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Website
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Website
Evaluation Form Title:
Virtual Courseware: Earthquake Producer: Geology
Labs On-Line Internet
Address: http://www.sciencecourseware.org/eec/Earthquake/
Grade
Level: 9-12+ Subject
Area: Earth Science Reviewed by:
Robert Gates Website
Description: “Virtual Courseware: Earthquake” has
an authentic quality that allows students to develop the skills used by
geologists, seismologists, and volcanologists around the world. With Plate Tectonic Theory being part of every
school district’s Earth Science curriculum, this software has a broad
appeal. This website provides a
comprehensive tool/lesson using demonstrations, tutorials, and online
assessments that place students into problem based learning environment. Students learn and practice how to read,
interpret, and analyze seismograms to locate an earthquake’s epicenter and
then calculate its magnitude. They do
this by pre-positioning a series of virtual seismic stations, then triggering
their own earthquake. They then use
the data collected to do their analysis.
Accuracy
of Content:
The resources provided for the student and teacher at this website are
detailed and authentic. The seismic
data explores S-P lag times, P-wave amplitudes, and Nomograms to determine
Earthquake epicenters and magnitudes.
The site also provides an excellent connection to your mapping unit,
with students needing to plot both longitude and latitude in several settings
down to the minute. Technical Quality: The website’s homepage design has a tool
bar at the right, which links the user to the demonstrations, tutorials and
main activities. The homepage also
contains an Earthquake damage photo slide show with captions for the
students. Over the past several years,
the site has added a link to take ESL students to the “En Español” version of
the site. Teachers may find the site’s
teacher resource link an issue, since it is also accessible to the students.
Also, if you like your graphics to grab you, this site is not for you. The color choices and links are uninspiring
at best and at times boring the end-user to tears. The visual aids and links are not always
intuitive, requiring the user to read the descriptions. Enhancements to the sound library and the
graphics/animation would clearly improve student engagement on the site. An issue that plagues students trying to
use the site is the school’s pop-up blocker.
The site downloads may require the students to temporarily suspend the
blocker to access some of the resources.
The site also has a solid system requirements page; it provides the
means to test your local systems compatibility with the “Virtual Courseware”
resources. The designers even provide
a list of possible error issues and solutions; yeah!!!
Use
of Technology:
This site though not visually appealing, provides a topnotch, highly
sophisticated learning tool. Access to
a computer lab is a must, and each terminal should be tested to make sure no
technical issues are present. Students
can repeat tutorial activities that contain multiple scenarios, which provide
real-time feedback on their performance.
The site could use links to other resources, such as Volcano World,
the USGS real-time Earthquake data, etc.
This would allow the students to make connections to the whole
spectrum of tectonics. Role
of Students: This website places the students in
control of their own learning. They
move through the demonstrations and tutorials acquiring the knowledge and
skills that seismologists around the world use, receiving feedback from the
website as they go. As the students
practice and learn, the teacher can move about the computer lab providing
support and performing informal assessments.
Once a student finishes the lesson, the website provides an online
assessment tool, which can be accessed with or without the class code. The
student logs-in using a class code provided by the teacher and take the
test. This assessment is application
based and upon successful completion, the student’s grade is stored for the
teacher. Those that complete the
assessment successfully also get to print out a certificate. Role
of Teacher:
The website’s problem solving component has the classroom teacher
acting as a facilitator. As a teacher,
you will have time to move around the room, helping students who may be
struggling. I have found that an
introduction lesson to the website and materials to be helpful. The site provides a comprehensive teacher
resource area that provides access to demonstration and a series of
instructional documents in a PDF format.
The item that is most interesting for the teacher is the online
account you can setup in advance for your classes. The initial set-up requires only a minute
or two, since the students are responsible for inputting their own demographic
information. This account allows you
to track your students’ assessment results, reducing the need for a
traditional pen and paper assessment.
Classroom
Usage: Virtual
Earthquake can pose a time issue for some students and classroom
settings. I have found that a
two-to-three day lesson is beneficial, and will vary based on the academic
strength of your students. It is best
to schedule the demonstrations and tutorials for one day, and the assessment
another. The software allows students
to save their work and access it on another day. The tutorials provide instant, running
feedback so the students can track their own progress. The certificate they receive for successfully
completing the course does a good job of reinforcing their efforts. Critical
Summary: Without an
introduction lesson, this website may cause confusion for some learners. The lack of cutting edge graphics do not
detract from the high level content and the student centered problem-based
learning environment; however, 21st Century students may not
engage immediately. Local system
compatibility should be thoroughly checked before taking your students to the
computer lab. If your district has
Spanish ESL students, the site’s Spanish page has all the same
resources. Without a doubt, the
instant feedback, online assessment and scoring systems make this site both
student and teacher friendly. Overall
Rating: I believe this sites rating should be an 8 out of
10 Explanation
of Rating: Even with its difficulties, this
website provides a high-level problem-based technical learning
environment. Teacher prep is a key to
the success of this website, but it is worth it. The ability to interact with students that
need help and to act as a facilitator, instead of the giver of knowledge, is
refreshing. Students acquire high
level skills and demonstrate them in a problem solving environment. If the developers of the site were to
provide links to other resources, along with state of the art graphics, this
site would clearly be a 10!!! |
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Plan Shack Rattle and Roll: Plate Tectonics |
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