Announcing Planet FOSS

Science happens in the real world! Can you picture it?

In the fall of 2008, FOSSweb will have a new middle-school activity that asks students to look at the world through a new lens. Planet FOSS is a photo-sharing site where students are challenged to represent examples of scientific concepts in their local environment through digital photography. The site poses photo challenges specific to FOSS Middle School Courses. Once they obtain parental consent, students capture and upload photographs to the Planet FOSS website. These student photographs are viewable on the Planet FOSS website as a resource for other students throughout the country.

Research has shown that digital photography has enormous possibilities in the teaching and learning of science1. With the decreasing cost of digital cameras, students have more opportunities to represent the world as they see it through digital images. This has made it possible for web-based resources like Flickr™ and Picasa™ to create a new culture of photo-sharing. But these sites require students to sift through an overabundance of information—a frequent problem in this age of user-generated content and Web 2.02. Teachers who use these sites run the risk of violating students’ privacy. And there are advertisements, which pose unwanted distractions. In fact, many schools have firewalls to prevent students from accessing such sites.

Planet FOSS is streamlined and focused. Each Middle School Course has a page on Planet FOSS that contains photo challenges asking students to think critically about real-world examples and applications of the science concepts developed in the FOSS investigations. For example, the Chemical Interactions Planet FOSS photo challenge invites students to “take a picture that shows evidence of a chemical reaction or a chemical reaction in process.” For Populations and Ecosystems, the photo challenge prompts students to “take a picture of an abiotic factor in an ecosystem.”

In order for the picture to appear on the Planet FOSS website, students must tag the image with an appropriate concept. The uploading process prompts students to analyze their photograph and explain to the viewers what science concept their photo depicts. Photos on Planet FOSS are also “geotagged,” that is, associated with the zip code of the person who uploaded the image. In the interest of security, images with faces are not permitted.

In May and June 2008, FOSS conducted a pilot study of the Planet FOSS activities for the Populations and Ecosystems and Chemical Interactions Courses with teachers in Scottsdale, Arizona; Avon Lake, Ohio; and Boston, Massachusetts. The students in Boston were struck by how different the environment was in Arizona; they were particularly fascinated by the images of snakes and cacti taken by the Scottsdale students. But the contrasts were not the only things that stood out. The fact that some of the pictures in Avon Lake looked like they could have been taken in the Boston area lead to the question: What is it about Ohio that is like Boston?

The pilot showed that there is no one way to incorporate Planet FOSS into the curriculum. It can be an extra credit activity, a required assignment, or part of an after-school program. Certainly, the way in which people use this site will vary depending on students’ access to digital cameras and high-speed Internet. During this first year of Planet FOSS implementation we expect the site to develop and expand. We would love any suggestions you may have to improve this site. Please send comments and suggestions to planetfoss@berkeley.edu.

Endnotes

1. Rivet, A. & Schneider, R. (2004). Exploring the role of digital photography to enhance student inquiry in a local ecosystem. Journal of Computers in Math and Science Teaching, 23(1), 47–65. Clark, K., Hosticka, A., & Bedell, J. (2000). Digital cameras in the K–12 classroom. Paper presented at the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, San Diego, California. 2 Enviro-pix: Using digital cameras in the classroom. Green Teacher, 53, 30–31. Kriss, J. (1997). Digitized photography: What you can do with it. Media & Methods, 34(1), 20, 22.
2. Editor’s Note: Web 2.0 is a term describing the use of Web technology to enhance creativity, information sharing, and collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of World Wide Web-based communities, hosted services, social-networking sites,

NSTA Conferences

We will be presenting Planet FOSS workshops at the following NSTA conferences:

Charlotte, North Carolina—October 31

Portland, Oregon—November 21

Cincinnati, Ohio—December 5

Planet FOSS Link:

http://www.fossweb.com/planetfoss/

Thanks to the following teachers for their participation in the project: Barbara Reinert and Jodie Mitchell (Scottsdale), Sarah Lee (Avon Lake), and Jessica Penchos (Boston).