Youtube Video
Here is a video of one of my friends doing what he does best one crazy night. He is pretty talented. This is my first ever youtube video post.
Microsoft Word Style Formatting
journal3…Here I formatted my teaching journal for teaching life science. Saving the styles certainly saves me time
Journal: Sample Proposal for Donorchoose.org
Mr. B’s Classroom
$595 Needed
$645 Total Cost
$50 Already Given
82% Low income
New Brunswick, NJ
Level: Grades 9-12
Subject: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science
Resource: Supplies
Proposal: While discussing the topic of radioactive elements and half-lives, my class had a discussion about radioactive radon levels in New Jersey homes. Considering the risk of such contaminations, my student became greatly interested in the radiation levels in their homes. We already have the logger pro software and data aquisition system in our classroom, but are lacking radiation monitors, available from Venier, which would allow my students to make these measurements. These sensors would not only allow for radon radiation investigations, but also microwaves, alpha, and gamma radiation. This topic seems to attract students so why not embrace the topics which they are interested in. We would only need a few sensors, to be shared within the class. Students can borrow laptop computers from the school at home to use the sensors.
My students need: Three Vernier Radiation Monitors. ($215 each)
Journal 4- Vernier
Last semester we were instructed to come up with an experement using a closed aquatic system, (A two liter soda bottle). My partner and I wanted to measure the amount of oxygen required to sustain the life of a gold fish, with the hope of calculating how much dissolved oxygen is produced by the elodea plants we added to the biome. We did struggle to quantify our data, and ended up having to use qualitative observations to aquire data.
One tool available from vernier, is a dissolved oxygen sensor. 
When placed in water, the sensor measures, and graphically displays, 
, the amount of dissolved oxygent in the water. It is a very simple to use tool, that would have saved us quite a bit of hassle and would have made our results more relevant. Students can certainly use this sensor, along the same lines, to measure the rate of photosynthesis in aquatic plants and/or bacteria. They could then explore the most important factors affecting photosynthesis. Students, designing their own experiments, could explore such factors as different wavelengths of light, CO2 availability, water quality, etc. These experiments could very easily cover a wide variety of biology lessons such as ecology, cell function, evolution, etc.
Something else I just think is worth mentioning is the vernier colorimeter. It provides the same data as a spectrophonmeter, concentration of a solution based on light absorbance, but is much less expensive. Vernier does have a spec. for $1200, but I don’t feel like that is necessary to introduce absorbance to high schoolers. The colorimeter only covers four wavelengths of light, which limits its use, but as I said before i think it is more than sufficent for early level biology/ chemistry lessons, and only costs $114. It is good to see that the school does not need to spend so much money to explain a concept. There is always an alternative. 
Journal 3- NetLogo
Here’s one i found that is a global climate simulation where you can monitor the global climate, while adjusting sun intensity, CO2 levels, and clouds. There are some pretty advanced physics principles displayed, as well as the overwhelmingly popular topic of global warming. Investigate it for yourself.
http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/community/Climate_change
This one is actually a game, not really for learning, unless you are trying to sharpen you sudoku skills. Not really educational, but still cool.
http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/community/Climate_change
This one is actually really funny. You can monitor peoples attitudes while driving in a parking lot. Change anything from patients level, to number of cars, to duration of stay. It is really cool, use it to design your own parking lot one day.
http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/community/Drivers’%20Behavior%20In%20Car%20Park
Journal 2
I chose to create the page for this student research project on wikia scratch pad, mainly because I have little experience with this type of technology, and at least I have been exposed to the wikia format in class. This is my assignment web page: http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Cell_Structure_and_Function#Links
The learning goal of this task is to create a database of cellular structures which the students in the class will be able to access whenever they need it; whether it be for homework assignments, studying for tests, writing papers, etc. This resource will be available to the entire class whenever they need it. This will help the students accomplish the goal by being a supplement to the work done in class, other homework assignments, and the textbook. The assignment itself should not take long, allowing one or two nights to complete, and thus will not be too much of a burden on each individual student, rather they will be collaborating to make a larger, more useful work. It will be easy to observe the achievement of each student, as well as the group, because the assignment calls for each student to review and revise the work of the others in the group. Several edits to a page, will show that students’ are in fact taking the time and learning about each topic on their own. If a page is lacking substance, and has not been edited, that would be an indication that there is a problem with the group as a whole, and should be addressed. I feel this should not be the only task to learn about cell structure and function, but should be followed up with more complicated and creative assignments.
I learned from this task, a good way to give homework assignments that will encourage students to complete them properly and promptly, while learning on their own. Because the creation of the page is a collaborated effort, students’ will feel obligated to do their, small, part for the project. Because the assignments is an online task, students’ are made to complete the task when the have free time, and access to a computer, rather than scribbling some words copied out of a book, minutes before class begins. It also allows each student to complete their own, unique assignment, rather than copying from a classmate, and still benifit from each other students’ individual task. This type of project is certainly a revolution, maybe even a revival, in homework.
January 2008
Call me Pete. I am currently in my fourth year as a Rutgers College biology major and am in the GSE five year program.
Journal 1
One innovative technology which I was recently able to use as a learner in a University Systems Physiology course. The technology was a ‘data acquisition system’ which converted body functioning data such as heart rate, nerve response, and lung volume, into electrical signals which were then converted into digital information and displayed on a screen. This technology was innovative because it allowed us to study these physiological processes outside of a textbook. This observation of real, relevant data made the lessons we were learning more in depth.
One technology I was able to use in my teaching experience to improve efficiency, was used in a third grade classroom. The technology was a computer program called ’study island’ which we used to teach basic arithmetic to the students. The program allowed each student to work at their own computer, and complete tasks at their own pace. The end result was a game that the students earned for their achievement, which reviewed the topics they had learned. The results of each lesson were automatically pooled, for the entire class, graded and sent to the teacher, and each students’ parents, as a progress report. The reduced paperwork and grading time certainly increased the efficiency of the class. The ‘games’ which also encouraged further learning, made the students want to complete the lessons as quickly as possible, which also increased efficiency.
As a learner, I was exposed to a situation where technology encouraged community learning. The ‘clickers’ system is now used by several of my university professors. Teaching in large classrooms, the clickers were used to survey the class with short, simple questions. As in the ’study island’ program, student responses were automatically averaged and put in easily interpreted statistics. Using this system properly, professors are able to respond to what students know, and what they are/ are not understanding in the lesson.
The general trend that makes these technologies ‘good,’ is that they can on some level all be considered as helping innovation, efficacy and community. Some clearly better than others, however the best technologies probably do all three.
I have used the ‘clicker,’ system in several courses at Rutgers university, and sometimes it is used poorly. Most often, i feel, the problem is that the instructor is not properly trained in using the technology. In these cases, the clickers take too much time too use, the results of the responses are not used to guide instruction, and the results are not collaborated to make comparison across the class. Here this technology only becomes a waste of time and a burden on the class. I suppose the take home lesson is to know how, (no matter how obvious this sounds), to PROPERLY use the technology you have.
About Me
This is my second attempt at creating a blog. My name is Peter Blodnik and I am a fourth year Rutgers College Biology major. I have also been admitted to the Graduate School of Education five year science education program. I plan on being a teacher in a high school classroom by the end of next year.
