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From Digital Library to
Cognitive Tool
Steps and Potholes along the
Transformative Road
Nancy Butler Songer
The University of Michigan
http://biokids.umich.edu
Are there simple steps for
the transformation of rich
digital resources into
powerful cognitive tools?
Resource wealthy, educatively
unfocused
Portia fimbriata
jumping spider
----------------------------------------------------------------------Written by Andrea Jackson, University of Michigan
student
Classification
*
Kingdom: Animalia
*
Phylum: Arthropoda
*
Class: Arachnida
*
Order: Aranae
*
Family: Salctidae
*
Genus Portia
*
Species: Portia fimbriata
Table of Contents
*
Geographic Range
*
Physical Characteristics
*
Natural History
*
Food Habits
*
Reproduction
*
Behavior
*
Habitat
*
Economic Importance
Physical Characteristics
•The appearance of P. fimbriata is unlike that of other spiders. They are about 1 cm
long, and have cryptic markings, tufts of hair and long spindly legs. Because of their
unusual appearance, P. fimbriata are often mistaken for detritus by both prey and
potential predators. (Jackson 1992)
•^ Food Habits
•P. fimbriata are primarily araneophagic, meaning they eat other spiders, including
other salticids. P. fimbriata also eat insects and the eggs of other spiders.
•P. fimbriata are predatory, and they use several methods of predation. One is
aggressive vibratory mimicry, in which P. fimbriata climb on to the web of their
victim and use their legs and palps to pluck signals on the web. They imitate the
signals of their intended victim's prey. When the victim comes close to P. fimbriata ,
they make their attack.
•P. fimbriata are specialists at catching cursorial salticids. Most cursorial salticids
don't build typical webs, but they spin orb-like nests out of silk. P. fimbriata make
vibratory signals on the silk of the nest. When the salticid pokes its head out to
investigate, they attack. This is called nest probing.
•Another type of predation used by P. fimbriata is cryptic stalking. In this method,
the hunter moves very slowly. If the salticid turns to face it, P. fimbriata pulls its
palps back and out of the prey's view and freezes. In this position P. fimbriata
resembles a piece of detritus. Other jumping spiders of the genus Portia exhibit
aggressive mimicry, nest probing, or cryptic stalking. P. fimbriata is the only species
that exhibits all three behaviors. P. fimbriata also displays species specific predation
tactics. The jumping spider Euryattus (species unknown), is sympatric with P.
fimbriata in the rainforests of Queensland (Jackson 1985, Jackson 1998)
Transformations
Digital Resources
Evaluation Materials
Transformations
Digital Resources
Who is the intended audience?
What is your learning goal?
What level of support is needed?
Evaluation Materials
(e.g. tests--What is success?)
Transformations
Digital Resources
Who is the intended audience?
BioKIDS Project Goals
Longitudinal, empirical
evidence of hundreds of
inner city 5-8th graders’
deep conceptual
understandings of complex
ideas in science and with
learning technologies
across several inquiryfostering programs
Educational Challenge
American students’
understanding of complex
science drops sharply
between 4-8th grades
Audience: Declines very
pronounced for urban
children
How do we transform digital
resources to support
science and tech literacy for
urban kids over multiple
years and programs?
Intended Audience
Urban 5th and
6th graders
Virtually no
experience with
digital resources or
data
Resource wealthy, educatively
unfocused
Portia fimbriata
jumping spider
----------------------------------------------------------------------Written by Andrea Jackson, University of Michigan
student
Classification
*
Kingdom: Animalia
*
Phylum: Arthropoda
*
Class: Arachnida
*
Order: Aranae
*
Family: Salctidae
*
Genus Portia
*
Species: Portia fimbriata
Table of Contents
*
Geographic Range
*
Physical Characteristics
*
Natural History
*
Food Habits
*
Reproduction
*
Behavior
*
Habitat
*
Economic Importance
Physical Characteristics
•The appearance of P. fimbriata is unlike that of other spiders. They are about 1 cm
long, and have cryptic markings, tufts of hair and long spindly legs. Because of their
unusual appearance, P. fimbriata are often mistaken for detritus by both prey and
potential predators. (Jackson 1992)
•^ Food Habits
•P. fimbriata are primarily araneophagic, meaning they eat other spiders, including
other salticids. P. fimbriata also eat insects and the eggs of other spiders.
•P. fimbriata are predatory, and they use several methods of predation. One is
aggressive vibratory mimicry, in which P. fimbriata climb on to the web of their
victim and use their legs and palps to pluck signals on the web. They imitate the
signals of their intended victim's prey. When the victim comes close to P. fimbriata ,
they make their attack.
•P. fimbriata are specialists at catching cursorial salticids. Most cursorial salticids
don't build typical webs, but they spin orb-like nests out of silk. P. fimbriata make
vibratory signals on the silk of the nest. When the salticid pokes its head out to
investigate, they attack. This is called nest probing.
•Another type of predation used by P. fimbriata is cryptic stalking. In this method,
the hunter moves very slowly. If the salticid turns to face it, P. fimbriata pulls its
palps back and out of the prey's view and freezes. In this position P. fimbriata
resembles a piece of detritus. Other jumping spiders of the genus Portia exhibit
aggressive mimicry, nest probing, or cryptic stalking. P. fimbriata is the only species
that exhibits all three behaviors. P. fimbriata also displays species specific predation
tactics. The jumping spider Euryattus (species unknown), is sympatric with P.
fimbriata in the rainforests of Queensland (Jackson 1985, Jackson 1998)
animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
Reference written by Lindsay Lane, Bio 50-112 (11AM- first half). Edited by
Stephanie Fabritius.
Page last updated 30 April 2002.
Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is intended as an educational resource
written largely by and for college students. It doesn't contain all the latest
scientific information about every species, nor can we guarantee its accuracy.
Transformation Potholes
Not focusing the
content appropriately
to audience
background
knowledge
Too ambitious a task
E.g.Trying to
translate all critters in
ADW or translation
without vocabulary
rules
Transformations
Digital Resources
Can you identify a specific learning goal?
Specific Learning Goals
National Research Council (2000) Inquiry and
the National Science Education Standards
INQUIRY 5-8: “Use appropriate tools and
techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret
data”
“Develop explanations and predictions using
evidence”
SCIENCE: “Compare and contrast food, energy,
and environmental needs of selected
organisms”
Learning Goals
Which schoolyard zone has
the greatest biodiversity?
Which animals in urban
Detroit are competing for
food, shelter or space?
What relationship, if any,
exists between human
population density and
species biodiversity?
Specific Learning Goals
National Research Council (2000) Inquiry and
the National Science Education Standards
INQUIRY 5-8:
“Use appropriate tools and techniques to
gather, analyze, and interpret data”
Use appropriate tools and techniques to
gather, analyze, and interpret data
Enter in the field via PDA
Visual Maps
Icon-based entry
Biokids blurb
• Sci
Learning Goal-related
Potholes
Goals remain too vague, e.g. kids
will learn how to analyze data
Use of digital resources remains
too vague, e.g. kids will use
PDAs to collect and analyze data
Guidance of use of digital
resources is too vague, e.g. use
visualizations to design an
experiment…..
Transformations
Digital Resources
What level and kind of support
is needed?
Scaffolded Learning
Use Intermediate
Abstractions
(Barbara White,
1989)
Bridges between
abstract and realworld representations
Specific Learning Goals
National Research Council (2000) Inquiry and
the National Science Education Standards
INQUIRY 5-8:
“Develop explanations and predictions using
evidence”
Scaffold through Intermediate
Abstractions (e.g. building explanations)
“Which schoolyard zone has the greatest
biodiversity?”
“CLAIM: I think zone ___ has the greatest
biodiversity because……..”
How many different kinds of animals were found?
How many total animals were found?
Where were the animals found in this zone?
Scaffolding Potholes
Bridges between
abstract and realworld representations
are still too complex
or too prescriptive
e.g. Which
schoolyard…? Give
one reason that
supports your
answer.
Transform Evaluation
Materials
What kinds of responses demonstrate
success on your learning goal(s)?
• Find various kinds of assessments (e.g. multiple
choice, open-ended, practicum exams)
• Use multiple measures, e.g. formative and
summative assessments that match
• Use other people’s assessment items, e.g. PALS on
SRI website
Cohort One Results
95 % African American and/or Hispanic/ Latino/ Chicano
N= 600 5-6th graders in 7 DPS schools
20
18
16
14
12
Pretest
10
Posttest
8
6
4
2
0
Carver
MC
Clippert
MC
Carver
OE
Clippert
OE
Carver TP
Clippert
TP
Conceptually Simple
Transformative Steps
Transform resources
Keeping in mind a target audience, a specific learning goal
and specific bridges, e.g. between various
representations or contexts
Transform how success is determined
Keeping in mind a strong match between activities and
evaluation, and multiple measures to represent different
kinds of understandings
Practice iterative improvements with research,
patience
Biokids blurb
• Sci
Quote from Seymour Papert, 1972
For More Information
biokids.umich.edu
onesky.umich.edu