AnthroTech Assessment
The AnthroTech Assessment is our inaugural assignment to kick off ED 632, classroom internet integration. We evaluated the technology cultures of our host schools. We gathered information, while on the job, to assess the attitudes, capabilities, equipment and support offered to us during our internships. This was an eye-opening experience to learn what type of technological culture Jane Mears Middle School has and to see the internal struggles between the old-fashion ways and the modern-aged, technology-centered classroom.
Story Map - Digital Storytelling (part 1)
The Story Map assignment is the first installation of our Digital Storytelling project. In this, we are going to create a piece of media that could be used in the classroom to facilitate learning. For my project, I decided to attempt to create a short animated film that highlights the theory of evolution and natural selection for students around the middle school age. In my story, I tell the tale of the Bobs. The Bobs are a meek, little, defenseless species with a big problem... They are delicious. The various predator species in the area have pushed them to the brink of extinction and my video will show how evolution and natural selection keeps them, as a species, alive over the course of many generations.
ed_632_-_story_map_-_bobs.docx | |
File Size: | 28 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Script - Digital Storytelling (part 2)
This is Bob. Bob is a Bob. He and all the other Bobs live among the sands of the desert. Bob, along with his wife and three children, couldn’t be happier. His whole species has everything that they need to be successful in their environment. The vast brown landscape is almost completely covered with the tiny, cute, defenseless, green critters. They keep breeding and, since there are virtually no factors to keep them in check, their numbers continue to climb exponentially.
Yes, life is good for Bob. He goes about his day without a care in the world but, little does he know, Bob has a huge problem that he’s not even aware of… He’s delicious! [A bird screeches and swoops in and snatches Bob] A predator has moved into the area. It is a species of bird that has quickly acquired a taste for the protein rich green flesh of the Bobs.
The Bobs don’t stand a chance against the winged killing machines from up above. They scatter and find shelter where they can, behind rocks and under bushes. Unfortunately, the green Bobs in their brown environment stick out like sore thumbs. The feeding frenzy of these new birds devastates the population of the Bobs.
This is Billy, son of Bob… [A bird screeches and swoops in and snatches Billy]
This is Bob Jr., The other son of Bob. Bob Jr. manages to survive the initial onslaught and make a bunch of baby Bobs, passing on his genes to the next generation.
Despite being pushed to the brink of extinction, the bobs have survived as a species. Life isn’t so happy anymore for the little guys. They live in constant fear for their lives. They have to breed even more to keep up with their losses and this has left them all exhausted. Yes, life in the desert is now a miserable existence for the Bobs and this misery will continue on for several generations to come.
[Fast forward several generations]
This is Brian. He is a distant descendent of Bob, the little guy from the beginning of this tale. He is living the life much like his ancestors lived since the appearance of the birds, nervous and afraid for his life. One day, Brian nervously poked his head out from behind his rock to check on his surroundings. He saw his neighbor, Baxter, wandering out in the open like the fool he was. Baxter’s dad was a weird guy. He would eat strange and unhealthy things and some would say that the sun had fried his whole body. It was no wonder that his children didn’t come out right. His daughter, Bernadette, was born without teeth and Baxter was born with spiky nubs on his head. Brian watched as a bird was closing in on Baxter. He had seen this a thousand times before and knew how this was going to end. But this time was different. The bird swooped in and grabbed Baxter but quickly let go due to the spikes on Baxter’s head. The bird flapped away in pain leaving Baxter virtually unscathed. [A bird screeches and swoops in and snatches Brian]
Baxter goes on to have many children, all with spikes on their head. The birds do not like the pain that the spikes inflict on their feet and leave them alone. Frustrated, they redouble their efforts to hunt the non-spiky variety of Bobs. This drives their numbers even further down, while the spiky bobs experience of population growth.
[Fast forward several generations]
The non-spiky line of Bob has been wiped out and the spiky line of Baxter has had a moderate amount of success but the birds have evolved as well. They’ve developed tougher feet to withstand the spikes. This has put a strain on the species once again. Their numbers begin to dwindle over the next several generations. It isn’t until a Bob named Benedict gets a little too much sun and gives birth to children with the mutation of brown skin, that they rebound. Several more generations down the line, Barney is born with the mutation of really hard skin.
It is been a long time since Bob, one of the original bobs, frolicked happily in the desert. Over the course of many, many, many generations and the trials of a harsh environment, the bobs are a far cry from their ancestors. Through weeding out traits that did not help our little protagonist survive, the bobs went from cute and green to callous and brown with spikes on their heads. Now the bobs are better equipped to handle what nature will throw at them. No longer do they have to live in constant fear. They can venture out from behind the rocks and from underneath their bushes and go forth and multiply, passing on their genes to future generations.
[A bird screeches and a Bob answers back with a fierce battle cry]
Yes, life is good for Bob. He goes about his day without a care in the world but, little does he know, Bob has a huge problem that he’s not even aware of… He’s delicious! [A bird screeches and swoops in and snatches Bob] A predator has moved into the area. It is a species of bird that has quickly acquired a taste for the protein rich green flesh of the Bobs.
The Bobs don’t stand a chance against the winged killing machines from up above. They scatter and find shelter where they can, behind rocks and under bushes. Unfortunately, the green Bobs in their brown environment stick out like sore thumbs. The feeding frenzy of these new birds devastates the population of the Bobs.
This is Billy, son of Bob… [A bird screeches and swoops in and snatches Billy]
This is Bob Jr., The other son of Bob. Bob Jr. manages to survive the initial onslaught and make a bunch of baby Bobs, passing on his genes to the next generation.
Despite being pushed to the brink of extinction, the bobs have survived as a species. Life isn’t so happy anymore for the little guys. They live in constant fear for their lives. They have to breed even more to keep up with their losses and this has left them all exhausted. Yes, life in the desert is now a miserable existence for the Bobs and this misery will continue on for several generations to come.
[Fast forward several generations]
This is Brian. He is a distant descendent of Bob, the little guy from the beginning of this tale. He is living the life much like his ancestors lived since the appearance of the birds, nervous and afraid for his life. One day, Brian nervously poked his head out from behind his rock to check on his surroundings. He saw his neighbor, Baxter, wandering out in the open like the fool he was. Baxter’s dad was a weird guy. He would eat strange and unhealthy things and some would say that the sun had fried his whole body. It was no wonder that his children didn’t come out right. His daughter, Bernadette, was born without teeth and Baxter was born with spiky nubs on his head. Brian watched as a bird was closing in on Baxter. He had seen this a thousand times before and knew how this was going to end. But this time was different. The bird swooped in and grabbed Baxter but quickly let go due to the spikes on Baxter’s head. The bird flapped away in pain leaving Baxter virtually unscathed. [A bird screeches and swoops in and snatches Brian]
Baxter goes on to have many children, all with spikes on their head. The birds do not like the pain that the spikes inflict on their feet and leave them alone. Frustrated, they redouble their efforts to hunt the non-spiky variety of Bobs. This drives their numbers even further down, while the spiky bobs experience of population growth.
[Fast forward several generations]
The non-spiky line of Bob has been wiped out and the spiky line of Baxter has had a moderate amount of success but the birds have evolved as well. They’ve developed tougher feet to withstand the spikes. This has put a strain on the species once again. Their numbers begin to dwindle over the next several generations. It isn’t until a Bob named Benedict gets a little too much sun and gives birth to children with the mutation of brown skin, that they rebound. Several more generations down the line, Barney is born with the mutation of really hard skin.
It is been a long time since Bob, one of the original bobs, frolicked happily in the desert. Over the course of many, many, many generations and the trials of a harsh environment, the bobs are a far cry from their ancestors. Through weeding out traits that did not help our little protagonist survive, the bobs went from cute and green to callous and brown with spikes on their heads. Now the bobs are better equipped to handle what nature will throw at them. No longer do they have to live in constant fear. They can venture out from behind the rocks and from underneath their bushes and go forth and multiply, passing on their genes to future generations.
[A bird screeches and a Bob answers back with a fierce battle cry]
Story Table - Digital Storytelling (part 3)
Coming soon...
The Final Product - Digital Storytelling (part 4)
Coming soon...
The Reflection - Digital Storytelling (Conclusion)
Coming soon...