Our learning team C used the bookmarking tool Diigo. It was easy to use. There were many sites that used student-centered learning in the content areas of language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. As we found websites that pertained to these content areas Diigo allowed us to copy the URL then select the “bookmark” function and paste to the URL into the box. Then when we clicked on the URL the title and a brief description of the site appears. As we were to review the site ourselves I deleted the description provided by the site and added how it could be used in the classroom. After the information was entered into Diigo anyone can click on the URL to get back to the site. There is a topic button which can be used to type comments without having to erase the comments the bookmarking site provides. There is also a button which allows you to see the Diigo contributor’s additions as a compact display. The downside to the compact display is that the comments the other contributors had posted could not be seen. Another good function on the Diigo bookmarking tool is the “Bookmark, click to see all” button. This button allows all of a particular person’s entries sorted by name. Diigo could be used by students and teachers alike. The students could use Diigo to easily find the research sites that they have been to and to easily find the URLs to put into their bibliographies. The students also could easily collaborate on their research using the URLs they put into Diigo. Teachers could use the site to keep track of the URLs that they have gotten information from when preparing their lessons. The information would be at their fingertips to refer to. Diigo can also be used by teachers to share websites with each other both from those in their content area and from those in other areas. The three resources I contributed were http://www.edheads.org/, edheads http://www.udel.edu/biology/ketcham/microscope/scope.html, UD virtual compound microscope and http://www.learningscience.org/ learning science. Edheads is amazing! There are fifteen activities from which the students can choose. They range from aortic aneurysm to weather. I chose aortic aneurysm. There was a virtual doctor who reviewed the parts of the heart and a CT scan comparing a healthy body to one with an aneurysm. The doctor asks questions to make sure the student understands what she just taught them. The video conducts a virtual operation starting with the student virtually performing the incision. This web would be wonderful for an AP anatomy class. At first I thought that the best way to use this site would be for each student could choose which activity she is most interested in but I think this site would be better for students to work on as a class. During the virtual activities the students could take turns doing them on a projector attached to the computer. This site would not be good for use with lower level learners. The information is delivered so quickly and intently that only very advanced students would be able to gain from it. The next site I contributed was the virtual compound microscope. This site takes you through the steps to set up a microscope for viewing slides or specimens. There is a checklist that activates when you complete a step. If the student does not know how to complete a step then there is a “How to…” list to explain it. This site is very good for reinforcing the teaching of the microscope and for students who missed the instruction in class. Finally I found a site called Learning Science and it is an excellent site to investigate a plethora of science topics. The teacher can choose from Science Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space, Science and Technology, Science and Society, and History and Nature of Science. I chose Physical Science. Within the standards listed the teacher can choose Grades K-4, 5-8, or 9-12. In 9-12 I chose the Structure of Atoms. Again the teacher can choose from nine different websites that can be activated by clicking on them or Googling them. This a great site that a teacher could draw from for a multitude of class lessons. Many of the sites on here use interactive learning which students prefer. This assignment was very helpful in not only finding sites that teachers could use in class but showing how easy it is to find good sites to use in the classroom. Many sites have places where teachers can post ideas and share how they used that website.
Diigo could be used by students and teachers alike. The students could use Diigo to easily find the research sites that they have been to and to easily find the URLs to put into their bibliographies. The students also could easily collaborate on their research using the URLs they put into Diigo.
Teachers could use the site to keep track of the URLs that they have gotten information from when preparing their lessons. The information would be at their fingertips to refer to. Diigo can also be used by teachers to share websites with each other both from those in their content area and from those in other areas.
The three resources I contributed were http://www.edheads.org/, edheads http://www.udel.edu/biology/ketcham/microscope/scope.html, UD virtual compound microscope and http://www.learningscience.org/ learning science.
Edheads is amazing! There are fifteen activities from which the students can choose. They range from aortic aneurysm to weather. I chose aortic aneurysm. There was a virtual doctor who reviewed the parts of the heart and a CT scan comparing a healthy body to one with an aneurysm. The doctor asks questions to make sure the student understands what she just taught them. The video conducts a virtual operation starting with the student virtually performing the incision. This web would be wonderful for an AP anatomy class. At first I thought that the best way to use this site would be for each student could choose which activity she is most interested in but I think this site would be better for students to work on as a class. During the virtual activities the students could take turns doing them on a projector attached to the computer. This site would not be good for use with lower level learners. The information is delivered so quickly and intently that only very advanced students would be able to gain from it.
The next site I contributed was the virtual compound microscope. This site takes you through the steps to set up a microscope for viewing slides or specimens. There is a checklist that activates when you complete a step. If the student does not know how to complete a step then there is a “How to…” list to explain it. This site is very good for reinforcing the teaching of the microscope and for students who missed the instruction in class.
Finally I found a site called Learning Science and it is an excellent site to investigate a plethora of science topics. The teacher can choose from Science Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space, Science and Technology, Science and Society, and History and Nature of Science. I chose Physical Science. Within the standards listed the teacher can choose Grades K-4, 5-8, or 9-12. In 9-12 I chose the Structure of Atoms. Again the teacher can choose from nine different websites that can be activated by clicking on them or Googling them. This a great site that a teacher could draw from for a multitude of class lessons. Many of the sites on here use interactive learning which students prefer.
This assignment was very helpful in not only finding sites that teachers could use in class but showing how easy it is to find good sites to use in the classroom. Many sites have places where teachers can post ideas and share how they used that website.