Project #3: Introduction to Frog Dissection

Here is my third project. I chose to make an assignment for my students to complete using a demo of a virtual frog dissection. Below is the completed assignment:

Introduction to Frog Dissection

1.      Go to the Froguts website (www.froguts.com) and click on the ‘demo’ link

2.      Pay attention to the information given to learn more about the common bullfrog

a.       Phylum: Chordata     Species: Amphibia

b.      Scientific Name for Common Bullfrog: Rana catesbiana

3.      Press the 3d button to get a better view of the dorsal (top) side of the frog

a.       Move the cursor around the screen to rotate the frog

b.      What is unique about the surface of the frog’s skin? It is an absorbent respiratory surface

c.       How much water does a frog need to drink? None, it receives its water through its skin

d.      What is one useful function of the mucus on a frog’s skin? Aids in absorption and makes them slippery to predators

e.       Another unique thing about frog’s skin are the chromatophores.  What makes them unique? Change color and regulate temperature

4.      When prompted, click on the frog’s eye.

a.       What is the name of the third eyelid found on frogs? Nictitating membrane

5.      Next, click on the external nares (similar to mammalian nostrils)

a.       The external nares lead from the outside air, directly to the roof of the mouth for smelling capability

6.      Click on the tympanum, the external ear drum of the frog

7.      Next, click on the cloaca, the opening for urine and feces.

8.      Flip the frog over to its ventral side

9.      Press the pin button on the right side of the screen.   Place a green pin on each red target to secure the arms and legs of the frog.

10.  After pinning, press on the abdomen and click on the scalpel button

a.       Follow the red, dashed lines to make three incisions in the abdomen

11.  Open the skin flaps and pin down, then pin back the muscle.

12.  Locate and click on the thorax.  Use the scissors to make two more incisions. Pull back the flaps and pin down.

13.  Click on the magnifying glass to zoom in on the inner contents.

14.  Locate and click on the heart, liver, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, lungs, bladder and kidneys.  (Pay special attention so that you can identify these organs on your frogs during our class dissection.)

Congratulations!  You’ve finished the virtual part of our lab.  Now you’re ready for the real thing in class next week. 

 

Reflection:
I think that using this technology would be really useful as an introduction to frog dissection. Giving this introduction would help students know what to look for instead of randomly cutting into the frogs. It would also help students who are worried about the dissection to get used to the idea of it.

Final Post

It's crazy to think that we're almost done with class! I wasn't really sure what to expect of this class at first, but I have really enjoyed it. It has been so useful to open my eyes to new technology. I think the biggest thing I've learned from this class is a willingness to try new technologies. It has given me more faith in myself and a curiosity to try new things and explore. I've really enjoyed reading everyone's blogs and being able to see that I'm not the only one who struggles sometimes.

As a teacher, I think that these technologies will help to enhance my teaching. Especially the new curiosity that I have and continue to explore new technology to add to my teaching.

Project #2 (Finally!!)

Here is the assignment that goes along with my video:

Group Video Assignment
Standard III Objective 1: Observe and describe cellular structures and functions

For this assignment, you will be assigned into groups of about 10 students. Each group needs to design a creative movie dealing with the topic of cellular structures and functions. In order to receive full credit, your group will need to meet the following requirements:
-Movie must be 1-3 minutes in length
-Must include vocab words: cell, nucleus, mitochondria, membrane, ribosome and
golgi apparatus.
-Showcase the functions of each vocab word in a way that students can relate to.
(Don’t just read definitions of each word, show what they mean)
-Every group member must be a part of making the movie, but not everyone needs to be shown in the movie itself. (Fill this requirement by adding a credit sequence at the end of the movie to show what each person contributed)
-Be creative! Have fun with it and make it an enjoyable movie.

Project #3

Target Audience: Biology Students
Technology: Digital Frog International
Learning Activities: I will either make a tutorial for this technology or make an assignment for them to use as a virtual dissection.

I know that many of the Biology teachers are choosing this technology, but I think that it is a very useful way to incorporate dissection for parents who are opposed or for lack of resources.

Youtube

Video Chat

For once, this is one piece of technology that I'm actually pretty good at. I spent the summer studying abroad in London, so I used video chat to talk to my family at least once a week. I'm the most familiar with Skype, but I have also used msn messenger video chat as well. After learning about different options in class, I would like to try out a few of them to see how they would compare.

For the assignment, I chatted with one of my best friends from home on skype. It was useful because we were able to see the expression and feel more like we were actually talking. We did have a few problems with echoing, etc, but I think that part of our problems were due to her slow internet connection.

In the classroom, video like this could be very valuable for having "guest speakers" who would not be able to come to the actual classroom. Also, you could use video like this to show students an environment, such as a lab, that you wouldn't be able to have access to.

Fair Use

It was really interesting to learn the basics of copyright and fair use. I showed my roommates the video because they are Disney fanatics, and they quite enjoyed it. :)

I think that fair use benefits teachers because they can supplement their lessons with materials without too much effort or expense. Without fair use, teachers would have to go through an extensive process to get permission to just use a picture or a video. Since I am a visual learner, I benefit so much from pictures/youtube videos/diagrams that teachers use in powerpoints, etc. Lessons would be pretty boring without the chance to spice up with materials. Also, it would be very difficult for a teacher to gather their own materials if they couldn't use someone else's for a lesson.

Basically, fair use makes it easier to be a good teacher. As long as you are giving credit where it's due, I think it's great to take advantage of the opportunities given thanks to fair use.

Website Up and Running

Here is a link to my class website. Thanks to Ben for the help to make it enjoyable instead of frustrating :)

Videos

I really enjoyed making the class video together. I was blown away by how simple it was to piece it all together. I can see real value in making videos as a teacher. Depending on your location and materials, it isn't possible to do all that you'd like to in the classroom. So, if you can make a video and show it in class or put it on your website, it could be a real learning tool. Also, it gives another way to reach students who might be bored by normal lecture or who are very visual learners. I'm excited to start work on project #2 and make a movie of my own.

Personal Learning Networks

First of all, I always realized the internet was huge, but this week my eyes were opened to so many resources online! It is incredible how many different types of sites that you can explore as a part of your personal learning network.

Some of the resources I explored were teaching related. For example, I subscribed to an education blogs website where teachers can share lesson ideas and materials. Also, I subscribed to scholastic's teacher sharing website with a similar premise.

I also signed up for an account on Linked In because it seemed like an interesting concept to me. And I'll be looking for a job within the next year, so it'd be nice to start forming contacts. I'm still in the process of finding people on the website, but I'm glad to have an account that I can go to later when I could really use it.

Another resource I discovered through this activity was ItunesU. This is a part of itunes that I had never discovered before. You can find information through different universities as well as K-12 programs. There are podcasts, links to websites and videos, etc. It is a tool that I am excited to explore more. To get to it, you open up itunes store and then click on the itunesU link along the top menu.

I am glad to be exposed to so many new sources that I can draw from individually and as a teacher!

Lifelong Learning

I really enjoyed discussing lifelong learning in class this week. Not only is lifelong learning important for people in general, I think it is especially important for us as Latter-Day Saints. We have an expanded perspective of this life and the knowledge that life continues after death, so we should be even more encouraged to learn all that we can.

My favorite part of the readings we did was a quote by President Monson: “Your talents will expand as you study and learn. You will be able to better assist your families in their learning, and you will have peace of mind in knowing that you have prepared yourself for the eventualities that you may encounter in life” I think it is so important to realize that what we learn, both spiritually and secularly, carries over into all aspects of our lives. What we learn not only influences our carreers, but also our relationships with others and our influence as parents and teachers in the Gospel.

I thought it was interesting to see how RSS feeds can contribute to staying up to date and educated. By using something like googlereader, it is easy to keep up on websites and be learning every day in an organized way.

Project Proposal

For my projects, I plan to stick to the deadlines originally given in the syllabus. I had already entered them into my planner and so it just seemed easier that way.


The dates are as follows:

Project #1	February 10th
Project #2	March 17th
Project #3	April 7th

Hope everyone is having a great week!

First Post!

First of all, I thought I'd take five minutes and set this up, but I ended up spending over an hour having fun with templates and trying to figure out how to add widgets and stuff. I had to try downloading this template over and over again because the format wasn't right. But, after looking up some help online, I figured out how make it work and voila, I had a beautiful blog.

The widgets are still evading me somewhat, but I'm determined to find some cool ones and add them. I used the blogger layout tab to add some things like the search bar and my profile. As soon as I have a little more time, I'm going to find some cooler ones to make it more interesting.

For now, I'm just glad that I got my beloved template to work and that I'm making this first post!

ps Saw a science related Chuck Norris joke today:
"There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live."