Ask A Scientist

 Last week we were introduced to the ASK A SCIENTIST website.  This website was full of all the scientific questions that one might want to ask.  However, if your question was not addressed, this website also provided you with the opportunity to ask the scientist your own unique question and  get an answer. 

I decided to asks the scientist about the genetic traits of my endangered species.  Unfortunately, I have not heard back from them yet, so its just a waiting game.

I can see directing my students to this site when they have basic scientific questions that might already be in the ASK A SCIENTIST data base.  This site would be one that I would encourage students to use when they are beginning their research, or if they have a question that I don't know the specific answer to (I would have to monitor for the response).  Another way that I would use this website or one similar in my  classroom would be as a point to ponder (warm-up).  I would have my students answer a question that has already been posted, then we would look at the answer that was given and debate its merit.

Because of the wait time that I am experiencing, I think it would be difficult for students to ask a question and get a response in a timely manner, thus this tool might be difficult to use if they have a specific problem and they need a quick response (ie. research paper).  Because of this I would have them use this as a starting point for any questions they may have.  Additionally, many of my students lack the resources at home to get on this tool, so they would have a difficult time checking to see when a response was given.

COMMON CORE
I recently went to a professional development class on incorporating common core in the science classroom and they gave us the following website to help use create lesson plans:
http://modulecreator.com/ModuleCreator/#page=login&step=Login.

The really neat part about this site is that it will get  you reading material based on the topic and the students lexile level.   I am not sure if you can log on without a password but if  you email me I will send you the link they sent us to sign it.

WEB 2.0 and BEYOND!!

I think it’s really cool to try out new presentation tools so that we can see what’s out there and how well they work. 

The first presentation tool that I looked at was ZOHO Show.  I found this tool to be very user friendly as it is very similar to PowerPoint.  As a Power Point Pro, I found this tool to have many of the upgrades that I often wished PowerPoint had.  One of the greatest features of this tool is its ability to be used by numerous persons simultaneously.  Yes, I said it, you and your team can work on the same presentation at the same time in different places (Collaboration the BIG C word).   Another neat feature of this tool is the ease in which you can import photos.  In PPT you had to cut, save, upload, and paste pictures, in this tool you can easily go to the web, flickr, or any other place and upload photos.  This is a really neat time saving feature.  A third feature that I find nice is this tools ability to save presentation in multiple ways.  Many of the new online presentation tools only allow you to save your presentation on their website, ZOHO Shows can be saved on both your jump drive and on the website.  This tool is free with only a sign in required.  Because it is similar to PPT the learning curve should be short.  I have not figures out how to add video yet, but you can download videos URL, so this might work.  As with many of these internet tools, it you have the internet you have easy access to this tool.  So on a whole I found this presentation tool to be very interesting. 

The second presentation tool that re-investigated was Prezi, I have done several Prezi’s for my class and last year and while it is different, I am not sure how user friendly it is (at least to me).  My sons’ first introduced Prezis to me last spring and I thought it would be great to learn how to do them.  There are many features that are unique Prezis.  One unique feature is your ability to upload previous Power Point presentations.  You can easily upload these presentations and incorporate them into the Prezi format.  Another interesting feature about Prezi is your ability to create unique custom shows.  PPT tend to be the same after a while, with Prezi you can manipulate the screen, zoom in on facts, and create and engaging changing presentation.  This tool also allows you share and collaborate while creating your presentation.  While Prezis are neat to work with there are some limitation that I have found.  I have had a difficult time uploading video (my son has agreed to show me how).  I also have not been able to master placing in outside animations (I am not sure if this tool supports this).  I also do not like that I cannot save what I have done to an external source (ie. Jump drive).  I also think that it requires a little more time to become familiar with this tool.  This presentation tool is free with its only requirements being a log in.  This web tool is easily assessable to all on the internet.  Again, all in all I think it is a great tool for teachers to have in their presentation box.

Another tool that is similar to Prezi is spicynodes, I know this was not mentioned on the web2.0 website, but I have used it several times and I find it to be an easy use.  Here is there website: http://www.spicynodes.org/
This website is free and it is very similar to Prezi.  Again both of these tools require a little more time when it comes to learning how to use them but, students really enjoy seeing information presented in different ways. As with all internet tools, it you have the internet then you have access to it.

Here is a copy of one that I used as a demo for my class: http://www.spicynodes.org/a/25e898d580fa722fe1b9404d4960eb21

Another tool that I found have used is the Go animate tool, I used it to create short informational videos (ie. Class rules, homework, lab expectation).  It is really great and it is free for short clips.  You can pay for longer ones, but, I have found the free is good.  This tool is easy to use and they walk you step by step throughout the process.   

Here is link to the first one that I did: http://goanimate.com/videos/00W6_J-qvIaU/1 - (I hope it works) one downside of this website is that you cannot download what you have created (well you can but, you have to pay for it). Again, this tool is available to all on the internet.

I hope I have given you some insight into some of the different internet presentation tools that are available for use.

Thanks