Project: Operation Starship 2009

October 2009, 32 8th grade students from International School Bangkok took a journey to SPACE CAMP in Huntsville, Alabama, USA.

Throughout Space Camp students trained in similar conditions as astronauts as they prepared for their missions. All students found this experience to be more than worthwhile. I hope you, and future groups thinking of attending, will get a small sense of their experience through this video.

Screencasts in the class

Often when new computer/internet tools come along I feel like it could be useful, but is probably more trouble to learn than its worth. I often question how useful it will actually be compared to amount of time consumed using it. Rarely, does something come along where I instantly see the potential and immediately think it outweighs the time needed to learn it. Screencasts were the exception. It is easy to learn and makes learning easier for EVERYONE else. As a teacher you can tell students how to do something and it if forgotten quickly, you can show them and they learn better, but they still forget how to do it 5 minutes later. If you type up the instructions it is sometimes hard to follow and confusing. However, screencasts work by filming the screen you are using as you use it. All you have to do is send the link to the students and they have a video that shows them the instructions of how to do something. I have used it to show students how to set up their energy savings on their computer, set up a blog, print double sided, etc. I also used it to show other schools our recycling center set up. Personally, I use Jing Project and found it to be fairly user friendly.

It can be used to help with homework and assignments, but I believe it is most useful in showing students how to do something on a computer. People can learn something as simple as opening and saving files, searching on Google, uploading a picture, or even how to make a movie, blog, etc.

In our dept it can be used to get everyone (hmmm Peter) up to speed, for example we used it to show everyone how to use google docs. It can also be used to help with Panthernet.

Web-based Videos

How has the explosion of web-based video changed the teaching and learning landscape?

This is something I have totally taken advantage of. No more ordering the video and rewinding it to the right spot. Even though DVD was much better, it still had some drawbacks. Internet videos are more up to date and you can find videos on all kinds of topics for FREE. Before you would have to order and pay for a video that you weren’t even sure if it was what you wanted. Now I can view it myself and download it if I like it. I literally have about 50 or more videos for my class. I prefer short ‘to the point’ videos over longer movies and the internet seems to provide this.

Now with easy download tools, such as download helper, it makes it very convenient to build a collection of web-based videos.

Digital Story Telling

What a cool assignment to give kids. They get to make a movie about some subject they are learning about. For my course, Environmental Stewardship, this is a key piece since there are numerous issues and a big part of the solution is getting the word out to increase awareness.

I have made several movies myself, but I would prefer to show you a very recent movie I received from a student helping the Green Panthers spread the word of reducing waste by renting the Green Panther dishes.

Presentation ZEN!

I was all set to give a presentation during synergy. I had about 14 synergy groups ready to join for a total of over 140 students. The presentation was a follow up to an environmental speaker, Stuart Scott, we had the week before. I liked Mr. Scott's presentation, but wanted to follow up with more practical solutions of what kids can do.
I quickly put together some slides looking at our daily actions and then eventually having 140+ students go to Google Docs and compile a list of solutions. Afterwards, students would select 5 of the solutions/actions and pledge to do these for 1 month.
I thought I was all set, until I went to my tech course Saturday morning (3 days before the presentation). We learned about Presentation Zen and how boring presentations with only bullet points were. My project needed some serious help. I had to overall this thing and do it fast. Unfortunately, the downside is there is no fast with Zen. It takes time to find the right photos and get the right message and even the right atmosphere across. In the end I think I accomplished this.
Unfortunately I deleted the old bullet point version for comparison, but i'm sure you have seen enough of those to relate anyway. Enjoy the new and improved version.

Story of Stuff

I will use this picture in the my environment class when we do a unit on the power of consumerism. My instructions to the students might go something like this:

• Look at the picture and what immediately comes to mind.
• Look at the items, are they similar?
• What the deal with the shopping cart and the trash can?
• Can you think of items you bought that are now in the trash?
• Is this type of behavior sustainable?
• What are the impacts? - Depleting resources, more waste, consumer society, etc
• Are you are part of the problem or solution?
• What can you do to move towards the side of 'solution'?
  

I would follow up by showing the whole movie (taster below). I also have a follow up activity that tracks how much they consume/use in a day and how far it travels.

How has the course changed my teaching plans?

I've certainly been open to a a whole new world, but it's been difficult to embrace it all and find the time and place to use each new part. However, my classes now use a few new devices that I didn't use in the past, such as:

1. Wiki: In Environmental Stewardship class we developed a wiki page and focused on making a difference. In one section, each student made a list of 25 changes they made to help the earth. As well, the class worked in groups to make a site for Caring Tourists in Thailand.
2. Panthernet: I have just recently dabbled in this one. I find it a little confusing and messy, but I like what can be done with it. We have used it for PE a little in the past. However, now several PE units will have quizzes and other assignments posted there. Not to mention, I have totally revamped the Environmental Stewardship Course and soon it will all be on Panthernet.
   
3. Google Docs for the PE dept: This tool is very valuable and I see much more potential with it then what I have used thus far. However, our PE dept used it to help improve our PE curriculum. Through using it we listed what we liked, didn't like, what we wanted to see in the future of our program, etc. As more of the dept added to the list we were able to record what was needed. From there we also used Google Docs to collaboratively work on the Scope and Sequence.
4. Google Docs for PE fitness testing: One very valuable help this year has been the introduction of google docs in recording fitness results and analyzing results sooner. In the past fitness testing often ended for the students after the physical part of the test, but continued for the teacher as we crunched numbers to come up with a grade. A lot of work, not to mention paperwork, for very little feedback to the students. As well, this feedback was not given in a timely manner. With Google Docs we have the students record their scores and immediately analyze where they are and reflect on what needs to be done. This not only eliminates loads of paperwork but also saves valuable work time and most importantly is meaningful to the students. In the end we also end up with usable data that can be used to improve the program.
5. Blogs: When we get to the multi-cultural unit, students will not only research and teach a folk activity from their culture, but they will post it on their blog for the world to see. We are also looking to do this in collaboration with another school in a different part of the world.