Guest Post by Karla Orosco
CUE Steampunk: Globisens GenSci Labdisc Blog Entry
Karla Orosco, 7th Grade Science Teacher at Admiral Akers at NAS Lemoore
I checked out the GenSci Labdiscs for my 7th grade NGSS integrated classroom for 2 weeks. My tech department was awesome about quickly loading the Globilab App and away we went. My students downloaded the user's guide and previewed it before I passed out a labdisc to the group. The kit has everything except the pH sensor.
Here is just a preview of what it does:
I really didn’t try to go over each function or feature with the students because part of the excitement was discovering for themselves. I did have to go over the distance tool because that was a little confusing.
I made one student the leader of each group of 5-7 students and that student paired the labdisc to his/her iPad for all the tests. The students took turns using the labdisc and using the iPad to look at the data generated.
It took 3 days for the students to really understand all the functions and learn to use them. I found the Lessons LIbrary Website good but I modified a few to make them work for my class.
One challenge was to make a path from one place on campus to another and find the distance with the Labdisc, write down the path then give to another group and see if they could get the same measurement with written instructions given by the other group. Students had fun with this and enjoyed giving another group a challenge.
I could use these all year alone for the data that is generated by the app and have students work understanding the data that they generated. I wish we spent more time learning the app features in addition to the labdisc features.
Clockwise from upper left: My students measuring distance, taking the temperature of different liquids that I got from a freezer, fridge, room temperature and outside, a student pairing labdisc to her iPad for the day, looking at app data, and taking an external temperature.
There is a learning curve on these devices but if you are flexible with time and lessons this is a powerful scientific and measurement tool. I plan to try to check out again earlier in the year if possible to go along with my measurement adventures unit. I highly encourage all CUE members to check these out and let students explore with them.
