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Hamilton, Boni. Integrating Technology in the Classroom : Tools to Meet the Needs of Every Student, International Society for Technology in Education, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/empire-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5880825. Created from empire-ebooks on 2023-10-11 02:56:56.

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CHAPTER 7

Leveraging Technology for Kinesthetic/Tactile Learning

KINESTHETIC/TACTILE LEARNERS prefer being active in the classroom. They want to experience and touch what they are learning about. Experts disagree about how many students have strong kinesthetic/tactile learning preferences. Some speculate that the majority of students in the early grades prefer activity and hands-on experiences, but the percentage decreases as individuals mature, until fewer than 10% of adult learners claim this preference.

Teachers will often recognize that some students need kinesthetic/tactile learning because of their restlessness. Other signs of kinesthetic/tactile learners are their penchant to explore everything physically and to excel in movement activities, such as dance, athletics, drama, and field trips.

Sometimes these students are considered as having behavior problems because of their need to move.

Technology-based projects that appeal to other learning styles will likely appeal to kinesthetic/tactile learners as well because the projects require active participation. When working with technology, students talk and combine thinking with movement. If technology tools are mobile, such as laptops or tablets, digital recorders, e-readers, and cameras, kinesthetic/tactile learners can move around naturally. Even with desktop computers, students can adjust their workspaces to meet the need for movement. One second grader used to stand when he worked at a desktop computer; he was short enough to manage the computer without stooping, and standing let him move his body.

Digital devices such as cameras and digital recorders appeal to some students with kinesthetic/tactile learning preferences because they can be handled and carried around. Fortunately, many active learners are also satisfied with computer-based experiences that require interactions with on-screen stimuli. Virtual experiences give users a sense of action.

In this chapter, the ideas do not focus on student-generated projects, even though those projects can energize kinesthetic/tactile learners. Instead, this chapter highlights technology- related roles for students, virtual experiences, and the use of digital tools that invite hands-on, minds-on activity. Some digital tools in this chapter are even less common in classrooms than

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cameras or recorders. Obtaining them will require outside funding or a re-prioritization of technology funds in schools.

Teaching mindfulness can also be beneficial to children. Calm (calm.com/schools) offers its mindfulness and meditation app to teachers for free as part of The Calm Schools Initiative. This can teach children how to decrease stress and anxiety, increase patience and resilience, and develop better concentration.

Roles in the Classroom Often students with kinesthetic/tactile learning preferences feel unsuccessful in school because their need to move can interrupt peers’ concentration. Create reasons for students with this learning preference to get out of their seats by assigning them active roles in the classroom. These students can serve as timekeepers, equipment managers, class photographers, and directors for video projects. Leadership roles in the classroom build self- esteem for all students, and these learners may have been squelched by previous experiences.

One third-grade teacher gave a kinesthetic learner the role of technical support person when she used the document camera, streaming video, or the whiteboard. He switched the projector cords between the document camera and the computer. He also handled the lights and projector screen based on what the teacher needed. This role kept him alert to her tech needs and gave him an excuse to move around the room.

A fourth-grade teacher expects her kinesthetic students to attend to the cameras in her classroom: downloading and storing the picture files, charging the cameras, and storing them securely.

In another school, fifth-grade kinesthetic learners managed the laptop carts and printers for the building. They noted when a laptop wasn’t working well, tried simple troubleshooting, and let the technical support team know when problems required more expertise. They also charged the laptops between uses, moved the carts between classrooms, cleared paper jams, replaced empty ink cartridges on printers, and provided technical support to teachers in primary classrooms.

Hands-On Inquiry Most students have never taken the cover off a computer and are curious about how the insides work. Older desktop computers can engage students in inquiry lessons that satisfy their curiosity while teaching them about the “guts” of computers. As a center in the classroom, provide an old computer chassis, some screwdrivers, and small containers for

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http://calm.com/schools

collecting screws. Students who participate in the deconstruction of the computer (and it may be necessary to have teams working on several computers) can also research the parts and their purposes through internet resources.

GCFLearnFree’s video (gcflearnfree.org/computerbasics/7) “Inside a Desktop Computer,” as well as printable explanations on the site, titled “A look inside a computer,” provide basic information.

At Computer Hope (computerhope.com/issues/ch000997.htm), a clearly labeled photograph titled “What does the inside of a computer look like?” can be found.

An excellent, detailed set of photos for older students titled “What’s inside my computer?” together with explanations can be found at How Stuff Works (computer.howstuffworks.com/inside-computer.htm). A simple video, “Computer Tour” (computer.howstuffworks.com/23-computer-tour-video.htm) shows the seven main components of a PC.

Student teams can develop presentations for their peers or other grade levels with pictures of the parts of a computer, labels describing their purposes, and other information that may interest specific audiences.

Caution: Remove power cords from old computers before handing them over to students, so that computers cannot accidentally be turned on. Also, warn students about the sharp edges inside a computer case. It’s easy to pull hard on a part and end up cutting yourself. Wiggling parts is usually better than yanking when trying to remove them.

Although in the era of mobile devices, deconstructing computers may seem outdated, students often get excited when they can check “under the hood” of any device.

Physical Simulations of Virtual Worlds At Computer Science Unplugged (csunplugged.com/activities), students learn about computers—while they are unplugged from computers! This site offers a large selection of physical activities students can do to simulate how computers work. Though the lessons are geared to students ages 5–12, they can be adapted for older age groups with only a few modifications. Students can learn about binary code, sorting algorithms, routing, and many behind-the-scenes tasks that non–computer scientists don’t know about. The complexity— and mystery—of computers is revealed through the 25 activities with instructions and worksheets available on the website as PDFs. Volunteers created the activities with the help of elementary and secondary teachers. The site is licensed under Creative Commons. Videos and pictures are available for some activities. Although few teachers will complete all 25 activities with students in a school year, this might be a wonderful resource for a gifted/talented pullout, a technology club, or an after-school or summer program.

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http://gcflearnfree.org/computerbasics/7

http://computerhope.com/issues/ch000997.htm

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/inside-computer.htm

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/23-computer-tour-video.htm

http://csunplugged.com/activities

Touchscreen Devices The advance of touchscreen technologies gives kinesthetic/tactile learners another way to use digital power. Touchscreens actually come in two versions: computer-connected devices and mobile technologies. They need to be considered separately as well.

Touchscreen monitors for desktop computers have limited uses, partly because of their cost and immobility. Touch monitors are usually treated as assistive devices to help students whose physical or cognitive disabilities make using a mouse or joystick difficult. With touch technologies, these students can participate in the same computer-based activities as their peers.

Interactive whiteboards are used in many classrooms with varied results. In computer lab settings, where students may not be able to spot the cursor moving across a screen during demonstrations, interactive whiteboards enable the instructor to exaggerate motions to direct students to the correct places on the screen. Nonreaders, particularly, have difficulty knowing how to navigate anything with words, such as menu bars or program names. Interactive whiteboards can be a boon for demonstration situations, especially for students who do not read well or for whom English is a new language.

In classrooms, finding ways to use an interactive whiteboard without simply animating traditional worksheet instruction seems more challenging. Teachers can find collections of interactive whiteboard lessons online, and many classroom teachers wax enthusiastic about interactive whiteboards in their rooms. Most often, I’ve seen teachers use them as teacher tools where the interactivity is limited to teachers’ lecture-like instruction. Or, students stand in line for a one-person-at-a-time chance to move text on a worksheet. Using the interactive whiteboard for active learning—where students are creating and manipulating and publishing their ideas and understanding—seems less common in the classrooms I’ve visited and certainly more difficult to plan.

Touchscreens on mobile devices combine two of kinesthetic/tactile learners’ preferences: the use of touch and portability. Using a finger to swipe a screen or draw a circle or turn a digitized page keeps students’ bodies in motion. Mobility means students can move around with the technology or work shoulder-to-shoulder with a pal. Many touchscreens use bright icons rather than words so nonreaders can infer what programs will do.

After working with my own mobile touchscreen devices—four tablets, an e-reader, a touchscreen phone, and multiple non-phone touchscreen devices, including iPod touch and iPad—I find myself using each device for different purposes. When I think about choosing touchscreen devices for the classroom, I use a list of criteria that helps narrow the field.

Price matters more than “coolness” factors. In order to get tools into the hands of as many students as possible, budgeted monies have to stretch. A few touchscreen devices may suffice for the students who need such support. This is especially true if the goal is to provide

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accessibility for children with physical and cognitive challenges. Or, a few handhelds could be mixed in with the other technologies in the classroom.

Fit matters, too. The cheapest device is not always the best for the situation. With e-reader software now downloadable on many devices, reading books does not have to happen on an e-reader. But students will read with an e-reader longer than they’ll read on a desktop machine or a smartphone. If a device meets a particular need, the device may be worth the cost.

Peripherals add to cost. Buying apps, wireless keyboards, stylus devices, cases, or protective covers increases total costs substantially. For iPads, for instance, thousands of apps are available, and many cost from $0.99 to $9.99 each. Some free apps are also offered, but many of the apps for programs that come as standard equipment on Macs are not free. Something as simple as productivity software (word processing, spreadsheets, drawing, and presentations) has to be added to an iPad. Costs mount quickly on a device that already is costly.

Durability matters. Technologies in schools are used a lot and must be designed to handle the wear.

Discernment about choosing apps is critical. Start by reading reviews of apps by education bloggers. My daughter saw a free app that claimed to teach algebra by having students drag parts of the equation to the other side of the = sign. “Hey, that’s cool,” she said. Then she looked again and said, “But there’s nothing that helps the student know why the equation changes. I guess that’s not so cool after all.” If my daughter, who is not a teacher, catches the weakness of an algebra app, teacher bloggers will show even more perception and find apps that are definitely worth the expense, whether for Android, iPad, or other devices. Common Sense Media has iPad recommendations for elementary (tiny.cc/6hxgwy).

Choose the right tool for the right task. A colleague told me about her 4-year-old grandson exploring reading by listening to audio books on an iPad and touching words to hear them again. A website such as Starfall (starfall.com) would be easy for primary students to control with touchscreens. A Web 2.0 tool such as Blabberize (blabberize.com) would be much harder to handle via touch.

Touchscreen technologies can be a boon or a bust, depending on the planning and thoughtfulness that go into their acquisition. For tactile learners, in particular, touchscreens can make a difference in engagement, but no single tool solves all needs all the time.

Citizen Science Citizen science projects turn students into scientists by providing curriculum-connected hands-on science projects. Many organizations sponsor scientific research studies that require

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http://starfall.com

http://blabberize.com

extensive data sets. One way to inexpensively collect data is to ask citizens to contribute what they see, know, and experience. Citizen science projects give students insights about what scientists want to learn, experience with following scientific protocols, and awareness of how complex scientific research can be. All grade levels can participate in citizen science projects. Often multiple citizen science opportunities are listed on one site so teachers can choose what fits best with their contexts. Many have teacher resources as well.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology Citizen Science (birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1664) lists six citizen science opportunities for data collection and reporting. Most can be completed as one-shot experiences, such as Celebrate Urban Birds or the Great Backyard Bird Count. Others like NestWatch or Habitat Network invite more involvement.

SciStarter (scistarter.com/educators) hosts a large database of science projects, including citizen science projects. Scroll down on the page to access their lists of suggested projects for elementary, middle school, and high school. Or, you can query the database for additional ideas. Some projects in the database are specific to a state or city.

Zooniverse (zooniverse.org/projects) is a “platform for people-powered research.” Universities in the United Kingdom and the United States collaborate to manage the platform and crowd-source research tasks. The research projects in this database are not just for citizen science; projects are sorted into 11 discipline areas.

NASA (science.nasa.gov/citizenscientists) sponsors citizen science projects as well. Divisions of projects are Universe, Solar System, Sun, and Earth. Some projects require downloading apps for smartphones.

The Smithsonian citizen science projects (si.edu/volunteer/citizenscience) vary from locale-specific projects in Virginia and Maryland to transcribing archival materials to looking at wildlife in your own area.

Virtual Experiences Virtual field trips and simulations can give students the sense of “being there.” For kinesthetic/tactile learners, virtual experiences make content memorable, even though virtual experiences are more passive than onsite experiences. Consider that on field trips and even during hands-on experiences in the classroom, students have little control over what they see, how they explore, or the pace of the event.

On field trips, adult leaders or tour guides generally direct student groups along predictable routes and present preplanned spiels. During hands-on experiences, teachers keep students working at a common pace for classroom management reasons. In the virtual world, students control the order and pace of their explorations and may take different routes from one another. Students can also revisit the virtual site on their own later if they wish. How often

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http://birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=1664

http://scistarter.com/educators

http://zooniverse.org/projects

http://science.nasa.gov/citizenscientists

http://si.edu/volunteer/citizenscience

are they able to revisit the site of a field trip or repeat a hands-on classroom experience?

Virtual Field Trips On virtual field trips, students need to experience activities that replicate being at locations. Before using a virtual field trip with students, review the site to ensure it will engage students in looking at, hearing about, or doing something related to the subject matter and not just reading text. Text-heavy field trips abound online, but few students have the patience or skills to wade through large amounts of text in order to learn about a location. A preview of a virtual field trip will also reveal whether the site has been maintained; links that go nowhere disrupt a planned event and frustrate students.

Consider the most appropriate ways to use virtual field trips. Because students should be encouraged to explore on their own or with a partner, these field trips may be best used in a lab or as a classroom center. Students who want a longer experience with a field trip can access the websites at home, in a library, or during free time.

I used the following criteria to narrow my selection of virtual field trips:

• Students must control the exploration in some way.

• Field trips must have more visuals and audio than text.

• Field trips must appear stable—supported by an organization that will likely continue to maintain the site.

Narrowing the selection meant more field trips failed to make the list than succeeded. Unfortunately, narrow selection criteria also resulted in field trips more suitable for upper elementary and secondary students than primary students, although teachers could use some of the sites for paired or whole-group explorations.

Even with the criteria I set, the field trips presented here are not of equal value. Most require teachers to name purposes for using the site, and some are almost purely visual without animation. Only a few truly replicate visits to sites where students learn through others’ experiences. These drawbacks indicate how difficult it is to find a good virtual field trip.

Moon in Google Earth (google.com/earth/explore/showcase/moon.html), created in cooperation with NASA as part of Google Earth 5, lets students explore the U.S. moon landings through video, audio, and 3D models of spacecraft. The site has beginner tutorials, which can be helpful for younger students. The advantage of this site is that students can explore independently; the disadvantage is that the site may require a lot of bandwidth if a whole class of students uses it simultaneously. Because bandwidth varies among locations, teachers and students might need to experiment to determine how many students can access the site at one time. Teachers should set a purpose with students for touring the moon.

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http://google.com/earth/explore/showcase/moon.html

The Tenement Museum (tenement.org/immigrate) helps students understand immigration at the turn of the nineteenth century and particularly the experience of tenement living. I visited The Tenement Museum in New York, and the online experience parallels the live experience very well because of the videos and panoramic views of the museum. The site is audio- supported and actively involves students throughout, but the site controls the order of the tour.

The Secret Annex Online (annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home), like the online experience at The Tenement Museum, makes history come alive for students. The Secret Annex was the hiding place for Anne Frank and her family. As a supplement to reading The Diary of Anne Frank, this site is unbeatable. Get to know the annex, as well as the people who lived there, through the video, primary documents, and a virtual tour. The site controls the order of the tour; occasionally, I needed to go back because I had missed something or had clicked in the wrong place.

Let’s Take a Dip (fergusonfoundation.org/hbf-kids-zone/lets-take-a-dip) contains more writing than I would wish, but its concept is so compelling that I decided to include it. In this field trip, students learn about wetlands. They go on a virtual hike and visit a creek, swamp, marsh, and river and dip a virtual net into the water. Using a frequency table printed from the site, students record what they caught and where. The beauty of this site is that each visitor may end up with different numbers, just as in real life. I dipped 10 times in the creek on two occasions and came up with different sets of data. When students finish dipping in all four waterways, they compare data and draw conclusions. This would be an excellent time to aggregate class data and graph them for each water type. The site has additional watershed interactives for students through Grade 12.

Virtual Simulations Far easier to find than virtual field trips are virtual simulations that engage students in using virtual learning objects. Virtual simulations allow students to conduct explorations they may never have opportunities to experience otherwise. Lack of funding for equipment, tight daily schedules, complexity of hands-on activities, or fears for student safety act as barriers to hands-on explorations of curricular concepts. Virtual simulations rarely present the same drawbacks. Also, virtual simulations can be used with a few students at a time, which can be easier to manage than full-class explorations.

Virtual simulations also replicate authentic hands-on experiences to introduce, reinforce, or assess concepts. For instance, before third-grade students dissected owl pellets in class, they used the virtual owl pellet dissections at KidWings (kidwings.com/virtual-pellet) to build background knowledge. The virtual experience prepared students to be successful with the hands-on experience. Math and science teachers may choose to precede or reinforce real experiences with virtual manipulatives. Some teachers use virtual experiences to assess what students understand; others value virtual simulations because they can be used to correct students’ misconceptions and reteach concepts.

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http://tenement.org/immigrate

http://annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home

http://fergusonfoundation.org/hbf-kids-zone/lets-take-a-dip

http://kidwings.com/virtual-pellet

Virtual simulations can serve as invaluable tools to help teachers differentiate among students. Sometimes only a few students will need to use an activity; at other times, all students will benefit. Some simulations have built-in levels of difficulty. Teachers can assess the difficulty of a simulation and pair students who can learn from each other. Simulations can also be assigned as homework if students have access to computers at home.

Online Simulation Sites

Online simulations are so abundant that the following list provides only a smattering of ideas. By searching for additional simulations that explicitly tie in with your curricular units, you are likely to find at least one activity. Some sites, such as the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives, aggregate multiple simulations in one location. Most virtual simulation sites have lesson plans and how-to-use guides.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) (nlvm.usu.edu) is an extensive compilation of interactive math explorations in all math strands for PK–12 students. Virtual manipulatives on this site give students instant feedback to make them aware of mistakes or misconceptions and to reinforce correct actions. They have opportunities to solve many kinds of problems. The fraction explorations, for example, may provide richer experiences for students than in-class explorations because feedback is immediate and students solve as many problems as they need to master the concepts. This site makes differentiation for math learning easy.

Interactivate (shodor.org/interactivate/activities/byAudience) provides virtual math manipulatives to support classroom learning for students from Grade 3 through college undergraduates. Although not as robust as the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives, activities on Interactivate complement the manipulatives on the NLVM site.

Phet (phet.colorado.edu) offers 48 math and science simulations for elementary students and many more for middle- and high-school students. These interactive modules engage students in trial and error as they learn concepts. Many science and math curricular concepts can be introduced or reinforced at this site.

Learning Science (learningscience.org) aggregates interactive science websites on the internet in one place by science topic and under each topic by grade-level bands (K–4, 5–8, and 9–12). These interactive sites allow students to do hands-on science experiments that teachers may not be able to manage in the classroom. Annotations indicate grade level and length of activity.

Game for Science (gameforscience.com) is a free site with virtual science laboratory experiences. Designed for students ages 8–21, the site asks visitors to indicate whether they are under 13. Students ages 12 and younger may use the site as tourists to explore science experiments, but their work will not be saved when time runs out. Students ages 13 and older may register, experiment, and save their progress. With parental permission and a student’s and teacher’s or parent’s email, children ages 12 and younger may register and use the site as

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http://nlvm.usu.edu

http://shodor.org/interactivate/activities/byAudience

http://phet.colorado.edu

http://learningscience.org

http://gameforscience.com

members. Tutorials that explain how to use the site are useful. This may be most suitable for secondary students.

iCivics (icivics.org) simulates government operations such as elections and county management for secondary students. The following curriculum units are offered as simulations, including teachers’ guides for each game: the Constitution, the legislative branch, the judicial branch, state and local government, citizenship and participation, politics and public policy, government and the market, and persuasive writing.

CSI: Web Adventures (forensics.rice.edu) has three levels of simulations that teach the methodology supporting what forensic scientists do. Given the popularity of CSI as a television series, the appealing, well-designed site is appropriate for secondary students.

Coolmath-Games Lemonade Stand (coolmath-games.com/lemonade) and Coffee Shop (coolmath-games.com/0-coffee-shop) simulate running a business, with practical applications of numbers, strategy, and logic. Students need to pay attention to the weather, the balance of ingredients in the beverage recipe, quality control, purchasing supplies, inventory control, and flexible pricing. Entrepreneurs must also learn to satisfy customers and adapt their plans and actions accordingly. Requires Flash.

Online Science Games for Kids (learn4good.com/games/scienceforkids.htm) lists 16 science-based games for students in Grades 3–12. They involve engineering, physics, biology, and chemistry; students have fun while using logic and problem-solving skills.

Fantastic Contraption (fantasticcontraption.com/original) teaches engineering and physics concepts through games that can be filtered by difficulty level. Students can register to save their games. Although children need an email address when they register, if they indicate they are under the age of 13, their email address is deleted from the database, and they are not permitted to post in the forum. As this site has many other features, parents should be made aware when teachers choose to use the site in school so that the parents can monitor its use at home.

Historical Scene Investigation (hsi.wm.edu) is text-based, so it requires good reading skills. This site is worthy of inclusion as a resource because primary source documents are referenced. At the elementary level, this site may be most appropriate for high-achieving readers; secondary history teachers can use these investigations to enhance instruction.

Gen i Revolution (genirevolution.org) teaches personal finance concepts to students in Grades 6–12. Students complete 16 interactive missions, each of which takes about 30 minutes. Secondary teachers could parcel out the missions over the secondary years rather than place all the information in one grade level. The Council for Economic Education sponsors the site.

Music explorations can be found at the San Francisco Symphony (sfskids.org) and the New York Philharmonic (nyphilkids.org).

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http://icivics.org

http://forensics.rice.edu

http://coolmath-games.com/lemonade

http://coolmath-games.com/0-coffee-shop

http://learn4good.com/games/scienceforkids.htm

http://fantasticcontraption.com/original

http://hsi.wm.edu

http://genirevolution.org

http://sfskids.org

http://nyphilkids.org

Challenge: Robots! (nationalgeographic.org/game/challenge-robots) challenges students in Grades 3–10 to take the role of an engineer at RoboWorks and solve problems.

Magnification Once students make discoveries about the details in a couple of magnified, everyday objects, they’ll think about the world differently. So much detail is hidden from the naked eye—and students do not understand this until they see the legs of a fly or the underside of a leaf under a magnifying lens. Students can use standard magnifying glasses to enlarge objects, but such tools work for only one student at a time. Teachers now have access to magnification tools that work with their computers and/or projectors to let all students see simultaneously. In addition, teachers can put these tools into the hands of students to let them photograph and share what they see. Kinesthetic/tactile learners gravitate toward magnifying devices.

Students can use the photos they take of magnified objects to create slideshows or digital photo albums; they write text captions or audio explanations for each object. The photos can also be used for comparing and contrasting objects before magnification (prediction) and during magnification (discovery). This activity also involves finding the most accurate descriptive language for each object and for making comparisons of multiple levels of magnification.

Did a student find an insect or earthworm on the playground? Put it in a petri dish and look at it more closely! Are our fingerprints really different? Take pictures of several students’ index fingers; then magnify and compare them. Wondering about how colors mix? Grab a colorful advertisement from the newspaper or magazine and check out the pixelation.

Elementary schools rarely invest in digital magnifiers, probably because teachers don’t realize their potential and relatively low cost. Digital microscopes can cost less than $50 (or more than $1500), and many document cameras have magnification capability built in with the zoom feature.

Document Cameras Most document cameras have the essential features that make them good tools for magnification. They can show 3D objects, zoom for magnified views, and capture still photos that can be transferred to a computer. Some makes of document cameras also capture video. Although they are not as powerful as digital microscopes, document cameras at least give all students equal chances to see objects closely. When document cameras have zoom and optical magnification as well, they are even more powerful. If you use a document camera in your classroom, check its magnification capabilities.

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http://nationalgeographic.org/game/challenge-robots

Digital Microscopes Digital microscopes suitable for elementary classrooms cost between $40 and $160, a good price range for small science and/or math grants. Price is not the only factor purchasers should consider, though. Other desirable features include:

• The capacity to take photos and/or video clips

• The ability to use the microscope as a handheld device

• A stand to hold the microscope steady at high magnification

• Compatibility with your computer’s operating system

• Lighting from above and below

• Levels of magnification (aim for about 10×, 50×, and 200×)

• The supplies included in the package—slides and other materials for magnification and manuals

Three highly rated handheld USB digital microscopes to consider would be the Celestron Handheld, the Veho VMS USB-powered, and the MicroXplore PC200 Handheld. This market is changing, though, so use these digital microscopes as a baseline for comparison with new products.

Online Microscopes Online microscopes can enhance your instruction, particularly if you lack good equipment at your school. The University of Delaware has a Flash-enabled online Digital Microscope with tutorials on its use (tiny.cc/0uxgwy). This microscope would be appropriate for late elementary through secondary levels. The Online Virtual Microscope (tiny.cc/awxgwy) is for upper-level students.

Online Digital Microscopy Photos When students express excitement about seeing objects magnified and press for higher magnification than the digital microscope can handle, consider letting them tour digital microscopy online at the following website:

Microangela (pbrc.hawaii.edu/microangela) has colorized photos of insects, cells, and other organisms. This site allows teachers and students to use the photos for educational purposes. If students use photos from this website for educational purposes, they must cite the source.

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http://tiny.cc/awxgwy

http://pbrc.hawaii.edu/microangela

Robotics Robots enthrall nearly all students, so teachers can be certain any form of robotics will engage the kinesthetic/tactile learners. Robotics also can introduce basic engineering and programming concepts.

Fully functioning robots have four characteristics:

1. Robots have energy to self-propel. Energy may come from electricity, batteries, or solar cells.

2. Robots move. Movement may consist of rolling, vibrating, walking on legs, or thrusting a part, such as an arm.

3. Robots sense their environment. Sensors replicate human senses: sight (eyes), touch (skin and nerves), smell (nose), hearing (ears), and taste (tongue). A robot may have one “sense” or a combination of simulated senses.

4. Robots have intelligence. Intelligence actually comes from the programmer who develops code to tell the robot how to respond. Robots need ways to “listen” to the computer programmer.

Not all robots have all four of these characteristics, and building a functioning robot represents a complex, time-intensive project. For such projects, students have to learn many new skills, from building the robot to programming it, based on its sensor(s). At the elementary level, students are still learning how to follow multistep directions. For them, the task of following directions to build a simple robot may stretch their skills sufficiently. Secondary students are able to explore more complex robotics. Costs increase with the complexity of the robot.

Teachers with little to no experience with robots may dread introducing robotics to students. That was my concern the first time I worked with robots and third graders. What I learned through that experience and since then may help you avoid some mistakes.

Lesson 1: Use kits for in-school robotic experiences

The third graders with whom I worked built robots from scratch. Although the instructions called the project easy, assembling the bare-bones electronic parts required more dexterity than the third graders possessed, although middle-schoolers would have loved it. Kits range from simple to complex. At the simple end are single-function robot kits. These have pieces that snap together, an energy source, and, ideally but not always, at least one simple sensor that detects light or a line on the floor. With single-function robot kits, students don’t have as steep a learning curve as with more complex robots, and they can experience how sensors work. At the next level, the kits include multiple sensors and remote controls that respond to

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joysticks or buttons. Fully functioning robot kits, of which LEGO Mindstorms are the most common, have intelligence because students control them through programming. Note: A useful resource for teachers considering incorporating robotics into their instruction is Mark Gura’s Getting Started with LEGO Robotics: A Guide for K–12 Educators (2011, ISTE).

Lesson 2: Have students work in pairs or small groups

Many students have limited patience and creativity for solving problems when they work solo. In teams, they are more self-sufficient, particularly if they need to read and follow directions.

Team members bring different strengths (e.g., math, reading, and mechanical skills) to the group, which contribute to better problem-solving, as well as learning from each other and learning how to function in a group.

Lesson 3: Robots do not go home with anyone

With a kit, you should be able to deconstruct finished robots so that parts can be reused for the next project.

This justifies the initial cost and is a selling point if you are requesting grant monies, because the program is then sustainable. Letting the robots go home with students, even for one night with dire consequences for nonreturn, puts them at risk for breakage or disappearance. Besides, then everybody wants a robot to take home. Students can make videos to illustrate building the robots, testing them, and showing how final versions function.

When students advance to creating programmable robots, they often get excited about competitions. Most robotic competitions are geared to secondary and college students, but NASA puts out challenges for Early Robotics competitions (earlyrobotics.org) geared to students in Grades 3–8. Students may use four LEGO Simple and Motorized Mechanisms kits for each team in the challenge.

NASA recommends organizing neighborhood contests for fun. One elementary school with a robotics program invites other schools for a robotics competition day in the spring. To eliminate home team advantage and ensure that guest teams feel supported, the elementary students in the audience are assigned teams to cheer. Students thoroughly enjoy these competitions.

When teachers plan technology use with kinesthetic/tactile learners in mind, the activities do not always result in printable projects. Kinesthetic/tactile methods satisfy students’ needs to be actively involved in learning. Learners with this preference may gravitate toward different skill sets, so while one student may find magnification devices a thrill, another may dive into robotics with abandon. As is true with ideas in the previous chapters, most students have a blend of learning preferences, so these ideas are fitting for the entire class.

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http://earlyrobotics.org

Fifteen Fabulous Roles for Kinesthetic/Tactile Learners 1. Deconstruct. Take apart nonfunctioning technology equipment.

2. Simulate. Participate in an online simulation.

3. Draw. Use touchscreens or drawing programs.

4. Document. Model thinking with the document camera.

5. Manage equipment. Organize and maintain equipment.

6. Troubleshoot. Become an expert in technical problem-solving.

7. Direct. Run the camera, direct the action, and record background music.

8. Consult. Coach others on the use of equipment.

9. Support. Provide equipment support for another classroom.

10. Assess. Test new sites or simulations.

11. Build. Use a robotics kit to build and run a robot.

12. Participate. Enroll in a virtual field trip.

13. Prepare. Test and run video conferencing equipment.

14. Design. Create backdrops or find props for video projects.

15. Compose. Create music and record it.

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