Lesson Plan

ETCV 411 Application of Technology in Education

Technology-Enhanced Instructional/Training Plan

Due Thursday, December 6, 2012

Overview:  

Instructional plans (lesson, unit, etc.) are designed to guide instruction. They explain in detail how a subject or topic is taught to the learners.

In this module, you will develop an instructional plan using two of the technologies you have learned in this course. You can select any topic that you feel comfortable teaching. This plan could be for training, professional development, refresher training, or self-study purposes.  A template is provided below (feel free to adapt it to your own situation).

This assignment is worth 10 points.

Instructor name:	David Alvarado
Setting for instruction (classroom, Skype, museum, etc.):	D2L, Online classroom
Lesson title:	DNA Structure
Grade level:	Junior/Senor
Subject area:	Biological Chemistry
Learning objectives: Phrase your learning objectives using active verbs chosen from the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Include a specific behavior tied to the lesson that students should be able to perform.	Determine the Structure of DNA. What are the Different Nucleotides found on the Sugar base? How to differentiate the difference between deoxyribose/ribose acids. The student will play an online game that will teach them about the structure of DNA, the type of base pairings that occur in DNA and how to copy Single strands of DNA. The student will have to match the nucleotides of a strand of DNA with a base pair to create their own complementary Strand of DNA. This will teach the student what nucleotides match with its complementary nucleotide, how to copy a DNA strand, and how copying a DNA strand creates proteins.
Technologies used:	A computer. The internet. D2L will also be used afterwards for a quiz
Other technologies considered:
Materials used:	DNA website, D2L for a quiz
Related websites:	http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/dna_double_helix/
Plan for instruction: Present your plan in sequential narrative format. Include details about how instruction will be carried out, and how technology will be used.	This is how I would present the material: In the online classroom I will have a presentation explaining the basic structure of DNA. Then I will explain the different types of nucleotides. (ONLINE LECTURE PRESENTATION) DNA is the building block for all the life that we see around us. It isn’t just limited to the human body but everything living. DNA is composed of a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group and a nucleotide. The sugar contains 5 carbons in a cyclic pentose formation.  The C-2 carbon determines whether it is a deoxyribose sugar or a ribose sugar. If the C-2 contains a hydroxyl group (-OH) then it is a ribose sugar, if it contains a hydrogen then it is a deoxyribose sugar. Now lets look at the C-5. C-5 must contain a phosphate group (PO43-). The fifth carbon is attached to an Oxygen bonded to a Phosphorus. The phosphate group is what links one base group to another base group. The linking of base groups creates a chain of DNA. Lets focus now on Carbon 1. C-1 is where the genetic information is translated. This is where the base (nucleotides) are attached. There are 5 different bases: Guanine, Adenine, Cytosine, Thymine, and Uracil. Uracil is only found in RNA sequences. Guanine and Adenine are both Purine molecules where Cytosine, Thymine and Uracil are Pyrimidine molecules. (Show structures) In DNA, Purines and Pyrimidines must interact with each other. A Purine cannot interact with a Purine nor can a Pyrimidine interact with a Pyrimidine because of size. Purine- Purine interaction cannot occur because of sterics. Pyrimidine- Pyrimidine interactions cannot create a secondary structure because they cannot create Hydrogen bonds. Purine- Pyrimidine interactions are the perfect size and create hydrogen bonds. Therefore the base pairing is as follows: A to T and G to C. Now I want you to take some time and play the base pair game online with the link provided. (Allow Students to play the game) So, what did the game teach you? Can you tell me the base pairs for this strand? Provide your complementary strand into the dropbox in D2L so show me what you have learned. 5’  ATTAGCTGA  3’ Ok  what about 5’  TTATTCGCTG  3’ That is what DNA structure is. Now we know how to build a secondary structure of DNA through base pairing.
Explain technology choices: What makes these technologies likely to help your students achieve the learning objectives of the lesson? (If applicable): Why are these technologies preferable to a more traditional way of teaching this material?	Using a computer and online game allows the student to use technology, an interest of most of our generation. The game allows the student to “play games” during class but at the same time it is instructional. An online lecture allows accessibility at any location with internet connection. Most of these classes can be recorded online  and podcasted for later reviewing. The online game allows the student to physically interact with the material being presented. This interaction regains the students attention to the material and the class. It also lets the student to mess up and it will correct them so they learn the material correctly.  Compared to a large lecture base class there is no break. In my lecture, the game mainly provides a way to regain the students attention to the class. Many times a lecture looses the students attention and they learn nothing.
How will student performance be assessed?	After they come back from playing the game I will ask them to tell me the base pairing for the structure that I provide. With providing the strand into D2L, I am allowed to tract the students progress.

Online Learning Enviornment

I have had many online Learning experiences in the past as well as the present. I have a hectic schedule which doesn't allow me time to relax. In that time where I lack in relaxation, I make up for it in class. Well I fall asleep in class, and i really need a fall back to learning the material. I have had a great experience with Khan Academy in the past and I still use it. It has a wide range of material that you can cover and sometimes it does a better job at explaining the material than your teacher. It seems weird to me, that students have a variety of ways to learn outside of the classroom without actually attending class. Sites such as D2L and Moodle only seem like mediums for the teachers to hand out information; it doesn't show the action of teaching.

Teaching is a form of presenting information to the students. D2L and Moodle do not do this because they only give the information, not present it. Youtube also has instructional videos on how to do specific tasks not only related to school material. Youtube has helped me with workout routines, how to jailbreak my Ipod, how to cook.... Youtube and Khan Academy have provided me with the better form of online learning outside of the classroom, but I still prefer the classroom setting.

Mobile App Review

The mobile app I am reviewing is the WolframAlpha app which is available for the following platforms: Iphone/Itouch, Ipad, Android, Kindlefire and Nook. The cost is $3.99 and can be obtained from whatever appstore platform you have. You can also get it from http://products.wolframalpha.com/mobile/. The app has many uses which are listed below. It has been designed to make the life of people on the go easier. It is one of the most versatile apps out there that I have used. Personally, I really only use it for math equations that I do not know how to solve. In the aspect of math, I have realized that it really helps me work through problems for calculus. It even has a step by step analysis of how to work problems. I actually remember using this app back in my freshman year of college. I had a grad student as a teacher and I could never follow her. I would actually use this app in class to understand the material. This app is definitely worth the cost. I would highly recommend this app for many people that have the same problem in math. 

Epistemic and Simulation Games

I have had only a few simulation game experiences. My very first experience was from many years ago, back in the days when I still had a windows 98. I had an airplane simulator which was the closest thing to a game that I had. This game actually came with the computer upon purchase so I played the hell out of it. It had all the dashboard switches, levers, throttle, breaks, and steering wheel. This was the way I spent most of my time.

This type of simulation was a good way to learn how to attempt to learn to fly a plane but I feel that it is not a sufficient way to teach students to learn to fly a plane. Recreationally, this is a great way to pass time and maybe learn the basics to planes. I can safely say that if one day if something goes terribly wrong on a plane, I will not be the one attempting to fly the plane to a safe location. Just recently, I was looking into dyno simulators for car engines.

These dyno simulators are used to build virtual car engines. Cars have always been something that I have a great interest in and I am probably take classes after graduating from the university to become a certified mechanic. I actually bought an expensive simulator that gives you specific engine blocks, intakes, exhausts, transmission, and other components of a car engine. I built a 1JZ engine (found in Nissan Cressida  Nissan 300ZX, and later model GT-R. I feel that through this type of simulator, in depth simulators, you can actually learn more and educate the masses.

There has to be a certain type of credentials that games must avide by inorder to be considered acceptable for class use. Just by comparing the two simulators I have played, money has a lot to do with the type of simulation I got. A free simulator from '98 cannot compare to a 2011 $100+ simulation. We are in a financial crisis, schools are getting very low amounts of money to support their students. If they had to pay for expensive equipment, schools would go broke fast. It really hurt me to pay over a hundred dollars for a simulator, and it hurt more when my computer go stolen containing that simulator. For that reason, I feel that school and games should be separate. They make simulators and epistemic games to supplement hands on experiences. They should be separate because they are not the same.

Evernote and Xmind

When working with Evernote, I noticed that I can link notes and tags in order to create a type of map concept for class. I tried using it for my Cellular Physiology class because there are various concepts throughout the semester that link together. I am able to take notes on a specific topic from on lecture and link it to another lecture in which it correlates to. For example, I took notes for an in depth lecture about phospholipid bilayers with integrated proteins and peripheral proteins. I was able to link that note to the concept of transport of eNOS (nitrous oxide synthase) transport to the muscles.

As for Xmind, I didnt like the format of setting up a flow chart. When creating the Learning Theories, I was confused. I felt that it was very disorganized compared to Evernote. It seemed plain and hard to track even though it was clearly laid out. Evernote seemed more disorganized but in the long run it felt more organized.

Wikipedia Page

I created this page.
Wikipedia Link

Wikipedia

Wikipedia, to me, is a way to reference information that doesn't need to be completely accurate. After doing the readings for this week, I was able to see how easy it is for anyone to edit information on the site. I am not going to say that I have never used Wikipedia to search for information but now it occurs to me that it is not the most reliable source.

When you need to search for something on the internet, we mainly rely on Google to find sources for our reference; most of those times, within the first 3 links, we will find Wikipedia as a source. It is up to date within hours of information being released. For example yesterday (September 12, 2012) the iPhone 5 was announced. Within hours the wikipedia page for the iPhone 5 expanded. It went from having speculatory information on the iPhone, which is not reliable, to having the size of the phone to the centimeter.

We can say that Wikipedia is not a reliable source, but in our modern day where information is at a fingertip away, Wikipedia has replaced the book Encyclopedias of old.