Michelle+Brumley

** Digital Microscopes ** ** Michelle Brumley ** The new technology that I choose to review is a digital microscope. Although this piece of equipment has been around since the mid 1980’s, I have not had the opportunity to use one personally or in the classroom. A digital microscope is similar to an optical microscope in its’ ability to enlarge images and let us see a level of detail unattainable by the human eye. Instead of using lenses and optics, a digital microscope uses a built in camera to import images directly to a computer or a projector through a USB. I believe a digital microscope would be a great addition to my science classroom. Unfortunately, I do not have a “true” science classroom and therefore cannot use microscopes for my classes (not enough outlets) without physically switching classroom with another teacher. If I had a digital microscope, then I could show my students magnified images with little to no difficulty. This would be a great demonstration tool since I could show all my students exactly what I want them to see of an image. This saves a tremendous amount of time and avoids one of the biggest disadvantages of a traditional microscope: the student’s ability to focus on the proper image. Another advantage of a digital microscope is the ability to save digitized images. These images can be used in later classes, presentations, or other projects. A digital microscope can also be used for time lapsed imaging. A great application of this technology would be to track the growth of a seedling real time and then put the images together to form a movie of the process. Students would be able to see all the stages of growth that they would miss by only observing the plants once a day when they were in my class. Digital microscopes will also allow me to make my lessons more interesting by showing images in real-time such as an insect moving or microorganisms swimming in a sample of pond water. Fortunately, the cost of digital microscopes has gone tremendously in the past decade and a relatively good microscope can be purchased for approximately $100. Although the digital microscope would be a great addition to my classroom, it cannot replace the use of a regular optical microscope. I will still schedule opportunities for students to learn how to properly handle and focus an optical microscope, but having a digital microscope for daily use would be a great teaching tool. Keyence is a company that produces and sells many versions of a digital microscope and their website [] has four great video demonstrations of the capabilities of a 3D digital microscope.
 * ED520 - Research a New Technology **

ED520 – Software Review Assignment

Michelle Brumley 1. My Body, Myself is a program designed to help 7 – 12 year old understand the structure and processes of the human body. This software is an instructional game. I can envision using this software during my 7th grade science unit on the human body. It would be a great supplement that students can use to enhance their understanding of the complex systems of the body. Since it is targeted for 7 – 12 year olds, it may be useful for my lower level students. I believe the strengths of this program would be the ease of navigation and the student’s ability to choose which subject they would like to explore. Unfortunately, it only covers 6 of the 11 body systems. This software can be purchased for $9.95 from Rocky Mountain Learning Systems. [] The system requirements are as follows: 2. The Human Body, A Multimedia Guide is another software program designed to help understand the structure and processes of the human body. This software is not targeted to a specific grade/age level, but looks like it would be appropriate for my 7th grade science classes. This software is a tutorial of all the systems of the human body. This would be another excellent supplement to the 7th grade unit on human body systems that would allow my students to see images of the internal systems of our bodies. The strengths of this software are that it includes the entire body, provides pronunciation of all terms, allows students to view images in 3D and offers a side by side comparison feature. The negative of this software is that is not supported by Windows XP and therefore may not work on our computers at school (I am not sure which operating systems we are using). It is only $6.95 and is also available from Rocky Mountain Learning Systems. [] The system requirements for this software are as follows:
 * Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP
 * Pentium 233MHz (500MHz for XP)
 * 64MB RAM (128MB RAM for Windows 2000 and XP)
 * 3D accelerator (recommended)
 * AGP Graphics card with 4MB memory (8MB recommended)
 * Color depth 16 bits - resolution 600x800
 * 8X Speed CD-ROM Drive
 * Sound card 16 bits
 * Mouse
 * Windows 95/98/Me (not XP Compatible)
 * 386SX 33MHz or faster
 * 4MB RAM
 * MPC-compatible CD-ROM Drive and Sound Card
 * SVGA 256-color display
 * Loudspeakers or Headphones

3. Masters of the Elements and Physicus are two 3D animated adventures that explore many topics of physical science such as: gravity, forces, electricity, sound, and optics. It is designed for players age 10 and older and would be appropriate the physical science requirements of my 6 – 8th grade students. This is an instructional game. I think this software would be a great motivational tool in the classroom. For example, students who completed work early or met achievement goals would be allowed time to play this game. Since all three grade levels now receive instruction on physical science, it would be a useful incentive for all of my students. I believe one of the biggest strengths of this type of software, is that students are learning without even being aware. The games in this program require students to apply physical science knowledge and skills to complete puzzles and move onto the next level. I can see students challenging each other by trying to be the first to finish each level or even the entire game. Unfortunately, this is another software program that does not run on Windows XP so I am not sure if it is something that I can actually use in the classroom or computer lab at my school. Masters of the Element and Physicus are sold as a 2 in 1 pack for $5.95 from Rocky Mountain Learning Systems. [] The system requirements are as follows:
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Windows 95, 98 or NT (**not XP compatible**)
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Pentium PC 133 MHz processor
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">32 MB of RAM
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">SVGA graphics card
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Sound Card
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">8X speed CD-ROM drive.

4. Britannica Quiz Show tests trivia knowledge in 6 areas including s<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 115%;">ports, art & literature, and science. This software is rated E for everyone, but does not give a specific recommended age group. I believe this instructional game could be used to help our Brain Bowl team prepare for competition. I plan to coach the Brain Bowl team again this year and it would be nice to have a bank of 2800 questions to use during our practice sessions. This software includes a timed mode which would be an excellent tool as well as the randomized selection of questions from various topics. I cannot think of any weaknesses of using this program. It sells for $9.95 from Rocky Mountain Learning Systems. [] The system requirements are as follows:
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Windows® Vista, XP, 98SE
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">8 MB DirectX® compatible video card
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Pentium III 500 MHz processor
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">64 MB RAM
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">10 MB free hard-disk space
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">DirectX® compatible sound card
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Mouse

5. QuickStudy Physics 1 provides curriculum based lessons on most of the physical science subjects included in the Colorado middle school standards. It is designed for students age 14 and up and could be used with my 8th graders or my accelerated 6th and 7th graders. QuickStudy Physics 1 is a tutorial program that could be used by individual students or for whole class instruction. The full color animations could be very useful to demonstrate concepts to the entire class and the self-paced nature of the software would be beneficial to individual users. The comprehensive nature of the program and the multimedia presentation of information are two of the strengths. Since it is recommended for age 14 and up, it may be a bit too challenging for an average middle school student. It is available through Rocky Mountain Learning Systems ([]) for $9.95 and requires:
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Windows 98SE, Me, XP, Win7
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">266 MHz processor or faster
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">32 MB RAM
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">500 MB free hard disk space
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">SVGA monitor, 256 colors
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Sound Blaster Pro-compatible sound card & speakers
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">4X CD-ROM drive
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">Printer recommended for printing lessons