Chiappe, Segovia & Rincon (2007) define a learning object as "a digital self-contained and reusable entity, with a clear educational purpose” (p1).
In this post, I will outline a number of different learning objects available on the internet and how they can be incorporated into the classroom.
Switch Zoo
http://www.switcheroozoo.com/zoo.htm
Switch zoo is just one of a number of educational games available on the switcheroozoo website.
Switch Zoo allows students to create there own animal as a combination of three different animals. Students select a habitat for the animal as well as a base animal to begin with. They are then able to pick a different head, body and tail for the animal from a selection of other animals that are found in the selected habitat. For each body part selected, students are provided with facts about each animal. After creating their animal, students can then take a photo of their animal and add a title/name and story for their creation.
This learning object would provide a different point of view for grade three and four students studying animals as it allows students to express their creativity while also learning facts about different animals and habitats. This activity can be integrated further into the classroom by tasking students with writing a creative story about their animal or also as a class project whereby students research the three animals they used to create their creature and explain why they chose those that animal’s body parts and characteristics.
The website also provides teachers with sample lesson plans for science, art and persuasive writing.
Emergency at Lonely Creek
This combination of presentation and practice focuses on communication methods in the outback in the late 1880’s. Students are given a scenario whereby a local camel rider had fallen off and injured himself. Students need to select the most effect communication method to send help for the camel rider. Once the students have selected the correct method, they must then try to find the quickest route for the doctor to take to reach Lonely Creek. Once the doctor has arrived the students are then transported to 1935 and perform the same task however focusing on new technology and developments.
This activity, suitable for middle to later primary years provides a different take on what would usually be a history lesson where students are buried in books. According to Holcomb & Beal (2010) “social studies is a content area that has much to gain by integrating technology into its teaching and learning practices” (p28). They also suggest that recent trends demonstrate that what was once “dominated by transmission-orientated teaching, social studies can now be taught using hands-on, interactive, problem-based learning” (p28).
This activity can be integrated into a history or social studies lesson with the use of an interactive whiteboard, allowing the class to work collaboratively to solve the problem presented in the learning object. This activity creates a fun and interesting scenario for students to complete steering away from a stereotypical book-driven history lesson.
Bubbl.us
www.bubbl,us
Bubbl.us is a free, online brainstorming or mind mapping site where teachers and students can collaboratively complete brainstorming activities and share it with the class or with others online. It is a free program that is ideal for use as a whole class on an interactive whiteboard.
Mind mapping is ideal for visual learners has it provides them with a graphic representation of the selected knowledge or information. Mind mapping is suitable for the middle to later years of primary school and can be integrated into a classroom in a number of ways. These include:
- · Teachers can task students with mind mapping their prior knowledge on a certain topic or subject
- · Mind Maps are also used as a reflective tool to demonstrate what students have learnt about the selected topic
- Mind maps can be integrated with collaborative group work to encourage the sharing of knowledge
RRocks & Soils - BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/materials/rocks_soils/play.shtml
Another convenient way to teach science in the classroom is through learning objects. The above object entitled ‘Rocks & Soils’ focuses of the characteristics of different types of rocks including marble, granite and chalk. Students have the opportunity to test whether the different types of rock float, wear well, are porous and whether they split when drilled. Students are also provided with the common uses for each of the different types. Following the game, students can also partake in a quiz on the different rocks characteristics.
Suitable for grade three, four and above, this simulation learning object provides the teacher with a different way to present science to their students. While students do not have the same hands on experience that a traditional experiment provides, students will benefit from being able to visualize each rock’s characteristics and take part in the virtual experiments being conducted. Teachers with also benefit from the lesser amount of preparation required as well as the opportunity to use the quiz at the end of the activity as an assessment tool.
This is my final post in this series.
Thank you for your readership.
Russell
