Scenario 1: Electrical Noise

As part of the ‘energy’ curriculum students undertake a project investigating electrical noise levels around the school grounds. The teacher would like them to collect, record and view data at different locations and at different times. She would also like them to think about the recordings they are taking in relation to the location, time and other recordings. She would like to make sure that they notice important aspects about the location or topic whilst in the field, and could enhance their thinking beyond the task of collecting recordings (for example, materials used in nearby buildings). Using GeoSciTeach the student collects data through the magnetic radiation sensor, and views the recording in real time through dynamic graphing visualisation. The data are automatically linked to the location using geospatial tools, and to previous data collected in that location (remotely stored and time stamped), which the student can use to compare with his own readings. He tags his own data with observations and reflections about the noise levels. He receives important related information to help him think about the investigation that the teacher has previously tagged e.g. questions about the building materials. This could be triggered by the specific location or could be triggered according to the data recorded and its relationship to other readings or time stamps. The student continues and receives important location sensitive ‘teacher tagged’ information on his phone as he explores the school grounds. Teacher tagging provides the means for teachers to orchestrate and tailor the learning activity to a broad range of student ages and abilities, whilst giving students independence in their scientific inquiry activity.