Instructional Activity: Try Something New!!!

Erica Ellis Title/Topic: Leaning Tower of Ecology - Building and Exploring the Various Attributes of an Ecosystem through Eco-Columns with Virtual Lab Report Grades 10-12

Grade/Level:

Strand 1 Inquiry Process Related Content Standards/Objectives: Concept 2 Scientific Testing (Investigating and Modeling) (Limit of 3, only list those Performance Objective 5 Record observations, notes, sketches, you plan to explicitly questions and ideas using tools such as journals, charts, graphs assess) and computers. Strand 1 Inquiry Process Concept 4 Communication Performance Objective 3 Communicate results clearly and logically. Strand 4 Life Science Concept 3 Interdependence of Organisms Performance Objective 1 Identify the relationships among organisms within populations, communities, ecosystems and biomes. Link to Science Standards- http://www.azed.gov/standardspractices/files/2011/09/sciencehighschool.pdf Strand 2 Communication and Collaboration Related Technology Standards/Objectives: Concept 1 Effective Communications and Digital Interactions Performance Objective 1 Collaborate with peers, experts, or (Limit of 2 only list those you plan to explicitly others in the global community employing a variety of digital assess) tools to share findings and/or publish in a variety of ways. Strand 4 Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making Concept 2 Exploring Solutions Performance Objective 1 Plan and manage an individual learning project that collects multiple data sets from diverse sources, creating planning adjustments and course corrections from the knowledge gained. Link to Technology Standards- http://www.azed.gov/standardspractices/files/2011/06/hsedit_complete_2_6.pdf

Created by Cynthia Conn, Northern Arizona University, Educational Technology Program, January 5, 2007, Revised January 10, 2012.

Web 2.0 & Instructional Communication Tool:

Youtube or Vimeo (Video uploading and sharing tool) www.youtube.com or www.vimeo.com Skitch- http://evernote.com/skitch/ Padlet www.padlet.com Wordpress, Google Sites or classroom blog/website www.wordpress.com or www.sites.google.com or other These tools will effectively assist students in producing and uploading videos they create about steps and results in their labs. Creating a wall on Padlet for a virtual lab report allows students to arrange their final data how they see fit and logical and be mindful of the page reader for be able to see all elements of the lab report on the page.

Instructional Activity: Section 1: Eco-columns Students will be asked to work in groups of two for this assignment. Mostmans, Vleugels, and Bannier (2012) state that the creation of digital media is a social process whereby collaboration is essential to students reaching their creative potential. Digital media is designed to be an interactive process, so it stands that interactivity must be present in the creation of new digital media. By pairing students together they are able to collaborate with a peer about the construction of the final product without dividing the workload among so many students that they do not each grasp all of the concepts. Students will use the provided lab worksheet to construct their eco-columns for an observational project, culminating in the virtual lab report. Once the columns are built, students will observe and test various elements within the column each week for ten weeks. Tests conducted will include pH balance, water temperature, water clarity or turbidity, oxygen levels in the water and visual observations made about the state of each chamber and

Created by Cynthia Conn, Northern Arizona University, Educational Technology Program, January 5, 2007, Revised January 10, 2012.

any perceived connections between them. Observations and tests are to be conducted weekly on the same day and as close to the same day as possible. Students will want to use their iPads to take as thorough notes as possible as well as videos and photos of observations as well as tests being conducted. These digital elements in addition to the text notes taken and data collected from tests will serve to help form the virtual lab report. At the conclusion of the ten-week observational period, students will take a final set of tests and observations and the eco-columns disassembled. While the parts are being taken apart students will want to inspect the container for any oddities or observations as well. Section 2- The Virtual Lab Report Students will select their best videos and upload them to a YouTube or Vimeo account that is to be properly named, described and key-worded. Photos can be annotated on the iPad with apps such as Skitch to indicate particular observations, call elements to attention or label a diagram. Using a written lab report template such as this one found at http://stockdaleapes.wikispaces.com/file/view/EcoColumnRpt.pdf and the Web 2.0 tool Padlet, create a wall for your Eco-column report. This wall must be created from videos, linked from either YouTube or Vimeo, annotated and unaltered images from Skitch or other photo software, charts or graphs tracking all data from tests text describing procedures, data, conclusions or any other elements not represented by a quality and complete video. Items must be arranged on the wall as each group wishes but must placed logically so that the report can be followed. Each wall must have at least (to receive a C) 2 videos 4 charts 5 text boxes 4 images, one of which MUST be annotated

This assignment brings to it interactivity that is not present with an individually created eco-column and a written lab report. When interactive activities are introduced into the classroom it

Created by Cynthia Conn, Northern Arizona University, Educational Technology Program, January 5, 2007, Revised January 10, 2012.

increases students motivations as well as captures their attentiveness and produces higher results and peer collaboration. (Blasco-Arcas, Buil, Hernandez-Ortega & Javier Sese, 2013)

Classroom Management Strategies:

Garrett (2013) describes five steps to creating effective classroom management. 1) Creating an organized layout to classroom space. 2) Imposing rules and routines for classroom procedures. 3) Create a caring environment between students and with the teacher. 4) Provide engaging instruction. 5) Properly dealing with discipline issues. An organized layout of the classroom for this experiment will be modeled by having designated stations throughout the science lab where each pair is assigned an area to hour their eco-column and conduct their experiments. Rules and procedures for the lab will be indicated in the lab manual. Other classroom rules regarding respect of equipment and classmates in the course syllabus and will have been observed throughout the class. Students will be able to approach the teacher with any questions they have during the lab procedure and also collaborate with other students. By incorporating use of the iPads and 2.0 tools the students will be engaged in the activity. Any students not following the provided behavioral and experimental procedures for appropriate use of classroom time will be warned about their behavior. If behavior persists the student will be removed from the project and required to complete alternative assignments.

Created by Cynthia Conn, Northern Arizona University, Educational Technology Program, January 5, 2007, Revised January 10, 2012.

Support for Diverse Learners:

According to Fernandez-Lopez, Rodriguez-Fortiz, RodriguezAlmendros and Martinez-Segura (2013) designing easy-to-use applications, ensur[es] that users can interact with them and understanding both the tasks to be accomplished, and also the response of the system. Using technology devices with minimal learning curves such as the iPad is an asset to supporting diverse learners in education. Whereas using a camcorder to create a video for this project, using an iPad is as simple as touching the icon fro camera, which is indicated by a picture, and sliding the bar to video (or keeping it for a photograph) and pressing the red record button. There are minimal extra buttons to avoid confusion. Working in pairs also allows students to work together to work out understandings of assignments more independently than with a teachers help. This independence is also crucial for students with special education needs as they learn to perform these tasks on their own. (Fernandez-Lopez et al., 2013)

Resources & Troubleshooting:

One iPad per group of two students (15 total for class of 30 students) iPad apps to collect and process data such as YouTube, Vimeo, Skitch, Numbers (or spreadsheet app), Notes app (or other notetaking application) Classroom or personal computers for students to produce final product with Data transfer cable or wireless network to transfer content to computer for upload to YouTube or Vimeo (if not completed on iPad), Microsoft Excel to create charts from data Padlet Web 2.0 tool to create Virtual Lab Report Wall Classroom site established through Google Sites, Wordpress or other site for embedding of final wall Issues with iPads can usually be answered by me and issues with video systems or apps can be found through help guides and searches on the Internet if I do not have an answer for a student. Network issues, classroom computers or escalated app or iPad issues can be referred to the IT department This project is not compatible with the online school environment in which I currently work and would have to be

Created by Cynthia Conn, Northern Arizona University, Educational Technology Program, January 5, 2007, Revised January 10, 2012.

completed in a classroom

References:

Fernandez-Lopez, A., Rodriguez-Fortiz, M.J., RodriguezAlmendros, M.L., & Martinez-Segura, M.J. (2013). Mobile learning technology based on iOS devices to support students with special education needs. Computers & Education, 61, 77-90. Doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2012.09.014 Garrett, T. (2013). Classroom management: Its more than a bag of tricks. Education Digest, 78(9), 45-49. Mostmans, L., Vleugels, C., and Bannier, S. (2012). Raise your hands or hands-on? The role of computer-supported collaborative learning in stimulating interactivity in education. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 15(4), 104-113.

This Lesson Plan Template was adapted from the template provided by Dr. Stephen Mills in Using the Internet for Active Teaching and Learning (2006, p. 13-14) and TaskStream (http://www/taskstream.com).

Created by Cynthia Conn, Northern Arizona University, Educational Technology Program, January 5, 2007, Revised January 10, 2012.