A Vision of K-12 Students Today

This is my favorite video about how students in the 21st century learn. It's worth your time to watch this cleverly designed video montage.

This project was created to inspire teachers to use technology in engaging ways to help students develop higher level thinking skills. Equally important, it serves to motivate district level leaders to provide teachers with the tools and training to do so.

A Vision of Students Today

I thought this video was thought provoking enough to be worth your time. It's not very long, but you have to be a pretty fast reader to get all of the info.

This is a short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.

Digital World: Teachers Today

If found this video about what great edtech teachers do in today's society. This is a short commentary about how teachers are changing the culture of education in the 21st century through the use of technology and web 2.0 created at animoto.com

Blog-integrated Space Exploration Unit

I've been trying to select a Web 2.0 tool to use in my classroom for quite sometime. There are so many new products available for educational endeavors it's a bit overwhelming. I think I have hit on a near-perfect all-in-one web tool that is easy to manage (once set up), allows for creative expression and critical thinking, and supports social interaction...educational blogging!

In an attempt to integrate educational blogging into my classroom instruction, I have created a science unit which combines blogs and other Internet technologies with curricular science content related to space studies. I designed this unit to provide students with opportunities to create a product to show their understanding of the unit goals and to dramatically influence their excitement and retention of material. In this unit, students collect facts and information through a series of lessons relating to space exploration, specifically relating to Mars. Students demonstrate what they have learned by working in teams to construct a future colony on Mars using Legos™. Since students have diverse needs, students who do not always do well on paper/pencil assessments have an opportunity to use their hands to construct a model of the colony. Each team writes a description of its colony and defends its construction strategies in front of an audience of its peers. Students use a computer to create a model, write a description of their colony, and collect facts and information about space exploration. This unit meets NETS-T standard 2, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. This unit utilizes a backward design model and also addresses Technology Leadership Substandards A-F. Throughout the design of this unit, I have grown in my ability to construct units of instruction using the backwards design model and identify essential questions and learning objectives. I have also discovered new technology resources for this unit that effectively meet unit goals.

I identified two Alaska Science GLEs and two Technology GLEs standards that I intended to cover in my unit. I developed a set of essential questions to investigate throughout our study. I know that my students have diverse needs, therefore I created both performance assessments and paper/pencil assessments addressing multiple learning styles. These assessments were also designed to meet Alaska GLEs across multiple content areas. A rubric was also created to assess overall student performance in the unit.

Next, I researched websites for background information and teaching resources. This was the most time consuming component of the planning stage. There are many excellent resources on space exploration available on the Internet. It's often challenging to find age appropriate sites with good readability for the lower elementary level. In my search, I located student research sites, creative arts sites, an online Lego construction site, and educational sites that included videos about space exploration.

Digital natives are drawn to websites rich in color and contrast. In the words of Marc Prensky, “Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to 'serious' work” (2001). For this reason, I chose sites composed mostly of images, links, and video, and fewer sites with text and little or no graphics.

Finally, I divided the content into teachable lessons that scaffolded the learning to build on previously taught knowledge and skills. For instance, students learn that Mars is farther away from the Sun than Earth. In the next learning sequence, they learn that Mars has a longer year than Earth because of its distance from the Sun. Much of the learning during this unit takes place in heterogeneous groups. Students were given jobs within each group to increase on task behavior and understanding of the content. Science lends itself to collaborative and constructive investigations. Since space exploration is a vast and complex topic it was necessary to reduce teacher lecture time and focus more time on self guided hands-on activities. Each activity focused on answering an essential question and included assessments to check for understanding.

In order to give students multiple experiences using technology, I needed to be efficient using the four computers in my room. While teams were working on their final projects (model of a Mars Colony), I assigned one computer per team to use as a work station. Teams would share the tasks of researching websites, writing journal entries, and creating designs for their Mars Colonies. In this manner, all students received maximum utilization of the technology in my classroom.

In addition to using school resources, I allowed students to bring in their own Lego™ kits with special pieces that would add a unique touch to their colony. As students used their own pieces to help construct their model, the pride and craftsmanship in their work was very evident.

The final projects went on display in the school commons. When children know their work will be on display in front of an audience, no matter who the audience may be, there is an intrinsic motivation to work a little harder. The purpose of this was not only to motivate and challenge students to give their personal best, but to provide relevance to their work. As I reflect on the creation of this unit, I think Berger would approve, as he states:

"…the first step in encouraging high-quality student work is to have assignments that inspire and challenge students. There’s only so much care and creativity that a student can put into filling in the blanks on a commercially produced worksheet (Berger, 2003, p. 65)."

Feel free to look at the Google Docs page, containing the Space Exploration Unit that I designed, which utilizes the educational blog as a reflection and critical thinking tool.


Also feel free to look at the educational blog space I designed with student blogs linked to the main page. Mr. Daniels Class Blog


References:

Berger, R. (2003). An ethic of excellence: Building a culture of craftsmanship with students. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives digital immigrants. Retrieved February 1, 2009, from http://www.marcprensky.com/

DanielsJ_Unitd8 Blog Edition

Unit Design Template

Project Title

Mars Colony

Project Designers

Jason Daniels

Grade Level/Content Areas

4th Grade, integrating Alaska Content Standards, specifically in the areas of Science and Technology

Project Synopsis/Description

In this unit, students will collect facts and information through a series of lessons relating to space exploration, specifically relating to Mars. Students will demonstrate what they have learned by applying this knowledge in teams to construct a future colony on Mars using Legos™. Students will also reflect on their experiences using a Web 2.0 technology. Students create a blog, using the school district's blog server, and make a Mars Journal blog page for reflections on each lesson as the unit progresses. The Class Blog is found here. Units of excellence emphasize a standards-based approach. Each team will write a description of their colony and defend their construction strategies in front of an audience of their peers. Students will use technology to create a model and write a description of their colony, and collect facts and information about space exploration.

Stage 1: Desired Results

AK Standards

Science

A. Science as Inquiry and Process

2) develop an understanding that the processes of science require integrity, logical reasoning, skepticism, openness, communication, and peer review;

G. History and Nature of Science

4) develop an understanding that advancements in science depend on curiosity, creativity, imagination, and a broad knowledge base;

Technology

A. A student should be able to operate technology-based tools.

2) use technological tools for learning, communications, and productivity

D. A student should be able to use technology to express ideas and exchange information.

1) convey ideas to a variety of audiences using publishing, multi-media, and

communications tools.

There are MANY other standards in science and technology this unit integrates. Due to this large volume of standards, I will focus on the four standards listed above.

Enduring Understanding

Exploring space requires individuality and an ability to work as a team.

Essential Questions

Why do people explore new places?

What can we learn by exploring?

What do humans need to survive?

Essential Unit Questions

What is Mars like?

How does Mars compare to Earth and the Moon?

How do we get to Mars?

How do we survive on Mars?

What will we do when we get to Mars?

Stage 2: Assessment Evidence

Culminating Performance Task

Students have been chosen as part of an elite group of space scientist assigned to colonize Mars. Students will design and construct a model of a colony on Mars in teams of 5-6. They will create a mission patch which will include the purpose of the mission and students’ names. Each student will be responsible for constructing one item and help on the construction of other items within the colony. As an extension, teams have the option to apply knowledge of how to get to Mars, how to survive on Mars, and what will be done while stationed on Mars by addressing the aforementioned questions in a Public Information Brochure.

Type(s) of understanding this performance emphasizes:

Explanation Interpretation Application Perspective

Empathy Self Knowledge

Dipstick Assessments (formative)

1. Students will write a Mars Journal in which they collect and sort information about Mars and space exploration as the unit progresses. This Journal will serve as a reference when the construction phase of the culminating task takes place and as a check for understanding at the end of the unit.
2. “Turn to your neighbor” assessments will be used to share something they’ve learned throughout the unit.
3. Students will create a game and play it to learn about ground-based observations of, stories about, and missions to Mars.
4. Students will design a travel brochure to a special place on Mars.
5. Students will build a multi-stage balloon rocket.
6. Students will demonstrate the orbital paths of Earth and Mars using classroom materials.
7. Students will build their own model of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft to learn about the different instruments of the spacecraft.
8. Students will create a “rough draft” of their colony online at Mars Funzone.

Students complete a reflective writing paper which engages students in a role playing perspective by writing to “fans” back home on Earth. This writing also allows the teacher to assess students comprehend the facets of Mars Exploration and to think creatively in their role as a Mars colonist.

Student Self-Assessment:

Part of the reflection writing asks students to think about difficulties and successes during the culminating task. Students also receive a scoring guide (see below) with performance indicators at each level of achievement. Reviewing this document throughout the unit provides an opportunity for students to self-assess.

Scoring guide

	Mars Journal	Public Information Brochure (optional)	Teamwork	Colony Presentation	Colony Construction		Reflection
Mission Complete! [5 points]	* Journal writing is clear and easy to read. * Journal clearly answers 3 essential questions * Student refers to Journal during construction phase.	* Brochure clearly answers key questions within the content of the brochure. * The writing and illustrations are thought provoking, interesting, and organized.	* Student works well with teammates, sharing the responsibility among team members to complete tasks toward constructing the Mars Colony.	* Student adds new ideas to the team’s colony presentation and adds a creative response to each question. * Student has eye contact and speaks clearly to audience.	* Colony builds all structures needed to support life on Mars. * Colony is logically planned using information from Mars Journal to support decisions.		* Student thoughtfully reflects on their work throughout the project.
You will survive! [3 points]	* Journal writing is fairly clear, but a little difficult to read. * Journal clearly answers 2 essential questions. * Student refers to Journal during construction phase	* Brochure answers essential questions within the content of the brochure. * The writing and illustrations are present and somewhat interesting.	* Student works with teammates, sharing the responsibility among team members to complete tasks toward constructing the Mars Colony.	* Student adds ideas to the team’s colony presentation and adds a response to each question. * Student has eye contact and speaks to audience.	* Colony builds most or all structures needed to support life on Mars. * Colony is planned using information from Mars Journal to support decisions.		* Student reflects on most of their work throughout the project, but may omit details.
You better stay home! [1 point]	* Journal writing is not clear and not easy to read. * Journal answers 1 essential question * Student may not refer to Journal during construction phase.	* Brochure does not answer key questions within the content of the brochure. * The writing and illustrations are short with no detail, and little editing.	* Student does not work well with teammates, does most or little of the work to complete tasks toward constructing the Mars Colony.	* Student adds no new ideas to the team’s colony presentation and does not add a response to questions. * Student has little eye contact and speaks quietly to audience.		* Colony does not build all structures needed to support life on Mars. * Colony is not logically planned without using information from Mars Journal to support decisions.	* Student is not able to thoroughly reflect on their work throughout the project.
Points

A = 26 - 30 points B = 21 - 25 points C = 16 - 20 points D = 11-15 points

Stage 3: Learning Plan

Knowledge and skills students need in order to reach unit goals and complete culminating task successfully?

Students need to know… How humans travel to Mars Surface features of Mars Basic needs for survival on another planet Expectations for the culminating tasks How to categorize information How to use legos to build objects How to speak in front of an audience How to navigate and utilize various Types of online content

Students need to be able to… (*Star skills that require practice): Speak in front of an audience* Write a reflection response about the colony project Build structures using Legos™ to support colony mission on Mars* Use teamwork to complete mission Create a Mars Journal to record data Create a Public Information Brochure Create a “rough draft” of their colony model* Collect data using a Mars Rover*

Resources

Teacher resources: Extra computer lab time Computer projector cart Balloons, straws, tape, paper, string, scissors, glue, ruler, meter stick Globe Same websites as student resources Mars Colony Rubric Brochure samples Legos™ Kit Books: Mars Rovers Robots 4th Grade Science Text

Student resources: Brochure samples Legos™ Kit Mars Colony Rubric Space-explorers.com Internet websites: Starchild Exploring Mars History Exploring Mars Missions Mars Photo 1 Mars Photo 2 Mars Photo 3 Hi Res Stereo Image Find your weight on Mars at: Spacekids Clickable Map of Mars Mars Map Images of channels on Mars: MSSS Launch Movie Balloon Staging Mars Year Space Explorers 1 Space Explorers 2 JPL NASA JPL NASA Aero Box Brain Pop Mars JPL NASA Funzone Books: Mars Rovers, Scholastic Publishers Robots, Reading A-Z book 4th Grade Science Text

Accommodations

Groups will be mixed to allow for cooperative learning. There will be five to six students per group. Groups will be mixed by variety of technology skills, learning styles, and also socially (who works well together and who does not). Special education needs will be coordinating with the special education staff as needed. There will be 4 groups per class to accommodate the limited amount of classroom space.

Students with disabilities will be accommodated accordingly. Students needing additional assistance, special education students, and students with learning or behavior issues will be paired with other students.

Planning Learning Experiences and Instruction

Sequence of Teaching and Learning Experiences Many of these experiences come from www.space-explorers.com	Timeline
Overview: This lesson introduces students to the planet Mars. Students will learn general information about Mars and compare the Red planet to Earth in order to answer the question: “What do you know about Mars?” Students will create their Mars Journal Page in their school blog and record and reflect on learning throughout the unit. Technology: Mars Funzone/LCD projector/Internet http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/planets.html	2 class periods [1 class period = 45 minutes]
Overview: This lesson introduces students to the history of Mars exploration. Students will create a game and play it to learn about ground-based observations of, stories about, and missions to Mars. At the end of the game students will post what they learned about the history of Mars on their Mars blog. Technology: Mars Funzone/LCD projector/Internet http://www.exploringmars.com/history/ http://www.exploringmars.com/missions/	1-2 class periods
Overview: Mars is often called the Red Planet. This lesson instructs students to look at images online to explore what Mars looks like. The lesson also explains why much of the planet’s surface is red. Students will explain why Mars is red on their Mars Journal blog page. Technology: Internet access per student http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/Mars/Pics/sm97.jpg http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/Mars/Pics/9927a.jpg http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/Mars/Pics/mars0609.jpg http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/parker/highres-stereo.html	1 computer lab period
Overview: This lesson gives students a closer look at the surface of Mars. Students will learn that the gravitational pull on Mars is weaker than on Earth. They will study an online, clickable map and design a travel brochure to a special place on Mars. These activities will help answer the question: "What is the surface of Mars like?" on their Mars Journal blog page. Technology: Internet access per student Find your weight on Mars at: http://www.spacekids.com/playanddo/ppounds/index.htm Clickable Map of Mars http://www.space-explorers.com/internal/mss/lessons/module2/marsmap/	1 computer lab period and 1 class period
Overview: Students will do an activity that shows how flowing water can form channels on the surface of a planet. They will learn about some typical features that flowing water creates and use their knowledge to consider whether water once flowed on the surface of Mars. Students will reflect on their experience in their Mars Journal blog page. Technology: Mars Funzone/LCD projector/Internet Images of channels on Mars: http://barsoom.msss.com/http/ps/channels/channels.html	1 class period
Overview: This lesson introduces students to rockets. Students will learn the stages of a rocket launch as well as the physical science concepts behind how rockets work. Students will explain how rockets fly in their Mars Journal blog page. http://www.spaceexplorers.com/internal/mss/lessons/module2/launch.mov http://www.spaceexplorers.com/internal/mss/teachers/lessons/module2/balloon_staging.pdf	1-2 class periods
Overview: Students know that Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and that it is far away from Earth. In this lesson students will demonstrate the orbital paths of Earth and Mars using classroom materials. They will understand that NASA teams must know these orbital paths before launching spacecraft to Mars. Students will also see the trajectory of Mars Odyssey. http://www.space-explorers.com/internal/mss/lessons/module2/year.html http://www.spaceexplorers.com/internal/mss/lessons/module2/mgstraj.html	1 class period
Overview: This lesson introduces students to the Mars Odyssey mission. Students will visit an online diagram of Odyssey and then build their own model to learn about the different instruments of the spacecraft. This will help them determine the goals of the mission. Students will explain what the purpose of the Odyssey mission were in their Mars Journal blog page. Technology: Internet access per student http://www.space-explorers.com/internal/mss/lessons/module2/odyssey_parts.html http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/kids/pdfs/M01_AeroBoxColor.pdf http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/kids/pdfs/M01_AeroBox.pdf	1 class period
Culminating task: Students will now work in teams to design and create a computer draft, and a scale model of a working colony on Mars. Each colony must include: A food storage building, equipment building, greenhouse, first aid building, sleeping quarters, laboratory, nuclear reactor, control room, and exercise room. Technology: Mars Funzone/LCD projector/Internet http://www.brainpop.com/science/space/mars/ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/	4-5 class periods

These are the labels which correspond to the required structures in the colony

Control Room	First Aid	Greenhouse
Food Storage	Sleeping room	Nuclear Reactor
Lab	Equipment Room	Exercise Room

Author Reflections

Why is this a good unit?

Units that provide students with opportunities to construct or create a product to show understanding of the unit goals can dramatically influence student excitement and retention of the learning goals. This unit asks students to reflect on their experiences in a Web 2.0 technology. Students create a blog, using the school district's blog server, and make a Mars Journal blog page for reflections on each lesson as the unit progresses. Units of excellence emphasize a standards-based approach. Units incorporating lessons which support a culminating task are effective. Units supported by prior learning, whose lessons follow a logical framework answering unit questions throughout the learning are successful. I believe this unit of learning about Mars exploration and colonization is one of those units. It will be fun, engaging, and memorable for all who participate.

Project Based Learning Morse/Fagan Page 9 of 9