Our project is complete and has been shown to almost the entire student body. The video below captures some of the process and presentations from the last 2 weeks. Enjoy!
* There are additional videos embedded below to help paint a picture of what a project like this looks like in a 1st and 3rd grade setting...
Day 10 - Experiment and Video
Today marked the final step towards our gallery walk for the student body next week. Despite the windy conditions outside, we were surprisingly fortunate that our volcano experiments went off without a hitch. The one area to consider if conducting this experiment again would be to use a higher quality aluminum foil since the thinner stuff tends to tear easily. Other than that, the kids were thrilled with the eruptions and did a tremendous job of capturing the action on video with the iPads. And then, after clean-up, we headed inside to import the video into the Keynote presentations.
"iPad Tip of the Day"
Since the camera quality of the iPad 2 tends to be lacking, prior to recording it's always a good idea to test out the best angle and distance so you're left with a satisfying capture. In the case of an outdoor shoot, this can be especially important so remember that better preparation tends to yield better results.
And speaking of video, we used the camera function that comes standard on the iPad 2. We could have filmed through iMovie but decided that to save time, the end product would be just as effective using a more basic application. After all, iMovie on an iPad is much more limited in features than one would expect so if you can go without fading in/out, keep it simple...
Days 8/9 - Keynote Presentation
Since this is the first foray into Keynote for our 1st graders, the 3rd grade students laid the groundwork prior to our collaborative time by constructing the framework of the presentation. We distinguished our priorities in two ways: content and "bells and whistles". During our morning briefing, we discussed how to "be ready" for our research partners in the afternoon and ways to manage their engagement throughout a somewhat abstract session. Some of the strategies shared were the following:
- Take turns typing
- Break up the task - type, select and import graphics, play with fonts/colors, explore animations...
- "After ____, we'll do what you choose..."
As for the organization of the Keynote, we began with the organizer headings while allowing for complete autonomy for how many slides were necessary to communicate their research findings.
"iPad Tip of the Day"
How can you find apps quickly on your device without wasting time hunting through pages of options - try the Spotlight Search. Here's how you do it...
1. Swipe your screen all the way to the right OR hit the home button once.
2. In the box at the top of your screen, type what you are looking for.
3. Select your app and go!
Days 6/7 - Travel Brochure
The brochure creation has proven to be our most explicit piece of differentiation yet. For instance, the 1st graders worked a bit more in their comfort zone with crayons, illustrations, and captions while affording the 3rd graders an opportunity to make connections between their research findings and background knowledge. An example of this critical thinking was determining what type of volcano they featured in the brochure without being explicitly told whether theirs was a shield, cinder cone, or a composite volcano. This required the research teams to revisit their findings from day 3 and apply it to the photos and descriptions of the brochure volcano.
"iPad Tip of the Day"
As with any touchscreen technology, the inevitable frustration of trying to select something in particular only to have your finger select anything but the item you want can be averted. Here's what you need to do...
1. Hold your finger on the screen until the magnifier appears.
2. Using slight movements, adjust the cursor to the exact location you desire.
3. Let go or select from the pop-up menu above.
Day 5 - Plate Tectonics
Who doesn't love a world map and puzzles? Now imagine the delight when we put the two together today... That's right - after exploring the 3 main types of plate boundaries, each group assembled a world map using pieces that represented each of the plates scientist believe the Earth's crust is made up of. Some groups were able to begin the third task of labeling 6 different volcanoes from around the world on their map to help drive the correlation between volcano formation and plate boundaries. Time will tell...
"iPad Tip of the Day"
Multitask bar again (hence the name, I suppose...). This time swipe with your finger to the right. You'll reveal the audio controls and an orientation icon. This icon will lock/unlock your screen so that you can eliminate any needless rotation of the image from portrait to landscape. Choose your orientation and lock it in.
Day 4 - How Do Volcano Eruptions Occur?
Today's task was the first opportunity to actually build upon what we've learned so far as we focused on how volcanoes erupt. For instance, most of the terminology the students encountered over the last two days developed a keener purpose today since they needed to apply their understanding to a more complex task. Each group used their resources to define 7 specific words that worked in concert with a cross-section of a typical volcano. And like any type of research, there are times where things come easier than others. Today exemplified this... the journey truly is the destination.
"iPad Tip of the Day"
This generation is made to multitask so why not embrace this with our technology. Did you know that by double tapping the home button, you open the multitasking bar along the bottom? From here, you can toggle between multiple apps without losing your place or closing anything down. It's reliable, intuitive, and most of all, purposeful when managing various resources given the limitless possibilities of tablet technology.
Day 3 - Types of Volcanoes
Based on feedback from our daily debrief, we made a change to the graphic organizer for "types of volcanoes". This morning, as the 3rd graders discussed and evaluated the information recorded on day 2, we found that the heading of "description" was too broad. So, we teased out the three main areas and created an entirely new organizer (which can be found on the "types of volcanoes" tab and under the "graphic organizers" section). In short, we focused on the following areas: dimensions, composition, and physical features. And after 45 minutes of partner research, everyone felt the day ran much more efficiently...
We should be heading into volcanic eruptions tomorrow. Stay tuned...
"iPad Tip of the Day"
Many websites will offer a "reader" button next to the web address. If so, click it and you'll find everything disappears but the text and images you're looking for. Gone are the various distractors like advertisements and other links. You can even increase the font size, too.
Day 2 - Types of Volcanoes
The research has begun! After research partner introductions, the task of the day was to compare the 3 main types of volcanoes: shield, cinder cone, and composite (stratovolcano). Since this was the first day of purposeful research, we learned a couple of things about this process:
- Research is about persistence. While exploring new content, it's typical to encounter unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts. If you knew it already - could it really be research? It's supposed to require some problem solving, persistence, and questioning. Don't give up!
- When it doubt - write it down. When beginning a research project, the number and variety of resources can be overwhelming. And when people feel overwhelmed, the difficult thing to do is determine what to record on your organizer. Students who have the easiest time with research record information first and make decisions on what to use later. This doesn't mean you should copy EVERYTHING down; rather, if your gut tells you a detail might be relevant and important to the subject, write it down. Now is the time to gather information...there's a time and place for revision and changes later.
"iPad Tip of the Day"
Select the search window at the top while on the internet. Now look down at the keyboard - do you see the "find on page" box? Enter a word you're looking for and you'll find a highlighted list of occurrences throughout the website content. This could help you find information quicker!
Day 1 - Meet and Greet
Today we kicked off the project by gathering the 1st and 3rd grade classes together for a brief introduction. While mirroring our iPad through Apple TV, we explored some of the basic navigational aspects of the volcano folder prior to pairing students together for about 20 minutes of exploration. We had a few outcomes in mind for our first day...
- Determine if there are any glitches in our website or in any of the iPad resources (videos, podcasts, apps, iTunes U...).
- Develop some familiarity with not just the resources but also with each other since this was our first meeting.
- Clarify how to manage the collaborative dynamics that will arise during the process. For example, engage an introverted type by establishing an alternating pattern of who selects the next resource to explore. Or, coach a partner away from a resource after spending a lot of time already by imposing a time limit..."alright, in one more minute we're going to choose a different resource".
"iPad Tip of the Day"
Not sure the meaning of a word...hold your finger on it, release it, and choose the "define" option. A definition will pop-up.
