Ditch That Mindset II
In the book, there is a QR code (page 114), that leads to an article called “11 Class Activities With Sensors You Didn’t Know Your Phone Had”. Choose at least one of these ideas to implement with your class. Once you’ve implemented it, share your experience.
If you have a Twitter account, please post photos or student work samples. Tag @l_keleher @lindsey.brewer and #transformyourclassroom
These tools were very interesting to hear about. Although I don't feel like I could incorporate most of them into my standards, the "How cold is it?" app could be utilized next semester when we learn about negative numbers. Students could compare temperatures and find the difference between temperatures.
ReplyDeleteOne of the technologies/sensors I plan to use is the light sensor. The sensor that measures the strength of light. This spring, my class will work on a water filtration system and determine which material or materials are best at creating clean looking water. This light sensor could really help to determine the water clarity by seeing how much light passes through each group's filtered sample.
ReplyDeleteHow Cold Is It? I would like to implement this in my first grade classroom. Students would find it very interesting to see how temperature is different in other states or beyond.
ReplyDeleteAs an ECSE teacher, I implemented the sound meter activity, “Can you hear me now?” using our phones. I had students make different sounds using their voices, instruments, or objects, and we measured the intensity with the sound meter. We compared what sounded “loud” or “soft” to the actual measurements on the meter. This activity helped students begin to understand differences in sound and made abstract concepts like volume more concrete. It was engaging, hands-on, and sparked lots of excitement and discussion in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I would ever specifically use any of these tools directly correlating to one of my computer lessons. However, I can see myself teaching my students about each of these features on their cell phones so they could use them later if they needed. I think too often young people see their phones as a type of social media device or a gaming console. Cell phones, if used properly, can be tools that help us to make our lives easier and daily life more convenient.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun list of tools to use with students! I would use the barometer app and the ambient temperature with our daily weather check during calendar time. This is a great way to bring science technology to littles. Also, a fun little centripetal acceleration lesson with some spinning sounds like a lasting memory and even more science vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteOne of the ideas that I decided to implement last year in my history class was using students’ phone accelerometers to track movement during a simulation activity. I got the idea from a workshop which is quite similar to the method described in the article. I organized a classroom simulation of historical migration patterns, where each group represented a different population moving across a map of Europe during the early 20th century. Students used their phones to track how far they “moved” across the room, recording steps and movement data with a simple accelerometer app.
ReplyDeleteThis activity allowed students to physically engage with historical content, rather than just reading or listening to lectures. After the simulation, students analyzed their movement data to discuss the challenges people faced, the distances traveled, and the real-life obstacles involved in migration. It brought numbers, physical experience, and historical context together in a way that traditional worksheets could not.
Once implemented, I noticed a significant increase in student engagement. Students who are usually quiet in class became highly involved because they were moving, collaborating, and collecting real data. It also sparked deeper discussion about historical hardships, distances, and logistics, helping them internalize the realities of historical events.
As noted, I tried this method last year with their phones, but we now our school district requires students check their phones in everyday, so I could not use the phone apps anymore. Therefore, I sort of gave up on the method, but upon recently reading the book, I had them use their computers and had them carry those around. Although not quite as convenient, I still had really great results.
I did not know my phone could do all these things. Although many of these things are out of my 2nd grade classroom's league. I do like the temperature app. We do the temperature every day when we do the calendar, so we could use it then.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, there is a QR code (page 114), that leads to an article called “11 Class Activities With Sensors You Didn’t Know Your Phone Had”. Choose at least one of these ideas to implement with your class.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I would need to partner with a middle school science teacher to implement one of the ideas in my Careers classroom. An idea that I came up with is using a noise meter to measure and record noise with a phone microphone. While covering sound in science, the students would do this activity/science lab and then research how sound connects to careers, such as audiologists and audio engineers. This activity is would be pretty easy to do and would show students how their phones can do things they never knew they could do.
Students benefit from knowing their phone can be used educationally. Many times the use them recreationally. However, this article shows us if guidance, we can show students appropriate and educational ways to use their phones.
If I were a science teacher in a school where phones could be used, this blog would have me jumping! As a curious lifelong learner, I am excited to try some of these things as well as build upon some that I have already dabbled with (like the light adjustments within the camera.
ReplyDeleteAs an LA teacher working through a novel about a fictional collage artist (Piecing Me Together - great novel), I could see us working with the camera app to generate photos that could then be used in a collage just like our protagonist. This would possibly benefit my students by being able to get a wide variety of photos in many settings, at all times of day.
I will share this feature with my students, although 1) some do not have cell phones yet and 2) we have a very strict Phones Away for the Day policy. Even our science teachers who used to allow phones for one unit have moved away from that practice, using solely their school-provided ipads. Still there are some cool features, and again the lifelong learner (and promoter of learning in all capacities) thinks this is a cool blog full of neat ideas.