TechQuest CEP 810

Created by: Jean-Claude Aura Date: April 2009 Page 1

Description

A. The Need

Here’s a story that will send a chill down your spine. When I was at university, we had to build electric

circuits in the lab. One warning our lab assistant had given us was to make sure the capacitor was

connected properly since it was a polarized device and would explode otherwise. My lab peer didn’t

take the matter seriously enough and plugged the capacitor inversely ‘to get a good laugh at what would

happen’. I can tell you we did everything but laugh when the capacitor blew up sending shrapnels

everywhere; and shrapnels I would call them because the capacitor was big enough to have the effect of

a small bullet. My friend, well, he got slashes all over his face, which could have resluted in the loss of

one eye or both.

The reason I am telling you this story is because there are times when students are completely oblivious

to the dangers they are exposed to in the electric, physics or chemistry lab. And the incident at the

university was not as serious as the one I had witnessed earlier in high school when a student in my

class was about to accidentally mix the wrong proportions of oxygen and hydrogen in order to get

water, an assignment our teacher had given us. I still remember the teacher literally jumping at my

friend and snatching the beaker away from him. After a while, the teacher made a tiny demonstration

with extremely small doses of oxygen and hydrogen that resulted in a loud ‘boum’, simply to show us

how close we had been to real danger.

After these two incidents, and another that I read somewhere about a student who got intoxicated by

smelling a toxic substance in the lab, I kept trying to figure out ways to keep students motivated in

experimenting in a safe environment. Thanks to the online experiences that I took in CEP 811, I can think

of an excellent way to use Online Simulations. And I quote: ” (These) are a web-based recreation of an

authentic experience.” What I have in mind is using online simulations to teach students lab

experiments that could endanger their lives when mishandled. I have no intention of substituting lab

experiments with online simulations. Rather, I would use online simulations to demonstrate to students

the consequences of underestimating the dangers of lab experiments. After they have built an

awareness of those risks, they could go back to experimenting safely in the lab.

Another reason I thought of online simulations is because teachers don’t always have access to the lab.

So an online simulation would be a nice way to prepare students for what’s awaiting them in the lab.

TechQuest CEP 810

Created by: Jean-Claude Aura Date: April 2009 Page 2

B. The Plan

With online simulations, students are safe. They watch experiments while the teacher explains the

process. Better, the teacher can show students mishandled experiments without exposing them to

danger. These online simulations could be real but unfortunate incidents that happened to students

experimenting in a lab, or they could be computer programmed. In either case, students will be learning

in a safe environment how to avoid deadly mistakes in the lab.

My plan only requires the necessary online simulation, which is by no means expensive (or at least that’s

what I will try to find out in this project). I will try to find online resources that contain simulations about

lab experiments. If I find none, then I will probably make my own simulations using guinea pigs:-) Come

to think of it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. I could have experts volunteer to record harmful experiments for

the sake of drawing students’ attention to the effects of mishandled experiments.

C. Relevant Research

Relevant Sites

1. http://www.virtlab.com/index.aspx:That’s a nice site that invites students to join a virtual lab where

they can experiment safely with acids.

2. http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/: This site provides an array of simulated experiments in

maths, Physics, Chemistry, electricity, etc.

3. http://phet.colorado.edu/get_phet/simlauncher.php: Great site for all sorts of experiments.

4. http://phet.colorado.edu/teacher_ideas/browse.php: Here, you can find a wealth of contributions

made by online simulation advocates.

5. http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/subjects/science/simulations.htm: A set of interesting simulations

that help students interact with material basically they can’t have hands-on experience with.

Relevant Reports

1. http://k12wiki.wikispaces.com/Simulated+Laboratory+Resources+for+K-12+science: This site

discusses Simulated Experiments vs. Hands-on Experiments.

2. http://www.stormingmedia.us/72/7260/A726044.html: A site that clearly justifies the need for and

benefits of online simulations.

3. http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/software/simulations/: Read the top section. It clearly shows why

online science simulations are necessary.

4. http://highered.blogspot.com/2009/02/alternatives-to-lecturing.html: This site discusses

alternatives to traditional lecturing and suggests vodcasts, but the last part highlights the benefits of

simulations.

TechQuest CEP 810

Created by: Jean-Claude Aura Date: April 2009 Page 3

D. Connection to the four common places

1. The Teacher

The teacher will have 2 roles: With the online simualation, he/she can provide straight forward

instruction by playing the simulation and explaining the experiment while highlighting the risks involved.

He/She can also play the role of the guide on the side and have students deduce the risks involved. As

for the real lab experiment, the teacher will have to be extremely vigilent as to how the students

conduct the experiment.

2. The Learner

The learners are none but students with a certain sense of maturity and knowledge of how to navigate

the web in order to play the online simulation.

3. The Subject Matter (Content)

The content could be related to physics, chemistry, electronics, or any other field that exposes students

to danger when working in the lab.

4. The Context

Depending on the subject matter at hand, the teacher will explain to the students the need for online

simulations and the implications behind them. The students wil be aware that these online simulations

will prepare them for real lab experiments.

Note: Although I am an English language teacher, I can always make use of these online science

simulations. I can ask students to watch a simulation and describe the risks involved, the way it’s

conducted, summarize its benefits, and much more.

Appropriateness: This project is not intended for funding because existing online simulations are

quasifree, and making online simulations necessitates a video camera and a couple of volunteers. This

project is basically for fellow educators, especially lab and workshop technicians and engineers. The

project aims to convince fellow teachers by:

1. Showing them the need for online simulations (safety, opportunity to learn from trial and error …)

2. Showing them how simple and affordable they are (free of charge, easily accessible, easy to make …)

3. Showing them the pedagogical impact on students (assuming responsibility, bigger audience …)

TechQuest CEP 810

Created by: Jean-Claude Aura Date: April 2009 Page 4

Implementation

Transcript 1 Transcript 2

Project-Implementation1 Project-Implementation2

Samples of online science simulations: The following videos are online simulations involving students.

1. Salts & Solubility: sims.php?sim=Salts_and_Solubility

2. Radio Waves & Electromagnetism:

http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Radio_Waves_and_Electromagnetic_Fields

TechQuest CEP 810

Created by: Jean-Claude Aura Date: April 2009 Page 5

3. Parachute Man Simulation: http://puzzling.caret.cam.ac.uk/game.php?game=parachute

4. Reduction-Oxidation Reactions: http://www.teachers.tv/video/110

Evaluation

My TechQuest on Online Science Simulations turned out better than expected, at least in comparison

with the plan I had in mind when I first got started. I thought I was delving into a far-fetched subject, and

that there was no point in carrying on as I wouldn’t come across many people with safety issues with lab

experiments. I couldn’t have been further from reality. A couple of tips for those out there willing to

take on a similar quest:

TechQuest CEP 810

Created by: Jean-Claude Aura Date: April 2009 Page 6

1. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POTENTIAL OF TECHNOLOGY. Used properly, it can take you places

nowhere thought of with traditional methods. Students can:

Go to places so far away that it would be realistically impossible to get there.

Manipulate items that would otherwise be dangerous for rookies in real life.

Experiment while making intentional mistakes with the purpose of learning more and faster.

2. ALWAYS INVOLVE STUDENTS. I wasn’t planning on filming my students in the lab; but when my

professor suggested I should, I gave it a try and bingo! My students’ enthusiasm brought about a

level of seriousness needed for other students to really grasp the message behind the simulation.

3. TAKE FEEDBACK SERIOUSLY. When people comment on your design, they’re usually honest about it,

or else why would they bother. Sometimes, people on the outside see things from a different

perspective, or at least have a different angle on things. There’s no harm in trying out others’

suggestions.

4. BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU DO. Yes, it does matter how you undertake your quest. Your state of mind can

have a dramatic effect on the final outcome. Your students would always sense your attitude.

If I were to redo the TechQuest, I would attempt the following:

1. Make a better vodcast of the simulation so both the picture and sound be clear.

2. Involve more students in the simulation vodcast.

3. Make a podcast/vodcast with the students’ feedback on the simulation.

4. Distribute a survey to the teachers for their opinion of and suggestions for bettering both the use

and making of online simulations. This would help me assess the success of my project. You can find

the survey at the baddress below:

Survey on Online Simulations

My next TechQuest would probably be on E-porfolios and their impact on education. I would have

students create their own portfolios (after initiating them of course) and ask them to prepare a list of all

the educational benefits E-portfolios bring along that they can think about. I will also have them suggest

the content of the E-portfolio and the rationale they used for their decision making. This way, they will

have personally contributed to a piece of work that concerns them more than anyone else. Maybe later

on, they can make a podcast or videocast and publish it at school for others to learn from.