Biology Curriculum Enhancement Using Digital Images and Audio
David M. Stone, University Laboratory High School, Urbana, IL
Current Curriculum and Classroom Practices
Arthropods are an excellent group of organisms to incorporate into the teaching of life sciences at virtually every level. In my Introductory Biology and Organismal Biology courses, I use insects to illustrate differences in physical structure, role and action of pollinators, competition and evolution. Each Fall, I teach a Field Biology course which uses arthropods as a paradigm group for the study of structural, ecological and biochemical variations in organisms. Through fieldwork, readings, discussion and outdoor lab activities, students gain firsthand experience with the variety of arthropods found in Illinois. Pitfall trapping and Berlese funnel extraction reveal a diversity of soil and leaf arthropods few students imagine prior to performing these activities. Once students develop some degree of familiarity with the morphology and ecology of numerous arthropod orders, they begin to make assumptions about development, behavior and ecological role of various species, often without realizing how much they have assimilated or realizing the complexity of the critical thinking skills they are developing. Aquatic collecting trips allow students to observe numerous adaptations found in pond, riffle and rapids insect populations, and make conclusions about the relative health of various bodies of water based on biological indicator species. The Field Biology class received national acknowledgment in 1992, becoming the first pre-college level program to receive the Entomological Society of America's designation as an Exemplary Program Using Insects in Education. Numerous past Field Biology students have received national acknowledgment for their arthropod-based activities, and at least eight have gone on to pursue graduate degrees in entomology.
In January, 1999, University of Illinois Beckman Center faculty asked me to join them in the development of Bugscope (http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu), a project which allows classrooms across the country the opportunity to examine arthropods using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) via the World Wide Web. Bugscope serves as an excellent opportunity for many in-class projects, dealing with entomology, microscopy, and basic principles of scientific research.
Currently, four of my students have been trained to run the $600,000 microscope. They prepare specimens and position them in the microscope's viewing chamber so that classes at other schools can operate the computer and observe directly from their school's computers, using a standard web browser. These Uni High students are in the process of writing a Web-based handbook to guide those remotely using the ESEM for the first time. By Fall, 1999, we hope to have the interface developed such that Uni High students will also be able to take part in online, real-time discussions with students in the participating classrooms. At this point, approximately 60 classrooms have signed up for single-hour, online microscopic examination of specimens they have collected and mailed to the BugScope staff in Illinois.
Background and Rationale for Requested Hardware Peripheral
I plan to broaden the activities within my Field Biology class to include culture, development and experiment activities utilizing WOWBugs (http://entomology.ent.uga.edu/wowbugs/index.html-ssi), a species of parasitic wasp that is easily cultured and harmless to people. In the classroom, WOWBugs reproduce successfully upon blowfly pupae, which are commercially available through biological supply companies. A number of WOWBug-related activity and resource books, videotapes and slide sets are commercially available. I would like to have my students perform some of these activities, modifying and videotaping those activities determined to be most suitable for students of different grade levels (e.g. K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12). I would also like them to pursue more advanced studies using these insects. Students will follow up their activities by performing activities dealing with cryptic coloration, development of aquatic predatory insects, fruitfly life cycles, host plant preferences, simple extraction of leaf litter organisms, pitfall trapping and sowbug habitat preference. I would like my students to develop web pages that outline the procedures, include high quality graphics of the activities and short MPEG movies illustrating incorporated techniques.
I am requesting funds for procuring a Sony Digital Mavica FD91 camera. This camera allows us the latitude in image and video capture required for the abovementioned activities. This camera allows the user to capture digital images with up to five seconds of audio or capture MPEG movies up to 60 seconds in length. It features a 14x optical zoom lens, 1024 x 768 resolution and a built-in microphone for recording. My students will be able to utilize web page development skills, learn more about different biology fieldwork equipment and methodologies, perform activities and experiments, and develop web-based instructional materials for students of varying ages. These activities will provide excellent background for students prior to classroom observation of specimens using the ESEM. Of course, classrooms will be able to access and perform any of these activities without using Bugscope's electron microscope, if they desire.
Anticipated Impact on Student Learning
The short-term impacts will be immediate in terms of students learning how to use the camera, either by itself or in combination with a microscope, during the summer. Digital photographs will be inserted into activity pages and will be made accessible to any teacher or student with access to a browser, via an activity link on the Bugscope web page. Students involved in summer activities will teach incoming Field Biology students how to use the camera. In subsequent years, Field Biology students will be able to use the camera to document their efforts, making successful class- and independent investigation-based activities available via the web. I've found that students who teach others become more proficient in their explanations, lab and field methodology skills, and that the act of preparing web documents relating to classroom activities motivates students to raise the bar in terms of quality and sophistication of their presentation.
Dissemination of Curriculum Materials
Developed materials will be disseminated through a number of different channels. First, as a M.Ed. student in the Curriculum, Technology and Education Reform program, the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana's first online graduate program in education, I will share the activities with other graduate students, whose teaching assignments range across the entire K-12 continuum, Second, I will make other science teachers aware of the published activities through articles in Spectrum: The Journal of the Illinois Science Teachers Association. Finally, the students and I will present our efforts to other teachers at various state technology and science conferences.
Additional Sources of Project Support
The Director of the Bugscope project has committed funds for several students to work on this project over the summer. Additionally, Bugscope and the Beckman Institute will supply server space as needed. University Laboratory High School will supply six Power Macintosh 5400/120 machines, software including Adobe PageMill and MS Word, and server space required for web page production. University Laboratory High School will also provide funds for WOWBugs and associated materials, purchase of field equipment, and facilities for filming of project activities. Both University Laboratory High School and Bugscope funds will be allocated for teacher and student conference presentations. Finally, University Laboratory High School will provide funds for purchase of Sony Digital Mavica FD91 digital camera supplies including a carrying case, lens filter kit, battery and charger, should this proposal be funded.
Expected Expenditures (Summer, 1999 - Fall, 1999)
WOWBugs, activity guides, culture containers and current instructional materials (funded by University Laboratory High School) |
$300 |
Student Summer Salary (funded by BugScope through a Lumpkin Foundation Grant) |
$500 |
Sony Digital Mavica FD91 Camera (requested of Hurst Foundation) |
$999.95 |
Mavica FD91 Carrying Case, Lens Filter Kit, Battery and Charger (funded by University Laboratory High School if Hurst Foundation proposal is successful) |
$180 |
| Total Project Expenditure | $1979.95 |
Developed March 3, 1999. Last modified March 5, 1999.