Future of Genetics

     In Michio Kaku's video title "The Key to Immortality?", he discusses the theory that medical science will be revolutionized by the continued growth of development in the technology industry. As technological development makes technology more affordable and in the hands of a much wider range of socioeconomic classes, the average person could be able to have the sequence of their genes at an affordable price. With genome studies more available to the public, medical professionals can use these gene sequences to study aging and see exactly which genes are affected during the aging process. With this information, medical professionals can 'tune up' people so to speak (as if cars) so that they can prevent major troubles before they develop and prolong the life of people. To me, this is a very scary and amazing proposition, but it does make sense. I have probably done enough damage in my three decades that it doesn't really affect me, but it could possibly prolong the lives of my future children or grandchildren. It is wild to think how far medicine has come and could continue develop, especially when studying early medicine. It could go from very much a guessing game to an extremely exact science. Please view Michio Kaku's video below and see for yourself:

Scratch for the Curriculum

     Scratch is a fantastic programming language that students can use to harness creativity, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking. There are a ton of ready-made projects for students using scratch here. I've had the pleasure of exploring some of these projects and would like to suggest a few for different subjects/grade levels. I also would like to share with you my experiences with a particular project.


Middle School Social Studies:
Making Interactive Landscapes
With this lesson plan, students create a landscape design on paper and then try to recreate it using scratch. I would adapt this lesson plan to focus on either a specific geographic feature or region or let students choose a geographic feature or region to represent. Students create the landscape and then the avatar is able to stop and view specific items along the way. One idea that the author mentioned in his lesson plan that I thought would be pretty cool was to create the Mississippi River and stops along the way.

Middle School Math:
Scale Factor
With this lesson plan, students create shapes and then increase them by a 'scale factor' or number that increases the area by a certain amount. Students create lines of certain lengths using coordinates which creates shapes. They are challenged to put them on certain areas of the screen (or quadrants in an x,y coordinate plane).

Middle School Science:
Animated Biome Project
With this lesson plan, students create one of the 6 biomes. They add three animal and three plant sprites. Each of the sprites must be interactive or tell something about themselves when clicked on. This lesson plan is very informative and creates a really cool visual representation for students learning about biomes.

Middle School English:
Bud Not Buddy Project
With this lesson plan, students create an illustration based on the theme, characters, plot, and setting of this particular book. While I don't know about this book particularly, it is a great project that fits with whichever book that a particular class is reading. One that I didn't see, but thought about was creating a plot skeleton, as well. The possibilities are endless for scratch when it comes to displaying comprehension and analysis of literature.

Middle School Art:
Click and Tag
With this lesson plan, students create a canvas for users to use to make graffiti. As users access the student's scratch project, they are automatically able to create graffiti art. I would supplement the lesson by allowing students to create and save their creation on their classmate's canvas.

The Lesson That I Completed: 

3D Printing

     3D Printing is an awesome technology that is catching on in schools all over the country. It is especially interrelated with the STEAM movement. Students are able to utilize their creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking skills to develop things for fun or for use to solve real-world problems. I have done some research on bringing a Makerspace to my school (see links at bottom of blog post) containing 3D printers. I went all out on purchases on this example and let go of every cost-efficient and practical inclination for the purpose of the project, but I could see a cost-efficient makerspace created for the school. This is how I would like to see a 3D printer used in the school. It can be used for all classes through a booking process or even have faculty oversee the makerspace before or after school. The purpose of the 3D printer within the makerspace would be for students to either (A) create items to solve real-world problems through innovation. (B) Express themselves artistically in creating things simply for art's sake. This can be done through projects within classes with as many or as few parameters as necessary or through 'freestyle' creation. Students have an innate desire and ability to create things, but sometimes lack opportunities in school and/or at home. This makerspace would fill this void for the students.

      Within the social studies curriculum, I have a few ideas of how to use a 3D printer for different projects. For ancient civilizations, recreation of important inventions or creations to solve problems even more efficiently than inventions of those times (ie irrigation systems, housing, etc.). For wars and battles, students can recreate battles or war technologies. For geography, students can recreate the magnificent physical features of a region or human characteristics (culture) of a region. The possibilities are endless for how to integrate a 3D printer into the curriculum.. I would love having a 3D printer at my school that is able to be used by anyone.


Makerspace Research Project

Makerspace Research Project Presentation

More Scratch!

Scratch

Teachers,

          I would like to introduce to you a fun program where students utilize a visual programming medium called scratch to exercise their design skills, critical thinking, and technological prowess. This program is located at https://scratch.mit.edu and sign-up instructions for scratch are included in video #1: signing up for an utilizing scratch (link at end of the blog post). Students will be enamored by the creations that they are capable of and, at the same time, will be developing tools necessary for all course subjects in school and tools for life.

     Scratch was designed for the field of education and, with students in mind, designed for use by people with all levels of programming background or no previous experience at all with programming. Users build blocks together to program their particular scratch project. Users are able to add a character or sprite which could be just about anything and also change the background. Users are then able to program the motions of the character on the screen or even create games.

     I have provided some resources below for using scratch. One good resources is the advantages and disadvantages of scratch which shows exactly why scratch is great for the classroom! I also have included a couple of short instructional videos for those who can't wait to get started with scratch. If you ever have any questions, you can also feel free to seek me out and I will be glad to work with you on integrating scratch in your classroom.

Scratch Resources: 

Scratch Website Link

Advantages and Disadvantages of Scratch

Introduction to Scratch

Video # 1: Signing Up For And Utilizing Scratch

My Scratch Instructional Video

Diversity, Cultural Understanding, Global Awareness

     Technology can be used to model and promote diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness in many ways. It enables students to collaborate with students locally and globally. It allows students to hear a multitude of views and learn about cultures throughout the world. Teachers can model these attributes and values by providing students the opportunities mentioned previously and by seeking to broaden their own cultural understanding, global awareness, and diverse experiences.
        One way that I can accomplish this through technology is to provide my students with news from a local, national, and global level that is presented from different viewpoints. One program to do this through is newsela. Newsela provides a multitude of articles from different places and from different perspectives. Flipboard is another program that accomplishes this goal for teachers and students. CivilisationsAR by BBC is a program that provides history from around the world as it has hub points on every single continent. Storybird does this as well because it provides multi-cultural stories with the collection of stories on Storybird. With more information and news, students can truly develop a world-view and show respect for the lifestyles of cultures throughout the world.
     Another way that I can do this is through programs that allow interaction between students within my classes. My students represent a diverse group of people, but students can fail to gain cultural understanding if they are not encouraged to interact with each other. Ryver and GoSoap Box are programs that can provide back channels within the classroom. While face-to-face opportunities for discussion are important, sometimes students are intimidated by this format or are too polite to force their way into organized conversation. Backchanneling allows students to contribute to collaborative conversation within those stresses. For those that either can't attend class or are more comfortable contributing to collaborative conversation after having practiced some, Voice Thread and Skype could serve the purpose of video chat collaboration. Either way, it is all about developing a culture of respect for other students with a desire to learn about the experiences and ideas of fellow classmates and teachers.
     Lastly,  I could encourage students to interact with peers from other places to gain an understanding and appreciation for culture. Etherpad has organized chats that students can participate in with students from around the world. It is here that students can learn to appreciate the viewpoints, ideas, and culture of others. Another way is through One World Classroom or Conversation Exchange where a teacher's classroom can be paired with another classroom in a different part of the world to communicate on a regular basis. Students can also be encouraged to discuss his or her culture or ideas through his or her own blog such as through blogger.com and then utilize the site to view the ideas of other students throughout the world.