CIP Rambling Thoughts

Years ago, during my work at CA Frost Environmental Science Academy, I spent many of my days in Fall, Winter, and Spring camping with students through various grade-level trips. I guess you could say that at that time, I was the token outdoorsy ASD support staff that did not have any attachments besides a very independent cat and a second job as a server at Kent Country Club. I spent weeks of the year roaming the forests and paddling the rivers of Michigan. For someone who is perpetually near-poor, the opportunities afforded me time doing what I love most in the world for the mere cost of transporting students in my car and my personal time. Spending time outside is pretty much the one thing that I want to do in life but I also know life does not function that way (or on rare occasions, perhaps for whatever reasons, life allows a person the remarkable opportunity to mash everything they love into one position.) I have spent ten years, since 18, working in various support, substitute, and early childhood positions when I was not exploring other "work" so that I could be certain education was the proper path for me. With the exception of Mount Rainier National Park, nothing in my work life ever resembled the overwhelmingly awesome satisfaction I felt, regardless of crazy or good work day, during my time in the field.

On one trip in particular to PJ Hoffmaster State Park with 6th graders during late October, I wrote a 5E lesson examining the Dune Ecosystem that utilized GPS units. Although I daydreamed about several potential projects, my mind returned to the idea of extending the Dune Ecosystem lesson into a Unit for the CIP. I love Science and if it weren't for my million other credits in Social Studies, I might have returned to GVSU for certification in Integrated Sciences. Secretly, I hope to earn a cert in that content area someday, along with a PhD in the field, but I digress... And yes, they let me write lessons at Frost occasionally when it was pertaining to trips. Sigh. The good ol' days.

For the CIP, I aim to expand on my original lesson as mentioned above through the creation of a tech-infused collection of lessons. Tomorrow hopefully I will identify each benchmark that will be included in the Unit based on the GLCEs--obviously organism interactions, ecosystems, and physical changes of the Earth are primarily the easiest to group together in such a project. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/6-Science_COMPLETE_12-10-07_218321_7.pdf After reading through the GLCEs to refresh my memory on the Science content, I really am quite excited to continue work on this previous idea since I now have loads of technologically awesome ways to make it even better for instructor and learner alike. Below is a brief list of materials that I plan to include in the CIP but of course is not binding:

• GPS
• Laptops (1:1)
• Smartboard
• Microscopes
• Software: Excel (Google Spreadsheets), MS Word (Google Docs), MS Powerpoint (or Google equivalent)
• Moodle: Classroom website, with Science subject area link that contains all lessons and information pertaining to Unit
• Digital Camera
• Audacity--record Podcasts of lessons for small groups assigned to certain ecosystems in Michigan
• Other Miscellaneous Technologies not known at this time of development in Unit writing

In the spirit of Outdoor Ed, I would love this project to center around paper-free and uphold the Leave No Trace principles for community based learning, whether it is community as in Nature Center or State Park. For this reason, everything relating to documents will be shared through either Google or another host. I am somewhat of a treehugger. Ultimately, I would love a placement that allows me to be outside most of the time. For one, I am incredibly socially awkward and although I teach with ease because my love of sharing knowledge transcends my awkwardness, I prefer my "element." Although outdoor based education usually means a lot of time spent outside, I now see how the concept of technology integration can forge with the focus of outdoor ed. Actually, if I were to take it a step farther, I could state that the combination of these two principles--environmental education and technology--likely prepares our learners for life in the 21st century. Both of these topics are incredibly relevant in society these days as many colleges are rapidly creating majors and minors in areas pertaining to these two things, whether separate or together! If it is our aim, according to the ISTE NETS-T to prepare our learners to be global citizens, for me, I find that a better method does not exist than through outdoor education and technology integration.

That's me in the bandana, confirming the final elevation reading via the GPS unit. (Photo from parent, 2006)