574-Project 1

Wishing
I think my project went well.  I think my topic was a strength and the model to do the inquiry was a weakness for me.  The project was challenging simply because I have never done a project using a model and using steps.  I am sure in the past I was using some sort of model, but not one I was aware of.  If I had to do this over again, I would have started right away using NoteStar.  I think this is a huge help to organize your information.  I would hopefully have more time to use more of a variety in my sources and exapand my project to include other questions that came up while I was reading.  I just simply did not have the time for this project.

I think a strength was also my technology knowledge since I use these skills and programs daily with my students since I am the "computer teacher."  I am used to trying out new things to see if they will work for my kids and then using them in small simple steps so that they can learn it.

I think for this project my experience mirrored that of my older students in the sense that they usually feel overwhelmed and confused and that is how I felt throughout the process.  My kids ask lots of questions and are fortunate enough to have me standing right there.  For me in this project, I had lots of quesitons, but instead of just speaking right then and asking them, I had to write a post or email and wait for a response.

Overall, I think this was a good experience and will definitely help me emphathize with my students in the future.

574-Project 1

Waving
As I already discussed in my Wrapping step, that even though I did this project for me, I do plan on showing it to my students to show them PPT and to share with the younger students the information and pictures that I found about elephants.

I already posted my project in the Waving post....

574-Project 1

Wrapping
My information could be used for students who are studying animals.  It could be a starting point for them or an example of how to compile information.  When I chose my topic, I chose it for myself so really I wouldn't need to share my information with anyone since I just wanted to know the answers for my own personal interest.  This information is important to me becuase of my interest in elephants.  I love learning about them. 

I created the Power Point since it is what I am teaching my older students.  They are learning how to create PPT's and all the options that are available to them in the program.  I can use this PPT to show them next week as an example of transistions, slide design, and importing pictures.

I enjoyed making the Power Point as a way to display what I found.  I like that each slide can be its own subtopic or answer to one of my research questions.

I hope by viewing my PPT you will learn a little more about elephants.  If anything spikes your interest and you want to see where I got my information, see my previous posts that contain my bibliography.

Sommers-Project 1 Elephant Product, PPT

574-Project 1

Weaving:
I am finding the whole process to be frustrating and confusing.  I don't think my project is hard or frustrating, but I think the model is frustrating to follow.  I know I probably shouldn't say that since our professor is the one who created it and has published it, but its too much.  I am a very simple person when it comes to looking for information.  I don't need or want all these steps and I feel like I am repeating myself a lot.  I would love to go back to my Super 3 model....3 steps...I can focus on that sooooo much easier!  We all learn differently and I definitely don't learn well when I am overwhelmed.

That being said, I will attempt this Weaving bit. (I feel a little better, had to vent!) :) 

I organized my information by using NoteStar.  When you find your sources it allows you to take notes as well and creates the equivelant to the old fashioned note cards I used in high school to organize a research paper.  Each note card on Note Star gives me the information I decided to keep from each website and it organizes it inot topics and sub topics.  When I got to create my final project I just have to reword the information on those note cards...simple!

I have discussed this project quite a bit with my boyfriend and best friend since they know my obssession with elefantes.  I doubt they find herd life as interesting as I do, but at least they are willing to listen.  I have even mentioned different aspects of the information I have found with my students.  They also know I like elefantes (which they love that I use the Spanish word since 1/2 of my kids are Hispanic) and when we search things online I always use elephants as my example.  Right now the first and second graders are learning how to take images from the interent and place them on Word.  They have loved seeing all the pictures I have found of baby elephantes and their mamas.

Since I have been particularly interested in herd life, I have found some sad facts about elephants lives in a zoo.  On the IDA website I read that "There is little opportunity for the development of normal social structures."  Many zoos do not have enough space for the elephants to move around like they should and their health is affected by this.   "The confinement, isolation from family, lack of freedom of movement, and absence of a normal social structure take an intense physical and emotional toll on elephants. Captive elephants commonly suffer from foot and joint problems, stress related disorders such as impaired immune and kidney function, stereotypic behaviors such as weaving, and aggression, sometimes directed at keepers to frequently fatal ends. Elephants in captivity die young."

As much as I love visiting the elephants at the Indianapolis Zoo, reading this information has me wanting to help find ways to make their quality of life better for them.  How horrible it must be for them to not have the social interaction that they are accustomed to.  Since breeding in zoos is difficult, they may only be one baby at a time at a zoo.  In the wild, they are used to having a large family with many babies running around together at the same time.

The information from my ask-an-expert also gave me an interesting tidbit.  He found that when an African and Asian elephant were made to breed, the baby only lived for a short period.  That has me curious to find out if that was just a fluke or if mixing the breeds was the cause of this.  That question will have to be answered on a different inquiry!

Since some of my students have taken an interest in animals (since that is what I tend to use in my examples), I have thought about creating a project for them to work together in groups.  I would use the Super 3 model since they are little and well who am I kidding....it is simple enough for both them and me!  When I do projects with my kids, I have noticed that most of my ILS standards are easily met through the process.  The below standards are what I use when I create my lesson plans.

THE NINE INFORMATION LITERACY STANDARDS FOR STUDENT LEARNING 


Information Literacy

The student who is information literate

ILS 1: accesses information efficiently and effectively.

ILS 2: evaluates information critically and competently.

ILS 3: uses information accurately and creatively.

Independent Learning

The student who is an independent learner is information literate and

ILS 4: pursues information related to personal interests.

ILS 5: appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information.

ILS 6: strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation (generates knowledge).

Social Responsibility

The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and

ILS 7: recognizes the importance of information in a democratic society.

ILS 8: practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology.

ILS 9: participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information (shares and collaborates).
 

In our Curriculum Connections text they talk about Communities of Inquiry on page 36.  After reading that paragrpah, I agree that it is important to have a community of inquiry in schools.  The first sentence really caught my attention: "Communities of inquiry are created when teachers and students build a shared purpose for learning, when they embrace a diversity of perspectives and ingage in the process of developing new understandings, when they share responsibility for supporting and challenging each other, and when they connect their learning experiences in school with the outside world and their futures."  Students have to much to teach us just as we have to teach them.  I feel that if you have the established relationship or community information sharing will be flowing and learning will be a certain.  I would like to get this idea familiar to my teachers and principal so that they may see how important it is do projects that incorporate so many different subjects and ideas to learn instead of always just doing worksheets and taking tests.

Well that concludes this morning's attempt at the 8W's....the snow is beautiful, but I guess I should get to school....the half day I took off is coming to an end....

Go Colts!

574-Let me know if you are able to view this!

https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/nrsommer/kelvin%20rodriguez.TPP%20all%20about%20me.ppt

This is a test to see if posting something on here will take you to a PowerPoint...Please let me know if it works!!!

574-Project 1

My Bibliography:

Project: Elephants

Bibliography : renaesome_46038

(2010). The san diego zoo's wild animal park elephant cam. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from The San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park Elephant Cam http://www.sandiegozoo.org/elephantcam/index.html.

(2002). Asian elephants - national zoo
fonz. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Asian Elephant Facts http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AsianElephants/factasianelephant.cfm.

(2008). Welcome to the indianapolis zoo. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Welcome to Project Elephant http://www.indianapoliszoo.com/content.aspx?cid=292.

(2002). African elephants - national zoo fonz. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from African Elephant Facts http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AfricanSavanna/fact-afelephant.cfm.

(2008). Welcome to the indianapolis zoo. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Communication http://www.indianapoliszoo.com/content.aspx?cid=306.

(2008). Welcome to the indianapolis zoo. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from What are the differences between Asian and African Elephants? http://www.indianapoliszoo.com/content.aspx?cid=309.

(2010). San diego zoo's animal bytes: elephant. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Mammal: Elephant http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-elephant.html.

Arnold, C. (1993). Elephant. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

Bright, M. (1990). Elephants. New York: Gloucester Press.

Brody, J. (1995). Elephants. Parsippany, NJ: Silver Burdett Press.

Sheldon, W. (1961). Junior science book of elephants. Champaign, IL: Garrard.

Ida campaigns, elephants. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Sentenced to Life: Elephants in Captivity http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/elephants/captivity.html.

(2009). Elephants in zoos. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Elephants in zoos http://www.elephantvoices.org/elephant-interests/-in-zoos.html.

(2008). Welcome to the indianapolis zoo. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Elephant Kinships http://www.indianapoliszoo.com/content.aspx?cid=304.

Elephant herd structure africam. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Elephant herd structure http://www.africam.com/wildlife/elephant_herd_structure.

Ida campaigns, elephants. Retrieved 31 January 2010, from Sentenced to Life: Elephants in Cativity http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/elephants/captivity.html.

574-Project 1

Techonogy Requirements:
I have mentioned some of the technology I have used but I wanted to make sure I had a separate entry listing them so there was no confusion.

Note Taking:  I used NoteStar to collect notes about my subject.  This was an amazing new thing to learn and use.  I love it and plan on using it in the future to organize papers and projects...wish I had found this 2 years ago when I started my MLS.  (notestar.4teachers.org)

Ask-an-expert:  I used allexperts.com for this section.  I have copied and pasted my question and the answer I received.
Wild Animals/Answered Question


Expert: Jonathan Wright

Subject: Elephants

Question: When elephants are housed in zoos, do they create a herd including the other elephants already placed at the zoo? Do African and Asian elephants combine to create one herd since they are at a zoo and not in the wild, or would they create two seperate herds? Are the two types of elephants even aware the other is different?

Answer: Dear Nichole

Thank you for your question. I also wish to thank the authors of the websites I used.

It was quite common for African and Asian elephants to be kept in the same enclosure and this still occurs today (see http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/blog/2009/03/16/elephants-a-zoo-family/). http://www.elephant.se/Motty_the_elephant_crossbreed.php?open=Living%20Elephant% shows that an African/Asian hybrid is possible, although the calf only survived for two weeks. Please note that elephants will accept elephants of a different species (I have seen this in various zoos), but the small group dos not really constitute a herd. Some new elephants are not accepted in a group, but this is the case with various animals and zoos often send these animals to other zoos. As far as I know, zoos do not keep large groups of African and Asian elephants in the sam enclosure. In fact, many zoos have been criticised because their enclosures are too small and it would be difficult to work out the herd structure in a cramped enclosure. I can't prove that elephants recognise that different elephants belong to different species, but as they are one of the few types of animals that recognise themselvs in their reflections, I am pretty sure that they would identify differences between their species.

Now elephants are usually kept in herds of Asian or African elephants and not in mixed groups. The herd of females have access to a male when they are ready to mate and breeding success has increased.

All the bst

Jonathn

I think this was a great resource and I am thinking about having my students use this to teach them another way of aquiring information.

Productivity Tool:  I am going to use Power Point as a way to present the information I found about elephants.  I am planning on using Oncourse's My Workspace to upload it and will place the link on my blog.

Bibliography: I am going to compile the sources I used into a Bibliography page so that if others want to visit the websites they can.  When it is complete, I will post it.