Digital educational revolution action project
Next year our school is planning to create a cross-curricular technology-enhanced assessment task across year 9 geography, science and mathematics. Students will go on a fortnightly field excursion to a local pond and measure and record elements of the local environment. In groups of approximately four, students will present geographical information about the local environment using a range of written, oral and graphic forms. More specifically, students will collect data from the ponds in the Rockdale wetlands (e.g. Bicentennial Park in President Ave Kogarah) and create a hypothesis regarding why the ponds are covered in algae (or similar open-ended question). Students will research how the wetlands are used by the community and create a case study analysis which may comprise photographs, statistics/graphs and an animation of algae formation. In the collection of data, students may measure:
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populations of pond life organisms e.g. birds/tadpoles/microscopic
oxygen levels
ph and temperature levels
turbidity levels
size of the pond etc
The students will use measuring apparatuses and data-loggers from school as well as a measuring kit from streamwatch. They will also gather information (perhaps through a guest speaker) from the Rockdale Wetlands Preservation Society. Students will formulate their own questions in relation to the pond area, such as whether the algae formed due to human intervention or a more open-ended question, approved by the teachers. We are considering use of a blog as well. Should be a really great project!!!
Image from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YGN3l86nWKw/TI1x-hSQ9WI/AAAAAAAAFmg/RoT–SIi5as/s1600/Rockdale+ponds+2.JPG
