EDU 408 Class Reflection

During this class, I have learned so much about teaching science. I have gained a ton of different resources that I can use inside the classroom to teach, plan and integrate science. So many teachers all over the country and beyond barley have the time to breath during the day and for many schools and many teachers, science gets pushed back on the back burner. It is so very sad that science isn't a bigger part in schools, because the students LOVE science!! One thing I learned during this class as well is that there are tons of Apps and creative hands on ideas for science. Science is such a hands on content area.  The method that I feel that I would use the most inside my classroom is an anchor chart. I love anchor charts because I feel that they are a way to let students explain their thinking and give them recognition when they get to help create something in their own way as a class. In regards to the apps that are out there that can be used to create a fun, engaging technology filled environment. I feel that technology is a huge part of the education world in today's society and I feel like students love and thrive when they get the chance to work with technology. Some of the Apps and Tools I have learned about this semester have  a broad  group of purposes. The apps I learned about that can be used for Social Bookmarking are Diigo,Scoop it, Edshelf, Educlipper and Symbaloo. Some presentation software that can be used to create engaging and creative presentations are Google Slides, Haiku Deck, Prezi, Zoho Presentation. Some apps or tools that I can use to create formative or non-traditional quizzes are Testmoz, Quizalize, Flip Quiz, Riddle, Quiz Beach. Apps for digital portfolios are SeeSaw, Pathbrite, Silk, and Weebly. I really want to try to use technology to drive education in my classroom and I think these resources are a great way to start.
When it came to forming the lesson plans the hardest part for me would probably of had to been making sure that the elements of what I am going to teach and assess is following and aligning with the standards. It is super easy to come up with these awesome engaging activities, especially for Science because it is such a hands-on subject. For the lesson plan, it was super helpful for me to break it up into smaller chunks! That was the best way to tackle it! Another hard part is trying to figure out where I wanted the students to go. I kept taking breaks to look back into the standard to see if my activity and exploration was heading down the right road. The lesson plans are not part of one big unit so, for me it wasn't like some of the other lesson plans that I have been working to complete that are breaking down one big standard into a 3-5 day lesson. Since Science doesn't make it into the classroom as much as it should in a lot of cases, the biggest thing for me that I want to give to my students when I get a classroom is the fun, engaging hands on time that science allows for. I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN FOR SCIENCE TO BE IN MY CLASSROOM!