I really enjoyed Dr. Butler's presentation which made accessing a wiki stress-free for me (trust me, I thought that was impossible)! I also liked the links she shared with us which showed me that K-2 students could even display their own writing and art work. I'll use wordle too, for brainstorming and K-W-L charts.

Last night's class was very insightful. Wiki will be fun to use just as soon as I learn to use it and use it well!

Enjoyed the science fair today in Brownsville. Can't help but to get excited about science when you are around Dr. Garcia. Brownsville and MSTTPA is lucky to have him.

Had a good time at the Regional Science Fair. Great Projects.

I really enjoyed the science fair. I was able to be a judge for the high school microbiology. It really opened my eyes as to how my students in junior high can step it up a notch to improve the quality of their projects. I was able to judge and then make it to the junior high division to be their as support for my students. Thank you Dr. Rey for allowing us to participate this way because it meant alot to my students to know that I was there for them. PI had three place. Two for group and 1 for individual. It was great to be there.

Dr. Ramirez, Thank you for the opportunity to help with the UTB-Mock Interviews. Meeting Dr. Alberto J. Herrera was a treat that I was not expecting. This gentleman is so knowledgeable and I believe that I benefited as much as the students that were being interviewed. It was an honor to be teamed with him.

It was interesting to see what students are doing in high school science fairs. There were some fairly advanced topics and I liked that there were some that seemed just fun. It was kind of surprising to the disparity in displays though. The quality of the project didn't necessarily correlate with the quality in the presentation.

I appreciate all the help that the MSTTPA folks who showed up Satruday morning provided - some judged, some help with tally and score room, and some help keep our science fair floor operate in orderly fashion. Over 600 hundred students from the Rio Grande Valley participated in the 50th Annual RGV Regional Science & Engineering Fair. I LOVE SCIENCE FAIR AND WHAT IT DOES FOR ALL THE STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATE!!!!

Really enjoyed judging the Science Fair! Many of the high school students had really awesome projects!

I have uploaded videos on Earth/Moon Systems. If you want to check out my site go to djbarajas.pbworks.com.

I really enjoyed being at the science fair on Saturday... I hope that some day soon my district can get back into participating. It was great to see so many different ideas..

i had an amazing experience on Saturday participating in the mock interviews. I met some new people and learned some interesting things.

I enjoyed workiing behind the scenes at the science fair, next year I would definately like to judge. Have already spoken to our Dept. Chair on a school science fair next year, yay.

It was my first time helping at a Science Fair and I had fun judging. Los Fresnos High School participated for the first time in a long time at the Science Fair and we are quite glad that two of our students placed second and will be participating at the state level.

This was a great round of comments on Dr. Butler's presentation, science fair, and mock interviews. I'm at the airport heading to DC and will miss everyone, but also knowing that we won't be too far because of the internet. I'm going to start a discussion on testing and testing issues. I understand that students are sneaking in their cell phones and passing answers. Even though schools restrict cell phone use, students still are able to cheat. One thing I know is that a student can't cheat when I'm watching them demonstrate, present, or display something. Please join in on the discussion. I'm glad everyone had a great weekend.

On the testing issue....... I agree that when students are engaged, they will not be able to use their personal technology. Is wiki like Moodle? We use moodle at LFU thanks to Jane Gonzalez.
Hope your DC trip is a success!

I hadn't judged a science fair in a long time and it was great. If only all of our students understood difficult science concepts like those students presenting at the science fair; teaching would be simple. But if that were true, our jobs wouldn't be challenging. Next year, I really need to get our school involved because it would be great to see some of our students in Mercedes out there at the science fair.

Authentic assessment is always the deal-breaker for all of us, regardless of grade level. I recall EDCI 6334 with you, Dr. Ramirez, when you assigned a Powerpoint presentation which highlighted "the paper" you asked us to write--you could instantly pinpoint those who knew what they were talking about because they actually worked and those who reallly needed that cell phone to call 9-1-1 for help out of there. It was impossible to present something you did not understand. Since so many students have cell phones, how can schools truly regulate their use during a test? I have seen second graders trying to text during class.

I believe if there were true consequences for phone use in the classroom. It could be stopped. We need the consistent support from the Administration and especially from the parents. Everything starts at home.... Honesty and Responsibility should have been instilled by the parents- and that if done- would have innately told them not to bring out the phone at anytime when not appropriate.

NORA. Yes it is to a certain extent. I would like to see if Dr. Butler could give us a better idea of how they compare to one another. She's in a better position to be able to address educational technology issues.

Norma. If possible, could you copy your insightful comment about cell phones on the cell phone discussions.

Rebecca. I think our jobs would be challenging regardless of how good our students may appear to be. All that means is that now we can take them to another level. Science fair research is an on-going activity. At state and international SF competitions, you see students who have been working on the same topic for years. There is always something to learn in science. I've always advocated science fairs. When I go to Pigskin or ensemble competitions you know that their teachers have been working very hard and that it was as much the teacher as the student. For science teachers, this is our way to show off our students and our skills. You see it in scientific journals. Scientists there are always trying to discover something and then let the world know about what they think they have discovered so that their peers can scrutinize their work. It would be sad that scientists would keep wonderful discoveries to themselves. Cures for diseases or technologies that make our life better and more interesting would be kept from us, just like some science teachers keep some of those wonderful students in their campus and don't let the world know that our kids are truly capable. If we have few kids from the Valley at state competitions, what are the teachers at those competitions going to think about the teaching that goes on in our region.

I think teaching is made harder in our region because some students have learned the system and hinder themselves in order not to do any or minimal work, which means that not even hands-on activities help this students. I have several students that tend to do this, however, I continue to work with them and emphasize the need for reaching another level and demonstrate higher expectations at all times. With continued efforts, I have seen this students reach new levels. However, the inflexibility that our school systems exhibits can be detrimental to the learning of all students. There is such a rigid structure that many students fall between the cracks. I hope to see this inflexibility change in order to provide all students with education each unique individual deserves. One of my students did an outstanding science fair projects and placed third overall in the district, however, the dean on instruction did not forward the information for the regional science fair at UTB and my student missed out on this experience. Sometimes, it is not the teachers that keep students from showing what they are capable of doing, but rather the individual school system's failure to follow through. It is very frustrating to see this occur but I continue to strive to improve science excellence in our middle school.

Dr. Ramirez, my thoughts are prayers are with your mother. I hope she is feeling better.

Adding to Rafaela's train of thought, Thursday at school I was talking with a colleague about how to reach those students that resist us at every turn. The ELL kid that refuses to attempt to speak english, and uses his language barrier as a crutch. His friends at school tell us that he speaks english with them at lunch and before and after school, but he refuses to do so in the classroom. When he is questioned in spanish he says he doesn't know the answer. This isn't every ELL kid. The vast majority of them put forward their best effort. But what to do about those few that make no effort? Included in that group are kids with no language barrier, but have an attitude barrier. I'm sure you all know the type: they think they are the classroom comedian, or that they alone are in charge of the classroom. Too often I feel like we do not get the support needed from administration when dealing with discipline and disruption problems, and we do not seem to have a program in place to help those that need something more than we can give them in a regular classroom setting. ( I was just informed I have written too long of a message, so I will end this in the next message.)

On a related side note, I will end this with the recent experience I had with a former student of mine from 16 years ago who gave that school endless days of "rebellion". She was quick to talk back to any adult that tried to reign her in, and was very outspoken about her perception of "fairness". There were a few of us that saw through the bluster and realized that conformity isn't always the be-all and end-all of a good eduction, and we let her walk to her own beat. She had come to understand that she couldn't raise the hackles on every teacher, that their were those f us she could trust to give her an even break. To put a quick ending to this, early this week I got a "friend request" from her on Facebook, and she was excited to have located me. Her first message was to apologize for the "hard time" she felt she had given us. her second message was to let me know that she was gainfully employed.... as a science teacher at that very same Jr High! I went to sleep that night reminded of what it was I loved about my job.

Yvette, I haven't yet figured out how to send a message to just you so that everyone isn't bored by the tedium of me letting you know that I am now accessing the WIKI, and within a few days I will figure out how to use it effectively!

James! I'm excited that you're using the wiki and I loved reading your comments. I feel that many of the students you talk about who give us a hard time may actually be students who are too ashamed to admit that they are totally lost and so behind they would rather joke than embarass themselves. And sadly, the ELL's who speak English socially and refuse to work, honestly have no command of the language academically. I am related to people who cannot read or write in Spanish but speak it (not "perfectly" either), and also operate at very low levels of reading & comprehension in English even through adulthood. It's a trap sometimes for people in between two languages because they have command of neither--they've either been forced to transition too soon and/or come from homes where there families do not speak any language perfectly--they really do fall through the cracks. I bet you money that your former student-turned teacher has probably chosen her field and career largely in part of her own experience and/or struggles to learn. I am also certain that she admired and respected you. I am glad that you are participating and look forward to reading more of your comments!

Nice - very nice example of how to effectively use a wiki!!!

Ladies and gentlemen - I would like to pass on this resource from Pearson - It's free from their website, just follow the link below. It is a great resource for math and science. I personally enjoyed going through the interactive TAKS material. http://perspective.pearsonaccess.com/perspective/appmanager/tx/family?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=par_home_page
I feel that students will probably review some of the objectives that they are weak in if we show them how and WHERE!

The LF MSTTPA members posted yesterday in reference to "mentoring". Can anyone help elaborate more on what we are to do? We have started the process but we wanted to see some examples as to what should be in our journals. Thanks for your help!

As we approach the end of this school year, i am looking forward to going to some interesting and productive trainings to implement in the classroom next year. Are there any good recommendations out there from any one for science in the secondary level?

Attending CAST is a great way to pick up a lot of great teaching ideas in Science. You can also pick up some training with Region 1.

Good day. Dr. rey, I noticed that in the graduate program of study, the biology courses listed are Biology 5301 (Evolution) and Biology 5370 (Topics in Biology). However, the Biology course were taking this summer is Biology 5300 ( Graduate Bio for Educators). May I know if this is a replacement or an additional credit towards the program? thanks.

I've successfully downloaded the DataSweet software and have created 2 items. Sweet!

Wow! Thank you for the great tools we received Thursday night. They will be very beneficial in the classroom. I already showed my students the decibal meters and now know what it means to be quiet. (40)

I agree with Dora about the awesome tools we have been getting. I have started to use the video training more too. I know it didn't really show in the examples i made for our learning seminars but they were like training wheels that got me hooked on using the technology. Kudos to Dr.s Ray and Greg for al the great training!

Dr. Rey, just tried to take the survey and it will not let me check mark twice in the same category. I can only choose extensive knowledge once, some knowledge once, and so forth. Any suggestions?

http://www.watchknow.org/Classroom.aspx#Introduction

Great Resource!