7.1 Interactive Images
Interactive instructional images are excellent tools to engage students in their own exploration of content.
As you explore the interactive image shown to the left, think about some of the reasons that compelled you to "click' and explore more?
What else did you learn as you engaged in an exploration of this tool?
Did you "wander" off to other sites to learn more?
Where did you find yourself spending the most time and why?
Interactive images give users the ability to engage with an image in multiple , engaging ways. They can click, roll over or navigate around the image to access additional content. These images may have links to other websites, or they may click to start a video. There are many uses for these types of images. Importantly, these images encourage the user to explore, wonder, discover and deepen their understanding through their interactions.
Interactive instructional images serve the purpose of helping the user to learn. These types of images can also enable a student to show what he/she has learned and can be used as tools for reflection.
Pedagogical Strategizing
"I invite you to touch this image and to begin your exploration of earth!" began Mrs. Peterson's introduction to her 2nd grade class at the start of the earth formations unit. Her students, eagerly examined the image on their iPads, eyes full of wonder, fingers edgy with anticipation. Before launching into the 2-week unit, her goal was to create a sense of wonder in her students.
The 5 Es
She created the image you see above as a way to engage her students before she even began sharing any teacher-driven content. The goal -- use their wonderings to kick start the inquiry based unit and to initialize their experiences with earth formations to make those vital connections between content and deeper meaning.
Though the image appears simplistic, a lot of pedagogical strategizing went into creating this interactive map. Mrs. Peterson and her 2nd grade team began their planning using the instructional design strategy referred to as the 5Es. This strategy is based on a constructivist approach to learning, which encourages students to build on their pre-existing knowledge. It is a model of inquiry that follows the natural way we solve problems in daily life. There are 5 phases of this design strategy; 1) engage, 2) explore , 3) explain, 4) elaborate, 5) evaluate. The map would cover phases 1-engage and 2-explore. Additionally, they wanted to give their students choice in how they began to construct their knowledge.
While building the map, they needed to pay specific attention to the developmental stage of their students and so they carefully selected links and other content based on its developmentally appropriate content. For these young learners, it was important that the websites they had access to were safe and that the videos they watched did not contain ads or other inappropriate content. They also had to be cognizant of the fact that the students would only have 45-minutes to explore the map , so the videos they selected were short and the content was at a 2nd-3rd grade reading level.
Read
The following short articles give you greater insight into the 5E model. You will need this understanding to create your own interactive instructional image and to complete the Affordances and Constraints Reflection Journal:
5E Model for Teaching Inquiry - a 7-minute video that provides an overview of the model and its effectiveness
The 5Es, by Enhancing Education (n.d.)
BSCS 5Es Instructional Model, by National Science Teachers Association (2014)
The BSCS Instructional Model: Origins, Effectiveness and Applications, (Bybee, R., et al., 2006) - just skim
Move onto Mod 7.2 when you have completed this section and the readings.