Connecting this project with other key issues in Educational Technology

Developing information literacy, technology skills (in students):

Information literacy is an ongoing and important part of virtually any learning experience.  In the context of significant figures, students need to be able to read and process written information from their textbook.  They also need to apply the "rules" of quantitative measurement and expression of numbers in a meaningful way.  These aspects of the unit are already in place and represent a familiar component of learning.  The addition of this technology would demand some additional steps in information literacy and technology skills.  Students entering chemistry class have all completed (or completed a waiver of) Algebra II.  These students are expected to be proficient and skilled with the basic functionality of a graphing calculator.  There will, inevitably, be students who lack this skill set and we would need to build in additional time for this remediation.

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Further, the processes of synthesizing information, independent problem solving, and communication between students are uncomfortable for many learners.  Discomfort can be a useful learning tool however as, once the fear or struggle is overcome, the rewards are surprising.  This offers an opportunity for students to learn in new ways and find deeper meaning in the concepts they are exploring.  However, this also presents challenges as developing young people are encouraged to try something they may never have tried before and begin to teach and learn with one another.  Care will need to be taken to support students who are more shy or unsure of themselves.  We will need to scaffold the student interactions just as we do the technical skills of the class. 

Meeting the diverse needs of your students, assistive technologies, particularly through the idea of Universal Designs for Learning (UDL):

The consideration of diverse learners translates into an ongoing effort to meet every student at the point of his/her need.  Every student learns in a different way. 

• Students who are visual and hands-on learners benefit from the physical process of measuring out a volume of water or counting the number of bacterial colonies on a petri dish.  They learn from doing.  The technology will not take the place of this valuable tactile experience.  The Sig Fig program simply allows that process to be applied to another set of problems or questions. 
  
• Individuals who learn best from auditory input are often very comfortable with traditional lectures and class discussions.  They also have the option of scheduling tutorial sessions with MSU chemistry students who come to the school library 1-2 times per week.  Additionally, we have class study sessions once a week in which I answer any and all subject related questions and work through problems together.  The integration of this technology will foster the verbal exchange and healthy debate that inherently comes from a group of students brainstorming to solve a problem. 
  
• Learners who are expressive or artistic often see situations in a different spatial manner than others.  They are quite often fascinated by the fact that the same volume of water looks different when poured into a differently shaped container.  These are also the students who quickly grasp the concept that the precision and accuracy of a measurement changes based on the measuring tool itself.  These artistic minds can often fathom spatial and volumetric similarities and differences when others are baffled by them.  The challenge will be providing them with the freedom to walk through the Sig Fig process and express their results in a way that suits their needs.  Perhaps asking the students themselves how we could integrate less conventional methods into the unit.
• Assistive technologies are readily integrated with the graphing calculator itself.  The screen can be "zoomed in" or the font size increased to produce a larger display for those with visual differences.  Also, hand-held or table-stand magnifiers could be used to enlarge the text on the calculator itself.  Graphing calculators have large buttons, so students who have difficulties with motor skills would be able to use it without accommodation.  For students who need it, the grapher could be equipped with a program that reads the screen aloud.  This tool is relatively simply to outfit with any necessary assistive technologies.
• Roles within the groups could be assigned based on comfort level with the topic, allowing those who are comfortable doing so to lead a small group through a lab or problem set.  Roles could also rotate, with each student assuming a different role each day within the unit.  It may also be beneficial to try breaking the groups up by ability level, allowing one group to remediate on using the calculator itself, another to work on measuring and recording individual data points, one more to tackle calculations from appropriately expressed data, and lastly a group to begin formulating explanations regarding the need for and validity of the process itself.

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Social and ethical uses of technology (particularly digital equity, intellectual property, and copyright) and healthy practices in the use of educational technology:

• With any class set of technology, the resource is expected to stay in the classroom.  As such, students would be required to check their calculator in-and-out each class period.  If students leave the room with the calculators, not only will they not be available for the next class, but damage is more likely to result and replacement cost would need to be agreed upon between the school and the family. 
  
• It would need to be made very clear to students that they are not allowed to install or remove ANY programs from the calculators.  If students change the settings or alter the programs in any way, the functionality of the resource suffers, and time and energy need to be invested to correct the issue(s). 
  
• At present, I do not foresee an immediate need for integrated online application for this technology.  The calculators would serve as independent devices and would not require computer interface.  Therefore, legal and ethical issues in that regard are moot.  However, we would need to have discussions regarding "cheating".  It would need to be very clear to students when they are allowed and encouraged to use their Sig Fig program and when they are not.  If there is a component of a lab, assignment, or assessment where the calculator is not permitted, using this technology would not be ethical.

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Using technology to facilitate/develop creativity and critical thinking skills in students: 

• The critical thinking aspect of this unit is that which we've been unable to truly explore in past years.  Students have focused so intently on properly expressing individual quantitative measurement, that calculations simply seem beyond the grasp of most of them.  However, this technology will provide them with what THEY view as a crutch, but what is in actuality a scaffolding step.  This is a tool that my Chemistry students have never before had at their disposal, and it will change the level of expectation and, in turn, achievement in the class.
• One creative outlet that requires critical thinking would be to have students develop their own measuring device, using units that are "made-up".  They could make a device that measures volume, one that counts the number of particles, or one that measures length.  Since the device is made from scratch and uses a unit of measurement that is not familiar to them, this would be an entirely new application for significant figures.  It would take a great deal of thought and consideration to figure out the number of significant figures their own device is capable of measuring to.  These measurements could then be combined in a calculation.  For example, let's assume that table B and table D both created rulers.  One measured length to 3 Sig Figs and the other measured height to only 1 Sig Fig.  If these two measurements were used to calculate area, how many Sig Figs should the answer have?  Why?  These analysis questions are rich and meaningful.  And they are enhanced and supported by the graphing calculator Sig Fig program.

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Using Technology to Engage in Professional Development & Leadership:

• My own professional development will need to grow to include this new technology.  I will need to familiarize myself with the full functionality of the specific graphing calculators we purchase.  I will also need to spend a significant amount of time completing calculations and ensuring that the resulting answers follow the rules I am familiar with.  If not, I need to figure out the discrepancies so I can either resolve them or modify my rules to allow for them (if they make sense in the larger context).  Further, I will need to continue my journey toward a masters in educational technology.  The implementation of this technology will undoubtedly teach me a great deal about moving my class forward in technological integration.  Using my experiences, positive and negative, will allow me to make more informed decisions about other technologies and whether or not that may enhance student learning.
• The most notable key resources for my particular educational technology would be the manufacturer of the graphing calculator itself (as well as the associated significant figures program).  As mentioned above, the rules and guidelines employed by the Sig Fig program would need to be compared with standard chemistry Sig Fig rules.  In the event that these don't synch, research with chemistry books and colleagues would help me to explain the discrepancies and plan a course of corrective action.
• This plan demonstrated leadership in my school because no other chemistry class currently utilizes standard graphing calculators with uniform functionality.  Some students have no calculator, others have basic calculators, still others have scientific calculators, and finally a few own their own graphers.  Of those who own their own calculators, many "inherited" them from older siblings or parents and lack a firm grasp on how to use them.  If all students use the same calculator, equal access becomes the standard as it should be.  Also, some chem teachers in the district no longer teach significant figures because they feel it is too difficult for students and, since it is no longer a state requirement, they've dropped this important content expectation.  This technology will allow me to simplify, and simultaneously enrich, the learning of significant figures.  Hopefully, following the example of my students, other classes with return to this concept and employ this technology to assist them.
  

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