My C & I 335 project will be used with a group of accelerated math students in fifth grade.  The project involves the students generating a survey question which can be asked to the entire population of our school. Past examples have been hair color, eye color, favorite athlete, favorite type of music. The aim of this project is to not only teach students how to conduct a survey on a large scale, but more importantly, how to use technology to transform data from 'just numbers' into something better. The students are in groups ranging in size from two to four people, and they come up with several possible questions. The class then decides which question they want to use. Each group uses the same question so we can have a large sample, which in turn generates a more accurate picture of the findings. In all research the researchers need permission to conduct their work. For this reason, the students are responsible for getting permission from the principal and
teachers to do their research.
    The students then generate the survey instrument. The students will give the survey to each student of our school. Each group will be responsible for gathering the data from a few classrooms. Once the survey has been given, the kids have to organize their data. This is where technology is utilized. Because it is important for students to use technology in real life, background knowledge of the software and hardware available to use in the building is established early in the course. I plan on using the following software: Claris Works, Eudora, Netscape Composer, Hyper Studio. Hardware will include the use of a digital camera to enhance final presentations. Leading up to the project, the students are taught how to use spreadsheet software, Claris Works, to make tables and create graphs. They use these skills to transform their data into tables and graphs. They then make a presentation to the class. This presentation may come in the form of a slide show, Hyper Studio stack, or a speech accompanied by a poster.
    I would also like to introduce them to Eudora, the e-mail program used in our school district. I would like for the students to send this question to groups other than our school so that we can compare the results. Additionally, I would like to have them post their finished product on a web page.
    At the end of the project I plan on using a rubric to evaluate their projects. This rubric, or a modified version, would also be completed by the students as a  self assessment.
 

If you have any suggestions to help make this a better project, please e-mail me at sbarnett@springfield.k12.il.us