and the moon. Also, Celestia shows the actual rotations and revolutions of Earth and the moon. The content is well covered through Celestia. Celestia covers basic teaching strategies such as observation, prediction, and analysis. These are described above how Celestia covers these. Celestia is an incredible program that gives students the opportunity to teach themselves the content.