iPads for Collective Knowledge Construction in Science

Why go mobile?

• Engagement• Connection with environment• Students have the tools• Great outdoor learning opportunities• Extend camps and excursions• Science is fun!

Flora and Fauna apps

Atlas of Living Australia

Museum Victoria’s “Field Guide to Victorian Fauna”

Zoo’s Victoria “Act Wild”

Ecolinc Field Guide to the VVP

Voice recorder

• For reluctant writers• Students who have difficulty with literacy• Record predictions, observations and

explanations• Not necessarily assessing literacy but

understanding of science concepts

Communication with Images• Find creative commons images on “Flickr” ,“Getty

Images” or search http://creativecommons.org

• Take a screen shot and then crop the image with “Crop Suey”.

• Annotate the image with “Etch Lite” eg. Experimental equipment

• Draw diagrams with “Draw Free” or “Doodle Buddy” eg. Water Cycle

• Images can be sent by email to the teacher or to a “Posterous” blog.

Evaluate Understanding

• Students can create their own images and videos using pictures stored in the device or Creative Commons images clipped from the internet.

• They can annotate photographs or other images from the Photo Album.

• Draw your own Water Cycle or diagram of experimental equipment and save it, email it or post it to a “Posterous” class blog.

• Students can use “Draw Free” to create diagrams to insert in digital stories or email their drawing to you as an ‘exit slip’ •“What did you learn today about photosynthesis?” • “Draw a labelled diagram of how you will set up the equipment tomorrow.”

Communication

• Use “Strip Designer” or “Comic Touch” to annotate images and create comics.

• “My Life as a Carbon Atom”

• “Journey down the Digestive System”

• “How Rocks are Formed”

Skitch for annotating images

• Use an image from the camera roll or creative commons image from the internet

• Annotate to label parts or explain processes

Explain Everything and Show Me

• Create short, sharp screencasts to explain a concept using images, annotations, text and audio

iCard Sort for Matching

• Match key terms and definitions• Classify and group• Body systems• Rock Types

Thinglink – a digital bucket

• Create a dynamic, interactive image with links to various videos, web pages and other digital content.

• Use as a way of checking student references for projects.

Explaining Biology

• Virtual dissections are possible with the iPad, for students who are squeamish, if you cannot obtain specimens or for practise prior to the real thing.

Explaining Cells

• iCell has annotated diagrams of plant, animal and bacterial cells (iPod only)

• 3D CellStain allows users to selectively stain different organelles.

• Vcell has animations about photosynthesis and the electron transport chain.

Exploring with QR codes

• Use a mobile phone or iPad with a camera to scan a “quick response” code, which is similar to a bar code.

• It allows almost instant print to mobile to web messaging, with the code directing the user to a website.

• Information, such as names, addresses, phone numbers and URL’s, are stored in the code, which can hold up to 7,000 digits.

• There are web and mobile apps which generate QR codes, so students can create their own codes.

QR codes

• Use the qrstuff website to create your own codes

• Link to student-created content and scan to share

QR codes to learn chemistry

Evaluate Understanding

• Students can create their own digital stories using text, images and audio.

• “Reel Director” is a movie making app using your own videos or images from the Photo Album and allows you to add your own audio, including music from iTunes.

• “Show Me” allows you to create ‘Khan-style’ video clips using drawing and audio recording.

Communicating and Collaborating• Puppet Pals• Comic Life• Strip Designer• Toontastic• StoryMaker• StoryKit• All apps for creating digital

stories.

Learning Collectively - PBL

• Sonic Pics• Evernote• iMovie• Show Me• Popplet• FlipIt

Citizen Science

• Project Noah• Collect badges for different

challenges• Images are shared to build a

data base of flora and fauna