Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 2/28/14

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels: E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

The Science of NFL Football – learn how math and science relate to football (L:M,H; SA:M, S)

Connect A Sketch – use existing images or sketches to make flow charts and diagrams (L:G; SA: A)

Nature Sound Map – “A group of professional nature recordists from around the globe have collaborated to develop Nature Soundmap, an enjoyable and interactive way of exploring the natural sounds of our planet. Combining high-quality field recordings with the latest satellite imagery, the project brings together some of nature’s most beautiful, interesting and inspiring sounds.” (L:G; SA:A)

BioInteractive – “Free resources for science teachers and students, including animations, short films, and apps.” (L:G; SA:S)

Hemingway – “Hemingway makes your writing bold and clear. Hemingway highlights long, complex sentences and common errors; if you see a yellow highlight, shorten the sentence or split it. If you see a red highlight, your sentence is so dense and complicated that your readers will get lost trying to follow its meandering, splitting logic — try editing this sentence to remove the red.” (L:G; SA:A)

Original Image: Tools by Pat Hensley

Monthly Review of Goals from February

February was a quick month and I want to share how I’m doing with my goals to this point. All of my goals can be found here.
Yearly goals:

1. Try at least 12 new recipes (one per month). – We have done a lot of traveling this month so I didn’t do a lot of cooking this month. I barely got a new recipe in before the end of the month! 
   1. January – Quinoa Meatballs
   2. February - Cheddar Chicken Quinoa Bake
2. Reach my target weight by the end of the year. – No loss of weight this month. In fact I gained 5 while on the cruise.
3. Knit a Fair Isle vest. (not started yet)
4. Learn to chain ply some handspun yarn. (not started yet)
5. Dye yarn and fiber. (not started yet)
6. Spin my camel, yak, and cashmere fiber.
1. January - spun camel/merino/silk blend fiber

Daily/Weekly/Monthly goals:

1. Daily - Read the bible and keep a log so I can tell how I am doing. – I’ve read it every day in January and February.
2. Daily - Do strength exercises for 30 minutes each day. – I have done this every day.
3. Weekly - Walk at least 10,000 steps for 4 days every week. – I’ve done this and sometimes managed to do it more than 4 days each week.
4. Weekly - Keep a journal and write down 5 things that I’m thankful for. – Every Sunday I take time to jot down the 5 things.
5. Monthly - Read one non-fiction book every month.
1. January - Life in Stitches by Rachel Herron.
2. February – The Spinners Book of Yarn Design by Sarah Anderson

This month was kind of slow. I think I did alright but I’m hoping to do better with my cooking and my weight in March.
Image: 'Goals' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68131855@N00/739519564
Found on flickrcc.net

Day 12 Homework

On the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook, the twenty day blogging challenge created by Kelly Hines was mentioned and I decided to give it a shot. So here is the challenge for today:
“Talk about homework. Do you give it? Why or why not? What types of HW do you give? How do you balance it with other demands?”

I give homework but I don’t give any homework unless I know that my students can be successful with it. I do not use it as a punishment. I do not give it out of meanness because I want my students to work outside the classroom. I do not want my students to work on homework for more than an hour outside of the classroom. I also do not accept any homework early so that everyone turns it in at the same time. This keeps things from being mixed in with other assignments or a discrepancy in whether something has been turned in or not.

My students and their parents are told that there will be homework every night except weekends and holidays. This way there can be no misunderstanding on whether there is homework due or not. Parents also have my phone number and email address in case their child says there is no homework or that they turned it in already.

I give homework for several reasons.
1. Homework is a good way to practice new skills.
2. Homework teaches responsibility.
3. Homework teaches doing outside work independently.
4. Homework teaches students to complete work for a deadline.
5. Homework teaches students to organize their time.
6. Homework teaches a student that there are some things that need to be done that we don’t want to do.

Do you give homework? Why or why not? Please share.

Image: 'home work routine'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73645804@N00/4195916777
Found on flickrcc.net

Day 11 Dropbox

On the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook, the twenty day blogging challenge created by Kelly Hines was mentioned and I decided to give it a shot. So here is the challenge for today:
“What is a website that you can’t live without? Tell about your favorite features and how you use it in your teaching and learning.”

Another website that I use is Dropbox. I use this in the classroom to upload files that I can share with the whole class.

All of the students had a project where they needed to do some research on a specific disability. Then they needed to come up with a one page information sheet about their project. Instead of running off each sheet for every student, I decided to upload all of them to Dropbox. Then I sent out the link to all of the students so they could download them in a way that suited them the best. Some downloaded the work on their laptops, some on their iPads, and some on their phones. If a student wanted it printed out, they could do this also.

I think this is much better than sending out a mass email with attachments. Many people have a problem getting attachments or receiving emails with attachments. This seems the best way to share files with my class.

What do you use to share files with an entire class? Please share.

Image: 'Dropbox'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17213139@N00/7463062672
Found on flickrcc.net

Frog Watch Training

This past weekend we went to Frog Watch Training which was an awesome experience. In fact, it was my second time to attend. What can I say, I’m a slow learner and need repetitive learning. As many of you know, I usually bring my knitting with me in case I get bored or distracted and I never once pulled out my knitting during the entire session. It was so informative and interesting that I never needed to do anything to help myself focus. Our local chapter is FROGZ for FrogWatch Researchers of Greenville Zoo.

What is Frog Watch USA? It is a long term frog and toad monitoring program. The data collected by citizen scientists describe local species diversity, detect rare and invasive species, suggest shifts in species diversity, range and seasonal timing, and may be an indicator of wetland health.

Here are some other important things I learned in the class:

Citizen science is research collaboration between scientists and volunteers.

Volunteers learn about and explore the nature of science, collect scientific data on frogs and toads, spend time in community wetlands.

They benefit the natural world and humans, predators and prey in the ecosystem, pest control, food, medicine, education and research, culturally significant, serve as indicators of environmental health.

Over the past 20 years, there have been dramatic declines in amphibian populations around the world. See AmphibiaWeb.

Primary causes of decline: Habitat loss, Pollutants, Invasive species, Climate changes, Disease

Types of Wetlands: Marshes, vernal pools, swamps, bogs, fens
 
Survey site registration:
To find Latitude and longitude, go to www.terraserver.com
Write in Digital format
Longitude is always negative.

Monitoring protocol: Practice identifying, temperature must be above 35F, Not raining too hard or too windy, monitor 30 minutes after sunset

Recommended Books:
The Calls of Frogs and Toads by Lang Elliot
The Frogs and Toads of North America by Lang Elliott

Wear latex gloves with no powder
No insect repellent

Last year when we were camping I was able to use some of my learning to identify some of the frogs that we heard around us. During class they teach the different frog calls and help you learn how to distinguish between the different calls. I know that it will just take some practice in the same way that it took when I was learning to identify wildflowers.

One of the teachers is going to send out a schedule of when she plans to go out and do some monitoring. We are welcome to meet her there and get experience recording data. I’m really looking forward to doing this and learning. After getting some experience we might be able to do it independently but I know I will need a lot of practice.

There is another training coming up on March 8 from 10-3 at the Greenville Zoo. Here is the form you need to send in if you are interested (Deadline March 3). If you have the time to attend, it is well worth going!

Original photos by Pat Hensley