Hi All,
I hope you have enjoyed the seminars and discussions posted here. How do you feel about learning and teaching through web seminars compared to traditional methods? How does Charging into Electrostatics compare with other web seminars you have participated in? If you were to create a web seminar for your students, what methods used in the seminars you have seen would be important for you to include?
Dr. Cathy Ezrailson
Hi all, while you are responding to Dr. Ezrailson’s question, want to mention that the next NSDL/NSTA seminar will be this coming Tuesday featuring the Exploratorium’s team of experts at the Exploratorium’s Digital Imaging Station.
It will be very interesting and a lot of fun, so please join us. Go to the NSTA web seminar site to register:
http://institute.nsta.org/web_seminars.asp
I think using a web-seminar is like using another type of manipulative, because everyone learns differently using multiple manipulatives is important. When using different types of teaching methods or manipulatives students become more excited about learning which helps to keep their interest in the lesson. This web-seminar explored the exploratorium imaging station that is extremely useful and great for students to explore. The imaging station is a great way for students who may not have access to a microscope to explore those microscopic images, the imaging station even went into detail to include a scale that I thought was important. Both web-seminars were learning intensive but this particular web-seminar discussed a very helpful resource in teaching “Small Creatures”. I think it would be very important for students to be able to participate throughout the web-seminar. When there is too much talking it becomes a lecture and students would lack the enthusiasm to learn.
Both of the web seminars were learning intensive, which is excellent if you are ready and prepared for what they are going to cover. If I was going to use anything that I learned from the seminars I would definitely have to take notes. I guess that is why it is archived! I was only able to watch the archived version of the first web seminar so I was really excited to be interactive with this one. I really liked how this seminar outlined their website. At first I felt like this one compared to the last one was a little over my head since I would not be able to use the same academic language that they are using in my Kindergarten classroom. But as I looked around the website where they were pulling all of their information from I found it very interesting and definitely something I could pull different manipulatives, facts, and photos from. I am not sure what else I would include in a web seminar, it would depend on what I was wanting to teach or talk about. I do think that lots of participation would be needed so that the students’ interest would not be lost.
I really enjoyed the two web seminars and I think that they are a great supplement to traditional teaching methods. I have only participated in two web seminars: “Charging into Elecrostatics” and “Small Creatures Under the Microscope.” I noticed a few differences between the two. “Charging Into Electrostatics” gave more examples of hands-on activities to do with your students, was more geared toward preservice and current teachers, and had more potential to be beneficial to teachers of younger grades. “Small Creatures Under the Microscope” focused more on how to incorporate the use of their website into your classroom and was geared more toward current teachers than preservice ones, because all of the poll questions were about “in your classroom…” Additionally, “Small Creatures Under the Microscope” seemed to be more fit for much older students than “Charging into Electrostatics” because the content was much mroe advanced and complicated. As a future Kindergarten teacher, I feel that “Charging into Electrostatics” was more beneficial for me. If I were to do a web seminar for my stduents, I would make sure to include the poll questions and also questions that prompt the students to think ahead before I go into detail about a topic, because from my experience that kept things interesting. Also, I think it is important to keep the lines of communication open for my students to ask questions throughout the presentation like in the chat function in these seminars.
I really enjoyed both of the seminars. I thought they were similar because they were both very interactive and allowed alot of participlation. I thought it was good that they described where the tools were and talked briefly about what we would be doing because I am still not very familiar with online seminars. I thought that the microscopic seminar would be appropriate for the higher grade levels because the material was much more detailed and in depth. I think the web seminars would be good to use in the classroom as another form of learning new concepts. I think kids would enjoy being interactive and looking at the images and manipulatives. This type of learning technique would get the students excited about learning and would help them to understand the concepts much more easily. I would definitely use this is my own classroom.
I thought this seminar was more advanced than the first one. The first seminar could be easily adapted for the younger grades and I found this seminar to be mostly for the upper grades. I also thought the first web seminar had more “hands on” activities and things that would fun and intresting in the classroom. I really like the idea of the web seminars and if I were to make one I would make sure it was very interactive and engaged for the viewers!
I really enjoyed learning through web-seminars. I feel that as the technology continues to change, we as teachers need to change also and that includes the technology we use to teach. Every child learns differently and the web seminars present a clear interactive way of presenting new information with vivid pictures, audio, and independent involvement. The web seminars put a new and exciting twist to the traditional methods of teaching. I really enjoyed the Exploratorium’s seminar because of their use of the digital imagine. The image had movement and was extremely clear (ex. the pumping of blood through the chambers of the hear). I also liked the fact that we could see the image through a microscope, however without having the microscope. Some children don’t have the opportunity to have a microscope, so this seminar would be very educational. However, I did feel that electrostatic seminar was aimed to the younger grades of elementary and more classroom oriented with examples of how to do actual classroom experiments. The Exploratorium’s seminar was at a higher level and would require the student to have more background knowledge to understand. I feel that if I was to create a seminar, I would include an activity that the students could do as I was doing it. The electrostatic did this, however give the students the materials to do the experiment as I was. Then we would do discussions and have the students talk with me at the end to put a closure on the seminar. Participation would also be highly encouraged throughout for questions and or comments to assure the students are completely understanding.
Learning through web seminars is a great new technological tool that teachers should definitely take advantage of. The web seminars were both interactive but I felt that the electrostatics was more interactive. The pictures were awesome and so clear on this one. The microscope seminar is more for the higher grades so I personally can not take it down to the low elementary level. However, it would definitely be useful for high school and such. Since I tuned in to the electrostatics web seminar, I felt that the repetition of the different tools was useless for me. But I can that it was great for those who hadn’t been to one. My advice would be that maybe next time, the seminar can start a little bit later and a short review can be before that. This allows those who are familiar with web seminars the freedom to just log on when needed.
I think that teaching and learning through web seminars is great because technology is essential in our world today. I like how the seminars are interactive. This seminar is different from the Charging into Electrostatics seminar because it is for higher grades. The 1st seminar had a lot of ideas for activities that could be done in the classroom. This seminar is more in depth than the last seminar. I really liked how video clips were included in the seminar because I was able to see things in action rather than just hearing about it. If I were to create my own web seminar, I would include video clips and have a lot of student participation to get students interested and engaged.
Hi, I really enjoyed the first seminar more than the one we viewed today. I personally thought it was boring, I was expecting more interaction and interesting information about the small creatures. The seminar had a lot of technical problems that caused some of the information to be confusing and not interesting. I think that web seminars are a good way of teaching information and learning, though as a teacher I would always have a back-up plan and activity incase any problems occur during the web seminar. One thing I would incorporate into my web seminars are the short orientations the presenters give you about using the tools necessary to participate in the seminar. Participation and interaction keeps the students focus on the information given and the web seminar.
Both of the webseminars were very interactive. I enjoyed participating in the polls and answering the questions. I believe this seminar focus more on how to obtain images and information in the internert to present to class.The seminar from today was more as a resource for teachers in where to find images, information, activities for the children. The past webseminar showed hads-on activities for teacher to do with the kids. The seminars were used as a manipulative to teach, pre-service teachers, how to obtain ideas and how to used the website as a tool for learnig. We should remember that technology is also included in the TEKS.
I feel that web seminars are a great way to incorporate learning andtechnology. I feel that they are fun and exciting. It is neat to be able to interact withother people and the teacher. I also do not feel stupid if I have questions because know one knows who I am. As future teachers, we need to move on with the changing world and we need to be ale to keep up with our students. The first seminar was based on younger children and had more hands on activities. This seminar is geared more towards older students and you need to have more of a technology background. I believe that having student input in web seminars is a must. The interaction keeps it interesting and fun.
Webseminars are a new and interesting way of learning for preservice teachers. I also enjoy seeing the questions from other students and learning from their perspetive and points of view of students and professors. All teachers need to be aware of know how to use new technology such as online resources. The first webseminar was hands on activities for lower grades and this one was more for upper grades and a students should of had previous activities and knowledge on this topic. A webseminar if I created one would have the close up views that were shown and also the hands on activities ,so a mixture of both of these would be good to incorporate. Also the chat questions are reinforcing of the knowledge.
I found both web seminars, Charging into Electrostatics and Creatures uder the microscope, to have good, quality information related to science. The only problems that I had with the second seminar, Creatures under the microscope, is that there were various audio problems during the seminar and that there were questions asked that did not entirely relate to the material being presented, which caused the expirence to be some what less enjoyable. However, I did find the visual materials to be helpful. I really like that the Creatures under the microscope has such wonderful web resources for teachers and students to utilize. I do really appriciate that the web seminars really do cater do all types of learners (visual, auditory, and allows for interaction as well).
I must admit that I enjoyed the first webseminar, Charging Into Electrostatics, much more. I felt that the first one was geared more towards the teachers of younger grades and had more interactive activities that kept viewers engaged. Much of the language and topics covered in this seminar seemed geared toward teaches of high school. I also felt that much of the focus of this seminar was on the websites rather than on activities that could be used in the classroom. Electrostatics contained many simple activities that could be easily carried out in a classroom. Overall, I feel that learning and teaching through webseminars is an interesting and innovative way to bring concepts into the classroom. I believe that it would definetly get studetns more excited about learning new material compared to traditional methods, especially if the webseminar is interactive. I think that students would enjoy getting to interact with not only their classmates but also students from around the country. Webseminars are a great way to bring concepts discussed in the classroom to life and a great way to help reach all types of learning styles.
If I were to create a webseminar for my class, I would make sure to make it interactive in order to keep students intrest and attention the entire time. I like when the hosts asks the audience to participate in polls and stamping. I feel that viewers learn much more this way. I would also be sure to cover the topic of the webseminar in class prior to it and also after it to assess what students have gained by attending the webseminar. Overall, I believe that interactive and interesting webseminars would be a great activity to incorporate into the classroom.
How do you feel about learning and teaching through web seminars compared to traditional methods?
—I think both types of education have their place. Web seminars are a good supplement to what we learn in class, but I don’t think they should take the place of traditional methods.
How does Charging into Electrostatics compare with other web seminars you have participated in?
—I thought the charging into electrostatics seminar flowed better than small creatures. The speakers seemed more prepared and acted like they were more familiar with the seminar equipment. However I found the material in the small creatures more interesting than that in electrostatics because biology is one of my favorite subjects.
If you were to create a web seminar for your students, what methods used in the seminars you have seen would be important for you to include?
—I would include participation so I could make sure my students were paying attention during the seminar. I might also include pertinent videos and a Q&A session at the end in case they had more questions.
I really have enjoyed using web seminars much more than the traditional approach to learning science. I think the seminars offer a more interactive and advanced discussion over the specific topics discussed. For example, whether it be the many lab experiments offered from physics front during “Charging into Electrostatics”, or whether it be the wonderful and vibrant videos and pictures available from the Exploratorium, there are so many wonderful resources to be used by teachers for the K-12 classrooms.
I, too, think the Exploratorium would probably be more appropriate for upper grades, whereas the “Charging into Electrostatics” seminar was more appropriate for younger elementary children. However, I think both seminars had wonderful resources that could be used in the elem. classroom. I think students would be “wowed” whether they get to participate in an electrostatic experiment or saw a video depicting sea urchins or beating heart cells from an embryonic mouse stem cell. I absolutely loved the videos used in the Exploratorium seminar, and thought it was fascinating to see a mutation in a zebra fish heart. I think students would be just as impressed as well!
If I was to create a web seminar for my students I would make sure to include wonderful experiments, vibrant pictures, and neat videos to “wow” my students. I think having these resources on a seminar would really interest students, and get them to really think about science. Another idea would be to have access to computers to check out links to the Exploratorium so they can view more videos on different organisms. And, equally important, experiments should be used in the classroom because I truly believe students learn so much more from an interactive approach to science!
Thanks for your thoughts and for participating in the seminar, Adriel (and a big whoop, whoop for the rest of you too!) I’m sure the Exploratorium folks would love to hear your comments and your thoughts about putting a web seminar together….feel free to cross post this onto the Exploratorium blog. I’ll put an extra post on that blog for all of you to add your comments about the seminar. I encourage you all to ask them questions too. While the content can be challenging for younger students, it is still a useful resource and worth the time to think about how you can adapt it to a younger audience.
The more resources you know about and the more you know about how to use them can only help you and your students as you embark into the classroom.
Wow!!! These web seminars were great, and the information was very useful for me, a preservice teacher. I believe that the seminars would be a great reasource, to add to traditional teaching methods. It allows the students to become more familiar with technology and its many uses. I have only attended two seminars “Charging into electrostatics” and “Small Creatures under the Microscope”. They were both very differnet, in “Charging into Electrostatics” the seminar was more focused on early grades and hands on activities, whereas “Small creatures under the microscope” focused on upper grades, and more about how to use the seminar as an outline to the website. I believe that I am more likely to use the information from the “Charging into Electrostatics” seminar due to me being an EC-4 preservice teacher. If I was to create a web seminar for my students, I would include poll questions, because the students would be able to answer without being embarrassed about their answer if it is wrong. I would also include some movie clips, because I thought they were really interesting, and fun. Overall, I found both seminars to be very beneficial, in the future I plan to attend more seminars to help me grow professionally as a preservice teacher.
How do you feel about learning and teaching through web seminars compared to traditional methods?
-I think the idea of web seminars is a good idea. It is a way for teachers and students to learn in a different enviornment through interaction and technology. However, I don’t think traditional teaching still serves as a foundation for learning. Web seminars are fun for a change, but they shouldn’t become the sole method of teaching.
How does Charging into Electrostatics compare with other web seminars you have participated in?
-This was my first web seminar to participate in and from my experience, I really enjoyed seeing the change in learning strategies. However, I do not learn well in this type of enviornment, but it may be a great way for other people.
If you were to create a web seminar for your students, what methods used in the seminars you have seen would be important for you to include?
-I definately would use the interaction method where everyone gets to stamp the answer to a question. I thought it was fun to choose what stamp to use and answer the questions.
I think that learning with the web seminars can be very beneficial to students. This type of learning will peak some students’ interest that may not be motivated in learning in the “traditional” way. I got to watch the live seminar of the “Small Creatures Under the Microscope” and I had to watch to archived version of the “Charging into Electrostatics,” and I think that it was interesting. I think that it puts a new “spin” on learning. It was very interactive and I enjoyed that aspect of it. I think that if I were designing a web seminar, I would include examples both on the slides used and in movies, because that was interesting. I would also include questions that keep the children’s interest throughout the seminar so that they feel like they can actively participate in their learning.
I have now participated in two web seminars “Charging into Electrostatics” and “Small Creatures Under the Microscope,” and i can’t wait to see another one! I believe that these web seminars have been a very useful tool that i can use in my future classrooms! They are very informative, useful and have very different aspects that can be used in the classroom. “Charging into Electrostatics,” was my first web seminar and it was a great resourse for experiments online. It was neet to participate in all of the activities and that our current teacher was one of the presentors! “Small Creatures Under the Microscope,” was a great resorce, it talked about the website and how much information and resources can come from interactive websites. I think these web seminars are a great tool to incorperate technology in the classroom as well as be able to use these activites to do experiments that could not be done in the classroom. They should be used to enhance classroom interaction, eperiments and technology. If i were to host a web seminar i would involve several oportunites for the students to participate in the seminar like these two have done, such as poll questions so everyone has the opportunity to answer without being affraid to be wrong. I would also provide several links to great informational and interactive website. This would be a great tool to enhance my future classroom.
Personally, I do think I would use web seminars in my classroom. Since I am wanting to teach Kindergarten-2nd grade, I feel that there are more important things to teach them at this young age. I also feel that web seminars are too advanced for most EC-2 students. I think they can be very effective teaching tools when the material is appropraite for the students’ age. I think middle school would be a great time to introduce this type of activity. This was the first web seminar that I have participated in. I thought the information on electrostatics was presented very well and there were many activites that could be used in the classroom.
I think web seminars are a great new way for students to learn. Traditional ways of teaching compared with web seminars are in my opinion pretty similar, except that web seminars are on the computer. I would not like to teach a web seminar class because wouldn’t feel comfortable. I will stick to the traditional way. However, I think it is important for students to use technology in the classroom and web seminars are perfect resources to use. I like how interactive web seminars are. Both “Charging into Electrostatics” and “Small Creatures Under the Microscope,” kept me focused and paying attention. I learned things in both these seminars that did not know or had forgotten. If I were to create my own web seminar I would have lots of student interaction. I would also include a question and answers time because I think that it very helpful to students.
Now that I have participated in two web seminars, I feel that giving students an opportunity to learn and participate in experiments using technology is a great new environment for students to learn that is much different from the traditional ways of learning. I thought that the first web seminar was geared for teachers as well as the younger students. I enjoyed the “Charging into Electrostatics” much more. The second one I felt was geared toward upper grades. These web seminars are great for teaching and learning new concepts. If I ever created a web seminar, I would make sure that there was as much involvement from the viewers as possible. I think giving them an opportunity to participate is the key. I would make sure it was very interactive.
I do enjoy the web seminars. However, there are problems that can be encountered. For example, both web seminars were hard for me to hear. My computer has a difficult time catching up with the instructors lecturing. I think in order to use this in the classroom, every student would need to use similar computers to help reduce this problem. I do like the interactive nature of the seminars. It would be nice to be able to vocally communicate as well. But, not every computer has a microphone available. The biggest difference I noticed between the seminars is the video additions in the Small Creatures Under the Microscope compared to the Charging into Electrostatics. I enjoyed the Small Creatures lecture because I think that the biology component was interesting. It was also interesting to see the life and cycles of different creatures. I enjoyed both of the seminars and I could see them being used in the classroom as a useful teaching tool.
I liked using the online seminars as a way of learning. It’s a different way to teach a class. They were very interesting and neat to use. I like that there were many ways the students could participate throughout the lesson. I like that there were questions asked to the students to help them gain a deeper understanding of the lesson. There could be some disadvantages to it like not having the teacher right there when you need extra help. Of course during the lesson you can ask questions, but to some it might not be enough. The Charging into Electrostatics seminar was very interesting and had many more hands on activities than the Small Creatures under the microscope one. I thought that the small creature seminar would have more pictures of small creatures and be able to see how the small creatures look under a microscope. If I was to create a web seminar I would definitely have a part where it explains how to use the online seminar tools. I was confused on some parts because I didn’t get to listen to the whole explanation on how to use the tools. So I know that the students really need that at the beginning of a seminar. I would also make sure there are lots of visuals to keep the students engaged and entertained.
I thought that both of the seminars were pretty interesting. I personally liked the first one better because there were not as many technical difficulties and there was more learning involved than in the second one. The second seminar asked more survey type of questions and I did not feel like I learned as much.The second seminar also seemed to be more geared towards secondary school rather than elementary so the information was somewhat applicable but at the same time not as much as the first seminar. However, I really liked that both seminars were very interactive–that is very helpful and great for learning. If I were to have a seminar for my students online I think that I would definitely want it to be interactive. I would probably want my students to be able to talk more and discuss everything that was being taught as well. It might be helpful to have video footage on the seminar as well if one of the speakers were to do a live experiment and it could be on a live camera. That would be really beneficial for students I think.
I enjoyed watching both web seminars. I like the interactive part the best because I was able to participate. I think having the participation will keep students engaged in the lesson and they will not become distracted so easily. I liked how the microscope used slides and gave information on how to obtain/make slides. I also liked the question/discussion part on the side. The administrator would acknowledge all questions and the questions would be answered quickly.
I really enjoyed both web seminars. They both have great science ideas and concepts. They also provided good teacher resources for those of us who are not so science inclined. I thought the second seminar was a bit harder material and don’t know that I would use much of it in my classroom but it was sill quite enjoyable. Web seminars could really be useful for a lot of students because it touches all forms of learning. It is also on the computer which will already hold the kids attention a lot longer.
I thoroughly enjoy web seminars because of they include so many wonderful ideas to incorporate into the classroom as well as a great supplement for instruction! I thought that allowing students to participate as the presentation was taking place and asking questions when they are confused or need verification is very beneficial. Every child learns differently and providing multiple ways of learning information is important. This is a great manipulative to add to any lesson by having the class participate in a web seminar! I liked “Charging into Electrostatics” more because it gave more hands on examples of activities to do with your students and was geared more to new as well as current teachers. “Small Creatures Under the Microscope was geared more for older grades because the content was more advanced and complicated.
I enjoyed the seminars because it was a new way of interaction. Teaching through web seminars is a great technological tool. Although the technical difficulties lessened the effectiveness of the second seminar, I did enjoy it and it was very interesting. The second seminar leaned more towards upper levels. If I were to have my own seminar I would provide mini video clips to show the students of different activities. I would also make it interactive like the seminars we have seen. I would make it to where all the students would be engaged in one way or another.
I think that learning and teaching through web seminars is an excellent way to incorporate technology into the classroom. It gives a more futureistic view of the traditional classroom because it is online but interactive at the same time. So you get the interaction that you would get from a traditional classroom setting but with a little twist. I feel that the web seminars are useful and would be a great to incorporate with the traditional classroom instruction. Charging into Electrostatics was very similar in the format of Small Creatures Under the Microscope but I felt that Charging into Electrostatics was more fun although both were engaging. If I were to create a web seminar for my classroom I would keep it as interactive as possible so that the students stay interested, engaged, and on task throughout the seminar. With young children, I think that I would make the seminar a little shorter, like 30 minutes so that the students don’t get tired from staring at the computer. I felt that web seminars are beneficial for their technological advances for students.
I think both of the seminars were very helpful to me, using the seminars is a great way to teach science concepts. However, the first seminar was more interesting to me because it had more interecative activities that I can use when teaching science and the information was more for lower grades. The second seminar was a little boring I tought that we were going to see a great veriety of different creatures and the information was more towards higher grades.
I really liked having the web seminars, but I think I would get tired of them if they were weekly just because I sometimes get tired of going to a class week after week because some things also tend to get repetitive. I do however enjoy the change and I think it is a wonderful opportunity to get to work with and experience every once in a while. The sound was not working correctly when I was listening to it this time. It seemed like the two voices of the speaker and the tech guy were overlapping the entire time and it was frustrating and hard to understand and pay attention. I think that if I were going to do this activity with my students I would have lots of hands on activity where they can participate because I think that would help to keep them more intrigued and on task. I would want to use their prior knowledge to engage them into the activities and discussions while also adding new information.
I think that web seminars are important for both learning and teaching. It is important for learning because not all kids learn the same way and giving them a different way to learn the material and a differnt approach could be benifical to he students. It is important for teaching as a supplimental tool or as a lesson re-enforcement of a particular lesson. I have only participated in the two web seminars for this class: Charging into electrostatics, and Small creatures under the microscope, and have enjoyed them both. I feel that the 1st seminar was more hands on focoused and it was geared towards the younger grades. The 2nd one was more in depth, detailed and more for dealing with the upper grades. If I were to incorporate web seminars into my teaching, I would make them very interactive, and have mini assessments like the first seminar did. I wouldn’t have a live chat going on because I feel it would distract my kids from the lesson, and they could post thier questions at the end of the lesson to be answered. I would also keep the seminars shorter for the kids around 30 minutes instead of an hour.
1.) I think that these web seminars are a great idea and will only get more refined. It is definately much better than the days when a teacher could show an occassional movie. There still are lots of video’s available for teachers but this is really a step higher. By virtue of the interaction, I think those who might fall asleep with a video would keep their eyes open. Added to that is the possibility for a student to ask a question from someone who may be in Alaska and get a reply quickly. That makes the inquiry process very personal. I liked the interactive questions that we could respond to. These seminars are an awesome resource
2.) In comparison, I think that both had some good things. I did like the interactive process and that we got the chance to ask questions and put a name to faces. The electrostatics seminar was really geared to younger children and the creatures seemed to be at a higher level. I liked the things like “name that cell”, but the typical elementary student would not know that information. Electrostatics had some great, basic experiments that could be done with the children and I think they would cover both older and younger groups. I also liked that some of the experiments could be downloaded and it gave an extra resource to use in your own classroom, when you have the time. It was nice that they had someone in charge who kept the seminars moving. Timewise, the process was a little long for both. For classrooms, it would need to be shorter.
3.) If I were planning a web seminar, I would make sure that students would be able to connect to talk, ask questions and share insight. I would want to have materials, experiments and other information available to downlaod and print out. I would want to have some short video segments that enhance what the topic is. I would try to keep the time limited. Most importantly, I would try to develop a program based on what the class wants to know about so they can claim some right to it.
I believe that the “Small Creatures Under the Microscope” seminar was geared more towards teachers and resources that can be used in the classroom. The “Charging Into Electrostatics” seminar could be modified easily for student participation. I felt that the “Charging Into Electorstatics” seminar was more interactive but both seminars were equally useful.
I would use web seminars as an introduction to the topic of study. I would make sure that the seminar I created was very interactive and checked for comprehension.
I felt that the “small creatures under the microscope” seminar would be more difficult to modify compared to the “electrostatics seminar.” I guess if would be easier for intermediate age kids and higher grades to understand completely. I did come up with some modified ways that I could bring into a younger age group. I wish that we were able to interact more in with these seminars because it is difficult to remain engaged for a long period of time especially for kids. But it would be neat if you could take clips from each one and incorperate it in with an activity. It sort of could be like bill nye the science guy or something fun like that.
I enjoyed both of the web seminars. Each seminar was interactive and engaging for the people who were apart of them. The first seminar seems more geared for younger learners in the early grades. This seminar (Small Creatures under the Microscope) seemed to be set up for older students, but the great thing is you could always scale it down for younger kids. The first seminar also seemed to have a variety of ideas for hands on activities teachers could use in the classroom. I do not believe I would ever replace traditional methods of teaching with a web seminar, but I believe that using a seminar in the classroom would be a great extension of a lesson possibly for GT students. If I were to create my own seminar a key component I would include would be activities that required participation of my students so that I could be certain they were following along. Also I believe it would be necessary to have an assignment like a summary of the seminar explaining which activity they would like to do as a class.
Before the “Charging into Electrostatics” web seminar I had never been exposed to this different style of teaching and learning. I enjoyed both web seminars, “Charging into Electrostatics” and “Small Creatures Under the Microscope.” Both seminars kept the audience interested and active by posting different questions and even experiments, such as in the “Charging into Electrostatics”. “Small Creatures Under the Microscope” kept the audience interested by the different array of photographs and questions. I think web seminars are a fun and interesting way to learn and teach because students and teachers do not have to be in the same classroom, let alone the same state! If I were to create a web seminar I would make sure to include interactive questions, pictures, examples, and activities the audience can do during the seminar. The key, I believe, to a rewarding and insightful web seminar is to keep the audience engaged and interested through pictures, questions, and activities.
I think that learning and teaching through web seminars is a great way to integrate and differentiate learning as compared to traditional methods. Although experimenting and having a more hands on experience is preferred, resources are limited and to both teach and gain the deepest possible understanding, this is a great resource for those classrooms that are limited in materials/funds. Teaching using web seminars is also great due to the lack of confidence with certain science topics. With the use of the seminars, the students can ask questions and get answers immediately from an intructor that knows more about the topic.
The differences between seminars are due to their target audience and topic. The electrostatic seminar was geared for younger students while microscope was geared for higher levels. The electro seminar also integrated experiments that could easily be done at home at little or no cost. The microscope seminar is a prime example of how limited resources and technology can help with the latter. Other differences include the wide array of photos used in microscope and the high number of comprehension questions asked during electrostatics.
If I were creating my own web seminar, I would include many comprehension check questions for the students. I would also include a variety of photos (like in microscope) for the students. If there were easy experiments to do, I would make a material list and send out prior to the seminar so students can do at the same time.
These two seminars were my first experiences with on-line lectures. It was very interesting to participate with other people all over the US in Charging Into Electrostatics. I didn’t know that technology like that was available to me on my home computer. I really liked both of the seminars. My favorite would definitely have to be Small Creatures Under the Microscope, though. It was cool to get to see all the interesting pictures. Biology has always interested me most and children of all ages are fascinated with all things biological. Although it didn’t have as many hands-on activities that younger children could participate in, it did offer lots of practical and helpful suggestions for teachers including lots of resources available on their website.
I had never experienced anything like a web seminar before participating in these two web seminars this semester. I have to say that they are a very useful tool for teaching and explaining topics for science. The first web seminar “Charging Into Electrostatics” was very enoyable and I participated in answering questions as much as I could. It was an interesting seminar and I liked all of the examples that were given. The second web seminar titled “Small Creatures Under the Microscope” was i felt had more pictures to look at and I enjoyed viewing this one better. I definetly will use these web seminars as a tool in the future to gather ideas for teaching my own classroom!
How do you feel about learning and teaching through web seminars compared to traditional methods? I thought that the web seminars were a great way to change the atmosphere in the classroom. I think this provides students with an alternative mode in learning and can enhance their technology skills by using web seminars. I on the other do not learn very well from these types of activities. I would rather do hands on activiities, I find myself becoming easily distracted.
How does Charging into Electrostatics compare with other web seminars you have participated in? I think the first seminar was more hands on and would be easier for the younger grades. The second seminar seemed to be aimed for higher level grades and more in depth and not to much of a hands on experience.
If you were to create a web seminar for your students, what methods used in the seminars you have seen would be important for you to include? I would want there to be a lot of interaction so the students can get the hands on experience. I feel that having hands on experience is the best a student can get. I would probably have it modeled similar to that of the first seminar with more hands on.