Monday 8.30.10

main points of class:

• learning about different graphs
• examples of which graph to use in specific situations
• rip-o-meter lab
• assigned homework
• read textbook 1.1 and take notes in journal for Tuesday (tomorrow)

To learn more about which types of graphs to use, look to page ten, in the Unit Packet. There are five important bullet points which are necessary to create a successful and descriptive graph! First is the title, as Mr. Paek pointed out in class, is so easy to do, most people forget to make one. Don’t let this happen to you, no title= less credit! An example of a good title would be, in relation to the lab we did today, “Strength of Different Leaves.” We covered the other four points (labeling axes, scaling the axes, determining increments, and using a legend or key) which are explained in your Unit Packet. In the middle of the page is a chart explaining where to put your information found on variables. Below that are explanations about different kinds of graphs, line, bar, and pie charts. The line graph is used for showing multiple elements of data found, the bar graph is used for more specificity (i.e. comparing candy bars eaten to age), and the pie chart is used with percentages. 

After that, we began the Rip-O-Meter lab. Mr. Paek sent us to the lab stations with our groups and leaves. We were each given a cup, a container of pennies, and a paper clip to pierce the leaf and hang the cup on. We had to decide what to test, and fill out our question and hypothesis statement in our Unit Packets before starting the experiment. For example, in my group, I had brought a bag of leaves that were wet, and another “lab-mate?” had brought some that were dry. Our question was: Are dry leaves stronger than wet leaves? Our hypothesis (need if and then statement) was: If leaves are wet, then they will be stronger than dry leaves. Then we proceeded to hook our first leaf on the paper clip, and put pennies gently in the cup. We did this four times with one wet maple leaf and oak leaf, and one dry maple leaf and oak leaf before Mr. Paek assigned the homework and the bell rang. We are continuing the experiment tomorrow.

Friday 8.27.10

Today's class started off with some notes on biology and experimental design. Mr. Paek then reviewed what units we'll be doing this year in biology (experimental design is the first one). The notes on biology were pretty basic, and the notes on experimental design were all about variables. Independent- what you change, dependent- what you measure, and control- what you keep the same.Then, Mr. Paek explained a random experiment we could use as an example for determining the variables. The experiment was to take 3 of the same markers, put them in different temperatures, then see what effect the temperature has on the markers in the end by taking to caps off and seeing how they write (we didn't actually do this experiment, though). As part of the notes, we read through two experiments as a class and determined the variables. Next, we went over last night's Simpsons Problems, pages 19-21 in the Unit Packet. After that, Mr. Paek demonstrated problem 1 on pg. 3 in the UP, which is: what happens when lentils are dropped into seltzer water? There was a given hypothesis, too: if lentils are dropped into seltzer water, they will float. and as a class we decided to reject this hypothesis because the lentils didn't really float in the seltzer water when Mr. Paek tested it. Next, we did problem 2 which tested what would happen to a potato if iodine was dropped on it, it turned dark brown. And problem 3, which tested what would happen to an eggshell if it was dropped in vinegar, and the eggshell decomposed. Next, we did the milk lab (on pg 5) where you fill up a bowl 2/3 of the way with milk, and add 2 drops of each food coloring into the corners of the bowl filled with milk. After about a minute, the food coloring started to spread out from its corners and create a really cool swirl of colors that filled the whole bowl (i took a picture with my phone, but it wouldn't upload). After that, Mr. Paek explained what we'll be doing next class, which is a lab involving leaves and testing their strength. Then, he gave us the homework which is pages 23, 24, and half of 25 in the UP, and to bring leaves for the lab. And lastly, Mr. Paek put us into lab groups and everyone talked with their group about the lab and whose bringing what until the bell rang, and class was over.

STS 4 Texting

We will be creating our own class version of the textbook.  I am hoping this will help you immensely.  Again this is for you, written by you.

Each time a reading is assigned, a texter will be assigned to summarize the section of reading assigned.  It will be your job to explain this section as well as you possibly can so that the whole class can read your summary and feel as though they understand the main points of the section.  Feel free to include any visuals that would help bring clarity and understanding you the section.

On My Mind

Post whatever you want here that relates to something in class.  Have a good story that relates to the  disease unit? Write it here.  Don't understand something?  Blog it here... hopefully a fellow classmate can help you out. 

Anything and everything that relates to p4sts2010, here's a place to write whatever you want that's... on your mind.

Googled

Copied in it's entirety from Seth Godin's blog.

---

A friend advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper. Three interesting resumes came to the top. She googled each person's name.

The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, "binge drinking."

The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, "I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I'm annoyed by it. I'll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings."

And the third? There were only six matches, and the sixth was from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier.

Three for three.

Google never forgets.

Of course, you don't have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record. The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you're on Candid Camera, because you are.

Digital Ethics

Much of what is written here is from a teacher experienced with using the web as a forum for us to share our learnings and reflections.  Darren Kuropatwa writes, "Blogging is a very public activity. Anything that gets posted on the internet stays there. Forever. Deleting a post simply removes it from the blog it was posted to. Copies of the post may exist scattered all over the internet. I have come across posts from my students on blogs as far away as Sweden! That is why we are being so careful to respect your privacy and using first names only. We do not use pictures of ourselves. If you really want a graphic image associated with your posting use an avatar -- a picture of something that represents you but IS NOT of you."


Reflect as you watch this.




Two teachers in the U.S.A. worked with their classes to come up with a list of guidelines for student bloggers.

One of them, Bud Hunt, has these suggestions, among others:

1. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.
2. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.
3. Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t.
4. Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably try a different source.

Thoughts on the videos or on these guidelines? Any other guidelines you'd like to add?

Scribe Post Guidelines

Scribeposts are meant to be a daily summary of what was learned in class today. It will be written by you, for you and your classmates. You will only have to write 3-4 of these per SEMESTER. Please do yours the best that you can. Your class and others are depending on you and will appreciate it.


A few guidelines.


1. Create a summary of what you learned in class. Use any pictures, graphs, worksheets, UP pages and/or any other resources that will enhance your post.

2. Include any thoughts and personal reflections connecting the learning to what you already know or personal experiences.

3. Must have 3 labels. Your name (first name and last initial or an alias only!), scribepost, and unit name.

Welcome to Period 4 STS Bio!

Period 4, welcome to our blog!  This is going to be a site by you and for you.  It'll be a place to share your knowledge with fellow classmates, to reflect on what you've learned, and to learn concepts that you may have missed in class.  We'll talk more about the details later.

Just remember, you must add at least 3 labels to every post.

1. Your blog name
2. Either scribepost, texter, onmymind
3. Unit the post is about