Changes, Updates, Improvements

Ryan and I met today to work out some kinks with the site.  One thing that has been bothering both of us since the beginning is the page interface.  We decided to scrap the main page and create individual pages for each unit.  This will hopefully solve the issue we were having with the amount of material appearing overwhelming.  We will break materials down by unit and create a page for each topic including discussion forums and whiteboarding questions.  


This endeavor is proving to be more work than I anticipated.  I wish things were moving more quickly, but I would rather things be done right than done fast.  Our goal is to have one unit completed before the June modeling workshop.  


Improvements made May 15, 2012:

• Decision to move curriculum materials to individual unit pages
• Creation of teachertube.com account to house videos of demos
• Sharing NHS whiteboarding document

Ideas to consider 

• Taking the community to a social network - eventually
• ChemClub members creating the films of demos to house on teachertube
• Creating an entire page devoted to integrating technology in the curriculum
• Exploring mybrainshark.com as a podcasting tool

Does it solve a problem?

I recently attended the "The State of Tech" podcast Episode 16, "Technology in Science".  The podcast is hosted by:

• Sean Beavers - sean@soita.org
• Eric Curts - www.ericcurts.com
• Eric Griffith - eric.s.griffith@gmail.com

I would suggest adding each of them on google+.  They post great resources and news in the world of educational technology.  

One idea from this podcast I keep coming back to is, "Does it solve a problem?" One of the guests on the podcast poses this question when discussing whether or not to implement a new piece new technology in the classroom.  I know I get overwhelmed when I look at the number of really cool or fun tech things available and I don't know where to start when evaluating them.  He suggests approaching it by identifying a problem or an aspect of your class which could use some improvement - then searching for the technology to remedy the issue.  

There are MANY links to useful science tech sites listed in the program notes.  My favorite has been the pHet site out of UC Boulder.  This is a resource we utilize in the modeling curriculum in several different units.  There are so many good ideas on this site I will devote a future entry to it.