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Benjamin Zerante's picture

Virtuality Response

I think that this is an activity that students would definitely be engaged by. However, I think it would be really important to guide them through what they might be considering as take aways from the activity. Students, very generally speaking, are more engaged by technology and sometimes the point of what an instructor is trying to impart gets lost in the fun of playing around with the game or the ants. I definitely think that elements of the demonstrations or similar activities could be used in a modified way to introduce students to working in virtuality. The concept of virtuality also lends itself to an understanding of science as story if we accept that scientific observations are stories and thus lie somewhere within the spectrum of the real and the virtual. I think one of the keys to deciding how to present this is to think about the age group I would be instructing. While I think it can be adjusted to suit any age group the level of depth and discussion would differ from younger elementary to more advanced high school students. I speak mostly from experiences with younger elementary students or middle school students. I think inquiry on the part of the student is essential to learning, and these activities lend themselves very well to such a model of instruction.

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