Are these boards really SMART?

My impression of interactive SMART boards is still the same despite my experience with a SMART board. I believe purchasing the best quality SMART board as the best decision. If the best quality board is not used, then I believe functioning the SMART board will be distracting for the students. On the other hand, I recognize the potential projects that students would benefit from by using an interactive SMART board. For example, allowing students to present with the SMART board is an excellent way to encourage collaboration.
The following are a few more specific thoughts:

LIKES:
1- Internet access with a group of students in a classroom. (which includes an easier way to present recently created videos)
2- Capability to capture an image on the screen for later use.
3- Interactive (touch) abillity during a presentation.

DISLIKES:
1- I'd rather spend money on other classroom technology and resources. For example, a program called LOGGER PRO or a program that can build 3-D representations of molecules. These resources could also be used with a SMART Board in very helpful/interactive ways; however, I feel money would be best spent on this item before the SMART Board investment.
2- The resources for a chemistry classroom depend on the materials used in a laboratory procedure. In order to have a functioning laboratory, my students will need me to purchase chemicals, glassware, and materials needed for laboratory safety.
3- Cheaper versions of the SMART board have drastic problems. For instance, when standing infront of the projector the teacher/student will cause images on the screen to be unavailable.
4- The major purchase of SMART boards has caused teachers to force their curriculum around this device. I believe in a saying- If it ain't broke, den don't fix 'er"- I say this because I feel resources already in the schools are doing an excellent job a presenting material.


Will I use a SMART board?
-> Most definitely!

Will I like it?
-> Probably... once I find a way to effectively use the technology.

The Birth of Earth's Single Moon

I found this video clip on a friend's blog. I wanted to share this with my followers because there are so many interesting people who have created this video. Recreating this representation required dedicated work from scientists, film makers, artists, and even your "techno" lovers.
This supports my mission as a high school science teacher because I believe a good teacher can relate their class to their students' interests and aspirations. By sparking an interest, the students will be motivated to learn.

Revels Webquest: Cosmic Oranges

Click Here.

Webquest Rubric

Criteria	Accomplished (3)	Developing (2)	Beginning (1)	Score & Comments
Introduction	Engagingly describes a compelling question or problem.	A question or problem is described.	The purpose of the WebQuest is unclear.	3- I enjoy the capitvating colors, which draws in the students' attention to specific words.
Task	Task is doable and engaging, and is connected to learning in the real world. It elicits thinking that goes beyond rote comprehension.	The task is doable and elicits higher order thinking but is not relevant to students lives.	Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions.	2.5)- The task is very understandable and is connected to the real world. The task encourages the use of the internet for reasearch, which is very relevant to the students' lives. To add interest, maybe using a Digital Story as the means of communicating the information instead of writing a paper.
Process Checklist	Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.	Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused.	Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.	2) I feel like the process is explained well, but  I feel like some steps would benefit by adding some to the description of the steps. For example, I would use a table in Part 2 to explain the roles of each task. A table might help with some confusion as other parts would benefit from more explanation.
Resources	There is a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task.	There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new.	Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task.	2.9) The resource at the end of the webquest is a world map. The map is excellent, but doesn't completely show because of the size of the page/screen. Only half of the globe is visual on my screen.
Evaluation	Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors.	Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors.	Criteria for success are not described.	3)- Excellent Evaluation. The two rubrics are attached to the page. The evaluation section displays both qualitative and quantitative descriptors.
Visual Appeal	Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships.	Graphic elements sometimes, but not always, contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships.	Color is garish and/or typographic variations are overused and legibility suffers. Background interferes with the readability.	2) I think the designer of the webquest is still working on improving the appearance of the page. A few typographical errors are in a few of the sections. For example, "enjoies" and "lable" I will refrain from making any additional comments until completed.
Navigation	Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them.	There are a few places where the learner can get lost and not know where to go next.	There are more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	2) I think the order of the pages on the sidebar allow for the learner to easily leave the desired direction of focus. I suggest moving the "Pick A Country" and "World Map" section to another location on the sidebar.

Team Rankings

Best- Shakespeare
2nd- Earthquake Damage Prevention

Worst- Waves and Sounds
2nd- Foreign Country

When reviewing three specific perspectives of each WebQuest, my team based the worst and best in relation to the degree of satisfaction in each perspective. For example, a team member suggested the Gorilla website as being the 2nd worst for time management, but ultimately decided the remaining two perspectives (higher order thinking and collaboration) of the Foreign Country assignment lowered the efficiency of this Webquest in relation to the Gorilla website.

Group Comments:
Shakespeare's collaboration was phenomenal! Each project required the ultimate team effort. The students are going to be forced to express an opinion in the creation of the play and will have to effectively work as a group in order to produce an entertaining scene. The creation of the scene requires the use of prior knowledge of MacBeth and to apply it to the scene, which satisfies the altudinist's perspective. The time police believes that there is a good "bang for the buck", meaning an excess amount of knowledge will be gained over the duration of each project.

Earthquake- The Webquest is very structured. The materials are listed and provided, so the project will quickly come together. Jaime Ford, the altudinist, believes that the limitations on the type and amount of resources used to create an earthquake enduring structure is an application to a situation we constantly contemplate in a real world dilemma. The collaboration is obvious in this project because the teams are constantly going to be working together. Designing and discussing ideas is just one example of the collaboration aspect of this project.

Waves and Sound- My group unanimously agrees the website is disorganized and hard to follow. The goals are hard to find, the teamwork requirement is not evident, and it seems like a lot of time could be wasting deciphering the purpose of the webquest.

Foreign Country- Overall, the project didn't seem to have strategies as strong as the other projects, including the Gorilla Webquest. A competitive atmosphere drives the collaboration factor in this assignment.

The Affiliator

Your Impressions

WebQuest	Strengths	Weaknesses
Gorillas	The introduction demonstrated class collaboration during the class conclusion process. The students are required to find a solution to the Gorilla dilema at hand.	The Webquest project displays efficient collaboration.
Shakespeare	All three projects supply ample amounts of teamwork experiences. Especially the scene of Macbeth, the scrapbook, and sonnet.	No deficiencies found.
Earthquake	I feel like the teacher sets up a beauitful learning strategy that nearly forces the students to work together on this project. The limitations on number and type of resources really requires a higher order of thinking that can only be solved with a team's effort.	Not applicable in my opinion.
Foreign Country	The fact that the assignment is a contest really induces a competitive collaboration of the student's project. Especially in the sense that the students have to prepare a presentation that fits the attention of the audience.	The project appears to be an individual Power Point project. If the students perform in groups, then I believe the collaboration is at a minimum and is not shared evenly across the team's mental capacity.
Waves & Sound	The site contained a few neat things to watch and play with...	Extremely deficient in collaboration. The Webquest's organization was hard to follow, and the goals and objectives the teacher outlined did not appear obtainable with the projects on the webquest.

The Top Ten School Experiences

After watching this fourth grade class experience, I started reflecting on my personal class experiences in K-12 classrooms. The first thought I had was how lucky it is for these young students to have this gifted, dedicated teacher! A lot of the projects I participated in happened near the end of my high school career. Prior to this only one teacher really jumped out of the comfort zone of education. Her name is Mrs. Laura Fullen. Mrs. Fullen was my 7th grade language arts and science teacher at Lumpberport Middle School in Lumberport, West Virginia. We performed a lot of hands on projects in both classes because she wanted to revolutionize learning in her classroom. In fact, Mrs. Fullen's plan was to eliminate the use of textbooks in her classroom! She used the state C.S.O.'s to create methods to not only prepare use for state testing but also improve our reading, writing, and scientific thinking skills. During high school, Mr. John Mitchell Jr introduced collaborative work sessions to his classes. These classes weren't as effective as others because I was the major contributor in EVERY project... Students lacked pride and interest in pretty much EVERYTHING in my high school.

My instructor asked this question...

Is your learning style addressed in this activity? How? Give me an example.

I'm not sure if my learning style was addressed in this activity... I did listen and watch the video. I read a few things from the students and the teacher's project description.
Hmm.... I don't know how to repsond to this question.
[11/18/10]-->At the time, I mistook the perspective of the question. If I were one of her students, then I believe she addressed my learning style. A multimodal learner involuntarily requires a teacher to "spit" every form of his or her knowledge out. For example, I grasp a better understanding of a concept the more I see, hear, touch, read, and write. I think she sets up each of these opportunities (for me) in many aspects of the project.

I want to become a teacher as powerful as the one displayed in the video I have included with this posting; however, I feel that  numerous amounts of barriers will keep this as a challenge. I can talk for days about barriers and hurdles, but I would  rather talk about them as they arrive. I think every day is going to bring a barrier of some sort. The best way to open the doors for my students is to come with a never give up attitude and continue working on being an extemporanous person.

Sharing is our work!

I really enjoy using blogs to enhance this course. I feel like the content is presented in a modern form of communication and can grab the attention of students. There are a lot of skills that I have learned in this course. For example, posting links, pictures, graphs, and other information that I can share with a group of people. Anybody who wants to reach the information I want to share has it at their fingertips. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to be a science teacher is because of my enthusiasm to share what I know from my scientific standpoint. Blogger allows me to do this on a large scale.
I do not plan to make additional posts to this blog after the conclusion of this course because I want to preserve it in its current form. Because I want to use it as an artifact to enhance my teacher portfolio, I want this to display certain aspects of me; however, I would definitely consider using blogger in my future classrooms. I am so excited that I have learned multiple ways to teach students with technology and hope to use it to grab interest and increase the effectiveness of science collaboration.
I believe a strong teacher has a so- called tool belt. Rather than using one routine method for teaching, a strong teacher presents information in various forms. Everything in this course is going to be attached to my tool belt in the future.

My personal favorite media literacy is collective intelligence. In Blogger, I have "followed" my class mates, which means I allowed myself to view the work of my classmates.  A lot of times I find myself reading their responses to specific assignments and thinking about their work compared to mine. By doing this, I have learned a lot of information and I believe I have taught some information at the same.

VARK Questionnaire

The VARK  Questionnarire concluded me as a multimodal learner.
I have known these things about me for a while now, but I have recently realized that chemistry curriculum requires a multimodal learner. I hope that I can help my students learn in a variety of ways, so I can effectively teach them chemistry content.

My Results:
Visual: 9
Aural: 10
Read/Write: 7
Kinesthetic: 11

Trimolecular Twitter Reactions

In a Blog Posting answer the following questions.
1. How do you feel about the limit of 140 characters?
  The character limit helps me make my writing more concise! :)

2. Did you alter something you were going to say based on the length?
  YES!!! I had to use some skills I learned to use when writing a chemistry lab report!!

3. Do you think texting and twittering can have an impact on the way you write? How?
   YES!!!! I think it can have a positive impact on many aspects of my life and writing. If anyone went about twitter as an educational system, then it could also be helpful to them. I feel like I can use twitter as an education resouce in my classrooms, and I think it opens up colloboration just like Edmodo! As for texting, I think it can cause me to be lazy. I need to focus on distinguishing a lazy form of writing with a professional form, so I can use texting with my family and friends in an effective way.

Texty Poem

Treat othas hw u wan2B treatd.
uv 2 giv respect 2 gt respect
\_/ lots of OJ
u cn achieve WE u wnt by seting yr mnd 2 it.
:)

ThinkAloud

DHMO Satire

View more presentations from joshR53.

Truth: The United States are Literary Lovers!!!

Among United States adults, literary reading has increased at a rate of 7% between 2002 and 2008. This is a drastic increase in relation to the previous years' recordings. From 1982- 2002 (twenty year difference in time), there was a steady decrease in literary readings done by adults. From 1982- 1992 there was a 5% decrease. Another decrease occured from 1992- 2002, the data indicates a 14% decrease. Within the recent years (around 2008), data trends suggests that adults are, in fact, increasing their literary intake. After reading this, I believe that a common misconception occurs here. Americans believe the quality of reading skills are decreasing in the nation; however, the informatoin suggests we are taking an interest in literary readings.

** I agree with my instructor, Denise Lindstrom, when she says that literature on the internet is a probable cause of this increase.**

Don't forget the NETS

Edmodo's educational networking site allows for the completion of the entire first standard of NETS. Edmodo's diverse purposes such as story writing or data sharing allows for the following to occur.

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:

a.	promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
b.	engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
c.	promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
d.	model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.

I am also prepared to use a Skype session to enhance the effectiveness of collaboration. Teaching two literacies will be easier for me as well due to the latest assignment. [Refer to dihydrogen monoxide blog post!]

Website Evaluation

Hello curious critters!!!
If I were to ask my students to use the internet to research a specific chemical called dihydrogen monoxide, then this website would definitely be a hoax in my book!
When unexperienced chemists initially view the material on this organization's website the complex name of the chemical allows them to percieve this chemical as a poisonous substance. What is dihydrogen monoxide? dihydrogen monoxide is a specific nomenclature (called  the prefix system) that represents the following chemical formula for the compound:
H₂O
I am nearly 100% positive that everyone over the age of 15 understands this to be good ol' water!
Before I evaulate the website any further, I want you to think.......... DOES IT EVEN MAKE SENSE THAT WATER COULD BE POSINOUS like this organization claims!

Before you donate your money to this website wanting to reasearch "dihydrogen monoxide", check out the a  few links to a website. One of them claims the following, "Yes, you should be concerned about DHMO! Although the U.S. Government and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) do not classify Dihydrogen Monoxide as a toxic or carcinogenic substance (as it does with better known chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and benzene)"  THE CREATORS OF THIS SCAM!!!!! are using acronyms and fancy government talk to convince you they are telling the truth. [Let me take a moment here to catch up on my breathing...]  Okay, so obviously the the government would not classify this chemical as toxic or carcinogenic.... BECAUSE ITS NOT!!!
I can't believe the amount of work someone put into this scam... I see every word of the lie, but only because I am educated.... The creators, which are not explictily listed, are using true facts about water, but making it appear as a harmful substance.
For example, you are asked to refer to the Material and Safety Data Sheets for dihydrogen monoxide. It says the chemical reacts violently with other substances such as sodium or postassium.... This is true. When you place these elements in water... a chemical reaction gives you a strong basic product, such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. These bases are harmful to human injestion... dihydrogen monoxide is NOT!
DON'T WORRY! the sodium and potassium in your body do not have the ability to react with the water you drink in this fashion. The sodium you injest from your food is in the form sodium chloride, NaCl, When you place table salt in water the salt dissociates(dissolves), but this physical change is not lethal.

I could go on forever about this website!!!! I am so worked up at the moment! I'm going to retutn to this post in the future, so make sure you check back or contact me for questions or more knowledge!!!!

Edmodo Graph

The following graph indicates the reasons why children enjoy using Edmodo's networking site as a tool for collaborative storywriting. Only one child felt that Edmodo would not change his thoughts on writing; however, he did enjoy collaborating with college students. The pie graph only includes information from the students who thought Edmodo made story writing a better experience.

Green- Teamwork, Purple- entertaining, Yellow/Orange- positive reinforcement, and

Pale Red- Different Approach to writing

21st Century Writing

Prompt: Schools are not preparing students adequately for jobs in the 21st century.

I believe that the discipline issues in the school cause principals to be push overs. Students feel like they have power over anyone; therefore, when entering the work force, students may lack the ideas of proper work ethics and behavior.

It seems as if everyone in my Educ 2201 class agreed with my idea. One of the four students who read my response to the prompt said, " I agree! Students need to be taught how to use technology properly, but ethics and behavior are also important".

Edmodo and Skype Opinion

Prior to using Edmodo's Social Networking Education System, I was in extreme doubt of its abilities and success; however, after experiencing a collaboratve story writing project with a group of delightful fifth graders, I am in complete agreeance with the system! In fact, I enjoyed my experience on this project so much that I spread news about the website to many of my favorite teachers. One of which was my older brother Mr. Randy Revels (Math Education), and I shared the website with my favorite veteran science educator Mr. John G. Mitchell Jr. Mr. Mitchell is in extreme favor of having students collaborate in the classrom, and I feel Edmodo gives the ability to collaborate with other students beyond the walls of a single classroom.
I felt the fifth graders that I collaborated with were very mature and understood how to communicate effectively, which is very imporant with collaborative work of any aspect in the world. Their efforts and successes really amazed me!
If I ever had the opportunity to collaborate with a school from a different region, then I would probably find a way to collect data for various regions of WV using the Edmodo website. Letting the students team up with students from the other regions would allow them to share data and comminucate about the topic at hand, such as daily barometer readings or stream ecology samples. The website allows the students to transfer information in a variety of ways like videos, pictures, words, and probably more that I have yet to discover! Along with this collaborative work, I would most definitely use a skype session for a discussion with the other classrooms!

Barack Obama Interpretation

In this photo, President Barack Obama appears to be concerned about something. He appears worn out with thoughts. In the photograph below, A picture of President Obama was taken on the same day. In fact, both pictures deal with an artical about the BP Gulf Oil Spill disaster. The first article (the picture above) contemplates the success of the President, while the second article gives information about the decisions the President is making with this dilema seem to be on the way to success. The picture below gives a good represenation because the president is smiling and appears less stressed. In fact, he looks a few years younger as well. The background gives hint that the President was actually at the area for concern, which proves his determination to help with this dilema.

I Dream of Media Literacy

Both traditional and current media literacy stress the importance of finding valid and dependable information. Currently, digital media literacy expands beyond lessons on normal propaganda learned in a history classroom. Modern digital media literacy skills include knowing a valuable source of information against a convenient source of poorly reviewed material. New research projects designed to learn from the internet is a way to teach media literacy on the web for students because it creates a library of valid sources of information for the minds of students. I believe this lesson plan strongly encourages proper use of the internet in the classroom.  I specifically like the use of the Martin Luther King Jr. video because this provides a great source (as opposed to Wikipedia) for a research project on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Teacher Magazine

Chemistry is More Than "Science".

This is a short digital story that includes various reasons to learn some chemistry!

Digital Research

When considering the idea of substituting research papers with digital storytelling, I have a neutral attitude. On the optimistic side, I believe this tactic is a fun and meaningful approach to research; however, negative responses to this method are sure to arise. For example, in a college chemistry classroom students will be expected to know the format for a research paper. Citing sources, properly using the information acquired, and transcribing this information into methodical sequences is very important!!! It is absolutely not useful for national documents and reserach by specific organizations to have digital stories. Digital storytelling on a professional level would definitely cause for a misinterpretation and absence of important information, so I believe teaching students how to right a rudimentary reserach paper is an important content standard. However, tt wouldn't hurt to ocassionaly alter the strict rules of a research paper into a fun digital project! Perhaps, digital storytelling could be a side- assignment to the research paper. For example, create a digital story in effort to brainstorm a topic or to present the research paper to the class as a whole.

Texted, texting, had texted, txting, Are these even words???

An article from The Washington Post suggests that text messages and instant messages have no effect on a child's ability to spell, which I completely agree with. Basing my judgement on personal experiences, I would mostly agree and find most of the information as facts. On the otherhand, the article presents and argument that I strongly disagree with. According to my experience with text messages, there are no known rules to spelling a word. For example, the article suggests that students always use "wanna" instead of "wanta" or "wana". Predictive texts, which are programed on the devices, register the word wanna instead of the other options; however, I know many friends and family members that use any derivation of a word. I've seen "wana", "wanta", and so many more slang words to represent this phrase. Texting follows no specific rules, instead I believe texting is a way of expressing your personality. By spelling a word in a certain fashion, your friends and family members can understand your moods and tones as if you were literally having a face- to- face conversation.

How does this article adjust my thoughts on technology's influence on literacy?
I don't really know... I am not sure if my thought about literacy is developed enough to make a judgement. I think the best answer I can supply at this junction is that students who wish to prevail, will prevail. Students who have apathetic feelings about there education..... well its my goal to inspire them...

I think the following video closely resembles my current thoughts because it shows how students can choose to use texting as a resource for learning.

Spelln' it out...

By a follower of my blog, I was asked to react to this interview.

My reaction to the majority of the interview included side- splitting laughter! The author being interviewed is very comical!!! One specific example, she claims that Russians quickly learned their grammar and spelling skills compared to Americans learning English. Although this is probably a fact, the comedy evolves with her comment of how Russian's lacked a victory in the Cold War with all their free time.
For the most part, I agree with the author's comments. The author states that "bad" spellers are labeled as creative, which I strongly believe is true! After reading the interview, I am interested in reading her book. If you get the chance, then please check out the interview!

Techno Toleration

Now a days, I believe literacy expands far beyond the ability to read and write. Comprehending a message is more important than actually reading or writing one, and sometimes the messages may include visual clues without words. However, I feel it is very important to sufficiently display literacy through the means of traditional language. As an aspiring chemistry teacher, I know that suffixes, prefixes, root words, and LANGUAGE are very important tools in understanding chemistry. Chemistry is almost another language on Earth, and being a fluent speller with strong grammatical skills is vital in chemistry communication. I fear that excessive texting and relaxed sentence structure through digital media will hurt a child's growth in science. In order to demonstrate my point, I am going to write a formidable sentence from a lab report...

The solid compounds, trans-chalcone, benzoic acid, and naphthalene, were dissolved in dichloromethane prior to the mobile phase.

Though you may not have the chemistry knowledge to fully understand this sentence, a student with strong writing, reading, and spelling skills would understand this sentence better than one who had poor skills. Someone with pleasant writing skills would understand that trans- chalcone, benzoic acid, and naphthalene were three SOLID substances. The reader may also be able to understand that dichloromethane has the prefix di- (which means two). The strong skills of this student enabled him/her to immediately learn a basic fact about 4 different chemicals. Now that the reader has a better understanding of the chemicals, the next time the student encounters these chemicals their chemical knowledge will grow exponentially.

Basically, what I'm saying is this: The modern forms of communication are great and fun!!!! On the other hand, chemistry classrooms can only tolerate a slight amount of relaxations.STUDENTS WHO WANT TO SURVIVE CHEMISTRY CLASSES~!~ Work on the Three R's, Reading, Riting and Rithmetic! : P

Let's take a CLASS VACATION!!!!! :)

Mummified Months

*Note: The votes for September are actually for October*

My Form

Results to the survey.

Survey Form

A Look At Government

Mr. Daly is a Government teacher in Charlottesville High School (VA). I enjoy his blog because it shows how a blog can be used for educational purposes. It's not too distracting, and I appreciate the simplicity behind the posts. I somewhat try to replicate this organized structure on my blog, but I do wish I could learn to visually embed a video about chemistry. Mr. Daly lacks videos, which is what gave me the idea to add flavor to my blog. As an experimental procedure, I am going to embed a video about the first element on the Periodic Table of the Elements. I hope you enjoy

Resume

Teaching Without Textbooks

Many parents may assume that no textbooks equals no learning; however, today I am going to disprove these assumptions. Yes, textbooks are important sources of accredited information, but daily school lessons do not require the use of a printed book that weighs over 1 Ton. In addition to the burden of carrying these books, there are also many other factors that could be eliminated by switching to a techonology based school/classroom. For example, the cost to publish new textbooks every four or five years is more than a single purchase of an iPad. An iPad is basically a handheld computer which allows access to many features (including the internet). The beauty of the internet is that students can find updated information instead of relying on information in a printed textbook. Finally, I would like to point out that many trees could be saved if we prevented the production of textbooks. Textbooks are still a valuable resource for the classroom, but learning to create a variety of classroom projects will definitely ensure a better class experience for all students. Parents, Students, Friends, and Family I urge you to check out this video for more information!

In the video, a freshman boy makes a very important comment. Project based learning is fun and interesting! He states, "Now we don't have to sit and stare cross-eyed at a textbook all day." In my opinion, students learn more when they are entertained. Roll in the dump truck because this kid encouraged me to send my textbooks to a recycling company!! Instead of  using textbooks, I want to become part of this new era of education! Regardless of the difficulties, I believe this switch will be beneficial for the students. That alone is a good enough reason to take the time to become more technologically advanced.

My First Post

Hello! My name is Joshua Revels, but everyone calls me Josh. Commuting to school from Shinnston, WV, I plan to endure the challenges of being a high school chemistry teacher. I am seeking the teaching specializations of general science (5-adult) and chemistry (9-adult), and would enjoy teaching at either a local high school or middle school. Why teach? Since I was a young lad, I had always imagined myself as a teacher in my future; however, it wasn't until my junior year in high school that I realized my love for chemistry. I believe learning science is important in the sense that it improves life on Earth. Not only can science be fun but also a life changing experience. With that said, My goal as a teacher is to launch as many students possible among the stars (metaphorically speaking). Basically, I want my students using science skills/chemistry as a tool to better their future goals and aspirations.