Problem Based Learning Project Connecting Computing to Issues in Oceanography Project Days are referenced in schedule as PGP# Overall Theme or Big Idea of the Project Connecting Computing and Oceanographic problems - students will form an in depth understanding of a specific oceanography problem, and be able to explain how computers and new technologies are used to facilitate discovery and research pertinent to the problem. Students will collaborate in groups of four and use inquiry skills to research details of the problem, propose a possible solution (or report on a solution that has been implemented by scientists), explain how computing enables advancement in oceanographic research, and create a final project presentation to educate others on their problem, solution, and importance of computing to the problem. Project Scope & Timeline Snapshot PGP1 Project Part 1: The Problem - form groups, select a problem and and research the problem PGP2 Project Part 2: The Data - find examples of data related to the problem, explain how the data is represented PGP3 Project Part 3: Connecting Computing & The Solution - propose a possible solution to the problem and explain how computers and computer programs can be used to research the problem or help with a solution PGP4 Project Part 4: Create Awareness - Plan a way to educate others about the problem & your solution PGP5 Project Part 5: Upload your project to voice thread and give a class presentation Oceanography Problems - Students (in groups) chose which problem they would like to work on. Problems centered around the human impact on the ocean environment Offshore drilling & oil spills Trash & litter Dead zones Mercury pollution Ocean acidification Global warming & rising sea levels Overfishing Endangered species Antibiotics & aquaculture Coral Reefs Essential Questions Why is this problem important to the world? How is this problem connected to your life? What are the causes of this problem? What would happen if this problem isn t solved? What impact does this problem have on the composition of ocean water? What impact does this problem have on sea life? What types of data are used to investigate this problem? How are these different types of data represented on a computer? How can computing and the use of computational tools help in solving this problem? How can computation and computers be used to help people process data and information to gain insight and knowledge about this problem? How can computer models and simulations help generate new understanding about this problem? How do computers help increase the scale of problems that can be addressed? What is a possible solution to this problem?
Project Scope & Timeline PGP1 - Project Part 1: The Problem - form groups, select a problem and and research the problem define the problem, state the causes of the problem, state the impacts of the problem on water composition and sea life, illustrate the impacts of this problem on the food web PGP2 - Project Part 2: The Data - find examples of data related to the problem and explain find examples of graphs, models, or data that are related to the problem, explain what the graphics you found mean, explain how this data is represented in a computer (binary). PGP3 - Project Part 3: Connecting Computing & The Solution - propose a possible solution to the problem and explain how computers and computer programs can be used to research the problem or help with a solution based on what you know about the problem propose a possible solution, justify why this solution would address the problem, explain how computing and computer programs can help research the problem, explain how computing might be used to implement your solution PGP4 - Project Part 4: Create Awareness - Plan a way to educate others about the problem & your solution using storyboards (pick one): plan a social media campaign to educate others on the problem and solution what outlets would you use & why? (facebook, snapchat, youtube, twitter, others?) who is your audience - who do you want to know about this problem? what content will you post to create awareness about the problem? how would you measure the effectiveness of your social media campaign to create awareness? plan a game that will educate others on the problem and solution what is the main idea of your game, and how does that relate to the problem? What is the objective of the game? who are the characters in your game and what can they do? how would you measure the effectiveness of the game to create awareness? PGP5 - Project Part 5: Upload to Voice Thread and do a Class Presentation Project Based Learning Roles Within their groups, students will select a project role to play within the group. The project roles will help facilitate group work. Students may also select an oceanographic specialty that and might approach the problem from this perspective. Students would select roles that they feel will be relevant to solving the problem they chose, and that are interesting to them. These roles are superficial and could be used just to get them to invest and learn a little about different specialties in oceanography.
Project Roles Group: Directions: Assign project roles within your group, each group member should select a different role. Group Member Name Project Role Role Description The Warrior - Initiator & Facilitator The Explorer - Researcher & Data Manager The Judge - Recorder & Task Manager The Crafter - Designer & Creative Manager provides leadership and direction for the team, leads activities, makes sure the project goals are being met responsible for reporting and documenting data related aspects of the project keeps group on task, makes sure project tasks are being completed, documents ideas and progress provides creative direction for the group, plans presentation and visual elements
Oceanographic Specialties Name: Group: Directions: Select the oceanographic specialty that interests you the most. Marine Geological Scientist As an oceanographer with a specialty in geological sciences, you are interested in the science of the unexplored underwater terrain, including the creation, evolution, and structure of the sea floor and how to best manage its resources in the underwater environment. You might be interested in the creation, evolution, and structure of the sea floor over time, including asking questions like - why has the earth s magnetic field reversed itself at least three times in the last million years, and what happens when heat escapes from the crust of the earth in the depths of the ocean? You are most interested in understanding how the earth works and in working to solve environmental and global issues. Marine Biological Scientist As an oceanographer with a specialty in biological sciences you study various ocean life forms and their relationships with each other, with their environments, and with humans. You are interested in discovering everything there is to know about ocean life, and discovering new forms of life that live in the ocean, and their physiological adaptations. You examine the cycling of nutrients through the marine food chain, from algae to tuna. You may determine how sharks behave, how fishes communicate, or how marine ecosystems are changing due to human influence. You are most interested in using your knowledge of ocean life to protecting the biodiversity and create sustainable solutions for the oceans resources. Marine Chemical Scientist As an oceanographer with a specialty in chemical sciences you are interested in studying properties and useful chemicals in seawater and analyze the effects of pollutants. You are most interested in discovering how the oceans were formed eons ago, and what determines their composition today. You are interested in identifying ocean resources that may be beneficial, such as natural products with medicinal properties, and investigating means to protect the oceans from the effects of pollution. Marine Physical Scientist As an oceanographer with a specialty in physical sciences you are interested in studying the complex physics of waves, tides, and currents. You are interested in the circulation of seawater and the exchange of energy and matter across the surface of the ocean. You study satellite imagery of the movement of the ocean and the forces that cause such motion. You may examine the transport of sand on and off beaches and the processes of coastal erosion. You may also measure deep currents such as those flowing from Antarctic waters into the Pacific Ocean.You are most interested in asking questions about how the oceans work in a physical sense including investigating water qualities such as temperature, salinity, density, and influential factors such as wind speed, air temperature, tides, and interaction with nearby land and underwater formations. Marine Computer Scientist As an oceanographer with a specialty in computer science, you are interested in improving computers and computer programs so that they can be used as tools for researching the vast expanse of the ocean. You may be interested in bioinformatics, where you use computers to characterize molecular components of underwater life forms. You may also be interested in using computers to process the data collected from ocean sensors to study the ocean. Or you may be interested in creating programs and graphics to model life in the ocean. You are most interested in figuring out how to use computers and computational technology to solve problems and provide solutions that could not be done on paper or by hand.
Project Part 1.1: Select a Problem Group: The Problem - your group should select ONE oceanography problem to work on for the project. Problems and a brief description of each are below (if you have a problem that is not listed, you may ask to have it approved). Oceanography Problems - centered around the human impact on the ocean environment Offshore drilling & oil spills - Offshore drilling continues to be a debate, but it s clear that proceeding with oil production cause problems for our ocean. When oil is extracted from the ocean floor, other chemicals like mercury, arsenic, and lead come up with it. The seismic waves used to find oil can harm mammals. Relatedly, an oil spill can be devastating to marine life, especially those found on the sea surface. Trash & litter - We can't ignore a giant patch of plastic soup the size of Texas sitting smack dab in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Taking a look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a sobering way to realize there is no "away" when it comes to trash, especially trash that lacks the ability to decompose. Dead zones - Dead zones are areas of ocean that don't support life due to a lack of oxygen, and global warming is a prime suspect for what's behind the shifts in ocean behavior that cause dead zones. The number of dead zones is growing at an alarming rate, with over 400 known to exist. Mercury pollution - Pollution is running rampant in the oceans but one of the scariest pollutants is mercury because, well, it ends up on the dinner table. The worst part is mercury levels in the oceans are predicted to rise. So where does the mercury come from? Ocean acidification - Ocean acidification is no small issue. The basic science behind acidification is that the ocean absorbs CO2 through natural processes, but at the rate at which we're pumping it into the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels, the ocean's ph balance is dropping to the point where life within the ocean is having trouble coping. Global warming & rising sea levels - As climate change has warmed the Earth, oceans have responded more slowly than land environments. But scientific research is finding that marine ecosystems can be far more sensitive to even the most modest temperature change. Warming of the ocean has occurred from the surface to a depth of about 2,300 feet (700 meters), where most marine life thrives. Overfishing - Overfishing is having some serious impacts on our oceans. Not only does it work towards wiping out a species, but also the other species of marine animals that are dependent upon those fish for survival. Endangered species - Until recently, humankind seemed to view the ocean as a source of infinite resources. Its vast size and depth and unexplored frontiers made the ocean appear invulnerable to overexploitation. The truth is that the populations of many species are decreasing at an unsustainable rate, and the number of species listed as endangered from marine life families such as whales, dolphins, manatees and dugongs, salmon, seabirds, sea turtles,and sharks to name a few, are on the rise. Antibiotics & aquaculture - Large volumes of antibiotics are used in salmon farming to treat disease. Frequent use of antibiotics in aquaculture poses a risk to human health by allowing disease microbes to become resistant to antibiotic treatments making it more difficult to treat human disease. Coral Reefs - Keeping the coral reefs healthy is another major topic right now. A focus on how to protect the coral reefs is important considering coral reefs support a huge amount of small sea life, which in turn supports both larger sea life and people, not only for immediate food needs but also economically.
Project Part 1.2: The Problem Group: The problem our group selected: For this part of the project you will research this problem answering the following questions: 1. Define the problem 2. Why is this problem important to the world? 3. How is this problem connected to your life? 4. What are some possible causes of this problem? 5. State the impacts of this problem on ocean life, if any 6. State the impacts of this problem on the composition of ocean water, if any 7. State the impacts of this problem on human life, if any 8. Illustrate and describe the impacts of this problem on the food web, if applicable
Project Part 2: The Data Group: The problem our group selected: For this part of the project you will find examples of data, graphs, or charts related this the problem and explain what they mean. 1. What types of data are used to investigate this problem? 2. How are these different types of data represented on a computer (think back to your activities in the game)? 3. Provide examples of data that you have found (they can be charts, graphs) that are related to this problem. Provide a brief description of what is included in each example.
Project Part 3: Connecting Computing & the Solution Group: The problem our group selected: For this part of the project you will use what you know about the problem propose a possible solution, justify why this solution would address the problem, explain how computing and computer programs can help research the problem, explain how computing might be used to research the problem or implement your solution. 1. What is a possible solution to this problem? 2. Why would this solution help solve this problem? 3. What would happen if this problem isn t solved? 4. How can computing and the use of computational tools help in solving this problem? 5. How can computation and computers be used to help people process data and information to gain insight and knowledge about this problem? 6. How can computer models and simulations help generate new understanding and knowledge about this problem? 7. How do computers help increase the scale of problems that can be addressed?
Project Part 4: Create Awareness about the Problem Group: the problem our group selected: For this part of the project you will create awareness about this problem. You will chose a way, and plan to to educate others about the problem & your solution. You will use a storyboard to illustrate your plan. Pick one way to create awareness about this problem: plan a social media campaign to educate others on the problem and solution what outlets would you use & why? (facebook, snapchat, youtube, twitter, others?) who is your audience - who do you want to know about this problem? what content will you post to create awareness about the problem? how would you measure the effectiveness of your social media campaign to create awareness? plan a game that will educate others on the problem and solution what is the main idea of your game, and how does that relate to the problem? What is the objective of the game? who are the characters in your game and what can they do? how would you measure the effectiveness of the game to create awareness?
Project Part 5: Upload to Voice Thread & do a Class Presentation For this part of the project you will make a presentation about your storyboard and other pieces of the project and upload it to Voice Thread and do a Class Presentation.
Storyboard Guide & Templates You will create storyboard to illustrate your plan to create awareness about the oceanography problem that you have been researching. You can either choose to plan a social media campaign, or plan a game to reach out to others and tell them what you have learned about the problem. Storyboards are used to represent a plan for the sequence of visual illustrations to tell a story. You can use storyboards for communicating your ideas to others by including a written description and a graphical illustrations. You may describe elements of your project, like the problem, data, the characters, the setting, narration. The elements of the story are arranged in the storyboard in the chronological order in which they will appear in the story. Below are some templates that you may use to get you started. Be creative! These templates are only suggestions, and may be modified!
Storyboard Template Project Title: Group: Title: Description: Title: Description: Title: Description: Title: Description: Title: Description: Title: Description:
Project Rubric Group: (Part 1) - State/describe oceanography problem (Part 2) - Show and explain data supporting the impact of the problem (charts, graphs, etc) (Part 3) - Propose a possible solution to the problem (Part 4) - Explain how computing and computer programs may: be used to collect and store data OR play a role in solving this problem and/or educating others about this problem (Part 5) - Explain a plan for creating awareness using storyboard 1 2 3 4