Social Networking in Middle Years Maths and Science classes

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Permalink Reply by David Metcalf on September 3, 2008 at 8:13am

We've been working on a social networking/mobile platform called My Sports Pulse. You can find more information about this on http://www.mysportspulse.com.

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Permalink Reply by Britt Gow on September 3, 2008 at 4:26pm

Thanks David, this looks to be an engaging and motivating tool for students - I hope we can expand on this!

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Permalink Reply by Catherine Laguna on September 9, 2008 at 10:56am

I don't have any research but I am having success using a wiki in my science class. We document our lab results and experiments. The students are in groups and each group gets their own page. I find that kids who normally resist any writing assignments will write if it is on the computer. Here is a link to our page. www.team8blue.wikispaces.com (last year's page) and www.team8blue08.wikispaces.com (this year's page). I would appreciate knowing if you find any research that documents enhanced learning.

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on September 9, 2008 at 5:14pm

Looks like the kids really enjoyed using the wiki, where did they get their experiments? I love the comical add and what the girls have to say:

Welcome to the girls Space where we have fun
Cheyenne, Briana, Brit, Lindsey
Enjoy the best Space of your LIFE
It's all about science year round

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Permalink Reply by Britt Gow on September 10, 2008 at 4:31am

Thanks Catherine - yours is a great example of what I have been aiming for with my students. I couldn't find the 'comical ad' that Nancy refers to below, but you have provided a 'one-stop' shop for your students to find resources, discuss problems and assist each other. I also like the introductory page ('uploads not downloads' and valuing the student).
This site (Project New Media Literacies) was recommended to me by Connie Weber at Fireside Learning. The White paper (download on the LHS), is the latest research on learning in the digital age.

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Permalink Reply by Britt Gow on September 10, 2008 at 6:01am

SOS - I need help! I have been selected to participate in an action research project - my question being "Can social networking enhance student outcomes in middle years maths and science classes?". I need to do a pre-project and post-project evaluation/data collection. Does anyone have a student survey on web 2.0 technology use/ opinions of maths and/or science learning or similar? I'd hate to re-create the wheel!

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Permalink Reply by Sean Nash on November 16, 2008 at 11:05am

A coach-friend of mine recently set up a Ning site for a middle school environmental science class. "Ecotigers"
ShOot- Just realized that she has it walled. She would be happy to have you send a message. She is always looking for feedback and I think the two of you should "meet up." Here is her shiny new blog. Her contact info. is there.

My wife is a biology teacher (9-12 though) and she has been using Ning for the past two months on this zoology site.

I have a couple for science courses I personally teach. They are upper-level high school, but in my opinion, science teachers just need to see how the content is being manipulated on a site like this to get solid ideas for implementation at their level.

Principles of Biology

Marine Biology

Happy networking!
;-)

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Permalink Reply by Andrea Hildreth on December 29, 2009 at 4:58pm

Great posts - thanks everyone for helping me to see what is happening in the world of "talking about science to future scientists".

Have any of you heard of Science Café?

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Permalink Reply by Catherine Laguna on January 13, 2010 at 7:49pm

What is Science Cafe?

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