I have added some new pages to the website. Each page will be about a different location that we visited or stayed at. Explorama is a company that owns 4 lodges in the Peruvian Amazon. We visited all four: Explorama, Explornapo, ACTS, and Ceiba Tops. Check out the pages on Iquitos and Explorama. I just finished posted about those two locations and experiences. I'll be updating the other pages in the next few days as well.
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7/26/2017 2 Comments Iquitos, peruOur first day began at 6am on July 25th and was filled with travel: Austin to Miami (3 hours) then a layover for a few more hours and then Miami to Lima (5 hours). Once in Lima around 11pm, we walked across the street from the airport to the nearest hotel. We slept for a few hours and then woke up for a lovely breakfast buffet at 6:30am on the 26th. After our bellies were full with mini pancakes, bacon, fresh papaya and assorted cheeses, we walked back over to the airport to make our way to Iquitos. We waited in some lines at the airport but noticed it was the busiest yet quietest airport we had been to. All these people but barely any talking or noise. Interesting and oddly pleasant. I loved the flight to Iquitos because the clouds and scenes were performing just for me. At one point there was a sea of clouds with a few mountains peaking out. Later, I watched the Amazon river snake its way through the earth leaving oxbow lakes and remnants of its past. Once we touched down in Iquitos, we met up with Meg Lowman's group. She is everythjng as promised: full of life and excitement for the world we live in. We met our guides for the duration of our stay on our bus. They are knowledgeable and friendly. We visited a local market in Iquitos. This was a very difficult, yet paradoxically beautiful experience. The road was filled with vendors, trash, stray dogs, barefoot children and happy faces. Everyone had a smile on even in the midst of utter poverty. The locals were selling a wide variety of goods: produce, snake heads, chicken feet, herbs, honey, spices, raw meat piled high. Many aromas regularly wafted my way making it challenging to take a breath in without a slight wince. Yet I also couldn't help but smile at the sight of a small child playing with a deflated soccer ball and happy as could be. The market was filled with foods that would not be fit for American consumption. It was hard at times to see such poverty and lack of hiegine. At the same time, it was beautiful to see a group of people so content and happy with so little. We have a lot to learn from them. After the market, we hopped aboard a small boat on the Amazon river. We rode along the river highway, soaking in the rainbows and plants that sprinkled the river's edge. We arrived at our lodge, nestled in the rainforest near the river. This lodge is simply delightful. It's like a low lying treehouse connected by walkways and trees. The accomodations are more updated and refined than I expected. We had a lovely dinner in the main screened in hall, complete with fried fish, beans, rice and dried banana. Then we reapplied insect repellent (love that deer!) and ventured on a night hike in the rainforest. We hiked with headlamps and flashlights, observing any movement or indication of life. I witnessed my first ever tree frog and poison dart frog in the rainforest. They were adorable! We also found a baby blunt headed tree snake curled atop a broad green leaf. I stopped keeping count of large, hairy tarantula sightings after about #15. We also spotted large whip spiders and heard many noises and movement in the forest. The sounds were oddly peaceful and calming. Leaf cutter ants paved a pathway along the ground as they moved in a systematic manner, carrying their loot of leaves. To top the night off, a small tropical screech owl sat perched outside my door. What a day! I could hike in a rainforest every day for the rest of my life. Who said the mosquitos and humidity were too bad to go here? Not in my experience! Both are completely manageable. In fact, I have yet to be bitten by a mosquito. The proper clothing and equipment really do go a long way! And a good attitude, curious wonder and excitement certainly help! 7/25/2017 0 Comments We made it to lima!I flew to Miami where I met up with the rest of the JASON argonauts. We had lunch, got to know eachother better and then boarded the plane to Lima. I was able to read, take a nap and watch one movie on Netflix I had preciously downloaded on my phone called Chasing Coral. It's a great informational update on the life of our coral around the globe and the need for change and conservation.
I also jotted down some ideas for lesson plans to help my kids feel like they were really there with me. I'm thinking I want to make them their own passports and then stage an airplane setup with the chairs in rows. They can create a picture of the clouds outside their airplane window after researching types of clouds for homework. Then, we will set up their pictures in the windows, line up the chairs, and then at the front of the "plane" I'll play video footage of a real plane flying, frontal view, as though the passenger. That'll be the start to our school year where they will stamp their passports as we "travel" around the world and learn about the Amazon and science. Below are some pictures of the students and teachers traveling with me. I also took several pictures of the clouds and sky out of the plan window. It's one of my favorite things to do when I travel and I wanted the kids to see some different scenes for when they think of what kind of clouds they want to study and draw. Additionally, a few of the pictures below are exerpts from one of Dr. Meg Lowman's book. Take a look, you'll be moved by her words and her son's take on science and religion. We leave for Iquitos tomorrow at 6:30am. I'm not getting a chance to see any of Lima, since we arrived at 11pm tonight and leave for iquitos early tomorrow morning. I guess that means I'll just have to come back to Peru some day and see Lima, Machu Pichu and other historical and geographical spots outside the Amazon. I know I'll be back! Tomorrow once we arrive in Iquitos, we will load our bags in a boat on the amazon river and take a leisurely 6 hour boat ride making it to our first lodge. We will spot wildlife analog the way and take lots of pictures! This may be the last time I have internet access for awhile, so I'll talk to you potentially in a week or so. Thanks for following! 7/25/2017 0 Comments About to board the pLane!I kissed my husband goodbye, made my way through security and nestled in at the Airport terminal. Then I called my Granny and Paps and mom, to say a few parting words and now I'm off! (It's always good to talk to your main people before you go on a big trip. Keeps your nerves at bay.)
I love you Jake, Granny, Paps and Mama! Thank you for the continued support and encouragement! I am an elementary teacher, a citizen scientist, and a professional harpist. During the school year, I am a teacher, day in day out. Most of my life is consumed by my profession. I love what I do, and it isn't just a job. It's what I am meant to do with my life. During the summers, I can step away from teaching and focus on personal goals and projects involving my favorite hobbies: art, music, science and travel. When focused on art, in previous summers, I have painted my favorite spots around the world. Those paintings are now in my classroom. When focusing on travel, I have learned to scuba dive, sky dive, bungee jump, wake board, ski, and hike. I have shared those experiences with my students which has awakened in them a longing to travel and truly enjoy life and our world. Last summer, I married my best friend and love of my life, Jake Cotten. We traveled to St. John, St. Thomas, and Puerto Rico for our honeymoon. We snorkeled and discovered green sea turtles and sea urchins. We also identified a variety of tropical fish and I collected my usual sand sample from each beach. (I collect a sample of sand from every beach I visit. I'm still trying to decide how to display my samples in an artistic and geographic way.) This summer, I made it my goal to 1) learn about the Amazon and travel there with scientists 2) record harp music and make a music video. For the first goal, I am so thankful to have received this honor and opportunity from JASON Learning and the funding of this expedition by CoSN. I am able to go on a trip of a lifetime, where I can see explore a part of the world that houses the majority of life on earth. I leave TOMORROW for the Amazon Rainforest, a place I have dreampt of since a young child. Needless to say, I can't sleep tonight, because I'm just so excited!
In regards to my second goal, I turned my focus to my music before my trip to the Amazon. I am a professional harpist in Austin. I started playing the harp when I was only 5 years old. I studied for 12 years under the harp professor of the University of Texas at Austin, Delaine Fedson. While attending the University of Texas, I played in the Harp Ensemble of UT and also sang, danced and was a member of The Longhorn Singers. Throughout college, I continued to play the harp for weddings, business events and social occasions to pay for my college tuition. I am debt free in part by my harp! After attending college and receiving an education degree, I lived in Australia as a live-in nanny. private tutor and harp instructor for two children, ages 9 and 12. While there, I was still able to still focus on my goals of travel and music. I taught my two kiddos how to play the harp. In addition, I made a music video in Australia, featuring a song I wrote about what heaven might be like. I played the song at my favorite spot, along the cliffs of the northern beaches in Sydney, just 15 minutes from where I lived. To view that music video, visit this YouTube link: A Glimpse of Heaven by Hannah Neal Cotten When I returned from Australia, I started teaching at Hill Elementary as a fifth grade science teacher. I am about to start my fifth year of teaching. In teaching science, I have become even more enthralled with the world and how it works. I have become simply mesmerized about science and the pursuit of knowledge. I have my dream job and love what I do! I am able to teach and also learn as I do so. I am a life long learner and I am so fortunate to teach science and regularly move around, experiment, and have fun with my students! Although most of my year is focused on lesson plans, building meaningful relationships, and school growth and dynamics, I still love to paint, play the harp and travel and don't intend to stop. In pursuit of my goal this summer, I recorded my harp and vocals in a recording studio. I recorded 10 songs at Alta Vista Recording Studios in Austin. I learned a lot about the art of making music and professional tracks, and have a much more founded respect for recording artists. I am used to performing live and when I make a mistake, I learn to pass by it, without flinching, as to not allow the audience to even notice. But as a recording artist, the second you mess up, you need to stop and redo it again and again until it is perfect. The concept of passing by a mistake is not an option. That proves quite challenging. After recording a few of the songs, ranging from classical to contemporary, it was time for me to focus on promoting my harp business again. I knew that if I updated my website with new professional photographs and even a new video of my music in Austin, I would gain more opportunities to share my music with others, while also making a little money on the side for travel and other hobbies. This video is the result of my hard work. The Light / Sara Barielles Acoustic Harp Cover / Arranged and Harp and Vocals performed by Hannah Neal Cotten Below are pictures from behind the scenes of the video shoot. We filmed at Mayfield Park and Mount Bonnell in Austin, two iconic and beautifully natural scenes in Austin. We shot at sunset, as to highlight the theme of the song, the sun and love. My family made this all possible as they helped me load the harp in and out of my suv, move it across grass, rocky stone walkways, and up steep cliffs. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes a sacrificial family to make a harp music video on a cliff in the summer in Texas. But we did it! And many thanks go out to the videographer, Katherine Kirley of Reel Texas Productions. For more information, please visit her website: Reel Texas Productions, follow her on instagram @reeltxproductions, or email her at [email protected]. 7/11/2017 1 Comment About the Amazon: Books to Read
7/11/2017 0 Comments About Dr. MeG LowmanNot only is it a huge honor to receive a fully paid for expedition to the Amazon rain forest with Jason Learning and to have CoSN fund this experience, but it is also a very rare and exciting honor to be able to learn and study under Dr. Margaret Lowman, a world renowned ecologist and biologist who studies the canopies of rain forests around the world. Her goal is to educate the public about current scientific discoveries and major global issues such as deforestation and global warming. She also advocates for women who are mothers and also have a career. I am currently reading her book and it is very empowering to hear of a scientist, who is a woman and an active mother. Her career has not taken away from her motherhood, but instead enriched her children's lives. She originally focused on the hows and whys of ecology, but now has transitioned into conservation and education of the public and locals to make a difference. She truly is inspirational and very well respected across the globe. I am SO fortunate to be learning under her. She has been filmed by National Geographic, written about by numerous publications, organized educational conferences, formed conservation organizations, and built canopy walkways around the globe to save rain forests through education, research, and ecotourism. She is a powerful force in the scientific world and is helping bridge the gap between the public and science community.
Her bio on canopymeg.com illustrates her saying, "Nicknamed the “real-life Lorax” by National Geographic and “Einstein of the treetops” by Wall Street Journal, Meg Lowman pioneered the science of canopy ecology. For over 30 years, she has designed hot-air balloons and walkways for treetop exploration to solve mysteries in the world’s forests, especially insect pests and ecosystem health. Meg is affectionately called the mother of canopy research as one of the first scientists to explore this eighth continent. She relentlessly works to map the canopy for biodiversity and to champion forest conservation around the world, gaining her start in the rain forests of Australia. Her international network and passion for science have led her into leadership roles where she seeks best practices to solve environmental challenges and serves as a role model to women and minorities in science. Her numerous awards include the Margaret Douglas Medal for Excellence in Conservation Education from the Garden Club of America, Girls Inc. Visionary Award, the Mendel Medal for achievements in science and spirit, the Lowell Thomas Medal for canopy exploration, Kilby Laureate and Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow. She has authored more than 125 peer-reviewed scientific publications, and her first book, “Life in the Treetops,” received a cover review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Working tirelessly on sustainability initiatives at home and abroad, “CanopyMeg” was a Fulbright Senior Specialist Scholar to both India and Ethiopia; and National Geographic and National Science Foundation fund her conservation work on Ethiopian church forests. She is the proud mother of sons Edward and James, both science majors from Princeton University." http://canopymeg.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3M68CXhq50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNJT-ZbHDXo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTb5SJVgxOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC9mqCTjfAA Dr. Meg Lowman has written 3 books, all very empowering and educational, great reads! I am currently reading "It's a Jungle Up There", the first book listed below. It’s a Jungle Up There : More Tales from the Treetops by Margaret D. Lowman, Edward Burgess, and James Burgess Yale University Press (March 11, 2006) Forest Canopies by Lowman M.D. and H.B. Rinker Elsevier Press (2004) Life in the Treetops : Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology by Margaret D. Lowman Yale University Press (June 10, 1999) Amazon Links for the books above: It's a Jungle Up There Forest Canopies Life in the Treetops 7/11/2017 0 Comments About Hannah Cotten (Part 2)Background Information: Hannah Cotten’s Education and Teaching Career
I attended Hyde Park Baptist High School, a college prepatory school, in Austin, Texas, graduating number six in my class and in the top ten percent. Throughout my schooling, I was involved in music, tennis, art, theater and the National Honor Society. I play the harp, having studied under the University of Texas harp professor since the age of 5. After high school, I attended the University of Texas at Austin and received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development with High Honors in May 2011. I have always had a love for travel, so after graduating, I moved to Sydney, Australia in 2012, where I was a private au-pair for two children, ages 9 and 12. I lived with the family as a private tutor and a harp instructor. Additionally, I attended parent-teacher conferences, prepared meals, and planned enjoyable and educational outings with the children. I believe my role as a parent figure during my time as an au-pair has greatly helped me as a teacher. I am more understanding of parents and aim to communicate effectively. I also learned a lot about schools outside of the United States. Additionally, I realized how important it is to raise and teach globally aware students who are accepting of others. After living in Australia and traveling in New Zealand for one year, I returned back to the States with a fervor and excitement for education, travel, and nature. In 2013, I accepted a teaching job at Hill Elementary in Austin, Texas. For the past 4 years, I have taught 5th grade Science, Health and Social Studies. My aim as a teacher is to build meaningful relationships with my students, as well as my colleagues. I push myself to be the best teacher I can be, always learning and growing. In 2014, the University of Texas wrote an article where I was a profiled education alumni: http://magazine.edb.utexas.edu/alumni-portrait-series/5/ This past year, in 2016, I was awarded Teacher of the Year, a high honor I humbly accepted. Teaching is the largest portion of my job, however, I also enjoy being involved in many other aspects on our campus as a leader, innovator, and problem solver. I am the current 5th grade Team Lead, where I conduct team meetings and attend campus facilitator meetings as well as communicate with and guide my team in planning, organization and implementation of school, district and state wide goals and standards. As a teacher who regularly using technology in the classroom, I am involved in several technology leadership and educator roles. I am a Hill Campus Innovator in which I attend trainings on technology integration, meet with campus innovators and aid educators in the understanding of the new online management system known as BLEND. Additionally, I am the PPfT SLO Campus Contact. In this role, I educate teachers on the new AISD appraisal system, known as Professional Pathways for Teachers (PPfT), focusing on how to make Student Learning Objectives (SLO), submit those objectives for review, upload assessments scores and monitor target growth areas. Not only am I involved in technology roles on our campus, but I am also very involved in assisting our campus with overpopulation. Hill Elementary is 156% overcapacity. We are an exceptional school, which draws a lot of families and students. With this good problem, comes facilities struggles, in which we need to think creatively and strategize ways of utilizing our current facilities as effectively as possible while also planning for future growth. I am a member of the Facility Master Plan Committee and give feedback and advice on building plans as well as implement facilities solutions for current overpopulated schools. I have met with and give advice to architects to plan additions on our campus to aid in our overcrowding. Additionally, in 2016, I was the co-chair for the Campus Advisory Council on our campus. I coordinated with our principal to plan agendas and I lead discussions at CAC meetings to communicate and problem solve with parents and teachers. Currently, my focus is twofold 1) continued self-education and pursuit of lifelong learning, specifically in the areas of biology and ecology 2) continued enrichment of lesson plans in which my students will authentically learn through a variety of methods: outdoor learning, technology, hands-on learning, kinesthetic and musical methods, and project based learning. 7/11/2017 4 Comments About Hannah Cotten (Part 1)About Mrs. Cotten: Hopes, Dreams and Fervor for Education and Science When I was in middle school, I visited and stayed at an orphanage with my church group in Querétaro, Mexico, to help improve the existing school grounds and living quarters. During my time there, the orphanage needed a substitute teacher for the kindergarteners, so a friend and I volunteered. I didn’t know much Spanish at the time but was amazed at how we were still able to communicate and build meaningful relationships with those precious little ones. While sitting on the dirt floor, reading a picture book in Spanish to a little girl, I knew that I had to work with children for the rest of my life – it felt like I was made for teaching. Ever since that moment, I have known my purpose in life is to teach and influence children in a positive way. Teachers have such an incredible opportunity to impact the future of our world and promote change through education. I love teaching students to think for themselves, ask questions, apply what they learn to real world instances and be excited about the world and all that is in it. I am so passionate about what I do. I have the best job in the world! I love my kids, the teachers I work with and my wonderful principal. It’s not an easy job, but it is so rewarding. I am constantly wanting to improve, grow and learn. I want to bring my students in touch with science and geography in the real world. I want to share this Amazon experience with them so they too can even further their understanding of the world, how it works and what they can do to help. In researching in the Amazon Rainforest, I hope to further my teaching and bring more depth, knowledge, experience and passion to my students in meaningful lessons that inspire them to constantly ache for a better understanding of the world. I am one of those teachers that is always wanting to improve and further my own teaching and lessons. Often times, my car is the last one in the parking lot at school because I may be setting up a science lab, or writing a rap for my students to memorize freezing and melting points, or maybe I’m tutoring kiddos who need a little extra help and TLC. My passions in life are education, travel, science, music and family. As a 5th grade science teacher, I have such a wonderful opportunity to expose my students to the world through hands-on learning and inquisitive thinking. I am so passionate about teaching about the world because I love to travel and I strongly believe that as you see different places around the world, the more accepting you become of others. Your eyes are opened to different ways of thinking, delicious and unique foods, and beautiful and fascinating cultures and languages. Just as Mark Twain says, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” If I can share just a glimmer of the diversity and wonder of the world to my students, I have done my job. I want to stir in my kids a fire for learning about how the world works, what’s out there, and how they can contribute to society in a positive way.
I differentiate my instruction so all different types of learners are being taught in a way they can grasp. One second we may be comparing densities of liquids, using graduated cylinders and triple beam balances and the next, we are experimenting with non-Newtonian fluids. The next day, we could be dancing on our chairs, acting out hot and cold molecules. Next, we could be using the iPads to research the difference between weather and climate and then make a picture book about it. We have made stop motion videos to explain how and why to compost. Students have learned how to make a website, PowerPoint presentations and navigate google drive to share their learning with others. We are constantly moving, singing, experimenting, creating, and innovating in our classroom, known as The Discovery Den. Our motto is “Explore, Dream, Discover” and we do just that! If you would like to see what our classroom is like, check out our website: http://thediscoveryden.weebly.com/
When awarded the JASON Learning Teacher Argonaut travel and research grant, sponsored by CoSN, I was over the moon! This is a lifelong dream of mine and I cannot wait to learn and grow through this experience. Dr. Meg Lowman, world renowned ecologist, author, and conservationist, will be our guide while traveling and researching in the Amazon. I have been reading her books, watching documentaries, and practicing my Spanish. Through my studies in preparation for this expedition, my excitement for science and nature has grown even more! I am hopeful that after diving into the Amazon Rainforest in Peru, learning alongside real scientists in the field, I can bring back this experience and excitement for scientific discovery, using photos, videos, and data collected, allowing my students to feel as though they were on this expedition themselves. When I started thinking of how to use this experience to enrich my student’s learning, one idea I had was to use my GoPro to record myself in the canopy taking leaf samples. The kids would be able to take a "virtual field trip" and see what the canopy looks like and how to identify and observe different plant species. Then, we as a class, would go outside and collect leaf samples and conduct similar research, only of Texas plants. They could draw the shapes of the leaves on graph paper, measure the length, water capacity, density, and strength, thus identifying the structural adaptations that help it survive in its environment. Then we would compare rain forest plant adaptations to temperate and arid plant adaptations. In this way, I would use technology, field research outdoors, and hands-on learning to authenticate the learning of my students, all additionally enriched through my experience in the Amazon. I am thrilled to continue brainstorming and implement my ideas this upcoming school year. Thinking back to that dirt floor, when I discovered I wanted to be a teacher, I now realize that I am so fortunate to be doing just what I was meant to do. I get to teach children, and make a difference in their lives. I can't wait to sit on the dirt floor of the rain forest and soak in the life that is all around me. I know I will be changed by this experience, just like I was influenced by my experience in Mexico all those year ago. 7/11/2017 0 Comments About CoSNCoSN is sponsoring me on the Amazon expedition. They are funding my trip, and are hopeful that I will showcase their organization and be the face and spokesperson of this new venture they are taking. I am the first teacher they are paying to go on a research trip.
According to cosn.org, "CoSN (Consortium for School Networking) is the premier membership association for education technology leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning through the effective use of technology for K-12." They are hopeful that I will share with the CoSN network and community of educators how to use technology to enrich student's learning. Although my students can't be in the Amazon with me, they want me to show educators how I can use blog entries, pictures, videos, web Q and A sessions, and virtual tours as authentic learning tools, where students really feel like they are learning in the Amazon. They want me to make an introductory video and blurb about me that they will put on their website. Then I will blog and take over their instagram account, so people can watch day by day and then also ask questions post expedition. http://www.cosn.org/ When I started thinking of how to implement this, one idea is that I could use my GoPro to record myself in the canopy taking leaf samples. The kids would be able to take a "virtual field trip" and see what it looks like in the canopy and how to identify different plant species and make observations. Then, we as a class, would go outside and collect leaf samples and conduct similar research, only of Texas plants. They could draw the shapes of the leaves on graph paper, measure the length, water capacity, density, and strength, thus identifying the structural and behavioral adaptations that help it survive in its environment. Then we would compare rain forest adaptations to temperate and arid adaptations. (Just one of my ideas. It's exciting to start brainstorming!) |
AuthorHannah Cotten is a 5th grade science teacher at Hill Elementary in Austin, Texas. She applied for and received a teacher travel research grant through Jason Learning, and will be traveling with Jason Learning on a research trip with Dr. Meg Lowman. CoSN is sponsoring Hannah, funding her entire expedition! ArchivesCategories |