Probing In the Field

Using Technology in the Field

Dr. Suzanne Banas, NBCT

Mrs. Barbara Zeiler  

Young scientists, students at the Science Zoo Magnet program of Richmond Heights Middle School use technology to explore the Florida Pine Rocklands. Using the tools and techniques of real scientists, they are making detailed studies of a fragile ecosystem just a few miles from their neighborhood. The Florida Pine Rockland—the last large stand of pines in South Florida—provide a living laboratory for kids who are curious about the natural world and willing to get their hands dirty. Students monitor a 20-meter by 20-meter plot of Pine Rockland for three years, using the Smithsonian Institute BioMon (Biodiversity Monitoring) protocols or BioMetrics .

The technological tools that the students are mastering help ensure the accuracy and rigor of the project, says Suzanne Banas, lead teacher of the Zoo Magnet program at Richmond Heights Middle School , Miami , FL. "Handheld computers make it easier to record in the field and transfer data to the desktop without errors," she says. "And they allow students to take readable notes in the field.” Data is input into Excel spreadsheets created y the students. Data tables and graphs are then produced.  Written notes taken in the field can be exported into Word, where students can edit them to develop their reports.  Digital pictures from the field can be imported to enhance and augment the reports. Using calculators in the field lets students get immediate answers to formulas, collect, interpret, and visualize real data immediately.  Probeware allows students to collect real-time weather data and/or gather it over long periods of time.”

The protocols the student teams include:

·        plotting and mapping a 20m x 20m square of pineland, using X & Y coordinates;

·        using handheld computers, graphing calculators, to record data;

·        recording tree heights using a clinometer and trigonometry;

·        calculating diameters of tree trunks using circumference formulas;

·        identifying plant and animal species with guidance from zoo personnel and scientific keys; and record evidence with digital cameras

·        gathering weather data using probeware immediately and for a 24-hour period each month.

    The Pine Rocklands, sitting atop a limestone ridge on South Florida 's east coast, is rich in the diversity of life. It was severely damaged in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew. As students work on graphing a topographical representation of vegetation on their plot, they may observe butterflies and birds fluttering and flitting through the pines and the silver palm. As they gather climate and weather data with probeware (such as a thermometer or barometer), students are lucky to catch a glimpse of an indigo snake slithering beneath the poisonwood, or a gopher tortoise lumbering under the prickly pears and herbs. Far less prevalent are four endangered plants clinging to their last small shred of habitat. The novice scientists keep a lookout for these troubled species with their poetic, slightly quirky names:  deltoid spurge, Blodgett's wild mercury, Small's milkpea, and rockland lantana, hoping to protect them from extinction.

Protocol Procedures

Power Point Presentation

Intel Education: An Innovation Odyssey

Texas Instruments: Success Story
              
.