Digital Literacy

After plotting my use of digital technologies over the week, I have found that I don’t use technology for much other than communication, school, and reading news. My technological resources include a laptop computer, an I-pad, and a smart phone, each of which I use on a daily bases. I have learned that when I am using my laptop, I am checking mail, reading news from NPR, visiting blackboard for any updates on class information, and doing homework. Most of the time spent on my computer is spent reading the news. The I-pad I use is very convent for email communications. In fact, I find it so convent that it has become my main source for email. I occasionally play games, check out some new apps or surf the web, but email is my main use of this item. Even though I have a smart phone, I have noticed that I really don’t use it form much. I make phone calls to family, and answer texts from family as well. Occasionally checking my bank account information or an email is the entire web I use.

After considering how I use the web, and assuming my students will be more excited about the use of social networking, which I do once a month maybe, I have come up with some ways that my students and I can use the web. I plan to encourage students to peruse reading news articles related to science in my classroom. A group on Facebook can be utilized so that students can communicate with one another about any homework questions and comments they may have. The students will also have access to one of my emails for any questions on homework or the class that they might have.

Required Synthesis of Course

Over the time I have spent studying literacy education, I have come to terms with the importance of literacy and literacy education outside of the traditional language arts classroom setting. As a science teacher, I find it important to have a focus on science literacy in my classroom. This includes knowing how to read and write scientific papers, how to discern bias in scientific news articles, how to communicate scientific information orally, the functions of professional scientific communities, and how to locate information as needed. I plan to incorporate this learning in my classroom by using the IMSCI model to teach students how to write scientific papers. I will model and allow students to work themselves to identify biases in scientific articles, and I will incorporate frequent classroom discussion in order to build students oral language skills and encourage the use of content specific vocabulary. I will use various texts in the class to present the diversity of the scientific community, and to address the diversity of students (interests, cultures, and background information levels). Students will be able to experience the field of science through inquiry labs designed to model and recreate the work and trials scientists do, but with a guide (teacher) to help the students along the way.

Motivation and Physics

Physics started with the ancient Greeks and their quest to discover what the world is made of. One of the earliest Greek philosophers, Thales of Miletus, came to the conclusion that everything is water. This idea seems silly to us now, but in the days of ancient Greece, it made sense. Life is not possible without water and the observation that water can be a hard solid (ice) like the earth and also to into a gas (water vapor) like the air. During the time of the ancient Greeks, this theory of nature (and all others like) it were thought up through reason and logic.

Statue of Thales

The birth of experimental physics is claimed to be attributed to Galileo Galilei. It is said that when Galileo was sitting in a particularly boring mass, he noticed a chandelier high above him swaying from a draft let in by an open window. Galilei went on to time the period of the chandelier using his heartbeat. He later went on to develop and equation to represent the period of a pendulum.

GPS Satellite

In this class, we will be less concerned with the philosophy of physics, which Thales studied, and more focused on the physics of the time of Galileo Galilei and Sir Isaac Newton. We will be introduced to various physicists and natural philosophers, and their contributions to science. Learning to understand physics as they did, has opened the door to vast new discoveries and advances in technology. Isaac Newton’s work laid down the stepping stones to Einstein’s theory of relativity, which makes modern day GPS devices a reality. Using the physics we will learn in this class, you will be able to predict the motion of everyday objects, such as a billiards ball or an automobile. The material in this subject can be applied to sports in a variety of ways, opening an opportunity to see the best way to hit a pitched baseball with a bat, or the best angle to pass a football with. As you will see, physics can be applied to any situation and can generally explain any type of motion.

Affective Deminsions of Reading

I know that I am a slow reader, but I still regard myself as a good reader. Most days I find myself reading news articles, scientific articles, or textbooks but I occasionally get the chance to sit down and read a good fiction novel. It wasn’t always like this, I used to read for fun far more than I do today, but the overwhelm amount of text required for some courses at the university level leave little time for reading for pleasure. An excellent way to foster your reading is to develop an interest in the subject you are reading about.

When I was young, before my elementary school years, my mother would read to me, and I would try and follow along with the words. It was exciting and it seemed like it was the cool thing to do. It made me want to read more. In kindergarten, the cool thing to do was read. We had a tiny little library in the class room and everyone would rush over to their favorite books during reading time. Reading in middle school was pretty much the same experience. Among my friends, reading fantasy action adventures were the thing. This changed about the time I got my first serious assigned reading. To Kill a Mocking Bird was required in my Junior High English class. I could not get into the book; I had absolutely no interest in it. When we were allowed to pick our own literature in high school, I picked Insomnia By Stephen King. It was my first big trip back into reading for fun. After that I started reading a lot more again, mostly on breaks between classes and to kill time wherever I could.

In order to foster a climate where students can enjoy reading about physics, they have to first develop an interest in the subject itself. In my methods class, we learn that teaching science in a learner-centered way requires that the teacher create fun lessons that play on students current interests. By building a student’s interest in physics by using their current interests as a step stone, the students will be more engaged by the scientific texts.

Introduction

Hi, I'm Joseph McCormack. I come from Price, Utah in Carbon County. Price is a rather small town and jobs are centered around mining (hence the name "Carbon" County). Among our numerous coal mines, there are three power plants in Carbon County and the surrounding areas. Price is also the home of USU Eastern, or, formally, the College of Eastern Utah. Price's main tourist attractions are the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum, located in downtown Price, and Nine Mile Canyon. Nine Mile Canyon is located south of Price and is home to various Native American hieroglyphs.

I am currently enrolled at USU in the Secondary Teacher Education Program. I plan to become a high school physics and chemistry teacher. For the Fall 2011 semester I will be completing Level 2 of the program. I am currently finished with all of my major and minor coursework and I am concentrating on my teaching coursework. I am hoping to be admitted into student teaching this Spring and to be be finished with all of my coursework at the end of this school year.

My interests include physics, math, and some of the other sciences. I really enjoy thinking and reading about philosophy (especially philosohpy of science). My past times include reading, seeing movies, and bike riding.

To me, physics is everything. Any of the hard sciences can be derived from physics. The first thinkers thought about physics and great mathematical achievements were brought about to solve problems in physics. In order for Newton to further his work on gravitation, it was necessarily for the development of calculus (Which is attributed to Newton but highly disputed). Physics is the study of all things physical, in motion or standing still. From the smallest for of matter to the largest galaxies and the universe at whole.

I was drawn towards teaching students physics because I knew that I wanted to do something with physics. After attempting research, I realized that it was not for me, so I decided to try teaching it. I became a TA in the physics department and found that I enjoy teaching and helping the students learn the subject that I find so fascinating and influential. To me, literacy is ability to interact, comprehend, participate in, function efficiently, and adapt to new information in your ever changing culture and society. I hope to help my students on their goal to literacy in this new informational world.

Instructional technology and physics standards

First off, I will address the use of wikis. Wikis can provide a very convenient way for students to review material presented in class. I, as a teacher, would post a copy of the lecture material that the students would be able to review wherever they have access to the internet. It will be used as a supplement to the course text book. The students will also be able to discuss topics and ask questions through the wiki. This will allow students to address each other in a manner quite like the blackboard discussion area.

Utah Physics Standard 1:
Students will understand how to measure, calculate, and describe the motion of an object in terms of position, time, velocity, and acceleration.


In order to master this standard, it is important for student to be able to collect and analyze data. In order for students to start the planned lab for this section, the students will need to complete a pre-lab worksheet that can be found on Google docs and would have a link to the worksheet on the class wiki. Using instructional architect, I have found a resource that lets students manipulate graphs to gain a better understanding of how the data is plotted and what it means.


http://prisms.mmsa.org/review.php?rid=669


Utah Physics Standard 3:
Students will understand the factors determining the strength of gravitational and electric forces.


This standard requires students to research the importance of gravitational forces in the space program. I will start the students in the right direction to meet this standard by providing various links in the class wiki. I would also utilize the NASA resources from the YETC. The students will be able to gain an understanding of the usefulness of physics during this lesson. 


Utah Physics Standard 5:
Students will understand the properties and applications of waves.


The properties of waves can be rather confusing when learning from a text book or online notes. In order to better help students, I will provide a Prezi linked into the class wiki. The Prezi will be used as a walk though to give a clearer explanation of the properties of waves by taking it one step at a time and presenting the information one piece at a time.