Case Report
Context
This case occurred in my 6th grade Science class room. The class consisted of 37 students learning about rocks and minerals in our unit of “Rocks and Minerals”.
Learners
There were 37 learners involved in this lesson.
Learning Goal
In this lesson, students were introduced to rocks and minerals. Students had to explore several websites to reach several questions about rocks and minerals: What is the relationship between minerals and rocks? What are the three types of rocks? What is the process of formation for each type of rock?
Technology
Students used portable, wireless laptops that were provided by the school. They were instructed to use Internet Explorer to complete the assignment. Students were given several websites to use to answer the following questions: What is the relationship between minerals and rocks? What are the three types of rocks? What is the process of formation for each type of rock? Students had to use the researched information to create a “Rocks and Minerals” flipbook. Students were also directed to give at least three examples of each type of rock and provide pictures of each.
Facilitating (or impeding) Learning
The initial time frame for this assignment was to be 1-2 days. However, it took 4 days because of consistent battery failure of the laptops. The wireless laptops were fairly old and the batteries seemed to die after 30 minutes. Needless to say, after reviewing the students’ work and after grading the “Rocks and Mineral” post test, it was evident that students learned a lot from the assignment given.
KITE Case #
8208-1
How Similar
The similarities of the two cases are: the subject area (Science), the learning goal (use teacher given websites to answer questions), technology usage (the use of portable, wireless laptops), and hindrance of lesson because of technology.
How Different
The differences between the two cases are: the grade level and the hindrance of the lesson. Case 8208-1 was completed by a 7th grade, Science class. The teacher stated that several times the laptops would lose internet connectivity; whereas, my problem was keeping the computers charged. 