Social Media Integration
This learning experience for a 5th grade science class takes advantage of social media and social networking opportunities. In this series of lessons, students can interact directly with people outside of the classroom both synchronously and asynchronously.
Lesson Topic: "A River Runs Through It" Water Testing
It's time to REALLY dive into our water studies theme this week. We are going to get our feet wet with online media tools that will help us share knowledge with each other and with students in other corners of the Earth. We are also going to get our feet wet (really!) as we learn how to test water quality in our nearby river tributary.
As a global community, we have an important job of protecting our waterways. To do that, however, we need to understand background information about our local geography and ecology with respect to water. We also have to understand why and how we assess the health of our water systems. Lastly, we need to share our observations and conclusions with a wider audience to promote environmentally-sounds habits. Real scientists must back up their opinions and conclusions with raw data, so we'll be doing the same. Get ready "splash" into our on- and offline investigative journey!
Note: We will be learning how to use three different kinds of social media in an academic way. Scoop.it is a internet content curation tool, Flickr is a photo-sharing community, and Skype is a VOIP videoconferencing tool allowing us to see and speak to others around the world.
As a global community, we have an important job of protecting our waterways. To do that, however, we need to understand background information about our local geography and ecology with respect to water. We also have to understand why and how we assess the health of our water systems. Lastly, we need to share our observations and conclusions with a wider audience to promote environmentally-sounds habits. Real scientists must back up their opinions and conclusions with raw data, so we'll be doing the same. Get ready "splash" into our on- and offline investigative journey!
Note: We will be learning how to use three different kinds of social media in an academic way. Scoop.it is a internet content curation tool, Flickr is a photo-sharing community, and Skype is a VOIP videoconferencing tool allowing us to see and speak to others around the world.
1. Scoop.It: Collecting WEb Artifacts to Build Background Knowledge
Click here to learn more about using Scoop.it.
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We will be comparing the water quality of your local river, stream, lake or pond with other fresh water sources around the world, we need to understand the types of data we will need to collect. We will also need to collect some background information to understand our watershed and/or tributary system. What are some distinguishing features of the waterways that surround us? Can we find any news about conservation or preservation efforts/policies that are currently in place in our community? How can we tell if our system is healthy? Are there some common tests we can conduct to get quantitative information?
We are going to use Scoop.it to curate (collect and save) any articles, videos, or websites that help build our background knowledge about watersheds in general, our watershed in particular, and some of the scientific tests that can be conducted to determine the condition of out waters. Each student is responsible for finding six interesting, relevant, and appropriate artifacts to include in our Scoop.it group. Only two may be a video. Try to avoid double scooping! (Try to find something new if a classmate has already shared something you discovered in your search.) Create a Scoop.it account with your school email, and click "new scoop" at the top of our group page to paste the URL's of the sites you find that make connections to watersheds, water testing, and waterway preservation. Each student must comment on at least three other "scoops" they found interesting. |
2. FlickR: Creating A "Photojournalistic" Scientific Field Report
Use this guide to help you learn how to use Flickr.
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Pay close attention to the description of the water quality testing activities we are going to be conducting on our field trip. Each group will borrow a camera to record their testing process. It is important you keep track of your photos by aligning them to the notes you take in your journal. This will help tell the "story" of your scientific processes. It will also help you record evidence of your various tests results, which will be helpful when making overall conclusions.
Once you have gathered all your data and photos, you are going to share a "photojournalistic" summary of your group's experimentation. You will be using Flickr to upload your photos, arrange them into a gallery, and add captions. These captions are a critical piece of your album in that they a) explain each individual test b) give details about why this test is important, and c) briefly discuss your data. Please create your Flickr accounts individually (or use the general class account, if instructed by your teacher), and subscribe to our class Flickr group. You can work collaboratively to arrange and caption your group's photos within your gallery. Use my Flickr gallery as an example of the types of photos and information we are aiming for. Share your gallery with the class by posting its unique URL to our class Edmodo site. Each student must add one comment (positive of constructive) to a different team member's gallery. For example, did you get similar results? Did you conduct your test in a different way? Select your favorite five images to post and caption within our class group as well. |
3. Skype: Sharing Data with our Local and Global Community
Click here to search for classroom Skype user profiles that may match what you are looking for.
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Another 5th grade group of students in Pennsylvania is looking to gather information and data from as many of the worlds water sources as possible. We have joined their initiative and have arranged to meet with them on Skype. We will use our class username (Ms.Fuhry) and "meet" with them through the webcam, which has been connected to our interactive whiteboard. We are going to discuss the tests we have conducted as well as any relevant research that may help us find patterns or trends. What do our waterways have in common? (Think large- and small-scale.) Do we share any of the same concerns?
Each of you will prepare two questions, and as a class we will decide which 8-10 questions we will ask in our Skype online conversation. We will also learn how to share our screen on Skype and present to the other class (or classes) some of the photos we've compiled within our Flickr group. It will be interesting to find out if we conducted our testing in a similar way. We will also take some time in class to create charts and graphs in Google Docs based on our information gathered, which we can use to explain our investigation data. |
For Teachers
A very helpful guide to water testing can be found from ProjectWet. This can serve as a lesson plan for the field experience day. It includes background information, activity descriptions, assessment rubrics, and data sheets.
Click here for details/contact for the Teacher-submitted Skype activity. An alternative Skype activity could be to video-conference with a professional water scientist who can explain their job as well as critique or commend students' testing efforts.
Reach out to other schools in your watershed to compare data from water testing field experiences. To take part in a large, more global initiative, you are strongly encouraged to consider:
Click here for details/contact for the Teacher-submitted Skype activity. An alternative Skype activity could be to video-conference with a professional water scientist who can explain their job as well as critique or commend students' testing efforts.
Reach out to other schools in your watershed to compare data from water testing field experiences. To take part in a large, more global initiative, you are strongly encouraged to consider:
- Bucket Buddies (elementary) - "Students around the United States and other countries will collect samples from local ponds to answer the question: Are the organisms found in pond water the same all over the world?"
- The Global Water Sampling Project (middle/high school) - "Join us in this collaborative project, comparing the water quality of your local river, stream, lake or pond with other fresh water sources around the world. The focus of the project is to a) Assess the quality of water based on physical characteristics and chemical substances, and b) Look for relationships and trends among the data collected by all project participants."