Hi. My name is J.J., and today I'd like to introduce you to the features of the built-in
activities on the SPARK Science Learning System, or SPARKlabs.
In this demonstration, we'll be looking at the screen on a SPARK Science Learning System,
but because the labs are virtually the same within SPARKvue as they are on the SPARK Science
Learning System, you can still follow along using SPARKvue, and I'll be sure to point
out any differences along the way.
So, let's get started. To open a SPARKlab, we start on the home screen and select the
Open button in the bottom left corner of the screen. For those of you following along with
SPARKvue software, this is where you'll notice the first difference.
In SPARKvue, selecting the Open button will open your computer's default open file browser
window. Simply navigate to the file location on your computer and open the file as you
would any other file type.
On the SPARK Science Learning System, you can see that the lab activities have been
organized by subject into what we will call folders. To see the content of a folder, simply
touch the blue arrow next to the subject. In this case, we'll be looking at the Ohm's
Law lab in the Physics folder.
To open the SPARKlab, use the scrolling arrows to find the activity, select it, and select
OK. The activity automatically loads to the first
page. For those SPARKlabs that come with your SPARK Science Learning System, this is going
to be a title page. To navigate through the pages in a SPARKlab, use the right and left
arrows at the top of the screen.
The second page reminds your students how they will save their work, and how that work
can be turned in. Also on the right hand side of the second page are instructions asking
students to use the Snapshot button in the top right corner of the screen to insert pages
into the Journal wherever they see the Snapshot icon. We'll see a demonstration of this in
just a second. For now, let's go ahead and continue on.
Each of the embedded SPARKlabs starts with a lab challenge that defines the goals of
the lab. In this case, the goal is to determine the relationship between voltage, current,
and resistance in a simple circuit.
SPARKlabs also include a brief student-oriented background to tie the experience back to class
and text. If there are special safety concerns, they are generally included up front, unless,
of course, their placement is critical in the procedure.
Equipment lists can be both text and images, which will help to eliminate student confusion
when gathering equipment. Part of the guided inquiry in each of the SPARKlabs is the sequencing
challenge.
The sequencing challenge is designed to get students thinking about what they're doing
before they actually start the lab activity. To enter the sequence, students simply select
the blue text entry box and enter their answer.
As you can see, the answer is now in the text box, and as the Snapshot icon reminds us,
we'll select the Snapshot button to add this page to the Journal. To view the Journal at
any time, you can select the Journal button at the top of the screen. In the Journal,
you should see all the pages that have been snapshot in the order that they were taken.
Here we have only one page so far, but as more pages are entered into the Journal, we
may find it necessary to make notes under some of the pages. To make notes, simply select
the Keyboard icon and enter the text using the onscreen keyboard.
Select Done when finished.
A unique feature of SPARKlabs is the ability to make and capture a graphical prediction
that you can later compare to actual data. In this page, we will follow the instructions
to create a prediction of how we believe voltage will change with respect to current in a simple
circuit.
In the lower right corner of this screen is an example of an inline Tech Tip to help students
that may not be familiar with the procedure. So, following the instructions, I first select
the Graph Tools Palette button to bring up the graph tools palette. Then, I select the
Prediction tool and draw my prediction right onto the graph. When I'm finished, I select
OK.
I see the Snapshot icon on this page, so I'll go ahead and select the Snapshot button to
capture this page and add it to the Journal. On this page, we see that setup can include
both instructions and images to help clarify. A good example of where this may be important
is this wiring diagram seen here.
To check student understanding and ensure they are vested in each part of the SPARKlab,
quick self-check questions are spread throughout the labs. To answer the questions, select
the blue text entry box, and enter your answer.
Again, we see the Snapshot icon on the page, so we'll select the Snapshot button to enter
this page into our Journal.
Now, we'll jump to page 12 to begin data collection. A quick way to move from page to page without
having to scroll through each individual page is to use the SPARK Science Learning System's
page navigator. To use the page navigator, select the page number at the top of the screen,
and then select the page you wish to jump to.
We're all set up to collect data, so let's take a look at what that will look like by
following the instructions on the right. First, I select the green Start button to begin data
collection. Then I move the switch on the charge/discharge circuit board, as the instructions
indicate.
Once the capacitor is nearly fully charged, I will select the orange Stop button to stop
data collection.
Following data collection is a set of analysis questions designed to have students focus
on the data being collected, like this short answer question. Let's go ahead and answer,
and then add our answer to the Journal. The shape of the voltage versus current graph
is linear.
On this page, we'll be using a curve fit as part of our analysis. To do this, I'll follow
the instructions in the Tech Tip. First, I'll open the graph tools palette, and then select
the curve fit tool. We'll be using a linear fit, so I'll select that from this list. Note
that the characteristics of the curve are now shown on my graph. I want to capture that,
so I'll take a Snapshot, and add it to my Journal.
You can see here that the data and information in the curve fit legend have now been captured,
and added to the Journal. This specific lab actually has three similar parts, so we'll
move forward to the post-data analysis sections. To do that, we'll use the SPARK Science Learning
System's page navigator tool.
The synthesis questions summarize and relate the lab experience back to classroom learning,
and real world experience. They also give students the chance to compare their predictions
to their actual data. To do that, let's use the Journal. If we wanted to compare our actual
data to our prediction, we can do that here.
The multiple choice questions are designed to resemble those found on standardized tests,
to help students prepare. And each lab has a clear end page.
Now, let's take a look at how a student will turn in their work using the Sharing options.
On the SPARK Science Learning System, I'll start by first selecting the triangle Share
button at the top of the screen. In this screen, selecting Save File or Save File As will save
the current lab as a SPARK file on either the SPARK Science Learning System, or an external
USB flash drive. The saved file will include the entire lab, any data that has been recorded,
and any Journal pages that have been collected.
If it's preferred that students turn in only their Journals, we can select the Journal
tab at the top of the screen. In this screen, I have the option to print my Journal directly
from the SPARK Science Learning System to a supported printer, or export the Journal
to a USB flash drive. I'll make sure my USB flash drive is connected to the top of my
SPARK Science Learning System, and then select Export Journal.
In this screen, students have the option to give their Journal a unique name to differentiate
it when turning in files.
Once the export is complete, simply remove the flash drive, and plug it into a computer.
Now, let me show you an example of what a Journal would look like. After connecting
my USB flash drive to my computer, I can see that the Journal is contained within its own
folder. Inside this folder is a collection of individual screenshots, and accompanying
text files from my Journal, that can be used to construct a more elaborate lab report.
But, there's also an HTML file that can be opened using a web browser. Not only is this
an easier way to review student work, but it can be directly compared to the teacher
notes included on the disc that comes with your SPARK Science Learning System.
These examples are some of the Sharing options on the SPARK Science Learning System. For
those of you following along with SPARKvue you'll be happy to know that the Sharing options
within SPARKvue are nearly the same, except you will be able to save your files and Journals
directly to your computer.
Thanks for joining me, and I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to SPARKlabs.