Sunday, December 28, 2008
Physics Education on the Interwebs
So I've been scouring the intertubes trying to vet resources for good physics content. I've found too many, I think, because I don't know what to use or how to use it. One blog that really has good info is hippocampus. Here, I found links to a few sites that run some great simulations. One I already knew about was Phet. The second was hippocampus. The third was the Physlets. They all have great stuff, but how should I use them? Too many options! HALP!.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Hello World
Here's Alexander:
The birth was all natural and Jennifer was amazing. Thanks to everyone, especially our CNM Lisa!
The birth was all natural and Jennifer was amazing. Thanks to everyone, especially our CNM Lisa!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Usage Wars
I found this article about the EL usage wars. We discussed this a little in Diversity class... but thought this was a pretty good, balanced article. Plus, it has to be the most entertaining review of EL usage, evah. The short story: the author (David Foster Wallace) has an interesting writing style and is basically a pragmatic prescriptivist regarding proper EL usage.
DFW: Tense Present
DFW: Tense Present
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Graduate at 16?
Early Graduation
The article linked above describes an interesting idea. New Hampshire is developing a set of rigorous tests for 10th graders that would allow students to graduate and move on to vocational or community college by age 16. Some argue that it could be a solution to the 'crisis' that the U.S. is falling behind other nations in education. While I'm not sure how early graduation would help international competitiveness, I could see how this may help some students who may explore early college or vocational options. I'm also a little unsure about how it would save money if the schools have fewer students. In any case, I thought it was an interesting article so if people want to comment please do!
Baby News
I know many of you are looking for updates on the baby. Well, everything is going well, but Jenn has developed some symptoms of preeclampsia, so our outstanding nurse-midwife Lisa took Jenn off her feet for the last few weeks of the pregnency. We went up to U-M hospital for an ultrasound screening/biophysical analysis and all is well. I'll send out an email to the group when any news hits, so if I'm absent for a day or two, expect a brief email update.
2008: Great Year or Greatest Year? (Warning: Political Content)
What a year! I mean, except for the whole economic downturn and all. Election, Olympics, SMAC, election, SMAC , election, election. A few quick comments about the discussions from this week: Breakfast was mmmmmm good. It was a really exciting day Tuesday and also Wednesday after the election. First, the gay marriage thing came up (AKA, Prop 8 in Cali). I still don't get it. Just let them get married. It doesn't affect anyone else but the people involved. And why does the government have to specifically exclude a certain group of people? Some say that anyone can have the same visitation rights and tax benefits as long as they just don't use the word marriage. Fine, then rename everyone'smarriage cert. a civil union cert. and let the churches call it whateverthehecktheywant. Also, why does the church have ownership over the word marriage? I just get the sense that if gay people getting married civil unioned makes you uncomfortable about your marriage civil union, then that is not a 'gay' problem, that is a 'you' problem.
Another thing that came up is the 'he's not my President' convo. I have to say that I've never been impressed with GWB. I was beyond shocked when he won the nomination in 2000 over McCain and others. He never seemed to express opinions and/or knowledge very well. Essentially, he was Joe Sixpack before Caribou Barbie came around. Some people like to think that the image he projects to the media (or when he talks, period) is due to a lack of charisma or not being comfortable speaking in public. I don't buy that. Al Gore had zero charisma in 2000, but he could communicate his understanding of topics at a level that did not require 3 second pauses to search for words like 'good' or 'decider.' It was the same in 2004 with John Kerry, who has never been accused of having charisma.
Most politicians have spent their entire lives in public service thinking about and dealing with issues that come up in debates and press conferences. GWB? Not so much, apparently...IDK. When one has a deep understanding about a topic, they feel confortable discussing it and answering questions about it on the fly. When you don't spend your entire life thinking about and studying issues like economics or international relations or domestic policies, you don't develop the same level of knowledge. What's the result? Alaska being near Russia means you have foreign relations experience. War is hard work. So yeah, do I want a Joe Sixpack or a soccer MOM in the White House? No, I guess I have higher expectations for a POTUS or VP.
That being said, he's my President and he's been so for 8 years. But did I (only half jokingly) say I'd consider moving to Canada? You bet (but honestly, part of the reason is that Canada is awesome). So what does a conservative/republican do? You can suck it up, stay and vote for change while respecting the office of the President like I did, or GTFO. Don't worry though, it will only be 8 long, excruciating years. Except without a new war, a Patriot Act, useless tax rebates, a $10T deficit, torture and world wide disrespect. Actually, I guess that wouldn't be so excruciating.
The article linked above describes an interesting idea. New Hampshire is developing a set of rigorous tests for 10th graders that would allow students to graduate and move on to vocational or community college by age 16. Some argue that it could be a solution to the 'crisis' that the U.S. is falling behind other nations in education. While I'm not sure how early graduation would help international competitiveness, I could see how this may help some students who may explore early college or vocational options. I'm also a little unsure about how it would save money if the schools have fewer students. In any case, I thought it was an interesting article so if people want to comment please do!
Baby News
I know many of you are looking for updates on the baby. Well, everything is going well, but Jenn has developed some symptoms of preeclampsia, so our outstanding nurse-midwife Lisa took Jenn off her feet for the last few weeks of the pregnency. We went up to U-M hospital for an ultrasound screening/biophysical analysis and all is well. I'll send out an email to the group when any news hits, so if I'm absent for a day or two, expect a brief email update.
2008: Great Year or Greatest Year? (Warning: Political Content)
What a year! I mean, except for the whole economic downturn and all. Election, Olympics, SMAC, election, SMAC , election, election. A few quick comments about the discussions from this week: Breakfast was mmmmmm good. It was a really exciting day Tuesday and also Wednesday after the election. First, the gay marriage thing came up (AKA, Prop 8 in Cali). I still don't get it. Just let them get married. It doesn't affect anyone else but the people involved. And why does the government have to specifically exclude a certain group of people? Some say that anyone can have the same visitation rights and tax benefits as long as they just don't use the word marriage. Fine, then rename everyone's
Another thing that came up is the 'he's not my President' convo. I have to say that I've never been impressed with GWB. I was beyond shocked when he won the nomination in 2000 over McCain and others. He never seemed to express opinions and/or knowledge very well. Essentially, he was Joe Sixpack before Caribou Barbie came around. Some people like to think that the image he projects to the media (or when he talks, period) is due to a lack of charisma or not being comfortable speaking in public. I don't buy that. Al Gore had zero charisma in 2000, but he could communicate his understanding of topics at a level that did not require 3 second pauses to search for words like 'good' or 'decider.' It was the same in 2004 with John Kerry, who has never been accused of having charisma.
Most politicians have spent their entire lives in public service thinking about and dealing with issues that come up in debates and press conferences. GWB? Not so much, apparently...IDK. When one has a deep understanding about a topic, they feel confortable discussing it and answering questions about it on the fly. When you don't spend your entire life thinking about and studying issues like economics or international relations or domestic policies, you don't develop the same level of knowledge. What's the result? Alaska being near Russia means you have foreign relations experience. War is hard work. So yeah, do I want a Joe Sixpack or a soccer MOM in the White House? No, I guess I have higher expectations for a POTUS or VP.
That being said, he's my President and he's been so for 8 years. But did I (only half jokingly) say I'd consider moving to Canada? You bet (but honestly, part of the reason is that Canada is awesome). So what does a conservative/republican do? You can suck it up, stay and vote for change while respecting the office of the President like I did, or GTFO. Don't worry though, it will only be 8 long, excruciating years. Except without a new war, a Patriot Act, useless tax rebates, a $10T deficit, torture and world wide disrespect. Actually, I guess that wouldn't be so excruciating.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloween Video!
Abby had a great time trick or treating on Friday. She didn't want to wear her ladybug makeup, but the costume worked out fine nonetheless.
The weather was perfect... clear skies, no wind and 68 degrees.
Abby says thanks to Aunt Linda, Uncle Ron and Jessi for her new computer and to Aunt Karen, Uncle Larry, Larry, Greg and Sarah for her Halloween shirt, Peeps, drinking cup and to everyone for thinking of her on Halloween.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
I almost forgot...
Cristi and Gren did really well.... i just threw in some slides that didn't totally ruin it.
Great Ideas
I attended a seminar I heard about in the cognate course I'm auditing (EDUC 737). The seminar was called Active Learning in Engineering. It really gave me some great ideas to use in the classroom. They are simple, but they fit into the structure of the classroom I’d like to implement. Here’s my idea:
Student’s attention spans empirically drop off a cliff after 15 minutes, so I don’t plan on lecturing more 15 mins at a time.
Along those same lines, I’d like to have a timer with a buzzer to facilitate timing, much like a football practice. The key here is to keep a quick pace in class. One of the things I’ve noticed in my placement is that boredom == trouble. That's what I'd like to avoid.
Some of the activities to break up the lecturing that came out of the seminar (they are all intended as 1-3 minute exercises):
• One minute stretching: you don’t even need to engage the students in content. Our Sec. MAC instructors use that technique for our classes occasionally.
• One-minute paper: instruct students to write a quick essay that address what was confusion for them in class so far and what they thing the important point of the class was today. They came hand these in or you can discuss it in class, but either way it provides a good formative assessment.
• Summarize/clarify notes: another good one-minute exercise for students to engage the material using dispositional thinking.
• Have students generate potential HW or test questions: I love this idea b/c it stimulates more dispositional thinking by considering the material from a different perspective.
• Have students make predictions or explain new phenomena: this activity can activate prior knowledge or apply what they just learned.
Student’s attention spans empirically drop off a cliff after 15 minutes, so I don’t plan on lecturing more 15 mins at a time.
Along those same lines, I’d like to have a timer with a buzzer to facilitate timing, much like a football practice. The key here is to keep a quick pace in class. One of the things I’ve noticed in my placement is that boredom == trouble. That's what I'd like to avoid.
Some of the activities to break up the lecturing that came out of the seminar (they are all intended as 1-3 minute exercises):
• One minute stretching: you don’t even need to engage the students in content. Our Sec. MAC instructors use that technique for our classes occasionally.
• One-minute paper: instruct students to write a quick essay that address what was confusion for them in class so far and what they thing the important point of the class was today. They came hand these in or you can discuss it in class, but either way it provides a good formative assessment.
• Summarize/clarify notes: another good one-minute exercise for students to engage the material using dispositional thinking.
• Have students generate potential HW or test questions: I love this idea b/c it stimulates more dispositional thinking by considering the material from a different perspective.
• Have students make predictions or explain new phenomena: this activity can activate prior knowledge or apply what they just learned.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Technology Rocks… Unless it Doesn’t
The last discussion of the summer may have been one of the best. I think we can all agree that adding technology to the classroom is a great way to foster student interest in the content. That may be the end of the agreement, however. Questions like, “what’s the best way to deliver experience with technology to students: in content classrooms or in tech classes like 504?” and “at what point does technology overshadow content?” are certainly conflicting ones. The former is certainly tough to answer, though mostly likely a good answer would be a combination of both. But since this seems to be a policy issue I don’t feel like researching now, I’ll skip it and ask for your comments.
The second question is one we talked about more thoroughly and also one I have thought about in the past regarding physics labs. When computers and other electronic measuring devices became affordable in the 90s, there was a justifiable push to integrate these devises in college physics labs. At the time, the rewards out weighed the risks. Students could learn physics and learn to use more sophisticated tools. In many cases, the new devises provided a more streamlined learning environment for both students and instructors. Learn physics and learn how to use Excel! Computers in the lab! Yeaaaahhhhh! It certainly couldn’t hurt, right?
These days, I’m not so sure. Today, probably 99% of college freshmen know more about computers than the instructors. Computers, Excel, digital data recorders and the like are not that engaging to 21st century students because they've used them before. So labs, which are by nature interactive sessions for students, have become more a passive experience due to the saturation of technology in the lab. Today, this type of technology does not engage students. It also does not create a more interactive learning environment. So, why use it? At this point, in this specific context (21st century college physics labs) technology seems to hinder content learning by taking students one or more steps away from the tactile and engaging experience these labs already furnish.
I hope its clear that I’m not pursuing the opinion that tech == OMG bad!!! for all classrooms and all physics classes. Certainly not. What I’m trying to express is essentially what Jeff said the last day of class: that technology for it’s own sake is not the goal. More specifically, instructors should have a purpose for implementing technology in the classroom and be conscious about the context in which one implements the technology. If you want to introduce students to the type of work they will do in the future, be sure it’s something they haven’t used before. If you want use technology just to create a more interactive environment, maybe physics labs aren’t the place to do it.
The second question is one we talked about more thoroughly and also one I have thought about in the past regarding physics labs. When computers and other electronic measuring devices became affordable in the 90s, there was a justifiable push to integrate these devises in college physics labs. At the time, the rewards out weighed the risks. Students could learn physics and learn to use more sophisticated tools. In many cases, the new devises provided a more streamlined learning environment for both students and instructors. Learn physics and learn how to use Excel! Computers in the lab! Yeaaaahhhhh! It certainly couldn’t hurt, right?
These days, I’m not so sure. Today, probably 99% of college freshmen know more about computers than the instructors. Computers, Excel, digital data recorders and the like are not that engaging to 21st century students because they've used them before. So labs, which are by nature interactive sessions for students, have become more a passive experience due to the saturation of technology in the lab. Today, this type of technology does not engage students. It also does not create a more interactive learning environment. So, why use it? At this point, in this specific context (21st century college physics labs) technology seems to hinder content learning by taking students one or more steps away from the tactile and engaging experience these labs already furnish.
I hope its clear that I’m not pursuing the opinion that tech == OMG bad!!! for all classrooms and all physics classes. Certainly not. What I’m trying to express is essentially what Jeff said the last day of class: that technology for it’s own sake is not the goal. More specifically, instructors should have a purpose for implementing technology in the classroom and be conscious about the context in which one implements the technology. If you want to introduce students to the type of work they will do in the future, be sure it’s something they haven’t used before. If you want use technology just to create a more interactive environment, maybe physics labs aren’t the place to do it.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Reinventing the Wheel
Finally, the end of the summer session is here. Actually, I shouldn’t say finally because it’s gone pretty fast. I think I might be the only one who is a little disappointed that we’ve had half our classes cancelled (mostly in the last week). Not having taken a formal stats course, I was looking forward to the Chi-squared statistic lecture in 695. /math nerd/ Also, the discussions we’ve had in 649 and [(402+490)/2 == 446???] have been really interesting. Especially the discussion about ID and evolution. Every time that discussion comes up, my eyes roll to the back of my skull and I get this vision of me being fired for making fun of creationists==ID-ists. I guess I haven’t learned as much from our diversity class as I thought, because I still don’t have much tolerance for even engaging in that ‘debate.’ Just the fact that teachers have to qualify their units on evolution with statements about belief/religion/faith is ridiculous. Does one need to ‘qualify’ one’s unit on gravity incase some people have faith that little magic invisible pixies pull all objects to the ground? I don’t see the need. Obviously, the magic pixie theory is possible. Obviously, the magic pixie theory is impossible to verify by the scientific method and in fact there is no scientific evidence that supports it. This might be why it’s not discussed in a science classroom. Ok, enough…
One thing I was hoping for out of the summer session was this: how do we actually use this stuff in our content area classrooms? Socratic seminars and substantive conversations are great, but how do I use them in a physics or math classroom? I have to believe there is a way and I can’t believe I’m the first one to think about this. Is there some resource from which we can get ideas or will we have to reinvent the wheel? This applies to the 504 Tech class too. It’s great that we’re learning how to start a blog and use RSS feeds and make podcasts. But I could have done all this stuff myself in like an hour instead of two or three 3-hour sessions on Friday afternoons. And if I had one-on-one help from experts like Jeff and Liz, it might have taken less than 45mins. Then I could concentrate on how to apply this new stuff to a physics or math class. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to do this stuff in the content area class.
Overall though, it’s been an all around amazing six weeks. Amazing instructors, amazing classmates, and an amazing amount of work. Also, amazing. Meow.
The future: We're going to Leelanau in NoLo, Mich the week of Aug 10. Yes, I did just coin the term "NoLo." There's a lot of baseball to be played in the next 2 weeks: 3 regular season games, one more that isn't rescheduled yet and then the tourney. 31 days until football season + I saw The Dark Night last weekend == me am happy.
One thing I was hoping for out of the summer session was this: how do we actually use this stuff in our content area classrooms? Socratic seminars and substantive conversations are great, but how do I use them in a physics or math classroom? I have to believe there is a way and I can’t believe I’m the first one to think about this. Is there some resource from which we can get ideas or will we have to reinvent the wheel? This applies to the 504 Tech class too. It’s great that we’re learning how to start a blog and use RSS feeds and make podcasts. But I could have done all this stuff myself in like an hour instead of two or three 3-hour sessions on Friday afternoons. And if I had one-on-one help from experts like Jeff and Liz, it might have taken less than 45mins. Then I could concentrate on how to apply this new stuff to a physics or math class. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to do this stuff in the content area class.
Overall though, it’s been an all around amazing six weeks. Amazing instructors, amazing classmates, and an amazing amount of work. Also, amazing. Meow.
The future: We're going to Leelanau in NoLo, Mich the week of Aug 10. Yes, I did just coin the term "NoLo." There's a lot of baseball to be played in the next 2 weeks: 3 regular season games, one more that isn't rescheduled yet and then the tourney. 31 days until football season + I saw The Dark Night last weekend == me am happy.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
So it’s been four weeks in the Sec MAC program at Michigan. Within those four weeks, I have completed a ‘Leadership’ topic for ED649 and taken the MTTC basic skills, physics and math tests. Both more than what most had to do thus far. The Leadership topic was easy enough and the MTTC basic skills test was laughable. But, taking the math and physics exams within the same 4.5hr time block was pretty brutal. The content of the exams wasn’t that difficult, but taking both at the same time really makes time a factor. I can’t recommend taking both in the same session, or taking all three the same day. The tests are all individually easy enough to not stress about, so why create the stress of inserting a time constraint on your self? Believe me, it’s not worth it. In short, Risk ≥ Reward.
Now, after the first few weeks, I decided to make sure that my life wasn’t totally dominated by the MAC program. Playing in the Ann Arbor men’s hardball league is a great distraction. And Tuesday I caught the first 6 innings of the All Star game after hitting the batting cages. Thursday was game night and Saturday was another game day (2-5, 2 BB, 2 1B, 1RoE, 1R, 2E* over 2 games). Now, I’m camping with Jennifer (my wife), Abby (my daughter) and Becca (sister in law). Unfortunately, it’s raining. However, we were still able to go swimming and get a fire going for smores. Camping never seems to work out for us in terms of weather, but we have a cabin with A/C instead of a tent. So we have that going for us. Abby is swimming better than I could have imagined at this early age. Especially since we don’t have a permanent pool at home. Club Wolverine, here she comes!
You may have noticed the NPH linkage above this post. I was listening to NPR the other day on the way back from class and they mentioned the latest intra-web sensation. Naturally, NPH is the star of the show. But really, when was the last time NPH wasn’t a sensation? Probably 1991-2004. Sometime around then. Anyway, NPR rocks in this superhero musical, Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. Brief synopsis: Dr. Horrible (NPH) is trying to join the Evil League of Evil. He chronicles his attempts via video blog. Moderate hilarity ensues. Honestly, there are few LOL moments, but it’s worth a peek. I caught it for free, but now I think it’s only available via ipod download for $X.99.
Other news: We’re having a boy in Nov. My old roommate Tony is on his way back to the States. Meeeechigan football starts in 6 short weeks. The week 4 Sec MAC to-do list actually seems manageable if I can get started on Sunday (wooooo only 4 major projects!). I still haven’t seen Dark Night == frowns.
* @($#*($^#^&#^@*^#@*@#*!)!&!&!@&! in a cheese grater with sugar on top.
Now, after the first few weeks, I decided to make sure that my life wasn’t totally dominated by the MAC program. Playing in the Ann Arbor men’s hardball league is a great distraction. And Tuesday I caught the first 6 innings of the All Star game after hitting the batting cages. Thursday was game night and Saturday was another game day (2-5, 2 BB, 2 1B, 1RoE, 1R, 2E* over 2 games). Now, I’m camping with Jennifer (my wife), Abby (my daughter) and Becca (sister in law). Unfortunately, it’s raining. However, we were still able to go swimming and get a fire going for smores. Camping never seems to work out for us in terms of weather, but we have a cabin with A/C instead of a tent. So we have that going for us. Abby is swimming better than I could have imagined at this early age. Especially since we don’t have a permanent pool at home. Club Wolverine, here she comes!
You may have noticed the NPH linkage above this post. I was listening to NPR the other day on the way back from class and they mentioned the latest intra-web sensation. Naturally, NPH is the star of the show. But really, when was the last time NPH wasn’t a sensation? Probably 1991-2004. Sometime around then. Anyway, NPR rocks in this superhero musical, Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. Brief synopsis: Dr. Horrible (NPH) is trying to join the Evil League of Evil. He chronicles his attempts via video blog. Moderate hilarity ensues. Honestly, there are few LOL moments, but it’s worth a peek. I caught it for free, but now I think it’s only available via ipod download for $X.99.
Other news: We’re having a boy in Nov. My old roommate Tony is on his way back to the States. Meeeechigan football starts in 6 short weeks. The week 4 Sec MAC to-do list actually seems manageable if I can get started on Sunday (wooooo only 4 major projects!). I still haven’t seen Dark Night == frowns.
* @($#*($^#^&#^@*^#@*@#*!)!&!&!@&! in a cheese grater with sugar on top.
Friday, July 11, 2008
What is this?
This is what those who surf this here intraweb call a weblog. But you already knew that. The purpose of this blog is what you want to know. Well, there are several. The catalyst is school. I'm currently enrolled at the Univeristy of Michigan's School of Education. The Teaching with Technology course (Educ 504), requires that all students start a blog. So one aspect of this blog will focus on reflecting on my experiences in this unique education program. A short description of the program:
I'm pursuing what is called a SMAC: Secondary Master's (of Education) And Certification. This is SMAC in a nutshell: Masters degree + Teaching certification in 11 months. It's intense, but I'm three weeks into it and so far it's manageable. There’s lots of reading and soon lots of writing.
The other focuses of the blog are evident from the title: my teaching content area (physics, astronomy and maybe a little math). The rest will be filled with family related posts. My beautiful wife and daughter support me in everything I do. And soon my family will expand to include a baby boy, due to arrive the week before Thanksgiving.
Anymore you want to know? Leave a comment!
I'm pursuing what is called a SMAC: Secondary Master's (of Education) And Certification. This is SMAC in a nutshell: Masters degree + Teaching certification in 11 months. It's intense, but I'm three weeks into it and so far it's manageable. There’s lots of reading and soon lots of writing.
The other focuses of the blog are evident from the title: my teaching content area (physics, astronomy and maybe a little math). The rest will be filled with family related posts. My beautiful wife and daughter support me in everything I do. And soon my family will expand to include a baby boy, due to arrive the week before Thanksgiving.
Anymore you want to know? Leave a comment!
The Intrawebs Are Now Full
This is the first post of my blogging career. If my wife knew that this program would require us to create a blog of our own, she would have never let me apply. Here's the link to the reason why: MGoBlog.com.
Here's some video of my daughter:
Let's end the 1st post right about..........now.
Here's some video of my daughter:
Let's end the 1st post right about..........now.
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