BP17_WK 4 PLE

Learn how to make audio adjustments in iMovie.

BP16_WK4 PLE

Fun with Cropping and Rotation in iMovie.

BP15_Week 4 PLE

Learn how to add layers with iMovie.

BP14_Week 3 PLE cont'd with more about iMovie

Another way that I plan on using iMovie this school year is in the creation of tutorial videos for the math intensive sections of Chemistry.  I plan to look into the tutorial videos on Lynda for assistance in obtaining the optimal camera angle, adding voice overs, tightening up my transitions so that my end product is clean, clear and not full of distractions for my audience.  I would also like to perfect my skill at changing the speed of different sections of video so that my tutorials are not to lengthy where I loose my audience.
I would also like to create short clips of how to execute some of my labs so that not only have my students read how to perform the lab in advance but they have also see how to do it.  I feel like this would aid in having a safer environment in the chemistry lab.

BP14_Week 3 PLE cont'd

During the ETC course at Full Sail, I recently learned how to place transitional slides over my video in imovie.  So now instead of having a transitional slide in between each clip I can now have ticklers or other information popping up on my video while it is being played.  I feel like this accomplishment has allowed for a smoother and polished ending project.  I am currently looking into how I can have video and a still picture (picture-in-picture) for my future videos.  This is something that I would like to get better at so that I can start posting polished presentations online for my students reference and for a substitute to use so that  my lesson will continue while I'm out.

BP12_PLE Week 3

Throughout the various courses I have taken so far at FSO I have been exposed to several different types of media that I would like to be able to devote time into becoming more proficient.  My two favorite have been using garageband and imovie.  For what I'm trying to accomplish with my action research project I feel that becoming more proficient at both of these would be of tremendous help.

One of my students inside my brand new fume hood

In this post I would like to focus on how I have started using imovie for my classes this year.  My students first project was to create a lab safety video.  That could be as funny, as creative, as serious or anything that they wanted as long as they promoted lab safety.  I allowed my students to use my video camera and to edit their clips using imovie.  Some of the groups had really good ideas and I feel like if I was more proficient in this area that I could have assisted them better.  I taught my students how to use transition between clips, add audio, duck audio, edit clips (both audio and video) and intro and outro slides.  But even with showing them this stuff I still felt like if I was more proficient the editing process it could have gone quicker and maybe even had more creative ideas incorporated into it.

BP10_Comments to Taylor Stoker

Click here for my comments on Taylor Stoker's latest blog about Web 2.0 tool that can be used universally across the board.

BP9_comment to Bruchetta Jones

Click here to read my comments about a search engine that Bruchetta Jones researched.

BP8_edisco

Edisco is another Web 2.0 tool that focuses on interactive flashcards.  Edisco has done several things to set themselves apart from other flashcard sites.  The first is the it keeps a record of the number of times a student has practiced with a particular deck of cards, the number of correct versus incorrect, but also a record for each card in the deck.  Students are able to view their progress through a variety of graphs and tables.  Also, learners are able to edit the settings to control how often they see a card based on if they had the correct or incorrect answer to it.  This allows students to not only control how they are learning but when they are learning.  It re-enforces long-term memory recall by spacing out how often students will see the cards they had the correct answer on.
Another feature they may appeal to students is that they can change their user background.  While this does not enhance the learning that they are doing it again makes the student feel more in charge of their learning.  Edisco is a tool that the majority of educators will find useful especially for those content areas that require quite a bit of memory recall.

BP7_OMM_Funnel Brain

BP6_Comments to Manny

Please follow this link to view my comments on Manuel Miranda's blog about the quizinator.

BP5_Comments to Lori

Hey guys!  Follow this link to my comments on Lori Martin's blog.

BP4_Funnel Brain

Funnel Brain is an awesome tool that could be added into any classroom right now.  Funnel Brain is a site that helps you create flashcards.  There are many sites out there that help you create flashcards and allow you to post them online but even for the most basic of services you generally have to pay a few to the host site.
There are several services that Funnel Brain provides, without any service fee, that has completely sold me on this tool.  One of the services that this site provides is the ability to create a study team.  Your students can either search specifically for the name of the team or if they can't remember the name of the team they can still find it because it is also listed with tags.  Can we say AWESOME?!?!  The chances of our students actually remembering the correct name are pretty slim so this is nice feature.
Funnel Brain is very user friendly.  You have the options to create or add decks of flash cards that have been made by other users or you can purchase the premium flashcards.  The flashcards on this site are designed to user intuitive.  For instance, at the bottom of the deck is a counter that shows the number of correct answers, the total time it takes to go through the deck, the average time per card, plus the deck is programmed to go to the next card based on whether the user got the response correct or incorrect.  These features are designed to enhance both the retention and the memory recall skills of the users.
I plan to start using this tool in my classroom in the very near feature.
This web 2.0 tool is a must have for any classroom.  I hope you take the time to check it out.

BP_Diigo Group

This is the first time that I have used Diigo and I have discovered from watching the intro videos how amazing this tool will be.  Not just for working on my master's degree but also for my day to day research I do to enhance my teaching.
I can't count the number of times that I have lost information for a vital website or I can't remember which website that I have bookmarked is the one that has the information that I am looking for.  Recently, I have started taking screenshots and saving the an offline copy of various websites.  But I still would have to take the time to look through each saved file to find exactly what I was looking for.
This is what is awesome about Diigo.  You can take screenshots, save an offline pdf file, and many other options and write tags that accompany each one so that by searching for the tag name you can quickly find all of your resources and then go from there.  I absolutely love this function.
I have already joined the group pages for Manuel, Tiffany, Wayne, Andrea & Ripples.  I have sent out invitations to my critical friends and my teammates to join my group.
I have many ideas on how I want to use Diigo.

BP2_iGoogleScreenshots

Home Tab:

FSO Tab:

AR/CBL Tab:

ETC Tab:

BP1_Google Reader

Original Photo by:  Sherry Martinez

The wonders of Google Reader: 

Prior to this course, I had never heard of Google Reader so I really was not sure exactly what it was.  In no time at all did I discover how wonderful Google Reader is.  I absolutely love this tool.  It is a great place to go to quickly view if there has been anything of interest or useful that has been posted to sites that I would normally try to go visit from time to time.  Now with Google Reader I will be able to stay current with the latest happenings in my field, be inspired from teachers across the nation, and to stay motivated.

The following are some of the professional RSS feeds that I have chosen to follow on Google Reader.

Scientific American - Chemistry is the first one that I chose.  What I like about this site is that many of the current events that are posted deal with a combination of Chemistry and Biology.  I love being able to tie my students knowledge together of how the different sciences are intertwined together.  The second reason why I have chosen this site is because the articles also deal with ethics in science.  Not only as a science teacher am I supposed to be encouraging students to think about the ethics involved in science but I also feel that this is part of their personal growth in the maturation process.  I believe it is so important to have my students examine issues from different viewpoints in order to perhaps if not broaden their thinking but to at least broaden their tolerance of other viewpoints that conflict with theirs.

Feedzilla:  News stories about Science - Chemistry is a great newsfeed that publishes articles that tend to be more off the wall.  The titles of the articles immediately scream at me that this would be great for high school students to read.  One of the recent articles delved into the subject of making whisky from the urine of diabetics.  If that subject doesn't lead you to believe a high school student would be interested in reading more I don't know what would.

RSC - Chem. Sci latest articles is really good for chemistry teachers.  This journal is graphic rich.  The graphics include lewis structures, quantum configurations, and things as simple as atomic structure in relation to electrons.  Many of the graphics are at the high school level while a few veer for the lower grades and veer more towards college.  The graphics that can be found here would be great to use in furthering the understanding for the intelligences that need that visual connection and also as a reteach tool for students who are having a hard time grasping the concepts the first time around.

Motivational Quotes of the Day because I need motivation.  Teaching in general can be a difficult and draining career but add to that when the subject matter is Chemistry and there are some days that I come home and am so physically and emotionally exhausted that I would love to fall into bed.  I also chose this site so that I can try to keep my students motivated as well.  It is very daunting trying to motivate students who have this preconceived conception that they are not good at science and therefore will hate Chemistry.  Many of my students come to me already shutdown to learning the subject matter so I need all the motivation and inspiration I can get to overcome and tear down those walls.

Teacher:  Student and Community because for me this what it is all about.  The relationship between teacher, student, the community, and building a community for the student is critical to the success of many students.  Having a community in place can be the difference for at-risk students. Many of the articles found on this website foster inspiration and motivation to continue teaching and reaching out to students, to make that connection as early as possible.  Some of the other articles are meant to broaden what you believe is allowed or can take place in the classroom(i.e. use of cell phones).

Many of the feeds that I follow are subject specific for what I am teaching but other teachers could utilize them also as a way to bring in different types of current event articles for their students to read and discuss.