Monthly Archives: November 2013

Using Picture books for science Inquiry

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I think no one challenges the value of reading to children.  Reading to children is a big part of getting children interested in books.  Why not increasing the value of the reading by using the books as stepping stones for investigating science?  Many teachers already do this but I just came across a set of books provide lessons already made for the primary grades.

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?__mk_fr_CA=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=emily+morgan+even+more+picture-perfect+science+lessons&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aemily+morgan+even+more+picture-perfect+science+lessons

The book discuss how reading aloud helps with expression, sharing pictures, encourage interactions between the teacher and the students.  The interactions would promote making connections, questioning, inferring.  It also discuss the 5Es Model: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate and how it relates to teacher-student interactions.  The book provides 15 complete lessons using picture books to read aloud and teacher modeling using the 5E model.  The activities include discussion guide, experiment suggestions and writing activities.

I think the strategies of this book are a perfect fit for a language based program.  I have not encountered a similar book in French but many of the activities could be done with a similar book or even with a translated picture book.

 

 

Why use the digital microscope?

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I always had an interest in science and I used to go shopping at Efston Science (now closed) on Dufferin Street, even before I became a teacher to look for interesting toys and activities for my sons.  One of the “toys” I had purchased was a digital microscope I fell in love with as soon as I saw it.  In one of the presentations I had made in 2007 and 2008, I had used a similar microscope to the one one the link below and used some of my son’s work. Well, I thought every one was doing this.  Apparently not.

http://www.amazon.ca/Celestron-44345-Deluxe-Digital-Microscope/dp/B00369V2E0/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1384718689&sr=8-28&keywords=digital+microscope

araignee

The Document camera in our classroom can also take pictures and videos with magnification.

As I went to the STAO conference, I looked for a digital microscope and found only optical microscopes.  In my presentation, I was recommending this microscope.

http://www.amazon.ca/Celestron-44326-Amoeba-Digital-Microscope/dp/B006ZN50VK/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&qid=1384718767&sr=8-23&keywords=digital+microscope

The suppliers at the teacher’s conference are just not selling this.  I was genuinely surprised. Why those science equipment providers not selling digital microscopes?

Two ideas came to my mind.  First teachers, cannot buy what is not available to them.

An other idea came to mind.  Could it be that those companies do not know the educational advantage of using a digital microscope over an optical microscope?

The digital microscope has all the same functions of an optical microscope but is also able to take pictures of what is seen and record movies as well, for basically the same price. Digital microscope pictures and movies can later on be inserted in projects, blogs, books, articles, letters, postcards, publicity, art, presentations of all kinds, using all types of computer applications.  The student who is fascinated with what they see can use their pictures to express themselves. I think these are some of the advantages of using digital microscopes over optical microscopes.  Would anyone have other ideas?

 

 

 

Create a home made microscope with a SmartPhone

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Many of us do not have the necessary funds for everything we would want to purchase for our students.  Is there a way around this?  Apparently there is.  The following video from the TED conferences show how someone did just that.  He created a digital microscope using a smart phone, at minimal cost.  It is a project on its own.

http://blog.ted.com/2013/02/24/ted-fellow-greg-gage-turns-a-smartphone-into-a-microscope/

 

Flipboard aggregator

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Flipboard is an aggregator of content that is presented as a magazine.  It works on several plateforms: Windows, iPhone, BlackBerry and Android. The multi-plateform allows me to use this app on all my devices and student devices.

https://flipboard.com/

This app is quite interesting as it searches the Internet for us for articles and subjects of our choice and organize the results in a magazine form.  Users can create their own magazines and share interesting articles on twitter.  I have use it many times to search for interesting articles.  While I do not use this app with my primary students, students from grade 6 and older could use this app to encourage reading any topic of their choice.

 

 

Nearpod

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While using computers with my students, I often use NetSupport to see what they are doing, to synchronize the teaching, to help the students from my computer and generally supervise the students.  It is quite helpful to see all the students’s screens at the same time.

http://www.netsupportschool.com/?gclid=CKKUrdTt4roCFaxDMgodKmwATQ

I was looking for something similar for our iPads.  The NearPod app is getting many good reviews.  You can present a presentation and also view what they are doing at the same time.  NearPod has other functions but this is the one I am looking for right now, to make sure students do not digress and stay focused.

http://www.nearpod.com/

https://edshelf.com/tool/nearpod-teacher

 

What grade 3 students can learn in a few periods of coding

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IMG_0224[1]IMG_0217[1]

Our grade 3 class had a project to learn to code with HOPSCOTCH.  We just learned some basic commands and in a few periods, they were able to build simple programs on their own.  I showed them some programs that we did together but this time they had to do the work on their own.  I asked them to create a flag of their own choosing.  Some created flags that were quite easy to code others insisted in doing the flag from their own countries.  The flags they did included: Niger, Cote D’Ivoire, France, Finland, Benin, China, Japan, Lebanon and Poland.  I could see that in the design of their flags, some created different algorithms than the one I had showed them.  The student who did the flag of Niger for example developed two different ways to do a circle, other than what I had showed him. The China flag was quite interesting.  The student attempted to code a star but managed a triangle with the time frame she had.

 

Plants growing in stop-motion animation

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Last year, one of my students came to see me and told me he was interested in doing stop motion animations.  Since we were going to study space, I suggested to him growing tomato plants from seeds that came from space.  I had obtained the seeds from the tomato sphere program.

http://www.tomatosphere.org/fr/

We did the experiment but what was different is that every day he would come with his iPad and take a picture of the growing plants in addition to recording the results.  He kept the video created since it was done with his personal iPad, but it was quite interesting to watch.  Here’s what it might look like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xiLRvIEYFA

Growing plants in such a way can be done in several grade levels.  It can be done with flowers opening, lettuce growing, sun going down at sunset, with the leaves of the trees changing color.

I cannot dedicate a school iPad for taking pictures that would last more than a few periods but I do have an old old phone that can be used for that purpose and dedicated to take pictures over several days if necessary.

We used iMotionHD app to take the pictures.   Here’s an example of a set up.

IMG_0237[1]

Technology to follow scientist and get back to nature

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The following French radio show is quite interesting to get science news and be inspired in science class.

http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/les_annees_lumiere/2012-2013/

For example, the last program was discussing the much awaited Ison comet of the century that will be able to be seen in December.  It is a wonderful opportunity to study in science.  If space is not in the curriculum,  I know many students who will be quite interested in this topic just to read for interest.  The science magazine Les Débrouillards already has a blog entry about the comet.

http://www.lesdebrouillards.qc.ca/client/page_article.asp?page=6971

Moreover there is an app called Star Walk that can be used on the iPad to identify the stars and read about them.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/star-walk-hd-5-stars-astronomy/id363486802?mt=8

If this app is used at home, students can use their time to reconnect with nature.

And if students like coding, creating a simulation of the path of the comet in relation to the other planets might be suitable.  A prediction: will the comet be vaporized by the sun or not.  HOPSCOTCH already has a simulation of the solar system.   It would not be too hard to add the path of the comet.

 

Is technology just about bells and whistles?

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One of my colleague with more years of experience teaching than me made an interesting comment today.  When he was teaching language, students were writing 20 pages of CONTENT and not focusing on the bells and whistles of computers with a PowerPoint presentation for example with next to no content and only bells and whistles that looks good.

I would argue that there is a place for writing 20 pages reports or stories.  I have personally encouraged my students to write long narratives and publish them online.  The app and website I recommended was WattPad.

http://www.wattpad.com/

Reluctant writers and beginning writers can be encouraged to write blogs as well using Kidblog.  The interaction with their classmates and addition of pictures and videos makes writing blogs more fascinating than a single page that only the teacher reads.

Using the computer allows additional advantages.  Publishing 20 page stories online allow students to develop a digital footprint.  When we look for someone’s name upon hiring, they can tell: See, I published my first story when I was 13 years old. It is an amazing feeling at 13 years of age and also later to show what they have done.  Knowing that they write for an authentic audience all around the world builds confidence and interests.  My students were much more motivated to write when they knew they could publish and show the world their work.

Today’s world requires other things as well.  The business world may need reports but they also need people who are able to sell, who are able to design publicity or who are able to convince.  I am not sure a 20-page report would work.  Other tools are needed to write publicity posters.  To create a good publicity that works requires just as much thought if not more than the 20-page story.

To express oneself can take very many forms.  Here are some suggestions: from creating timelines to books, letters, menus, newspapers, blogs, play, debate, radio show, editorial and many more.

https://twitter.com/ForTheTeachers/status/295908452402884608/photo/1

Each of these forms can use different applications.  What’s important to know is that all forms of writing should be used to develop critical thinking skills and that technology supports this quite well.

 

Coding of a chemical reaction with HOPSCOTCH

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Scientific simulations are an excellent way to explain scientific concepts.  Sites like Edumedia provides simulations that are already programmed and done for us.

http://www.edumedia-sciences.com/fr/

In our class, we code our own scientific simulations.  My grade 4 students are studying rocks and minerals.  We looked at different kind of rocks, including the “magic rocks“.  We looked at how 2 rusty balls, with one covered with aluminium paper can create an explosion, an exothermic reaction.  Since we are also learning how to code, we will also code scientific simulations with explanations to show our understanding of what is happening.  Here`s a simple model.  I know my students will do better than what I did.  It happened many times before.