PLT Workshop 3: Design Briefs and Quia

11/08/2010

I’ll start off by saying that I really enjoyed this workshop and gathered a lot of ideas on how to use technology in the classroom.

A) Design Briefs

The first part of the session started off differently from our previous workshops, as we didn’t go straight onto the computers. Thuan and I paired ourselves up and collected the following materials: a small paper frog, a rubber band (apparently not called an ‘elastic’?), some sticky tape, and a small piece of cardboard. The goal was to make the frog jump using only the above materials. We were given a design brief to document our materials, our goal, our intended ‘plan of action’ (jump, froggy, jump!), our final results, and finally any modifications we could have made to make the frog jump differently (further, higher, faster). I worked with Thuan on this, and I think were both a bit daunted at first, worrying that we’d be two post-grads with an ‘unhoppy’ frog (you’d be sad too if you couldn’t jump!) We came up with a few ideas, but finally settled on using the materials to create a mini slingshot.

Slingshot Design:

- We folded the cardboard so that it had a small base and taped this base to the table.

- We created a small hole in the cardboard using the tip of a pen (FYI: You’re actually not allowed to do this, as a pen is not one of the materials given. Can you keep a secret?)

- We then pulled the rubber band through the hole in the cardboard and tied it into a knot to prevent it from slipping through.

- We placed the frog on the top of the cardboard, created tension in the rubber band by pulling it down, and upon release – PRESTO! The frog jumped! (And now Thuan and I can breath again…)

What I found really interesting about this mini-experiment was that almost every pair had come up with a different way to make the frog jump! Although the activity required only a basic understanding of physics, it highlighted how many different ways there are to solve a single problem. The notion of ‘multiple intelligences’ came to my mind, as some pairs chose to first sketch their design, some talked it through, and others just ran with it until the frog had some hop!

 B) Quia (http://www.quia.com/web)

Quia is a website you can use to create your own quizzes, games, and surveys. I’ve used a similar tool before, called Survey Monkey, but found Quia to be much more user-friendly and easy to get the hang of!

Our first task was to design a quick activity using various templates, such as hangman, fill-in the blank, and word jumbles (rearranging letters to spell a topic word). I chose to do a word-jumble activity that focused on Canadian animals (Quelle surprise?). I think this would be a great way to get students to practice their spelling words, especially if they have access to the Internet at home!

Canadian Animals - Word Jumble

 The second task we were given was to create a quiz based on a topic. Can you guess what I chose? (Hint: It starts with a ‘C’ and ends in ‘anada’…) This was also very simple to create, and even simple steps such as choosing question types (true/false, multiple choice, etc) and randomizing answers were as easy as selecting a radio button below each question! You also have the option to assign different point values to each of the questions.

Oh Canada! Quiz (Do you know what Poutine is?)

Christine’s Classroom: Quia

I plan to use this during my next teaching round, as it’s a great way to review basic spelling and get students ‘tuned in’ to a specific topic (maybe Canada?). I think it would be great to have each student create their own account, so that they could log-on from home and take quizzes or even create their own activities.

*Quick Tips: One point that really resonated with me was the inappropriateness of using ‘hangman’ with children. An alternative on this site was to use a bear hanging onto balloons – every time an incorrect letter is chosen, one of the balloons pops & the bear begins to drop. A much more kid-friendly, appropriate, and cute option!