Probeware and Smart

What Do I Need for Data Collection?
I decided to build my own Probeware Package for my school.
For my curriculum I would like to offer the children a variety of subjects since I have unlimited funds.  If I could only chose two, I would chose Real World Math and one of the inquiry sciences.

• Agricultural Science
• Biology
• Inquiry Biology
• Chemistry
• Inquiry Chemistry
• Earth Science
• Elementary Science
• Environmental Science
• Real World Math
• Physical Science
• Water Quality

One Classroom Set (One Shared Set of Equipment)
* I decided I would like to build one set of equipment that can be used to teach my curriculum.  Then I would like to place two orders of the same thing, just in case there is enough room in the building for two multipurpose laboratories.  This seems more practice and efficient than having a different piece of equipment for each subject area.

I chose 10 lab stations.  With two sets, I will be able to set up 20 lab stations in total.  A station can be used by 2-4 students.  Since, I am ordering 2 packages of 10, a total of 80 students could work on the same curriculum at the same time in one very large room, or two or more smaller rooms.

The Interface I chose was The Vernier LabQuest 2.   I thought this was the best choice because it is the most versatile. It can be used with computers or as a standalone device.  The key features are:

• Stand-alone or connected to Windows or Mac computer
• 100,000 samples per second
• Use with over 70 Vernier sensors
• 5 sensor ports
• Wi-Fi enabled
• Built-in GPS, accelerometer, ambient temperature sensor, and microphone
• Touch screen
• Hand held

SpectroVis Plus Spectrophotometer
It is portable.  It shows absorbance and wavelength spectrum. 

Expanded Equipment
21 sensors for 304 experiments:  I chose this one because I wanted offer my students quality experiments instead of quantity.
$2,365 per lab station

Accessories:  I chose these accessories, because I thought they would be useful and fun, however, I don’t want to be burdened down with too much equipment. 

40   Scout Pro 0.01 g Balance (400 g)
40   Wide-Range Temperature Probe
  2    Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus Wireless Weather Station
40   Microphone
40    Force Plate
40    Motion Detector

Software:

Logger Pro 3:  Helps students visualize science with graphs, video analysis, and powerful analysis functions. Collect data directly on a Mac or Windows computer or import data collected remotely from the Vernier LabQuest 2 or TI calculators.  Also includes one copy of Logger Pro includes a site license that includes every computer in a school, including the students' home computers.

Subtotal $62,783.00

SMART helps teachers bring more collaboration and interactivity into the classroom increasing student engagement.  I would use the smart board in many ways in my classroom.  I would use it to encourage children to learn through play as the smart board increases student participation.  I think the smart board would be very useful in engaging English language learners. An example of this would be providing new sentence walls and word walls on the smart board for students to look at when needed.  It would also satisfy a veriety of learning styles.  I feel that using the smart board would bring the world to the classroom and can be easily teacher or student directed.

 

 

Blog #5 Podcast

Blog #5

I enjoyed creating my podcast.  I had never tried it before.  I was a little confused at first and needed some help getting started.  I am not experienced using a Mac.  After creating one, its many uses became apparent.  I liked not only being able to record voice and music, but I thought the ability to include pictures was beneficial as most children are visual learners.   I would like to try creating one using a program I could use on my own computer.

Podcasts can be wonderful tools for the classroom.  Teachers can use them to record and reinforce lessons.  Teachers may use them in a work shop so that children can hear instructions individually.   When a child misses school a podcast may benefit the student by helping them catch up. 

Podcasts are also an excellent way to introduce children to technology.  They can practice many skills when creating their own podcasts.  They will learn to develop an idea, collect and organize information and manage their time.  Students can use a podcast to write a speech and present it.  By creating a podcast students will learn how to integrate self-expression with technology.

Many teachers are using podcasts in school.  There are many educational podcasts available online. Creating a podcast meets technology standards in many states.  Since there are so many components to creating a podcast, it is easy to integrate many subject areas and standards while using them.  A site I found useful is: 

Podcasting in the Classroom:  http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~nshelley/index.html

National Geographic also has many podcasts available for the curious young researcher at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mobile/