Prior knowledge video - session 1
Completed explanatory animation
Final director's commentary
My topic is chemical reactions.
I don't really know much about chemical reactions but when you put two things together it makes something different, and that's practically all I know.
I do not really know much about chemical reactions but I know if you put different things together you end up with something different altogether .
Like many other students in this project, this girl is using 1st person narrative rather than 3rd person. This is unusual though as this girl is the only 2011 participant to have also also participated in the 2010 Storyboard trial.
I've also copied and pasted her slide headings as follows:
- What is a chemical reaction?
- Why do we do chemical reations?
- How did we find about chemical reactions?
- An example of a chemical reaction
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 1
Chemical reaction is such a broad topic I have to find out the basics of chemical reactions and cut it down, to... say... two different things and instead of doing heaps of like...what it is, I should do it like, two different types of chemical reactions and put detail into it. Lots and lots of detail.
I do not really know much about chemical reactions but I know if you put different things together you end up with something different altogether.
The voice-over text for this student hasn't changed but she was very responsive when I introduced her to the Periodic Table of the Elements.
She has started to make her own table and has some understanding of the mathematical layout of the elements.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 3
Today I learnt that chemical reactions is something mathematical and it's gots, got electrons to do with it.
I do not really know much about chemical reactions but I know if you put different things together you end up with something different altogether.
I introduced this student to the idea of valency and electrons. She seemed to take to it fairly well as the H2O example seemed logical enough.
My own understanding of chemistry is too limited to adequately convey these ideas to her without further research.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 4
Today I represented water, umm, using puzzle pieces and it was fun to make.
A synthesis reaction or direct combination reaction is one of the most common types of chemical reactions. In a synthesis reaction two or more chemical species combine to form a more complex product.
This student needs to be careful to reference sources of her information. I found that she has copied and pasted her voice-over text verbatim from:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemicalreactions/a/synthesis-reaction.htm
The concept map page is a suitable place to "dump" information for future reference but the voice-over text should be her own words, even if that is a paraphrase of established facts.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 5
I found out that my voice-over text has to be your own words and, umm, information (is compiled) somewhere else.
A synthesis reaction or direct combination reaction is one of the most common types of chemical reactions. In a synthesis reaction two or more chemical species combine to form a more complex product.
I had much to discuss with this student but only managed to convey the main point about plagiarism due to time constraints.
The other issue I wanted to discuss related to the valency of the elements. I suspect that my incomplete recollection of the periodic table from High school chemistry left me equating this to positive and negative numbers. I'm now fairly sure that this isn't the case so the jigsaw puzzle imagery from last week is not the best representation for this concept.
I'll ensure that we discuss this in the next session. There is a money analogy that I'll mention as one possible alternative. It involves various denominations of coins that can be combined to add up to one dollar (thus avoiding negative numbers).
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 6
I realised that you can't do positive and negative for my presentation because there's no such thing in chemical language about positive and negative.
I do not really know much about chemical reactions but I know if you put different things together you end up with something different altogether.
A synthesis reaction or direct combination reaction is one of the most common types of chemical reactions. In a synthesis reaction two or more chemical species combine to form a more complex product.
This student still has two main slides containing text which are unchanged from Session 4.
I will suggest to her during the next session that one of slides is titled "Voice-over script" and to ensure that it contains her own words in 3rd person tense.
This student has been very open-minded about the concept of elements combining. When I suggested that positive and negative might not be appropriate terminology she was very gracious considering that I had first suggested these terms only a few weeks earlier.
The new analogy of various coins making up a dollar was well received so this could be our way forward.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 7
We were thinking about instead of doing "Chemical reactions" do "Chemical bonds" and so we could shrink it down and make it more detailed.
And how we we're going to show that is money so we have (an) exact amount to get to. And in money every cent you put in is more to the target so there's no negatives.
If you put different things together you end up with something different altogether.
This student is considering "Chemical bonds" as a more manageable topic than "Chemical reactions." I apologised to her for my limited knowledge of the topic but she has remained optimistic about her animation as she finds this topic interesting.
The voice-over script from this session has been reduced to contain only original words which is largely based on the voice-over script from session 3. Ideas which she has learnt from other web sites have been copied into a page called "Dumping ground" which she can reread without fear of plagiarism as these are not her own words.
It was initially exciting to read that there are pre-existing representation traditions such as Lewis dot diagrams. Ideally, she would create a new system but this might be unrealistic.
During my own research today into chemical bonds I wondered if "Molecular chemistry" might be the most suitable name for her topic.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 10
I changed my topic to “Molecular naming conventions.” I started to write the atoms instead of drawing them.
Every chemical element has its own name. They are sometimes based on the first letter:
H for Hydrogen
O for Oxygen
Sometimes the letters have nothing to do with the element:
Au Gold
This student has changed her topic to "Molecular naming conventions." I had mentioned the option of changing to a completely new topic but this student wanted to continue within the realm of Chemistry.
Her director's commentary remark about how she is going to "...write the atoms instead of drawing them" is actually quite profound. Far from language being the ultimate form of expression, this student chose words as an easier option than the more difficult task of representing atoms by drawing their structure.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 11
Today I’ve been focusing on the voice-over script and I’ve started naming different elements. So, I’ve made two different examples for the different elements.
A molecule is a group of atoms.
Atoms are the building blocks of matter.
Atoms are sometimes named after the first letter.
H for Hydrogen
C for carbon
They are sometimes based on the first two letters
Li for Lithium
Ti for Titanium
Sometimes the letters have nothing to do with the element.
Au for Gold
Ag for silver
This student has progressed along the conceptual consolidation rubric for her use of correct terminology. This is because her terminology is now reduced to the names of the elements and the quantities of each element in the various compounds that are formed. Proton, neutrons and electrons are not part of the vocabulary any more so her progress is assisted by the reduced complexity of her topic.
The use of colour is starting to emerge in her voice-over script as text will become a major source of imagery for her animation.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 12
Today I finished naming the atoms. And now (I’m) working on the numbering. And after that I’m going to be doing, working out the order of the elements.
Atoms are the building blocks of matter.
A molecule is a group of atoms.
Atoms are sometimes named after the first letter.
H for Hydrogen
C for carbon
They are sometimes based on the first two letters
Li for Lithium
Ti for Titanium
Sometimes the letters have nothing to do with the element.
Au for Gold
Ag for silver
This student reversed the order of the first two sentences in her voice-over script to improve clarity.
The following image is her initial impression for the opening metaphor about how atoms are the "building blocks of matter."
Her director's commentary reveals a confident and logical plan of action so I have moved her along the conceptual consolidation rubric for self-assessment.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 13
Today I learnt about this guy called Edwin Hill who made up the rule of the order of the elements in the chemical compound.
Atoms are the building blocks of matter. A molecule is a group of atoms. Atoms are sometimes named after the first letter:
H for Hydrogen
C for carbon
They are sometimes based on the first two letters
Li for Lithium
Ti for Titanium
Sometimes the letters have nothing to do with the element.
Au for Gold
Ag for silver
If there is a number following the element it means how many atoms there are. For example, H2O two hydrogen and one Oxygen, H2O4S two hydrogen, oxygen and four sulphurOrder is usually following the rule developed by Edwin Hill in 1900. carbon first then Hydrogen second then alphabetical order
This voice-over script now includes the final variables of number and order. Learning about the Hill system was the final piece of information required for the actual content of the animation.
This student has progressed along the conceptual consolidation rubric this week in the area of identifying the relationships between variables. This is because she now knows that the numbers quantify the ratio of the elements. She is however mistaken as to which element a number refers to. Her example of sulphuric acid (H2O4S) ascribed the 4 as belonging to the Sulphur rather than Oxygen. This misconception can be easily corrected. Her familiarity with H2O could be a useful mnemonic aid to avoid mixing this up in future.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 14
Today I found out that the number comes after the element and I recorded my voice-over script.
Atoms are the building blocks of matter. A molecule is a group of atoms. Atoms are sometimes named after the first letter:
H for Hydrogen.
C for Carbon.
They are sometimes based on the first two letters.
Li for Lithium.
Ti for Titanium.
Sometimes the letters have nothing to do with the element.
Au for Gold.
Ag for Silver.
A number following the element refers to the quantity of those atoms.
The number comes after the element.
For example, H2O means two hydrogens and one Oxygen, H2O4S means two hydrogens, four oxygens and one sulphur
The order in which the elements are written usually follows the rule developed by Edwin Hill in 1900. According to this rule, when you have Carbon it goes first, Hydrogen is second and the rest are in alphabetical order.
This student had a very productive session. She now knows that the ratio of the atoms is determined by the numbers which are written after the atoms and that the absence of a number means that there is only one.
She has also progressed along the conceptual consolidation rubric in the areas of correct terminology, identifying relevant variables and identifying the relationship between variables.
Recording the voice-over script was a major step towards completing this explanatory animation. The rest should be relatively easy as she plans to animate the words and letters of the elements and molecules.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 15
Today I thought about how I’m going to animate my voice-over script. So we’re going to put it into a table and then we’re going to delete the stuff that’s not relevant to that particular bit and then we’re going to animate it like that.
I’m also experimenting with highlight colours.
The table that this student mentioned in her director's commentary is a great idea. I'm going to use such a table for all of the students as it will function as a checklist for the imagery that is required.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |
Director's commentary - session 16
Today I experimented trying to find which colours would suit the elements for highlighting.
I addition to highlighting letters and numbers, the simple use of circles or oval shapes to group items together is another way of showing these connections.
| Uses correct terminology | With assistance | Simplified terminology | Some correct terminology | Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables | Not apparent | With assistance | Basic understanding | Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? | No | Not really | Basic understanding | Yes |