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| Original Photo by: Sherry Martinez |
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.
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