Keeping Up With Our Global Competition

The article by Friedman (2010) "What's Our Sputnik: [Op-Ed]. was very provoking. It made me think about "what are our priorities?" as a nation. The article discussed issues about the war in Afghanistan, then our dependence on imported oil, and the capturing of Osama. All of these issues, seems to cloud our priorities, I agree with Friedman (2010), that if those countries do not stand up and speak out about the madness going on in their midst, we are wasting valuable time and money. Then the debate about how to alleviate our dependence of oil from the oil producing countries. The author made a very good analogy about how Taiwan, a country with no natural resources, through hard work and taking responsibility, got rich by improving themselves, and not looking for a handout from someone else.

What does our country need to do to re-create the excitement and financial investment in science education as it did with the launching of Sputnik? Well we first need to put our priorities in order. We can not be "saviors" to all, when we are in need ourselves. If our country want to be competitive and obtain the title of world leaders, then our focus should be on STEM education. We have made some advances in this direction but according to Traurig & Feller (2010), there is a decrease in the number of student's pursuing careers in advanced math, science, engineering, and technology. This can halt our advances and we can fall behind other countries. If we experience another Sputnik experience we may never recover, and this will take us out of the competitive race.

We need lobbist to emphasize the need for our country to re-focus it's attention on making us independent leaders in this world of globalization. We need to make large investments in education, like China has to create a new generation of highly skilled people. Education is prioritized in countries like China which is also encouraged by other incentives to keep them interested and motivated.

References:
Friedman. T.L. (2010, January 17). What's Our Sputnik: [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)]. p. wk8.

Traurig, A. & Feller, R. (2010). Preparing Students for STEM careers. National Career Development Association.

Natural Disasters

As we are experiencing the affects of natural disasters more frequently from whatever phenomenon causing them, we need to raise a generation of students who can develop technology that can ease the devastating affects from them. I think having students do research of natural disasters in their region will provided a more real world connection for them. Also knowing who and how natural disasters are handled by the officials to help those affected by the disaster can also help raise a more literate society. By organizing a committee of students to prepare and work with the local agencies that assist people devastated by disasters is another way to raise their awareness. I think it is sad that it takes major devastation like a natural disaster to bring a nation together.

Evaluating web 2.0 Presentation Tools

Evaluating Web 2.0 Presentation Tools

The web base tool that I have experimented with is Microsoft Power Point. I have on several occasions used it in my classroom, for daily agendas, video streaming, and review games such as Jeopardy. In this week’ resources I was introduced to Perzi (Laureate Ed.). This technology tool seems very user friendly and a good tool to use for presentations.

To recommend a presentation tool at this time would be limiting. I was not able to access this web tool to give it a fair review, and the only tool that I have used is Microsoft Power Point. From the resource video I like the features presented and look forward to becoming more familiar with all its capabilities.

Reference

Laureate, Inc. (Executive Producer). (n.d. if not known). Program one: Tutorial: An Introduction

to Prezi. Baltimore: Author

Engaging in inquiry

During the guided inquiry activity I created an experiment to see if different types of surfaces would affect the momentum of marbles. The one aspect of this inquiry was determining whether the momentum would be different on the hardwood floor. I also used another surface; carpeted floor. I was surprise that the momentum of the marbles on the hardwood floor did not affect the momentum of either size marble. I would have to say this was the one aspect that might have affected my conclusion about whether the size of the marble would make a difference. If I made any modifications it would probably be with other types of surfaces to test. I would make this experiment more real life by using a skateboarder and changing the different types of surfaces to see if that would change their momentum. The one thing I would want students to learn from this experiment is Newton's Laws of motion and how friction would affect the momentum of an object.

Melting iceberges response

Question 9:
What happens if the polar ice caps melts? Based on the experiment; the displacement of water due to the mass of the ice cubs will be equal to the amount of melted water from the ice cubs. Therefore, an equilibrium will prevent the water from overflowing the sides of the bowl. This is similar to what happens when the polar ice caps melts.

What other questions do you have about this science inquiry experience? What could disturb the equilibrium of the polar ice caps melting that would lead to flooding?

Reflections

This weeks' application assignment was to plan a lesson that focuses on STEM strategies for diverse learners. As I was planning and thinking about the lesson, I reflected back to many of the articles I've read this week and how I could use some of those strategies in my lesson and classroom. First of all I want to say that I found the information on STEM education very fascinating and interesting, simply because there is so much emphasis on improving the U.S. position of being the leading country in scientific discoveries. Keeping these goals in mind as I planned this lesson made it very challeneging to incorporate the strategies that would get the most engagement from my students. Using the 5E's to plan this lesson was actually very helpful. This offered a guide and description for each step. One thing I do know I need help with are the diverse learners that I will teach. At my present school there is not much language or cultural diversity, and most of the student's are SES backgrounds, or students with IEP's or 504 modifications. However, I still want to know how to plan and prepare for those students when the time and opportunity arises.

making a connection

I'm looking forward to getting some wonderful and helpful tips on science lessons and activities from all you science bloggers!!