Final Post

1. This project brought so many things to mind. For one, the brainstorming was easy, but formulating the steps and explanations were more than difficult. This is true with teaching any skill to students. I had to narrow my thoughts and produce something third graders could handle.

2. The experiences that I have had with this project really opened my eyes! I have gained some confidence in working with technology. I will certainly continue to refine my skills.

3. My students will be able to research a great scientist and turn in a very good paper. This will definitely omit all those cutting and pasting of pictures that students use to turn in. This project is a step in the right direction to the area of researching and writing a report/project.

4. As a teacher, the 23 things and courses leading to this project actually made it fun for me. I was able to use technology without fear. I know that the fear factor is the major reason why many educators do not use technology or integrate technology with their regular teaching(DDI).

Thing 5

My project is in YouTube with the tags sbisdL2P3, science, and research. The audience can be for whole class of third grade students who need guidance in researching a scientist. Project can be adapted for students who need that extra help to research.

My project can be found on YouTube/researching a great scientist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Yak0otU7U

Thing 4

For my creation, I constructed a paper story board to generate my ideas. Then I had to narrow my ideas as I created the paper story board. Then I had to refine my ideas to keep my presentation short and to the point.

The "bumps on the road to creating my masterpiece" were refining my objective, rethinking how to guide third grade students, and making each step as clear as possible. I also noticed that I had to rely on the KISS principle.

My daughter helped to read each step of my masterpiece and gave great critiques during each phase of construction.

Thing 3

My story board is based upon helping third grade students to research, read, make notes, and how to write a brief research report/paper on a great scientist. The story board is a step by step approach to help students with their first research report/paper with content and substance.

I used a story board via paper. Then I outlined the steps for students to follow. Then I formulated a power point presentation to guide my project. What will work best for my students is to have the power point presentation to guide them through each step.

Story boards will be utilized to introduce and bridge this project, CCP(a method of teaching students to write), and the skill to be able to write a research report/paper that is interesting and effective. The benefit will be to extend the writing process and to make researching fun.

Thing 2

First of all, I went to My Delicious and found several websites. The one I liked was ziplink.net for Great Scientists. I used the Critical Evaluation of a Web Site by Kathleen Schrock, and I really was impressed by the different items to check. This checklist measured up very well because it gave me components to evaluate as an elementary teacher. I also used Website Checklist and it was very well structured and easy to use. Both seemed equally well constructed tools to use when evaluating websites.

As a third grade elementary teacher, I will certainly have to teach the basic components of finding a well represented website and allowing students to research and evaluate for themselves before assigning any type of internet use.

Thing #1

I liked Bling and Dogpile, but there was not enough I felt for students. I think students would get a bit overwhelmed. The social bookmarking site that I enjoyed using was Delicious. It is straight to the point and offers so much to students. I like to think of the phrase "it's at your fingertips."

I hope to stay with the district's resources for the students because so much can be obtained for the students. The other search engines are abit too difficult for third graders. I want to encourage my students to look at the district's resources first, and let them use it extensively before I let them delve into Bling or Dogpile.

As I said before, Delicious was my favorite because it offered a wealth of information for students to research and gain independence.

Bringing It All Together

My project will be Great Scientists. This is a general topic that my third graders have to formulate during the year. This project includes the background knowledge about our new science curriculum. Moreover, this project will guide the students to a wonderful research project that is independent, ongoing, and can be modified to meet the needs of all students. The TEKS/TAKS goals include, but not limited to, reading/summarizing, researching/synthesizing, and writing/organization.

Students can work on this project during school, at home, and in the classroom computer station. Students can work on steps and conference with the teacher at various points. The steps are clear and easy to follow throughout the year.