EDUC634 Liberty University Technology in A Science Classroom Discussion
200 word min reply with references to include biblical reference
Utilizing technology in a science classroom can take your students places the teacher cannot. Exposure to videos showing experiments, virtual field trips, or other lectures are so beneficial. Students can also use technology to grow their depth of knowledge of vocabulary in order to keep the cycle of inquiry going. Using technology for an assessment tool is very useful. Allowing students to show what they know through the use of creating videos, blog post, presentations, or digital art would be a relative way to bring 21st centry skills to a science classroom. In practice, every technology tool involves a certain amount of instructional overhead. The ideal technology has a low threshold and a high ceiling. In other words, it will be intuitive for the novice to learn and yet support increasingly sophisticated activities. One such activity explained in our text was Science WebQuests. DeRosa and Abruscato (2015) states that WebQuests engage students by creating the need to gather, analyze, and synthesize information that addresses a specific problem or challenge. WebQuests should actively involve students with content at the websites. There are so many wonderful WebQuests premade to use in your classroom. I have used these myself, and my students LOVED them. Their favorite one was a journey with the states of matter. It was a wonderful time to group the children and watch their inquisitive nature bloom!
Lab Safety is an important lesson to review throughout the year in your science classroom. Just like the video states, at home children hear many times not to touch things due to the safety of the object. If a teacher would like to run an experiment that involve a typically unsafe tool in a same manner it is important that students understand the expectations so they can perform investigations properly. Working in a lab is an integral part of effective science learning. In the video for this week, Jim Carter explains that some things that are blatantly obvious to us may not be as obvious to others, especially to kids.
In the video, the Harvard University Graduates were questioned about their ability to illuminate a lightbulb with a battery and wire. All were confident that they can perform the task successfully. They all were very inquisitive in their thinking, you can tell they were analyzing the question and most likely going through the motions in their thinking. When it didn’t work they did go through a few solutions of the failure. Assumption of teachers just teaching, students will learn. However, sometimes the simplest of tasks in science are difficult to understand. The grads understood the concept and the fundamentals of electricity but still could not understand why they were not successful. Very similar to our faith and walk with Christ. We do not always know why somethings just aren’t working in our favor, we analyze and calculate all aspects. On our journey we need to keep Isaiah 41:10 in mind, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; for I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
References
Annenberg Learner (Producer). (1997). Minds of Our Own. [Video]. Available from http://www.learner.org/resources/series26.html
Bull, G., Bell, R. Educational Technology in the Science Classroom. Retrieved from http://s3.amazonaws.com/nstacontent/PB217X-1.pdf
DeRosa, D.A. & Abruscato, J. (2015). Teaching children science: A discovery approach. (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
