Week+Seven

This week, the final lessons were presented. Below is a summary of what happened.
 * __Class Technology Lessons: Part Two__ **

Lesson 1: Gr. 9 Geography - Immigration in a Canadian Context

This lesson was about immigration to Canada in the past and present. We got to go to [] and use the website to explore the immigration push and pull factors for people from a variety of countries. Students got to then use this information to create a podcast.
 * **GCast.com** - This website allows students to create and post a podcast through the internet, but also allows them to use their cellphone as a recording device. I think this is a great way to allow students to record a podcast if they don't have the software.

Lesson 2 : Research Skills

This lesson showed us a couple of websites that can be used for researching. The lesson can be found at: http://ped3119.wikispaces.com/WebQuest+Part+1. After searching the websites, we went to a Google form and had to answer some questions.
 * **Google Books** - This is a portion of the Google empire that posts Books online. This could help students to research books rather than solely using the internet for their assignments.


 * **WorldCat.org ** - Using this website, students can search for books, CD's, etc., and find their location at a local library. I don't really find this tool very good, because it is likely just as easy, and more accurate to use the Ottawa Public library search engine, whic would tell you if the books have been checked out of the library or not.

Lesson 3: Gr. 9 Science - Chemistry commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Hydrogen_02.png This lesson was about researching an element and creating a wikipage about it. The lesson is available at http://ped3119-dp-hg-chemistrylesson.wikispaces.com/The+Periodic+Table. I think this could be very useful, because most schools have students create a one page summary about an element, but with the technology aspect, students can incorporate videos and other aspects that cannot be placed on a sheet of paper.

Lesson 4: Grade 10 English - A Mid Summer's Night Dream

This lesson sounds really fun! (It can be found at http://stevevped3119.wikispaces.com/Week+7). Students would get to pick a scene out of the play they are reading in class, in this case A Mid Summer's Night Dream, and create a comic depicting the story. To do this, students would use the application Comic Life. I feel like the software could be a really good tool for students, however it does have one major hurdle that I encountered. This is that any images you want to use must be imported in to the program. This can turn into a VERY tedious and time consuming endevor for students to make several pages of story with several frames on each page, all of which they have to find images for, and legal ones at that. It seems like a lot of work!

Lesson 5: Gr. 9 English - Poems This lesson was all about writting poems using a web template. The lesson is located at: http://ped3119b-kristin.wikispaces.com/Week+7. Here is the poem I wrote: __**Practicum**__ Waiting, Anxiously, Angrily, Hoping, Wishing, Dreaming, Will I get a Practicum or not? - Checking, Checking, ReChecking, Nervously, Impatiently, Waiting

Lesson 6: Exercise Science - Intro to Nutrition

This lesson is all about keeping a healthy lifestyle. (The lesson plan is available at:[]). Students got o keep a food journal and input information about their lifestyle. The program then lets the students know where they can make improvements.

Lesson 7: Grade 10 Math

This lesson had a guest Astronaut! I found the lesson really entertaining. We got to do math problems about the space station, in order to help save the astronauts!

Lesson 8: Grade 7 French Immersion - History

This lesson had students making a Photostory about the Pioneers. The lesson is located at: http://intergratingtech.wikispaces.com/New+France. We didn't know much about the pioneers, but here is the Photostory Lisa and I created! media type="file" key="settlers.wmv" align="center" width="300" height="300"

Skype We also had a brief discussion in class about Skype. i had heard of Skype before this class, but I always assumed it was something you had to pay for. So, learning that this was not true I set out to find out more about this program. i could tell you everything I've learned, but I found this great video that explains it all perfectly! media type="youtube" key="m1mflr-kQlk" height="276" width="460"

Also, for your entertainment, watch some of the Skype Laughter Chain below! media type="youtube" key="p32OC97aNqc" height="307" width="384" align="center"

This Week's Reading: Learning and Earning with Technology by ISTE

This article is all about web filtering. Here are my thoughts:
 * Having filtering in the schools doesn't stop students from accessing information elsewhere.
 * Useful, appropriate information may get unnecessarily blocked.
 * Blocking sites doesn't teach students not to access inappropriate information, just to try and find a way around the filter.