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Here is my
solution to the Rescue at Boone's Meadow Challenge and rationale for why
this is the best solution.
I would have Emily fly from Cumberland to Boones Meadow. That would take
her two hours and 10 minutes based on flying one mile per every two minutes.
It is approximately 65 miles from Cumberland to Boone's Meadow. From there,
Emily would pick up the eagle and fly to Hilda's. The Ultra-light plane
does not need an airfield for take off or landing...just 100 yards of
land. This flight would take approximately 30 minutes. (Total
flying time=2 hours and 40 minutes)
At the same time Emily is doing this, I would have Larry (and Doc) drive
from Cumberland to Hilda's. Based on driving the speed limit (60 miles
per hour) this would take him one hour, thus putting him at Hilda's before
Emily gets there.
As soon as Emily arrives at Hilda's, Larry and Doc can take the injured
eagle from Hilda's back to Cumberland...again taking one hour to drive.
However, if doc is with him, he can tend to the bird while Larry drives,
thus getting the injured eagle treatment sooner. Total time to get the
injured eagle back to Cumberland is 3hours and 40 minutes or hours and
50 minutes if you include the time it takes to land and take off and time
to re-fuel.
Other solutions
may work, but are not as are not as viable for various reasons. Larry
is too heavy to fly the plane. Combining his weight (180 pounds), the
approximate weight of the eagle (15 pounds), the weight of the cargo box
which is needed to carry the bird (10 pounds) and a full tank of fuel
(needed to get from Cumberland to Boone's Meadow) it would be more than
the maximum payload. The maximum payload is 220 pounds. This total weight
is 235 pounds.
Emily can fly, however, including all the above items and an additional
tank with only one gallon of fuel (that's all the additional fuel she
will need to get from Boone's Meadow to Hilda's) at a payload of 220 pounds.
Flying
directly from Cumberland to Boon's Meadow and straight back will not work
because it would take almost two full tanks of fuel to make this trip.
There is not a place to fuel the plane at Boone's Meadow and to add a
second full tank of fuel (for the trip back) puts even Emily over the
maximum payload. This solution will not work.
If
you think about the affordances of technology for learning (information,
representation, transformation, collaboration), where does Jasper fit?
What "kind" of technology is it? What are its most important
affordances for learning in your mind? How do the affordances of Jasper
for learning fit with the standards in the PSSM?
The Jasper
Adventure Series is such a great example of a program that really utilizes
the affordances of technology for learning. Students are given challenges
that allow them to access information, represent what they find, transform
that knowledge into solutions and, more importantly, apply the knowledge
of the problem-solving process to other subjects and finally it offers
them a great opportunity to participate in collaboration at its best.
What more could a teacher ask for in a lesson? What I think really makes
the whole Jasper series “work” is the collaboration that students
do in solving the challenges. Jasper isn't just like any other "group"
project where students might divide up the chunks of objectives to be
met. These problems really engage students to look to each other for sharing
ideas...and what is really neat is that while there might be one "best"
answer, there are any number of correct answers so students who don't
figure out the "best" answer on their own, still can feel that
they are a part of the problem-solving process. I think (while I don't
think this was even mentioned) that the Jasper challenges help to build
self-esteem in students in this regard.
Jasper problems
make use of representation in that “speed up time through simulations
of processes that would ordinarily take place in real time.” (Wallace,
MSU) Students wouldn’t typically be able to go to an airfield, for
instance, to hear someone explain the aero-dynamics of flying an ultra-light
airplane as occurs in the “Rescue at Boone’s Meadow”
challenge. While some of the concepts talked about in this problem may
be able to be simulated without technology, the technology that Jasper
uses, allows students to experience and solve the challenge in a more
engaging way.
The Jasper Adventures provide the affordance of information. Actually
the information is embedded within each Jasper challenge.
The
affordance of transformation can also readily be found in the Jasper Adventures.
“Doing lab work in science classes has historically been a matter
of following recipes for getting a specific series of steps and reaching
a known conclusion. Authentic processes of science-particularly experimentation
and data collection and analysis-have played only a small role in science
classrooms, in part because of the time they require. Technology has made
it possible for students to engage in these processes by speeding up time
and automating data collection.” (Wallace, MSU) Again, Jasper makes
it possible for students to experiment and experience these processes
that otherwise would not be possible.
I
think the most important affordance that the Jasper Adventures offers
is that of collaboration. “It is by participating in collaborative
scientific activities that students learn that science itself is a collaborative,
human effort to make sense of all that is in our world and in the universe.”
(Wallace, MSU) The Jasper Adventures rely on students working together
to solve the problems. The Jasper Problems are not just about learning
how to solve a math problem. Any kind of problem-solving activity that
leads students to deeper knowledge or higher order thinking will also
lead them to generate more questions and then strategies for solving the
problem. That is part of the NCTM Standards for Mathematics, but in reality...these
are concepts and skills that can be applied to any discipline. Reasoning
and proof and the ability to think analytically to find patterns and structure
are also part of the Standards for Mathematics, but also can be applied
cross-curricular and again, are concepts and skills that I see adults
needing and using as well.
Obviously,
I don't really teach any of the core subjects, but it isn't difficult
to see how problem-based, project-based or even inquiry learning can be
used in all areas. The Jasper Adventures alone can be used inter-disciplinary
and I think that is one of the coolest aspects of the challenges. All
of these problems can be utilized as main projects or projects that lead
into another topic. Problem-solving is really a life skill. I can even
see using some of these (or other problem-solving activities) in a Life
Skills class.
Knowing
that Jasper can be used cross-curriculum I am in the process of trying
to come up with ways that this type of learning could benefit teachers
(the group I teach.) I am thinking about a way that I could create my
own “Jasper-type” adventure that teachers could do as a part
of T4, the technology integration class I developed for teachers at Howell.
If I could come up with a scenario, I would use i-movie to create the
video and then incorporate it into T4. I am thinking about maybe some
type of technology problem that teachers would have to solve. Could this
work or am I crazy and way off base?
Bottom-line:
I think the Jasper Series really goes a long way to meet the design principles
the developers set out to achieve and in so doing, they have created engaging,
motivating, cross-curricular problems that do more for the students than
teach them math skills.
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