AIR DRIVEN CARS

Posted on 11/05/2022 by Kısmet TÜRKAN KURNAZ

The “Air Driven Cars” project aims for our students to create a vehicle with a STEM organization through design-oriented activities. The main theme is to make vehicles with different designs due to the depletion of natural resources day by day. Work on this project was carried out between April 15 and April 29. It is a matter of designing a vehicle that can produce its own energy using natural resources.

Ages of students: 9-10

Teaching time: 9 hours

Online teaching materials: YouTube, Learning Apps, ChatterPix, Scratch.

Materials: Materials may vary according to the student’s design. However, care is taken to use recycled materials. Balloon, scissors, glue, colored paper, plastic bottle, drinking straw, bottle cap, wooden stick can be used.

Project-based learning (PBL) and STEM techniques are used.

At the end of the learning scenario, students will be able to:

Design vehicles that can provide its own energy, benefit from the power of nature, reduce labor and produce less cost.
Develop students’ creativity and thinking skills.
Increase entrepreneurial skills as new ideas and designs emerge.
Measure in centimeters and millimeters, which are standard length measurement units.
Solve problems related to calculating the perimeter of shapes.
Use web2 tools.
Make inventions according to the needs of their environment.

Entrance

The teacher draws the attention of the students by entering the class with as many balloons as the number of students in the class. She distributes all the balloons to the children.

“What is inside the balloon?”, “What is the importance of the air in the balloon for living things? “, “Can we use air for other things?” she asks.

She then unties the balloon in her hand and empties the air, allowing the balloon to fly in the classroom. Asks the students, “What moves the balloon forward?”. Thus, the attention is drawn to the subject by brainstorming.

Students are shown a cartoon movie about the subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV09XTBVuAM

Videos of air-powered tools are watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcZ8s_WkYl8

Exploring

Students are told that air, which is of great importance for the life of all living things in nature, can be used as a much greater power when compressed, and useful things can be done to facilitate human life.

A story is read to the students.

DOES THE CAR GO?

On a hot summer day, Mete was playing with his toys at home. He was driving in the car park and shouting “Dut… dutt…”. Then he lined up the colorful cars and looked at them lovingly. He thought that one day he would have a car like this too. He was going to have a red car with big wheels that never ran out of gas.

Then he put his toys aside and sat by the window and looked out. He saw how the sudden wind blows the plastic bag that fell on the road.. ‘Wow .. it’s going well’, he said. While he was looking at the plastic bag that disappeared among the trees, he was imagining his car. He whispered that his car will fly like this, too. Then he looked at the clock on the wall and thought it was more time before his father arrived. Every day, he eagerly was waiting for his father to come home from work and explain how cars worked. During this excited waiting, he fell asleep on the edge of the sofa in front of the window.

In his dream, he found himself in a place with many cars. He saw the red car he always wanted to have and ran towards it. He got in the car, turned the key, but could not start it. Then he looked at other cars. They weren’t working, either. He went to the place where the people were, and asked why the cars were not running. People said that now all the oil fields in the world have dried up and all the resources to keep cars running are gone. Mete was very, very upset when he heard that the cars were no longer working. He was awakened by the sound of the horn outside. He was very happy when he realized that what he saw was a dream. It was only after this dream that he began to think about how to run a car without petroleum fuels.

And suddenly he thought of the plastic bag blowing in the wind…

Students are asked questions about the story.

Children, can we help Mete?
Well children, if the air has such a power, can we use this power to make a means of transportation?
Can we design a vehicle that does not harm nature and does not pollute the air?

After the students’ ideas are taken, the following videos are watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L5zgZxsodM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B07nPhzGH4

https://www.haberturk.com/ekonomi/otomobil/haber/1239803-hava-ile-calisan-otomobil-yapti

Explanation

The teacher gives brief information about the subject of “force and motion” to the students.

Force: The effect we apply to move an object, change its direction, stop, slow down or accelerate is called force.

The force provides us with great convenience. It allows us to do many things we want to do.

– Allows us to move fixed objects.

– It allows us to stop the moving object.

– We can slow down or speed up different moving objects.

– We can also change the direction of moving objects.

– We can also change the shape of objects with force.

Then she makes a statement about gas substances. The spaces between the particles of matter are much larger than liquid and solid substances. Vapor, air in a flying balloon, air hitting your face when you shake the fan are examples of gaseous substances. She uses the learningapps web2 tool, plays games about force and movement. Children learn by having fun.

By showing the picture above, how can we apply a method, so that the car we are going to design can move in the direction of motion using air?

What can we use to make our car?

What can we use to move the car?

With the questions asked, the students are provided to reach the design they will create.

It has been concluded that the vehicle can move with rapid air output.

The design begins.

Deepening

The teacher divides the students into groups. Attention is paid to the use of recyclable materials in the activities to be held. Materials such as pet bottles, pipette, 4 caps, balloons and glue are given to children.

Children, divided into groups, are asked to design a vehicle that can move with the thrust of the air according to the following criteria.

Criteria:

Your vehicle will be move entirely by the power of air.
Mobility will not be restricted.
Its wheels will be able to move a certain distance smoothly.
Care will be taken to that the distance between the wheels is equal.
Joint work will be done.

Each group makes designs for their tools. The teacher helps them in this process by guiding them when necessary. Students are first asked to draw their designs on paper.

Students begin to build a prototype of their work. Hold the pet bottle from sideways. To make a car, while paying attention to the equal spacing of the wheels, the bottom of the bottle and the middle of the bottle are marked. The marked areas and the covers to be used for wheel construction are drilled with the support of the teacher.

Measured and cut evenly, fine straws are passed through the opening in the sides of the bottle and through the straw, by attaching a cap to the ends of the garbage skewers. The cover is fixed on the other end and the wheels are prepared. Then 2 thick straws are fixed together and one end is inserted into the balloon, tied tightly and fixed, so that the air does not escape.

The center point of the plastic bottle is measured again and fixed to the top. The part to be inflated remains in the air.

The balloon on the vehicle is inflated by blowing air from the pipette. The other end of the pipette is clogged to prevent air leakage. The vehicles will move when the clogged end of the pipette is opened and placed on the ground. Then the students calculate how long the vehicle they designed moves, and how far the vehicle has traveled in a given time period.

Then, the designs prepared by the students are voiced with the Chatterpix web2 tool and they are provided to explain the features of the vehicles.

In the next lesson, an online chat with an automotive engineer is made and the real-life cost, material and price research of the prototype he prepared is researched and the table is filled. Thus, the student has an idea about whether the prototype he/she has prepared can be applied in real life.

CODING AREA

In coding with Scratch, students are provided to design a car racing game that earns points by catching air using code blocks. The game designed with the students under the guidance of the teacher is played in the classroom.

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/534858200

Evaluation

A graph is created for peer assessment and self-assessment, an evaluation template (it will include the measurement, the drawing of the observation result and the evaluation graph), and a self-evaluation form (the children’s learning before and after the activity is evaluated with a comparative table).

Kısmet TÜRKAN KURNAZ- Akören Primary School – Afyon -Turkey

“Scientix Ambassador”- “STEM Teacher”

The microplastic detectives

Posted on 10/05/2022 by Stavroula Skiada

School: 8th Primary School of Nea Filadelfeia, Athens, Greece
Name: Stavroula Skiada
Participants: Stavroula Skiada (Computer Science teacher), Ioannis Makris (headmaster) and the students of the 6th grade (11 to 12 years old)
Implementation Dates: 15/3/2022 – 15/4/2022

Abstract

Based on the Scientix resource of Futurum: «Detecting Microplastics in a great lakes watershed» by Julie Peller, the students of the 8^th Primary School of Nea Filadelfeia implemented an interdisciplinary project of the STEAM methodology. Specifically, the project aimed to raise awareness of the adverse effects of the widespread presence of microplastics in the oceans and in the food chain. The students gained a basic understanding of the plastic life cycle, the fragmentation of plastic to microplastics, and the variety of sources that plastic particles can be originated from. Moreover, they became citizen scientists by participating in a meaningful scientific research about microplastics (microbeads) in cosmetic products. In addition, they did experiments to discover hidden microplastics not only in the chemistry lab but also as an outdoor activity to a nearby lake.

Context of implementation

The project was implemented in the ICT and chemistry lab during the ICT and Natural Science lessons. Four disciplines of STEAM methodology were included (Science, Technology, Art, and Mathematics) and the collaborative and inquiry-based learning educational approaches were followed. Additionally, the teachers that participated in this project (the ICT teacher and the headmaster of the school) played the critical role of the facilitators providing the necessary scaffolding and teaching of skills when necessary. Moreover, the equipment of the chemistry lab was used (conical flask, stirring rod, filter funnel, and mass balance) in parallel with the technical equipment of the ICT lab (workstations, internet access, projector, interactive whiteboard). In the final phase of the project, an active learning and experimentation in the outdoors took place to boost motivation, physical skills, and the ability of students to work cooperatively in the nature.

Stages of implementation

let’s meet plastic

In the beginning of the project, the students were introduced to the notions of plastic, plastic waste and plastic soup using the interactive lessons of Life Terra – “Terra Mission Waste” and “Terra Mission Water”. To deepen their knowledge of further issues relating to the plastic problem, the students watched the interactive video “The story of plastic“. At their own pace in the ICT lab, they answered questions regarding the plastic’s life cycle and the true causes and consequences of the global plastics crisis. After that, to have a complete knowledge of the harmful effects of plastic, the students studied and analysed given infographics and wrote in a google doc their thoughts and concerns about the global impact of plastic pollution.

The interactive lesson of Life Terra – “Terra Mission Waste”

let’s meet microplastics

At this phase, the students acquired new knowledge about the microplastics and their categories. Firstly, they studied the vocabulary of “microplastics” from Julie Peller’s article and her interview about chemistry. Thus, the students learned how to talk like a chemist, how a plastic is fragmented to microplastics and how a research is conducted. Secondly, in groups, they searched the web to find information about the hidden microplastics in everyday life, the categories of them (microbeads, microfibres, nurdles, foam, and fragments) and their harmful effects in people’s health. Further, the teams created a digital wall (padlet) and “hung” on it all the images and their browsing-related information.

Studying Dr Julie Peller’s article from the Scientix resource repository

the Discovery of the hidden microplastics

The students were familiarized with Citizen Science by watching a relevant video and installing the citizen science app “Beat the microbead” to the ICT lab’s mobile devices. Subsequently, in groups, they scanned the ingredients on packaging of school’s cleaning products using the app and recorded the microbead findings to the team’s class worksheet. As a homework, the students used the same app, with the assistance of their parents, scanned the ingredients of their personal care products and kept records of their research results to a similar worksheet.

The young Citizen scientists collect and share data through the “Beat the Microbead” app

the young girl chemists and their experiment

At the chemistry lab of the school, the “Discover the microbeads” experiment took place by the girl students to excite and empower them with knowledge and confidence in STEM. For this purpose, the young girl scientists calculated the mass of microplastics (gr) in a certain volume of water mixed with the cosmetic product. In the next step, with data given by the teachers and information obtained from the experiment, the students calculated the mass of microplastics (gr) a person generates in a year while using the specific product. Finally, they calculated the percentage of microplastic in the whole mass of the product.

The lake experiment

During this outdoor activity, the students visited the artificial lake of Nea Filadelfeia’s park. The students were inspired by the experiment that Dr Julie Peller’s team did. Specifically, the team of Dr Peller tested for the presence of microplastics and microfibres in surface waters flowing into Lake Michigan. In like manner, the little scientists repeated the experiment using the lake’s water. At the beginning, with the chemistry lab’s equipment, they collected an amount of water (ml) from the lake and filtered it through cotton pads. In the aftermath, the mass of microplastics (gr) found into the water was calculated and the measurements were recorded to the experiment’s worksheet.

At the same time, another group of students collected the plastic waste around the lake, and also weighed the mass of it. As a result, the data gathered were used for the calculation of the total mass of plastic around and in the lake. Most importantly, the students recycled the plastic waste to the appropriate bins.

Dissemination through Art

To underline the importance of “A” (Art) in STE(A)M education, the final part of the project consisted of creating infographics and designing. In other words, using web 2.0 tools, the students visualized their proposals for a plastic-free life with engaging imagery and information data. They also painted, by hand or digitally, the life cycle of microplastics in the food chain. The creations of the students were used to decorate the school’s classrooms and corridors as a means of raising awareness to the school community.

Furthermore, a content curation platform (Wakelet) was used to organize the educational material of the project, to post and share content, videos, photos, results of the experiments and learning outcomes. A video with all the sequential activities was made as well and was communicated through social media, school’s website, and e-magazine.

The project’s activities: https://vimeo.com/703460056 .

MORE TRADITIONAL RECIPES ETWINNING PROJECT

Posted on 09/05/2022 by isilgulmez

INTRODUCTION

Food is a highlighting element of the cultural background of a country. Traditional foods are adapted to the elements that nature brings to people. Thus traditional food is an adaptation to the environment and plays an important role in the cultural heritage.

OUR PROJECT AIM

This is an eTwinning project in which Dr. Işıl Gülmez was co-founder with Guillem Amer (English teacher) who first had the idea of the project. We had partners from Turkey, Spain (Mallorca), France and Italy.

Our aim was to encourage students to promote their cultures through traditional recipes. We also aimed to practice the countable and uncountable nouns, the use of adverbs. In addition we aimed to promote the language exchange.

USING TECHNOLOGY

We used various technologies in our project. Tools such as Canva, Jamboard, Padlet, Flipbook, Google Documents were used in the project.

In order to evaluate the results of the project we used not only post survey but also Kahoot quiz. Within the scope of survey we also got opinions of students about the project. The opinions were shared in Wordcloud.

PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION

Our project included step-by-step recipes. It overlaps with the algorithm subject in ICT courses. Our project also used multidisciplinary approach that included various subjects.

INTEGRATION OF STEM CONCEPT

Our project promoted key competences as well as STEM concepts. Thus our project promoted competences such as language literacy, Math, science, digital and entrepreneurship.

math competence

In our project students used quantitative data such as weight and time. In addition they used figures, numbers.

scıence competence

Students made experiments and observations of physical and chemical changes in their kitchen while cooking. They also could to do

dıgıtal competence

Students used algorithm when they were working with step by steps the recipes step by step. They also used web 2.0 tools in the project hence promoted digital competence.

Learning to learn competence

Students shared their works and got feedbacks from others. These feedback allowed them to reflect on their own works which helped them to improve themselves.

Entrepreneurship competence:

Each group had a word on how to do the tasks. Students took responsibilities of their own work in creating new contents.

Social and civic competence

Colloborative works in project promoted students’ communication, empathetic thinking and their respect others’ values and opinions.

Cultural awareness and expression competence

On the whole of the project in which we teamed up with different countries, we learned about different cultures. We found out similarities and differences. We also learned to respect other cultures.

RESULTS OF THE PROJECT

In conclusion, project improved students’ collaboration, motivation, digital, social skills and cultural awareness. Results of surveys revealed that partners liked the project. To sum up our project reached its goals.

Link of the project: https://twinspace.etwinning.net/209731/home

A Human Network That Shares Its Knowledge To Better Understand the Internet

Posted on 09/05/2022 by isilgulmez

“A Human Network That Shares Its Knowledge to Better Understand the Internet” is an eTwinning project which was conducted with partnership of Turkey and France. In this project two teachers worked as co-founder; Dr. Işıl GÜLMEZ from Turkey and technology teacher Jean Philippe VIALA from France.

A Human Network That Shares Its Knowledge to Better Understand the Internet eTwinning project

The aim of the project was to enable students to comprehend computer networks. The project also proposed to teach students web 2.0 technologies through games and animations they created using Scratch. Partners generated images to illustrate the Internet network as part of the project’s scope. They created animations related to Internet networks as well. This project had several stages for making tasks clear for partners. Stages are as follows:

Stage 1

Firstly we tried to create a design to compare a human network and a computer network in a symmetrical way. Our students were divided into teams. We started by introducing the teams with the design of a team-building slogan. To do this, each team designed a word cloud with the slogan of each other team.

Secondly partners chose a network topology for building networks. Next they designed a different word cloud in which they wrote the first names of team members. They used a background image that matches network topology they chose. Afterwards each student in teams made a presentation of themselves using Scratch tool.

In addition, teams attempted to build an animation that included a conversation in order to learn phrases related to a network device or network language. They did this by using Scratch to design characters. One of the characters asked questions about the network the other responded.

Stage 3

Finally, each team designed an evaluation using Scratch application in which each teams suggested one or two questions on the topic. Finally we conducted post-survey to get opinions of partners about the project. The results showed that partners liked the project. Besides the results showed that the project motivated students to learn more about the subject. In conclusion we can summarise that our project reached its purpose.

https://twinspace.etwinning.net/219031/home

FROM REAL INSECTS TO ROBOT INSECTS

Posted on 09/05/2022 by Ülkü KALE KARAASLAN

Introduction

Scientists warn that serious declines in the insect population can have devastating consequences for the life of humanity, recalling that we depend on insects for the foods we consume.If we imagine ecology as a machine, then each insect that buzzes, crawls and flies acts as a impeller in this machine. Small, individual efforts bring enormous benefits to the livability of the world.Ways to preserve nature and take advantage of it need to be learned from an early age.Early childhood education is the basis of life. Therefore, at this age, priority should be given to studies related to the love of nature and inspiration from nature.

Exploring the Topic

The students were first asked to investigate an insect of their choice.When we talk about forest fires in the classroom, students’ curiosity about this increases when we talk about the importance of insects for the revival of burning forests. After that, the teacher asks them to investigate a bug they want. Everyone chose their bug and they prepared their bug presentations at home under the guidance of their parents. They got ready for class with a picture of their bugs.

BÖCEKLER – YouTube

After making a presentation in the classroom, the teacher reads the story of Eric Carle’s Hungry Caterpillar to the students with the interactive book reading technique.After the story of the Hungry Caterpillar, a trip to the “Insect Workshop” was organized in the Tropika Butterfly District of the Seljuk Municipality to learn more about insects. During the trip, the expert introduces the children to the twig beetle after giving them information about the insects. Children who want to take the twig bug in their hands. With the butterfly garden trip, the part of learning about insects is completed.

Selçuklu Municipality Tropical Butterfly Garden Trip – YouTube

Since the topic of insects came out of forest fires, the teacher specifically mentions the dung beetle, which takes an active part in the transportation of seeds. Videos about the dung beetle are viewed. They do rounding emulations like that. The bug rondu is played.

Seed ball design with Dung beetle – YouTube

The prepared seed balls are then left to nature by the children.

Our Workshop

How can you drop seed balls in places inaccessible to people in forest fires? The question will be asked. The answers that came in were usually airplanes, helicopters and robots. Information was given about the location of insects in robot design. Yavuz Özdoğan, Teacher of Information Technologies at our school, was invited to the class. Our guest told the children about the work of robots. He showed me how it works with the Arduino set.

How do robots work? – YouTube

Design Process

The teacher then reads the children a story about setting up an electrical circuit. Set up a circuit i.in salt ceramics are kneaded and the design is made. The completion of the circuit is explained by lighting the LED lamp via the design. It’s time to design a robot insect. Children who draw their designs prepare parts for the teacher that they will make themselves in the design. The teacher supports the children in the difficult parts and the designs are completed.

Electrical circuit building and insect robot design – YouTube

The designs are tested by running them: https://youtu.be/3IbSqMGSyDE