Science Pipes
www.sciencepipes.org
www.sciencepipes.org
For my self selected project I chose to make a digital text that I had not made before. The idea for this particular digital text came from an article that I read as part of my literacy class. The article talked about this website and how it could be used to teach biodiversity. I thought it sounded pretty cool, so I decided that I would try it out! The website is a visualization tool that allows you to select info from a variety of databases that deal with biodiversity and then manipulate it in multiple ways. The website is free to use, but requires that you set up an account. After doing this I just jumped right in thinking I would be a pro after reading an entire paper on it... WRONG! I tried, and tried again... then finally I watched a couple tutorials and demos. Then I went back and tried, and tried again. Then after a couple more tries, I finally got one to work! It was pretty cool when it did. I created a pie chart of Biodiversity in Utah. It was pretty cool, showing the amount of biodiversity, as measured by the number of documented species, in the different regions in Utah.
This website has a lot of potential to help students explore biodiversity. I really like it because it allows students to ask questions and find their answers. It also allows students to visualize the data in a way that makes sense to them. I also can see the value it has to allow me to guide my students in order to show them things I want to emphasize. The problem I ran into with this website was that it wasn't as user friendly as I had hoped. The tutorials were seriously lacking and didn't address many of the questions I had. There are more resources available however, and I would want to explore them more before I had a class actually use the program.
I think this website would be very useful when discussing ecology in any of the science classes I teach. I think I could create an inquiry project for my students using this website. I would also use this to help teach the scientific method. I see myself having the students create a research question that they would like to answer using the website. I would have them plan out what resources they would need to utilize on the website, then I would allow them to create their "pipe." I could also use this by assigning students a certain question to answer so we could look at an issue as the whole class. I think this could be a really neat resource for students to use. Because of the problems I faced with the website I think I would take a day to teach the students how to use the program before just letting them do it. To evaluate these texts I think I would not only evaluate the text itself, but the process. I would have the students record their steps in a lab journal or create a simple lab report. I also think I would have the students present what they found to their classmates. I would most likely use a rubric to grade these presentations, lab reports, and the actual text they create. This is one assignment that really wouldn't have a right answer, and I really like that. It would involve the students in the scientific process and allow them to research a topic that interests them.
This website has a lot of potential to help students explore biodiversity. I really like it because it allows students to ask questions and find their answers. It also allows students to visualize the data in a way that makes sense to them. I also can see the value it has to allow me to guide my students in order to show them things I want to emphasize. The problem I ran into with this website was that it wasn't as user friendly as I had hoped. The tutorials were seriously lacking and didn't address many of the questions I had. There are more resources available however, and I would want to explore them more before I had a class actually use the program.
I think this website would be very useful when discussing ecology in any of the science classes I teach. I think I could create an inquiry project for my students using this website. I would also use this to help teach the scientific method. I see myself having the students create a research question that they would like to answer using the website. I would have them plan out what resources they would need to utilize on the website, then I would allow them to create their "pipe." I could also use this by assigning students a certain question to answer so we could look at an issue as the whole class. I think this could be a really neat resource for students to use. Because of the problems I faced with the website I think I would take a day to teach the students how to use the program before just letting them do it. To evaluate these texts I think I would not only evaluate the text itself, but the process. I would have the students record their steps in a lab journal or create a simple lab report. I also think I would have the students present what they found to their classmates. I would most likely use a rubric to grade these presentations, lab reports, and the actual text they create. This is one assignment that really wouldn't have a right answer, and I really like that. It would involve the students in the scientific process and allow them to research a topic that interests them.
Thanks for trying something new! I am actually glad that the process took a little bit of trial-and-error for you to complete because I think that gives you more empathy for students who need help and time in completing these projects.
ReplyDeleteI think using technology has its trade-offs. If this particular site is difficult to use, you might keep your eyes open for other sites that accomplish similar purposes. But I loved your reflection on how technology can be used to support scientific inquiry. Technology is now such a central part of the process that, by using it, you engage students in the same types of processes used by practitioners.
Thanks for a lovely project and posting!