To fit the bird theme of this blog I present my final sketch note above. It is a reminder that just because you cannot walk or run you can still fly. Like the common loon , although not very graceful on land they can still soar and take to the skies. The other half of my note is a homage to what I call the creativity duck. A metaphor for everyone’s inner child and that although we go through the rigors of academia and life, everyone still has a inner child at heart in what ever form that takes. Mine in particular feels like a duck most days.
So the only materials required for this assignment is an interactive ARC-GIS online website that can be accessed here . The website was shown to me by the lovely Jessica Drake and is apart of the Nat-geo educator resources.
Instructions
The first step of the lesson will be introducing the class very briefly to the type of plate tectonic boundaries. It is expected that most of the learners will have an understanding of these concepts but a brief review won’t hurt.
Once complete with the review the class will be instructed to navigate to the Natgeo website to begin with the exercise. Please see the video below for the ARC-GIS online portion of the instructions.
Goal of Lesson
The main goal of this lesson is for students to use the map programming to create their own map with information they are interested about. The layers that can be added to the map are mainly to do with the natural world and Western environmental science so this tool would fit well into a science unit. The goal of this lesson is for the students to create a very very basic map of their own. However, the lesson is only using a fraction of the tools in the program. So if a certain tech savvy student comes along they can really take this assignment and run. Its also very handy that the website is public so It would be possible for students work on this type of assignment at home.
Evaluation
The evaluation of this lesson will be very basic and essentially pass/fail. We want students to find this lesson and topic engaging and interesting so having a decent amount of wiggle room for evaluation is key. As well using new technology can be daunting and frustrating so keeping the stakes low is key for this assignment. Essentially if a student hands in a screenshot of their map with 2 layers added and legend that is a pass. If the student chooses to go beyond that, it is more than welcome. A low floor high ceiling is the motto of evaluation for this lesson.
Learners will understand the basic differentiations between the types of tectonic plate boundaries and the related hazards. Learners will be able to create and export a map with 2 layers of siesmic information shown.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to:
Understand basic plate tectonics at a global scale.
Understand the different types of plate tectonics.
Be comfortable adding and removing different layers on ARC GIS online.
Find out if there have been any recent earthquakes in a chosen location.
Understand why or why not earthquakes happen in the chosen area.
Create and export a basic map of said chosen location.
Prior Knowledge & Learner Profile
The learners are university students and have an understanding of how to read maps, basic earth systems, and are comfortable navigating a new interactive website.
Learners will need to be comfortable with using and understanding a browser-based map program.
Learners will need to understand how to interpret a web-based map and interact with multiple different layers of the map, including popups.
Delivery
Start with a basic lesson on plate tectonics.
4 types of plate boundaries
Hazards associated with the boundaries.
Together the learners and instructor will navigate to the Natgeo Mapmaker program and explore.
Familizing everyone with the menu and legend.
Instructor will show how to add and toggle different map layers on and off.
Students will explore different map layers based on interest.
Students will add 2 or more map layers to the program to create a map that shows a specific seismic phenomena.
Students can fine tune their map by choosing (or not) to show legend, popups and zoom to a specific area.
Teacher will help students with fine tuning map so that it is neat and legible.
Students will export map as a PDF and post to their blog/website/print to hand in.
Evaluation
Learners will show their learning by creating a map of a specific area with 2 or more map layers added to the base map.
The map should show a specific phenomena related to the study of earthquakes, volcanic activity or geology.
I think the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about cross-curricular activities and 3D printing is math. I grew up playing Lego everyday and I now realize that a lot of the building techniques I was using employed math. My younger sister who just started high school, would enter a popsicle bridge building contest all the way through elementary school. Although not directly tied to the numerical side of math engineering structures like bridges is highly mathematical. So using a resource like a 3D printer to create math activities around spatial awareness, measurement, estimation and geometry would be excellent.
Next I think there are a lot of pros (its “cool”, hands on, and uses tech) to using 3D printing as a resource for middle schoolers however, I think a lot of them might find the process daunting or too complicated. I think the end result would be very useful for some learners who gain understanding kinetically and spatially. However, the design process and moral through the creation process would require support and help. In my experience many middle schoolers are often daunted at a seemly large task (that’s not that large) and close their minds to even starting.
I attempted to make a little bridge on tinkerCAD, although admittedly I found the process mentally taxing so I think I would understand the potential feelings from my students. I included pictures below!
I used AI a lot during my practicum and I have used it a lot while working with kids. I’ve mostly used chat GPT just cause its what I have been familiar with but it’s interesting to play around with perplexity AI, I can see the similarities. What I found AI to be really useful for during my practicum was to “gameify” subjects. Or to make popular or common games infused with a lesson I wanted to teach. I also like how to can tweak the level and difficulty of the games. I tried a few times to get the AI to pull directly out of the BC curriculum but I never quite found that it produced what I was looking for in my games. But, the great thing about AI is you can just ask it to make another iteration or version of the game and it takes very little time or work. Lastly many resources support learning through games like this article I read very recently.
An Example of what Chat GPT came up with when I got it to make me a game.
On the student side of things I had a few students try and use AI for some of the assignments I assigned during practicum. The good thing was they were very open about it and asked me if they could use it. In the end very few of them actually used it for anything they handed in. I think this was the case because the tasks I often got them to do were very specific to what we have just learn or what I had just taught them. The way I explained it to them was that AI is really good for the “fluff” of assignments, when being vague and general is required. But, when you are trying to be specific it’ll probably be quicker to just do the task yourself than to get AI to do it for you.
Storytelling as a way of teaching is not new for me. Very quickly into my first practicum I saw that initial lesson plans were not captivating enough for the majority of my students. One of these instances, when I was teaching I realized that I was loosing my class so, I’m not sure why, but I started drawing out what I was teaching on the board, basically little comics (was teaching plate tectonics for science). To bring in the class and the individuals who were causing the derailment of my lesson I would incorporate them into the comics and drawings. Often I would make up a little silly narrative about the students in my comics which were usually based around humor and a little bit of sass (I taught grade 8 so I would poke fun at my students a little when they deserved it). I also found it useful for learning because I could describe what was going on in the comic and then pose the question to class. For example, if Timmy is sailing on his yacht over a tectonic plate boundary and there is a large earthquake what will happen to Timmy? A tsunami! Which I would ask the class as a casual assessment and to check understanding and see who was following along. I know making up stories on the spot isn’t for everyone but, I found it was a very useful tool for many academic subjects.
Above this video is a mis-mash of videos I had collecting dust in my google photos, it features myself, my roommate, uncle, my older brother and his partner and many animals I have encountered in the last 2 years.
So this is a pretty loaded question. To directly answer the question. YES we do need to “re-imagine” or revamp education very quickly. How we do that, oh boy, part of me knows, part of me does not. Also what we re-imagine it too is also a pretty loaded question. I think perhaps the biggest hurdle to overcome before we can “re-imagine” anything is everyone getting on the same page. There are so many different takes on teaching that stem from culture, age and personality, which I think is great. But, to reach a unified understanding of what we want to re-imagine education into will take some time. Luckily we are in the age of technology where talking to someone across the globe is a few clicks away, I am optimistic that it is possible to “re-imagine” education for the better.
