EDCI 3332 Post 1

For my initial blog posting I visited http://www.edutopia.org, I found an article on The Outdoor Classroom: Science Experiments in the Environment about young children using technology to monitor an ecosystem's health which was of particular interest to me because it directly correlated with the assignment that we submitted to Dr. Esquierdo today. Our assignment was to design a mini lesson using the Backward Design Approach for the 4th grade Science TEKS 11.A (The student knows that the natural world includes earth materials and objects in the sky. The student is expected to: (A) test properties of soils including texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support life.) The online article and short six minute video illustrated how teachers and students in a small northwestern Minnesota town are using a technology program that enables students to leave the school grounds and get into nature for their learning. The students and teachers are carrying laptop computers, temperature probes, measuring sticks, and sample collection tools while visiting the Glacial Ridge four times a year to study how environmental policy changes can restore natural beauty and wildlife. As a result of reading this article I would like to investigate how we can acquire the same technology to use in our classrooms as well. I strongly feel this would be a great “new technology” approach of introducing and teaching science to our students.