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Discover Denali Lesson Plans
Lesson #3 - Handhelds and Science
 Alaska Standards
Technology
A student should be able to use technology to explore ideas, solve problems, and derive meaning.
A student who meets the content standard should:
1. use technology to observe, analyze, interpret, and draw conclusions;
2. solve problems both individually and with others; and
3. create new knowledge by evaluating, combining, or extending information using multiple technologies.
Science Standards
A student should possess and understand the skills of scientific inquiry.
A student who meets the content standard should:
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use the processes of science; these processes include observing, classifying, measuring, interpreting data, inferring, communicating, controlling variables, developing models and theories, hypothesizing, predicting, and experimenting; |
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design and conduct scientific investigations using appropriate instruments; |
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understand that scientific inquiry often involves different ways of thinking, curiosity, and the exploration of multiple paths; |
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understand that personal integrity, skepticism, openness to new ideas, creativity, collaborative effort, and logical reasoning are all aspects of scientific inquiry; |
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employ ethical standards, including unbiased data collection and factual reporting of results; and |
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employ strict adherence to safety procedures in conducting scientific investigations. |
Lesson Introduction -
How to document and map your environment. This unit focuses on field-based research tools. Students will be asked to think about:
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handheld computers |
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mapping an environment |
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scientific inquiry |
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types of research methods used in the field |
This strand introduces basic skills on the handheld computer. Students will become familiar with the use of camera to describe the relationships among various components of their environment. Strand includes exploration of environmental conditions through data collection and display the concept of motion using animation on the handheld.
Topics include:
| Ecological Footprint Calculator |
Determines and displays their personal use of resources in graphical and textual form. |
| Built-in camera |
Take and beam photos of plants. Name and order images for a slide show. |
| PicoMap iKWL |
Concept mapping of what the students know and wonder about concerning their environment. |
| ImagiProbe |
Investigate the room for the hottest and coldest areas. Share results. |
| Sketchy Digital Plant and Animal Field Guide |
Sketch either Alaskan plant growth or Alaskan animal motion. |
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 Students may be asked to participate in some aspect of research in Denali Park involving science sampling or gathering of real time data from the field. Handheld computer and probeware provide excellent tools for teaching students the basis of field research and allowing them to see and document connections between small bits of information and ecological conditions.
In the case of the Science and Storytelling Camp, students worked with Denali's Fire Management Team to measure and assess conditions that contribute (positively and negatively) to fire ecology in Denali Park. Once these data snapshots are gathered students will be asked to sketch out this relationship in a small graphic movie that can become part of their own Movie about Denali National Park.
Collaborate
The following guide has been created for a list of places students can visit and explore using the handheld tools presented in class. This outline was developed by the Denali National Park Fire Management Team as part of the Denali Science and Storytelling Camp. It's a useful guide to organize class work around the area of fire succession for the area in and around the Park. Contact Ingrid Nixon, education coordinator at the Murie Science and Learning Center, for more information.
Fire Succession, Plot Methodology Study at Denali NP/P
Outline
Classroom/Staging Area - 1 hour
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Introduce students to biomes in Alaska |
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Boreal Forest - plant and animal identification |
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Boreal Forest Succession |
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Forces influencing succession stages |
Horse Shoe Lake area mature/over mature forest - 2 hours
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Brief discussion on the extent of the 1924 fire |
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Plot methodology |
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- three to four students will work on their own plot
- each student will have a data sheet to record data |
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Species identification |
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Other signs of mature stage i.e., mistletoe, old man's beard, spruce bark beetle, animal tracks |
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Discussion on mature stage of boreal forest |
Evening lecture - 1 hour
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Fire Triangle |
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Fire Behavior - ground, surface, crown |
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Fire Ecology - intensity vs. severity |
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Fire Effects - plants, animals |
Horse Shoe Lake Fire - 3 hours
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Details of the fire - size, time of year, ignition source, suppression action taken, location |
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Plot methodology |
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- three to four students will work on their own plot
- each student will have a data sheet to record data |
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Compare and contrast mature succession stage and herb succession stage forests based on plot information |
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Discussion on “low intensity burn” |
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Discussion about animal uses of area based on occurrence of plant species |
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Discussion on wildland fire management program at Denali, natural role of fire in this ecosystem |
Discussion on 2002 fire season in Alaska and lower 48, similarities and differences between AK and lower 48 fire management programs such as ignition sources, fires influence on the landscape, suppression vs. wildland fire use and fire being a constant force of change on landscapes.
Create -
Students are asked to gather new data about the environment using handheld computers and probeware. They will need to be both familiar and comfortable with the use of this equipment in the classroom, lab, and/or field. The data student gather will be input into the handheld computer using various probeware and software depending on the research goals and design. This data and its synthesis make up the “golden nuggets” that students will gather by themselves or (more likely) in concert with Park researchers.
Emphasize the connection between the data being gathered and the environmental issue being researched. Help the student understand the numbers tell a kind of puzzle or story and their job (the researcher) is to make sense of that story. We want to build a clear connection in the student's mind between the research issue and it's impact on Park management to the actually data being collected. From these small nuggets students will be able to understand the larger picture of the Park using handheld computers to process information in the field.
Communicate -
Students will gather and communicate their data in a variety of ways. First they will communicate it between the handheld and the software being used to gather the information. It should be properly stored on the handheld's storage card or beamed to another device. It could be uploaded to a computer and sent using the wireless cloud in real time back to the lab, classroom, or Science and Learning Center.
The real “communication” is the connections students make between the data and the environmental issue being researched. If the soil temperatures begin to tell a story about contributions to conditions that increase likelihood of fire, then the students begin to see the connectedness of the ecosystem. Handhelds then become a way for the environment to tell its story to the students, if they are ready and able to pick it up in the data.
 Students can then use the handhelds computers to synthesis the data into a spreadsheet, graph, moving graphic, or movie to tell others about what he/she discovered. There's a lot of good software to allow students and researchers communicate the results of their field work instantly with others. Students should know and be able to communicate their results quickly as part of using handheld computers in Denali Park.
Assessment
The assessment for handhelds is based on using the technology, measuring the teamwork, and considering the environmental work accomplished. The goal of the handheld lesson is to allow students to see and experience the power of real time data using powerful, handheld devices.
| Learning Outcome |
Developing
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Proficient
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Advanced
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| Technology Tools |
• Students participated but was not able to use any of the technology in their final video production |
• Student was able to use the camera, calculator, PicoMap and ImagiProb to share results with the other team members. |
• Student was able to help others use the camera, calculator, PicoMap and ImagiProb |
| Teamwork |
• Team members needed to be told directions more than once
• Team members worked in isolation |
• Each team member used good listening skills and followed directions
• Team members assisted one another whenever possible |
• Team members helped other teams if they finished early.
• Teams used a process for establishing and keeping roles/responsibilities |
| Environmental |
• Students collected data, but was unable to explain the relationships to environmental components |
• Student was able to share findings of relationships learned at Field Site between various components of the environment |
• Student was able to use findings of relationships learned at Field Site between various components of the environment in their video project. |
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Resources
(see Resources Button)
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Home Page
Discover Denali Lesson Plans:
• Lesson #1 -
Storyboarding
• Lesson #2 -
My Denali Movie
• Lesson #3 -
Handhelds
• Lesson #4 -
Maps & Storytelling
• Lesson #5 -
Wireless Worlds
Resources
Denali Science & Storytelling Camp |
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