Middle School Life Science Project: Organism Creation Project

This post is the sixth post in a series of posts I am authoring as part of my practical for my Masters of Education, with an educational technology emphasis. Click here to read about the context I am writing this under, and the goal of this series of projects.

The purpose of this post will be to share about the project, and give an overview of the technology integration within the project and how I am seeking to meet the ISTE standards outlined here.

Project Overview

Click here to access the Project Folder

Before reading further it is important to review the folder above, especially the Unit Overview.

The overview of this project is as such:

Students will be tasked with designing a organism that can survive within a given environment.  These organisms will be based upon research of adaptations that other species have evolved to survive in similar environments.  Students will use detailed layouts of the environment, including climate, other species that exist in the environment, and other biotic and abiotic factors that can influence their species, to . They will need to include with their adaptations an explanation for how that adaptation helps the organism survive, reproduce, and ensure a carry on of its genetics.  After finding support for why each of the chosen adaptations will ensure survival of their species, they will submit a write-up detailing the adaptations. Students will also create phylogenetic tree (cladogram) connecting their new species to at least 5 other organisms in the environment. Along with this, students will write a short narrative detailing the organisms potential evolutionary history.  

The Organism Creation Project, as I call it, is inspired by a few other things I’ve seen an  done over my career. I have seen and done lessons and activities before surrounding creating your own animal before, and I have ran a project where students had to write a narrative of an animals evolutionary history. So this project is sort of a mixing of these ideas, with a new portion, where students actually explore and try making their own phylogenetic trees for their organism.

The main thing I struggled with the project was finding a good space for students to actually present their creatures to others. The idea settled on was exploring the possibility of collaborating with another classroom to present our organisms with them. I chose this idea, because I though it could be fun to show our creativeness and knowledge to other students, and spark learning in other classrooms. Another idea would be to have students just write final blog posts sharing all of the products of the project in some way on the blog.

This project highlights the joy of creativity within schools. I wanted one of my projects to really be a chance for students to be artsy and creative (my last one I will post ended up doing this too!). I have always been passionate about opening up my science classroom to the wonders art can bring, and this project does so with students being able to decorate, create, and imagine unique creatures. They get to also write imaginative stories, rooted in science, as ways to expand their thinking about evolution.

Another aspect of this project I want to highlight, is the actual creative process of design the organisms. I think one of the best ways students learn in this project is when they go through the asking questions portion. Students need to brainstorm questions they’d ask when researching how the organism survives, reproduces and ensures its genetic lineage. It makes them think about the things organisms do to survive, and why these traits are important. Combined with highlighting why their organism has these traits, it helps make that connection with the traits that help organism survives, and how other things around that organism caused those traits to appear. This is the big picture thing for the students to learn, and the project allows for a creative way to discover that information. Another part of this project I really like, is the way students outline each of an organisms needs, and then address these with potential traits and adaptations that the organism could have. Combined wit visuals it can really reinforce this big picture of the project.

The phylogenetic tree portion is the one that I have rewritten the most, and am a little shaky on as being a part of the project. I wanted to have students make connections between how their organism arose from common ancestors of other organisms in the environment. There may be better ways to teach that information within this project, and I would update accordingly if I brainstorm a way.

Overall, I really am  excited with this project, to see some of the wacky and creative things that students can make. I love the creative and artsy minds that bring uniqueness to our schools, and I want to see some fun creatures that go way beyond my own imagination.

Considerations of Technology

As a part of my interest in educational technology, and my desire to promote it within schools, I want to highlight my usage of technology and other considerations within each of my projects.

The Ecosystem Display Project utilizes the following digital technology tools:

• Google G Suite for Education (This link provides a comprehensive review of all digital policy information needed)
  • Most school districts are partnered with Google Education services, providing students access to the Google suite of tools.
  • One of the best aspects of the Google suite of tools is that it is available as a web based app on all operating systems, and as a downloadable app for each tool on most smart phones. This makes it convenient for students to use the device of their choice for following and accessing all information on Google.
  • All of my projects will utilize a Google Classroom page, where announcements, documents, website links, and other information will be shared. I chose the Google Classroom service because of its ease of use, integration with other Google products (mainly Docs), and easy management of student work.
    • Google Classroom will firstly to share a variety of digital activities and resources to help teach students the necessary information needed to understand the information they need to collect. Google Classroom allows for assigning every student the question sheets that accompany these activities, and for easy management of what students have and have not completed these activities.
  • Google Documents will be used as a primary source of all text writing with students. It allows for collaborative writing, commenting and editing, and for brainstorming. Google Documents is used because of these features, along with its prevalence within schools. As well, Google Docs is available on all devices and operating systems
    • Google docs will be used for the writing portions of the project. Students will be able to collaboratively write, comment on, and edit documents, while chatting with one another. This allows for all voices to be heard, and each unique voice to help influence the paper.
    • Students will also brainstorm and write questions onto the google documents for the entire class, and for each of the four biomes that students choose from. Google docs is good for this, because everyone can write on and easily access documents.
• Mind Mapping Software: Some options include MindMup, Coggle, Mindomo or Slatebox
  • Each of these has pros and cons, but all serve the same essential purpose. If going free, I would suggest MindMup first, Coggle second. If going for a paid service, I would suggest Slatebox or Mindomo. There are tons of options available for this as you search. Just remember to get parent permission for usage of this site before using it.
  • The mind mapping in this project will be used to navigate ideas. The mind map will allow for great visualization in a digital, easy to share format, that groups can use to go through all of the things they need to address with their organism, and show ideas that each person has, so that no idea gets left out, promoting collaborative thinking.
• Blogging site for students. The two sites I would recommend for this would be Kidblog or Edublog. Edublog offers free services, and uses the WordPress shell, so I personally would choose that service, as I am most familiar with it, but Kidblog, while being a paid service, offers a very good service as weall.
  • The important thing to look for in a blogging site is that the service is used for education purposes, and is not one that will collect on personal information from users, or have ads and access to other harmful elements. Each of these services are great at offering management tools for student accounts and blogs, where you as teacher have control over privacy, approving comments and posts, and the information that students are sharing. This ensures that no inappropriate usage is happening that creates issues of breaking policy, cyber bullying, or any potential issues.
  • I would establish these blogs at the beginning of the year for each students, and beforehand ensure that I receive explicit permission from administration and from parents, as the reasoning for blogs is the public aspect they offer, and they should be aware off this happening. I would encourage and share to the parents, links to their children’s blog so that they can view it and participate in the learning process.
  •  In this project, I would use the blog primarily as a reflection space for students to share updates about their projects. Any time I state for students to post in blogs, it can either be a group post or individual post. I would chose individual for the sake of being able to monitor student participation.
• SeeSaw: Seesaw is a digital portfolio application, where teachers and students can add work to a collective portfolio of assignments. Students use the app to upload pictures, documents, videos, drawings, and third party files, to demonstrate what they have learned. The portfolio, or “learning journal”, is then viewable over the course of the year to track student progress. Teachers can send the portfolio to parents, who will be notified by text, email, and/or notification whenever an item is added to their students portfolio. As well, Seesaw allows students to share blogs, and work, with a variety of audiences which can include parents, other classes, and whoever is approved by the teacher.
  • Students will periodically be sharing images and text from their project onto the classroom SeeSaw page, to help with formative assessment checks throughout the project.
  • Seesaw also allows for sharing content with other classrooms that use the app, so this could be a way to launch students videos that they make.
• Video editing tools. ShotCut is my recommendation for an editing software, as it is open source, free, and usable on MacOS, Linux, or Windows. There are tons of tutorials on their website, and the interface is simple and intuitive. If using mobile devices, iOS comes with iMovie, which is free and easy to use as well. I am unaware of any good editors for Android devices. This is the one tool that will need better devices, in my opinion, ShotCut allows students that not be limited to mobile editors which limit a lot of features.
  • Students will be creating videos that present all of the information that they have created. They will need to show their organism, and read the narrative. They will also explain the  adaptations and their evolutionary history.

In consideration of the ISTE standards outlined here, I am going to share how this project is meeting these standards.

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
   • Creativity is being supported in students designing their own organisms, with near limitless possibilities, but also constraints from the environment they choose.
   • Collaborative knowledge construction is being promoted by having students work together, to explore and study the adaptations of creatures, and how those arose over time. As well, students will collaborate with the teacher through digital activities to explore elements of evolution,
   • Students will be reflecting on the design thinking research, as they post onto their blogs, and in collaborative documents, about ideas and struggles throughout the project.
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
   • Students will use a variety of digital tools in both the creative process and their assessments, such as blogs, videos, collaborative document writing and digital presentations.
   • Students will be able to explore digital resources to discover creative ways that they can build their organism.
   • Open-ended nature of project allows for customized experience for student groups, and for easy alterations to adjust to different student needs, both in terms of TAG and addressing IEPs
   • Digital tools are used to promote the creative process and encourage collaboration
   • Project is part of a suite of assessments that are varied and utilize a variety of digital experiences
3. Model digital age work and learning
   • Teacher will have knowledge of all tools being used.
   • Teacher will use Google classroom to communicate with students, and will have access to student websites to monitor and view student progress
   • Teacher will update and share with parents about all tools being used, and status updates on what students are doing using email
   • SeeSaw will be used to engage with student work and respond to questions, promoting digital communication amongst students and parents.
   • Teacher will help engage with collaboration tools such as Padlet and Google Classroom to be a part of the learning experience
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
   • Teacher will take time to share sources about copyright before project, and share sources where students can get fair use images and other media for their project.
   • All digital tools have been vetted to be usable on a wide variety of devices, allowing all students access.
   • Teacher will engage with and monitor collaborative tools to help promote healthy interactions between students and dissuade from negativity and cyber bullying
   • By engaging with another classroom, teacher will promote global awareness using collaborative tools.
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
   • By sharing this project on this blog, I am seeking to engage my work in a global setting, and reflect on the work I have done with considerations to technology and 21st century skills.
   • Project will be shared with and done with a global learning community

 

In Conclusion

When I designed this project, I wanted to address fewer aspects of natural selection, but as I grew it, I added more and more information. If you are interested in this project, I would suggest changing and adapting it towards what content you specifically would want it to cover. There is also a potential to explore convergent and divergent structures, if that is content you would want to tackle. But overall, this project is the one that I got most excited about in terms of student creativity, because I wanted to promote not just scientific knowledge gain, but allow for art and creation to be a part of the classroom. Who knows, maybe it can even lead into a discussion of bio-engineering, and how we can incorporate the traits we researched into future designs.

 

 

Middle School Life Science Project: Promote Biodiversity Project

This post is the fourth post in a series of posts I am authoring as part of my practical for my Masters of Education, with an educational technology emphasis. Click here to read about the context I am writing this under, and the goal of this series of projects.

The purpose of this post will be to share about the project, and give an overview of the technology integration within the project and how I am seeking to meet the ISTE standards outlined here.

Project Overview

Click here to access the Project Folder

Before reading further it is important to review the folder above, especially the Unit Overview.

The overview of this project is as such:

Students will be using their knowledge of ecology, to learn about the importance of biodiversity in our local community and abroad.  They will be creating a project that promotes, protects, and/or maintains biodiversity at our school. They will compare and evaluate potential designs for their project, and determine the most effective based on economic, societal, and scientific constraints and considerations, meaning they will look at what is affordable, doable, possible amongst the school community and location (if school grounds don’t have any natural water sources nearby, students couldn’t do a project involving stream conservation for example. ), and must use scientific evidence to support that their project will help biodiversity.  The first step in the project will be to create a proposal of their project, that must be approved by members of our school community. Once they have done so, they will then implement their project. As long as they can support that their project will help maintain biodiversity, it will be allowable. This could include actual construction of a physical product, going to other classrooms to raise awareness about an issue, or even running a fundraiser to support conservation efforts. Technology will be used to create the proposal, share and communicate amongst each other and the community, and to bring in guest speaker to discuss biodiversity.
The Final Product will include:

• Detailed presentation on what biodiversity is, why it is important, and how their project will help promote, maintain, and/or protect biodiversity.  This will be presented first to the class, where they will evaluate it, and then a final presentation to the school administration.
• The completion of a tangible product that will help promote, maintain, and/or protect biodiversity.  This will need to go through approval by myself, and then the school administration. 

Effectively, I designed this project entirely around the following standard:
MS-LS2-5.: Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.*

I wanted to create a true design project where students had the opportunity to really seek to make an impact in their community. The end goal of this product is for students to find an ecological/environmental issue they can be passionate about, and seek to create something that can make a difference. At first I was going towards having them build something physical, but I thought it would really open up options for all students if I also allowed presentations and awareness campaigns. Students can build or do something tangible to promote biodiversity, like bird feeders, bat boxes, or they could run a fundraiser for a wildlife refuge protecting their favorite animal, or to help preserve wetlands in the local area. I pushes them towards really interacting and seeking the betterment of their community in a way that directly ties to the ecology content they have already learned. The beauty of it is that students will be deciding themselves what they think is the best option for them, thus the evaluating portion of this standard.

This project was definitely my favorite to brainstorm about and piece together. The idea that students don’t get to just build something to put up at school, but also has to think critically about how do persuade someone to let us do our project, is one that I loved as a promotion of critical thinking and evaluating skills. Students can’t just start doing the first idea they find, they have to be able to justify why their idea is important. The teacher definitely has an important role in monitoring and approving ideas before students get to far along in the design process. Some ideas may not be realistic options for the school, especially depending on space.

I went towards grading the proposal over the actual product, because it focuses students on evaluating and learning the content, and not just again on building the first thing they see online.

I would say this project is the one I would be most confident in implementing into my own classroom in the future immediately. I would call it an example of my creative nature, and desire to promote unique and creative projects with students. No two project should look anywhere close to the same, and that is great, because it means that students are really trying to be innovative. If this project gets re-adapted, one idea for changing it, would be to have the entire class work on one major product, with each group of students exploring one section of that product. For example, creating a large garden, with different groups doing different task within the garden. One group could research native plants for the garden, and another build bird houses. This change would be dependant on number of classes, what is possible at the school, and even age of the students.

One thing I would be wary about with this project is group size. In the description I said around 4 students per group, but I think there is a potential to be flexible, especially if a single student or pair are very passionate about certain project idea.

One thing I would potentially add as an optional part of this project, is if the classroom is linked with a sister school, or if students are interested, produce a movie/video of the projects being built. This could even be another project for a group of students to complete.

Considerations of Technology

As a part of my interest in educational technology, and my desire to promote it within schools, I want to highlight my usage of technology and other considerations within each of my projects.

The promote biodiversity project utilizes the following digital technology tools:

• Blogging site for students. The two sites I would recommend for this would be Kidblog or Edublog. Edublog offers free services, and uses the WordPress shell, so I personally would choose that service, as I am most familiar with it, but Kidblog, while being a paid service, offers a very good service as weall.
  • The important thing to look for in a blogging site is that the service is used for education purposes, and is not one that will collect on personal information from users, or have ads and access to other harmful elements. Each of these services are great at offering management tools for student accounts and blogs, where you as teacher have control over privacy, approving comments and posts, and the information that students are sharing. This ensures that no inappropriate usage is happening that creates issues of breaking policy, cyber bullying, or any potential issues.
  • I would establish these blogs at the beginning of the year for each students, and beforehand ensure that I receive explicit permission from administration and from parents, as the reasoning for blogs is the public aspect they offer, and they should be aware off this happening. I would encourage and share to the parents, links to their children’s blog so that they can view it and participate in the learning process.
  •  In this project, I would use the blog primarily as a reflection space for students to share updates about their projects. Any time I state for students to post in blogs, it can either be a group post or individual post. I would chose individual for the sake of being able to monitor student participation.
    • There will be four blog posts during the course of this project. The first will be sharing of their five favorite ideas they have for their project. The second will be a reflection on the students’ initial problem they are addressing, and their proposed solution. This post will reflect in foreseeable issues they might have, and how they seek to address these issues. The third post will occur after the proposal presentation, and be a chance for students to outline what they are doing for their project. Finally, the last post will be at the end of the project and be a chance to share some information about what they did, how the project went, and reflect on the project overall. For any of these points, it can be possible to require individuals to read and respond to others’ posts as well.

• Skype in the Classroom

  •  Skype in the classroom is a linked community of educators that connects people together to provide classroom resources. It allows for teachers and guest speakers to teach lessons across the world. Skype in the classroom offers free video calling for their class to teachers who sign up. They offer extensive selection of guest speakers that can give presentations about a large selection of topics.
    • In this project, I would use Skype for education to link with guest speaker that could give a presentation about biodiversity, and its importance within ecosystems and our world.

• Google G Suite for Education (This link provides a comprehensive review of all digital policy information needed)

  • Most school districts are partnered with Google Education services, providing students access to the Google suite of tools.
  • One of the best aspects of the Google suite of tools is that it is available as a web based app on all operating systems, and as a downloadable app for each tool on most smart phones. This makes it convenient for students to use the device of their choice for following and accessing all information on Google.
  • All of my projects will utilize a Google Classroom page, where announcements, documents, website links, and other information will be shared. I chose the Google Classroom service because of its ease of use, integration with other Google products (mainly Docs), and easy management of student work.
    • Google Classroom will also be used for sharing all resources found in the above folder.
  • Google Documents will be used as a primary source of all text writing with students. It allows for collaborative writing, commenting and editing, and for brainstorming. Google Documents is used because of these features, along with its prevalence within schools. As well, Google Docs is available on all devices and operating systems
    • Google documents will be used for students to collaboratively answer questions for their various project ideas after the asking questions portion of the design thinking process.
• Presentation tools: This can be any option that students normally would use for presenting in class, such as Google Slides, Prezi, creating a video to share, or even animation using Powtoon
  • I would encourage students to choose whichever presentation format they feel most comfortable. Remind them that they need to be able to properly convey the needed information. I would suspect most students would lean towards a PowerPoint presentation, but creativity is allowed. I would not tell students what tool to use, and if they ask give them suggestions based on what they are interested in.

In consideration of the ISTE standards outlined here, I am going to share how this project is meeting these standards.

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
   • Students are using digital tools to explore, research and evaluate innovative ideas to promote biodiversity.
   • Project promotes students to design and build creative solutions for the problem presented.
   • Blogging sites are being used to allow students to reflect on their collaborative skills, and the creative design process.
   • Students will be collaborating as a class, and in smaller groups, as they are designing and presenting their design solution
   • Students will be exploring real world issues surrounding environmental protection, with digital tools and resources being used to support and help facilitate.
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
   • Learning experience is relevant to a real world issue that students are aware, with digital tools being used to find and design a creative solution.
   • Technology is used to allow students to research and explore their own ideas for creating their solution.
   • Blogs, collaborative documents, and presentation allow for a variety of digital tools that are providing formative and summative assessments, and providing unique learning experiences to help inform students on ideas for creating solution for biodiversity problem they are addressing.
   • By allowing for a large range of options for the project, and by working with individuals as the teacher, students can receive personalized experiences that match their passions, and abilities.
3. Model digital age work and learning
   • Teacher will have knowledge of all tools being used.
   • Teacher will use Google classroom to communicate with students, and will have access to student websites to monitor and view student progress
   • Teacher will update and share with parents about all tools being used, and status updates on what students are doing using email, and other apps, dependent on parent needs.
   • Teacher will help set up communication between students, parents, and administrators for the proposal, and will work to help set up opportunities to allow students to complete projects
   • Teacher will provide a variety of resources that have been evaluated and found using online sources.
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
   • Teacher will take time to share sources about copyright before project, and share sources where students can get fair use images and other media for their project.
   • All digital tools have been vetted to be usable on a wide variety of devices, allowing all students access.
   • Teacher will vet and control blogs, to prevent students from posting inappropriate, harmful, or personal things on the blog or in the comments.
   • Teacher will use Skype and other digital tools to communicate appropriately with colleagues and guest speakers to help support student projects.
   • All digital tools are available on most devices, helping students have access no matter what devices they have accessible.
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
   • By sharing this project on this blog, I am seeking to engage my work in a global setting, and reflect on the work I have done with considerations to technology and 21st century skills.
   • Use of Skype in the Classroom to help participate in a global community in through digital technology\
   • Project seeks to community by promoting using digital tools to help create innovative solutions in improving the school.

In Conclusion

This project was my favorite to make. Ecology and environmental sciences are may favorite subjects to discuss and learn about within schools. Being able to design a project that promotes student interest and improvements in our communities fits into my desire for the classroom to not just be an isolated learning center, but a part of our society. Students should be encouraged to make a difference, not matter their age or abilities. We as teachers should be promoting and providing opportunities for our students to improve and engage with our world. I personally have always wanted to teach environmental science as an science elective, and this is my first real delving into creating material for that sort of course.

 

 

Middle School Life Science Project: Ecosystem Display Project

This post is the third post in a series of posts I am authoring as part of my practical for my Masters of Education, with an educational technology emphasis. Click here to read about the context I am writing this under, and the goal of this series of projects.

The purpose of this post will be to share about the project, and give an overview of the technology integration within the project and how I am seeking to meet the ISTE standards outlined here.

Project Overview

Click here to access the Project Folder

Before reading further it is important to review the folder above, especially the Unit Overview.

The overview of this project is as such:

Students will be creating a diorama of an ecosystem from the following list: Tundra, Desert, Tropical Rainforest, River and Stream, Grassland, Savanna, Coral Reefs, Temperate Forest.  This will be a part of a display that students will be putting together, that will be showcased in a exhibition hall type setting.  Their display, along with the model, will include a food web that they have made using a mind mapping software, information on resource availability and how it affects organisms, explanations on the results of different symbiotic relationships, information on how matter cycles in the ecosystem, and information on the human impact on their ecosystem.  The display should focus on one ecosystem that exists in their biome, for example, a student could have tropical rainforest, and choose to specifically discuss the rainforest in Indochina, or the Amazon Rainforest.  The displays will emulate a science fair model, so students can choose to do the traditional trifold style, but they have the creative liberty to present the necessary information in any format they want.

I think of all the projects that I made over the course of my practical, this one is the one that I have changed the most. It was actually the first project I started writing, and I didn’t like where I was going with it, and so I wrote 4 other projects before finally returning to this one. I still think it has a lot of area to improve, but as it is right now, I think it serves its purpose of giving students a unique outlet to present their knowledge of ecology as outlined for middle schools.

I think this project could be changed to any variation of presentation style, but I settled on the science fair style display because it was unique in the scope and sequence of my other projects. I think their is validity in learning how to present in this format, as similar styles are used at a variety of exhibitions, college and job fairs, and for presenting research data at the university level.

In the future, I actually foresee this project changing, as I think it benefits most from advancing technology. Learning and exploring ecology benefits greatly from VR technology, and the process of building models and displays will be greatly expanded in terms of creativity by the availability of 3D printing technology. As well, in the distant future, it would be great to see how rapidly cheapening computer software makes this project viable as a completely digital display, with VR, Augmented Reality, or capacitive touch screens. The project as is serves its purpose, but in reflection, I think it will become better at addressing digital needs when future technologies become cheaper within the classroom.

Considerations of Technology

As a part of my interest in educational technology, and my desire to promote it within schools, I want to highlight my usage of technology and other considerations within each of my projects.

The Ecosystem Display Project utilizes the following digital technology tools:

• Google G Suite for Education (This link provides a comprehensive review of all digital policy information needed)
  • Most school districts are partnered with Google Education services, providing students access to the Google suite of tools.
  • One of the best aspects of the Google suite of tools is that it is available as a web based app on all operating systems, and as a downloadable app for each tool on most smart phones. This makes it convenient for students to use the device of their choice for following and accessing all information on Google.
  • All of my projects will utilize a Google Classroom page, where announcements, documents, website links, and other information will be shared. I chose the Google Classroom service because of its ease of use, integration with other Google products (mainly Docs), and easy management of student work.
    • Google Classroom will firstly to share a variety of digital activities and resources to help teach students the necessary information needed to understand the information they need to collect. Google Classroom allows for assigning every student the question sheets that accompany these activities, and for easy management of what students have and have not completed these activities.
  • Google Documents will be used as a primary source of all text writing with students. It allows for collaborative writing, commenting and editing, and for brainstorming. Google Documents is used because of these features, along with its prevalence within schools. As well, Google Docs is available on all devices and operating systems
    • Google Docs will be used to record information from the digital activities at the beginning of the project
    • It will also be used for students to collaborative create their project outlines, where they outline all of the information they need for the display
  • For all of the digital activities assigned at the beginning of the project overview, students will share screen captures of the completed activities using Gmail.
• Mind Mapping Software: Some options include MindMup, Coggle, Mindomo or Slatebox
  • Each of these has pros and cons, but all serve the same essential purpose. If going free, I would suggest MindMup first, Coggle second. If going for a paid service, I would suggest Slatebox or Mindomo. There are tons of options available for this as you search. Just remember to get parent permission for usage of this site before using it.
  • This software is going to be used for students to create a food web. By using a familiar tool in a different way, this allows students to make the connection that tools are not limited to just one use, an important skill to have within a digital world.
• Padlet
  • Padlet is my personal favorite collaborative note board that I have found. It is cheap to use and available on all devices. School options allow for connection to Google Suite for Education. This means students can share and post documents and other files from their Google Drives onto the note board. As well, the note board can be made available to a few or all students, making it great for not only small group collaboration, but cross class collaboration.
    • Padlet in this project is used for classroom collaboration during the ask questions portion of the Design Thinking process. It will allow students to post whatever questions they have brainstormed, and see other student questions to use as reference to help guide their thinking.
• Tinkercad (Future Reference)
  • In consideration of future technologies, I wanted to mention the usage of 3D modeling and printing as a potential aspect of this project. In classrooms with access to 3D printing technology, can utilize this tech to 3D print out organisms and models for the display. The diorama itself could be 3D printed. Tinkercad is one of the best sources I found for free 3D modeling software. It allows students to create and explore models for printing, or just having a computer generated model for a digital display. While maybe not relevant now, it is always important to take note of how expanding technology can improve our curriculum. Tinkercad links to the G Suite of Education, and allows for class management through a teacher account.
• Google Cardboard or other VR technology (Future Reference)

In consideration of the ISTE standards outlined here, I am going to share how this project is meeting these standards.

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
   • Creativity is being supported in students designing unique displays, where they are not being limited in their options for presenting information.
   • Collaborative knowledge construction is being promoted by having students work together, with the teacher being present, through a variety of digital formats, and in person, in engaging in digital activities, and group discussion to engage with and learn about ecosystems.
   • Students will be reflecting on the design thinking research, as they post onto the Google Classroom page.
   • Students will explore human impact on their ecosystem, as a way to explore real world issues.
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
   • Use of digital activities and research builds learning experience rooted in digital technology
   • Open-ended nature of project allows for customized experience for student groups, and for easy alterations to adjust to different student needs, both in terms of TAG and addressing IEPs
   • Digital tools are used to promote the creative process and encourage collaboration
   • Project is part of a suite of assessments that are varied and utilize a variety of digital experiences
3. Model digital age work and learning
   • Teacher will have knowledge of all tools being used.
   • Teacher will use Google classroom to communicate with students, and will have access to student websites to monitor and view student progress
   • Teacher will update and share with parents about all tools being used, and status updates on what students are doing using email
   • Teacher will help engage with collaboration tools such as Padlet and Google Classroom to be a part of the learning experience
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
   • Teacher will take time to share sources about copyright before project, and share sources where students can get fair use images and other media for their project.
   • All digital tools have been vetted to be usable on a wide variety of devices, allowing all students access.
   • Teacher will engage with and monitor collaborative tools to help promote healthy interactions between students and dissuade from negativity and cyber bullying
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
   • By sharing this project on this blog, I am seeking to engage my work in a global setting, and reflect on the work I have done with considerations to technology and 21st century skills.

 

In Conclusion

I will be upfront and say I think this is the weakest project that I made in my series. I am not going to hide it away though, as the purpose of posting these is not to give end all be all perfect projects that will forever change the shape of life science education. Instead I am posting these to show demonstrate my process of considering and engaging with technology, the design thinking process, and my pursuit of creating unique experience for learning. I think this project does provide all of these things, but I also will be reviewing and reshaping this project a lot over time. I want to be able to here good feedback here and in other settings I present this project.

 

 

Middle School Life Science Project: Cell Website

This post is the second post in a series of posts I am authoring as part of my practical for my Masters of Education, with an educational technology emphasis. Click here to read about the context I am writing this under, and the goal of this series of projects.

The purpose of this post will be to share about the project, and give an overview of the technology integration within the project and how I am seeking to meet the ISTE standards outlined here.

Project Overview

Click here to access the Project Folder

Before reading further it is important to review the folder above, especially the Unit Overview.

The overview of this project is as such:

Students will be tasked with designing a website as a cumulative for all of the information they learned about cells over the course of our cell parts and processes unit.  They will go through the design process in regards to developing an educational website, that will be built in accordance to making a good website, that is clean, easy to navigate, and well-designed.  They will make their website on a free site builder through Weebly for education (http://education.weebly.com). This allows the teacher to create a class page, assign students accounts, through which they can create public websites.  If you are going to use a different app, it is important to make sure that it doesn’t violate an policies to have students using that site.  Students will research what makes for good web design, and poll other students on what sort of aspects make a site well designed. Using this information, along with looking at popular websites, students will create their sites, containing all of the information outlined in the above handout.  This project will coincide with activities and labs that are teaching them the cell content. The purpose of this project will be to not only reinforce the cell content, but teach students about web design, and other 21st century skills.

This project  is one that excites me because of how it is not necessarily just a life science project. Instead, the Cell Website Project uses the life science content to teach students about a very valid 21st century skill, website design. One of the two essential questions is actually this:

How do you build a website that is effective in complying and displaying information?

Following the design thinking process, The Cell Website seeks to lead students through thinking about what makes a websites design appealing and usable. Every student has browsed a large variety of sites, and when challenged, could probably identify what things that they do and do not like about the sites they frequent. This project seeks to challenge students into designing their own sites, utilizing cellular structures and processes as the content they will post onto their website.

I sought to make this project more adaptable for a variety of classrooms, by allowing for the teaching of the content to go hand in hand with the actual project work time. This way teachers can utilize activities and labs they may have already, to teach about cells, cell structures, and cell processes, and have the project serve as a summative assessment, that also seeks to inspire creative thinking on a digital format.

This project can also be expanded for students that are TAG, or are excited about doing website building, by challenging students to build their own elements on their website, and not just using the prepackaged ones available on the website.

I will be over time expanding on this project folder a lot, because I will be adding to the labs and activities section over time. I did some research into these, but for the sake of my time, I focused more on the project itself.

In reflection of this project, the one major area of change going forward would be the final product launch. These websites can be made public, to have students have a public launch, but I would like to have found some sort of space to present these websites to the community. Personally I would share these sites as part of an overall review of what my class has been doing, but if there is some sort of design competition that students could enter, that would be fantastic.

Considerations of Technology

As a part of my interest in educational technology, and my desire to promote it within schools, I want to highlight my usage of technology and other considerations within each of my projects.

The cell website project utilizes the following digital technology tools:

• Weebly for education
  • This is a website editor that is free to use for educators. Just set up a classroom, and create accounts for each of your students or student groups. This tool will be the primary interface that students will be working on. It is easy to use, with drag and drop elements to add onto their websites, and provides a lot of free templates to choose from that give students a good backdrop for creating well designed websites. Students can collaborate and work together on these sites, but will need to share a screen for this, as you can’t all edit at once.
  • Students can also access Weebly on any device as it is web based, and their is an app for smart phones available on Android and iOS.
  • The primary reason that this was the website editor chosen was that the other primary one you will find, Wix, doesn’t provide an education service (that I could find), and the ToS are for 18+ years old users. In considerations of digital policies, Weebly for education does not collect any student information, as the teacher controls the making of each account, as well, it does not contain any advertising, which addresses  Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) concerns, as no personal information is being collected, and students are being protected from any potential harmful materials through advertisement.
  • In addition to ensuring Weebly is not collecting student information, it will be important to remind students that the websites they are creating will be posted publicly. They can not post any of their personal information (it is illegal if any student is under 13, but it is best to not allow any of your students to share this), as this can put them at risk.
  • In further considerations for digital ethics, as students are making their websites, it will be important to remind them about copyright. I would provide links to websites where they access public domain and free photos to use such as Pixabay or Creative Commons, so they are not using copyright images on their website. As well, students will need to include citations of all their sources, and not plagiarize other websites that they find online. Any other media that they post must also be usable under fair use.
• Google G Suite for Education (This link provides a comprehensive review of all digital policy information needed)
  • Most school districts are partnered with Google Education services, providing students access to the Google suite of tools.
  • One of the best aspects of the Google suite of tools is that it is available as a web based app on all operating systems, and as a downloadable app for each tool on most smart phones. This makes it convenient for students to use the device of their choice for following and accessing all information on Google.
  • All of my projects will utilize a Google Classroom page, where announcements, documents, website links, and other information will be shared. I chose the Google Classroom service because of its ease of use, integration with other Google products (mainly Docs), and easy management of student work.
    • Google Classroom will also be used in this project for students to comment and respond to what is good and bad about various website links provided. Student responses should be viewable by all classmates, to help collaboration at a classroom level.
  • Google Documents will be used as a primary source of all text writing with students. It allows for collaborative writing, commenting and editing, and for brainstorming. Google Documents is used because of these features, along with its prevalence within schools. As well, Google Docs is available on all devices and operating systems
    • In this project, Google Documents will used to create a document that contains a running list of features and things that the class likes about various websites. As well, it will be a space for collaborative question writing, and for students journal ideas and research for their website. 
• Mind Mapping Software: Some options include MindMup, Coggle, Mindomo or Slatebox
  • Each of these has pros and cons, but all serve the same essential purpose. If going free, I would suggest MindMup first, Coggle second. If going for a paid service, I would suggest Slatebox or Mindomo. There are tons of options available for this as you search. Just remember to get parent permission for usage of this site before using it.
    • The Mind mapping will be used to provide a visual way for students to collaborate and navigate ideas for their websites.

In consideration of the ISTE standards outlined here, I am going to share how this project is meeting these standards.

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
   • Creativity is being supported in students designing their own unique websites.
   • Collaborative knowledge construction is being promoted by having students work together, with the teacher being present, through a variety of digital formats, and in person, to build summative websites for their knowledge of cells.
   • Students will be engaging in reflection throughout the creative process as they collaborate and discuss ideas and rough drafts of web pages
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
   • Learning of website design is a relevant learning experience, incorporating digital tools
   • Website and design process is part of an overall suite of projects proving unique and varied assessments
   • Website design is technology enriched experience that allows students to pursue own interests in how they design the site.
3. Model digital age work and learning
   • Teacher will have knowledge of all tools being used.
   • Teacher will use Google classroom to communicate with students, and will have access to student websites to monitor and view student progress
   • Teacher will update and share with parents about all tools being used, and status updates on what students are doing using email
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
   • Teacher will take time to share sources about copyright before project, and share sources where students can get fair use images and other media for their project.
   • All digital tools have been vetted to be usable on a wide variety of devices, allowing all students access.
   • Students will be making websites public, and teacher will discuss the importance of keeping private information off of these sites.
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
   • By sharing this project on this blog, I am seeking to engage my work in a global setting, and reflect on the work I have done with considerations to technology and 21st century skills.

 

In Conclusion

Overall this project is one that I created when looking for a different way to engage technology, while still helping reinforce content. I think website design is an essential skill as we move towards a more online-centric world. As well, it provides students with a foundation of skills if they pursue web programming, starting a business, or if they are interested in promoting their own skills. I have a good friend who inspired me to promote the web skills in this project, and it was fun to create a more unique way of presenting content.

 

 

 

5 Technology Tools for Better Parent-Teacher Communication

Looking at communication tools, I discovered a great database into potential parent-teacher communication improvement tools. These apps are designed to not necessarily improve the communication with the students, but focusing on bringing parents into the fold of classroom engagement and communication. These relationships are important, as both parents and teachers have a desire to provide opportunity and engaging learning to students. There exists a complimenting role between the two, as they work together to promote a student’s learning in different ways. The role communication plays, is that strategies and updates can be discussed, to help both parties know and recognize the best ways to reach the child. Technology plays a huge role into this in our 21st century world. No longer can we be limited by language, and phone tag and confusing email chains where people forget to respond are now a thing of the past. There exist plenty of new and exciting tools that can help improve our communication.

Here is a video I created, where I discuss five applications that I chose as being personal favorite tools to improve parent-teacher communication

Also this is a link to the PowerPoint I used in the video.

Below is links to each of the websites for the applications that I discussed:

Remind

Seesaw

ParentSquare

Bloomz

ClassDojo

 

Social Media in the Classroom

Social media is an essential part of our students’ lives as teachers. Within that reality, we as educators need to learn to utilize social media as a technology tool. Social media as a technology tool in the classroom helps provide students with access to information, tools to collaborate within and outside the classroom, and ways to share final products. According to recent statistics, 92% of students go online daily, and 93% of students have at least 1 social media account (PEW Research 2015). While we as educators are constantly looking to find new technology tools to utilize, sometimes social media is ignored for a fear of  students misusing the websites. I would argue that despite these fears, we should be incorporating innovative technology students will actually use in the real world into our curriculum. Social media is here, and it will stay, maybe in different forms, but our students will use it now, and they will use it in future schools and jobs. In this reality, our students need to learn now innovative ways to use these tools that are responsible and promote learning. Social media is not something to fear and back away from, but needs to be embraced if we are going to win our students to the idea of collaborating online. As Don Goble states in his argument supporting the use of Social Media:

Social media has become one of the greatest educational tools of all time, and yet, it goes untaught. Why? Fear of the unknown? Lack of value? The time is now for education to instead embrace this form of learning and begin, even in small ways, embedding social media lessons in all classrooms.

With the amount of students that are using and incorporating social media into their daily lives, they are learning already how to discuss, collaborate, and plan, outside of the classroom. These are skills we as educators champion for , yet it still is taboo to view social media as a tool that empowers and teaches our students good communication skills. In my experience, students want to work together and collaborate on assignments, and social media provides easy to use tools, that students can use to connect and share ideas and work. Not only can this be done within the classroom itself, but across the country and even the world. No longer will a student’s work just have to be pinned to a bulletin board outside the door, instead it can be tweeted, or posted on Instagram, for people from all areas to see, interact with, evaluate, and share among others. As the image below shows, there is a wide variety of skills and benefits that arise from the use of social media:

 

Harry Dyer’s TED Talk is a fascinating research into how our students are learning to communicate in the online environment of social media. As he discusses, there is a wide variety of resources and websites that exist, and we need to learn to understand and incorporate the tools our students utilize and understand. Social Media is not just students posting on Facebook, and re-tweeting funny pictures. It is multifaceted, with tools that promote product and image sharing, tools that can help connect people to collaborate together, and tools that promote creativity. There is a large variety of social media tools that exists, and each one has an effective purpose for our students. We aren’t limited to just having them post or share on Facebook, and Twitter.

 

If our students learn to utilize social media as a resource, and not just a space to be distracted and socialize with friends, then they will follow along with ways to incorporate these tools into education. Below are some ideas on how to incorporate these tools:

•  Instagram can be used to share ideas and products within a visual space, and students can be excited about showing their learning to others.
• Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat can provide a live feed that posts updates about class, inquiry questions for students to consider with projects, and spaces for students to communicate with people near and abroad.
• Facebook can be used to share ideas that students find online in a common space, to help provide a basis for creativity.
• Twitter provides space where students can tag their products and share them in a collective project challenge, something Twitter has previously done.
• Youtube can be used for students to share creative presentations of projects to a wide audience.
• LinkedIn can connect students to people working within a specific field, help them begin network  (especially older High School students), and follow engaging stories from leaders from a variety of backgrounds.
• Skype can be used to have discussion with other classrooms abroad, or experts that from other regions that can teach guest lessons.
• Students can use any of a number of blogging sites as ways to post and share writings to a wider audience. Weekly check-ins for a project, reflections, or research ideas are just some topic ideas that students could write about it.
• Using hashtags, students could follow a feed of specific topics or even share their own ideas about these topics to a more direct audience.

There are a lot of resources that exist that can help begin the creation of a curriculum that incorporates these tools. However, I think it is important to gauge your own students, the social media sites they use, and also to have your own creative presence exist within the realm of the curriculum. Some resources I have posted are below:

How to use Social Media from Drexel University

10 Ways to use Social Media in the Classroom

Podcast of some shared ideas

Overall, social media is an important conversation to have when designing curriculum. As Vicki Davis writes in a blog for Edutopia ” Social media is here. It’s just another resource and doesn’t have to be a distraction from learning objectives. Social media is another tool that you can use to make your classroom more engaging, relevant and culturally diverse.” We want to promote our students in a 21st century classroom, and social media is a tool that exists that can begin to bring our classrooms firmly into the mindset of promoting creativity, collaboration, and engagement, all relevant signs of a 21st century classroom.