Materials+&+Technology+Tools

The Materials and Technology Tools You will Need
Promethean boards: Promethean boards are located in all classrooms throughout the school as well as the computer lab and the library. A board will be used during the AGOPPE lesson to model for students and for directing them in the research process. Particularly when introducing students a new database, showing them the actual step-by-step process of how a user navigates and searches can be very helpful, so having the big screen in front of the classroom is a good way to model usage for the entire class without having to repeat the process for each student at each computer.

Computers: Four desktop computers are located in each classroom, and there are 27 brand new computers located in the computer lab. Students will use these computers to access databases, the pathfinder for their research, citation information, as well as glogster. Students will use the classroom computers and computer lab computers to complete their projects.

Library Books: There will be a cart in the library with books on the solar system that students can check out for their projects. A link to the public library catalog is also provided on the project pathfinder.

Britannica Online and PebbleGo Science Databases: Students will be encouraged to use these databases during school to research their planets. Because the school only recently started subscribing to databases, it is important to continually re-introduce these resources to the students. This is a good project to utilize for that reintroduction because science is a field that changes rapidly, and as a result it can be hard to maintain an updated print collection of science resources. As students get older, they will likely do an increasing amount of their science research digitally, so we should start introducing them to those tools now.

AGOPPE Astronomy Pathfinder: Students will have access to a pathfinder that provides them with information on their project and that guides them through the AGOPPE research model. Each section within the pathfinder represents a different step in the model and provides resources relevant to that step. Relevant databases, websites, and e-book links are provided through Diigo. An RSS feed, video, and keywords are provided, as well as an example project, rubric, and final survey. A link to Glogster, which students may use to help them organize their information for their project, is also available through the pathfinder. Through the pathfinder students have a more centralized way of locating reliable resources, and it is assured that they will not attempt to use any sites that are blocked at ATA. The design of the pathfinder also allows students to get a better grasp of each step they must take to complete their research and their project.

[|__http://www.wix.com/samowijs/astronomy-pathfinder__]

Glogster: Glogster is a web-based tool for users to create digital posters. Students can create Glogs to organize their research questions, answers, and other gathered information and resources, including links and citations. Students will be shown how to use Glogster to organize information for their final brochure.