Where is my school? Where is my house? I know they're down here somewhere! Dana shows you how he uses clues on the Vital Signs map to find the places in Maine he cares most about. Next step, using the Vital Signs data! To be continued....
See how Wesley and Josephine use the VS export table and Excel to create a simple bar graph using species data and biodiversity counts. This analysis lets them compare the biodiversity counts where invasive species were found with the biodiversity counts where invasive species were not found. Is biodiversity different where invasive species are found? So nerdy.
Here is an assessment that I used for my classes after they finished their Vital Signs Investigations. They evaluate how well their team cooperated and shared the responsibilities for this project. I also ask them to evaluate the program and to give suggestions to make this better for them.
This is the ppt presentation I used to outline my ideas after I played Oh Deer (we called it Oh Bluebird!) with my students.
We started class with video highlights from the game we had played last class. Then we discussed the contents of the slideshow slowly - taking breaks on data slides for students to graph the information on mini whiteboards. I walked around directing struggling students how graph it.
We ended with discussion on invasive species and the time lapse video of knotweed growth.
Use the species cards to translate and bridge the gap between them and the use of dichotomous keys in classification. Have students use the keys and cards to create mini keys that would help to identify the species that they are studying in the field.
This pdf version of the Noteshare notebook contains a series of professional development activities for teachers and other educators. These step-by-step exercises are annotated with screen shots and are designed to help teachers become familiar with Vital Signs data, and other analysis tools such as Numbers, Excel and GoogleEarth.
You can also access a recorded MLTI webinar where Alexa uses the tools described in the Noteshare in the MLTI archive.
This is a Google Earth map layer of the towns in Maine with official reports of invasive hemlock woolly adelgid. Data are from the Maine Forest Service (http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/HWAOverview.htm). Please note that the map markers are placed on the town name, and not on the exact location of the HWA infestations.
The Vital Signs map is great for looking at and comparing observations, but Google Earth is a much more powerful tool you can use to see Vital Signs data with other layers of information. Follow these 12 easy steps to create a .kml map layer of your own Vital Signs data. Then layer and learn!
Vital Signs is a Gulf of Maine Research Institute Program. Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 3.0 License.
