Sixth grade students have been working on a computer
simulation program in science. The
program, ECOMUVE, has been developed at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education and uses an immersive virtual environment to teach students about
ecosystems and causal patterns. The goal
of the project is to help students develop a deeper understanding of ecosystems
by using a 3-D virtual world that has a look and feel similar to a
videogame. The world recreates authentic
ecological settings within which students explore and collect information.
Students used this program to identify organisms that might
live in and around a pond. The field
guide gave hints on where organisms could be found. Once found, students took a picture of the
organisms and the picture was sent to the field guide and was used as evidence
that the student was successful in finding the habitat of the organism.
During the second week of the project, students used the
measurement tools to collect water quality data over a three, month period of
time. Toward the end of the third month,
there was a large fish kill of the large mouth bass and the bluegill. Students had to develop a theory on why the
fish died and support the theory with data they had collected over amounts of
dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, and microscopic organisms that were
found in the water.
Students then used Garage Band software to create a sound
file explaining their theory, the results of their data collection, and a
solution to the problem.
Students were able to relate the simulation to a real life
water quality problem that we have in Kansas. They learned ways to prevent the
pollution and ways that the pollution can be filtered out of the water with
grass filter strips.
