intergrated+science+fair

=Awe science fair.... They sound like a great idea, but are boards really the best idea for presenting science experiments? Students will need to be able to present using computers when they move on from high school into college and the work force. This idea was actually spurred from a CAST presentation in 2010 in Dallas. Melissa ISD does a Kids Inquiry Conference. They bring students in from the campuses and have the students present in front of other students from the other campuses. This is a scaled down model.= = = =Here is the link to the webpage that has all the student projects from last years integrated science fair.= =[|RoessBoss Science Fair 2012]=

Positives :
1. Students use 21st century skills like making power points 2. Technology TEKS and English TEKS are crossing over into science 3. The students projects are placed online and the website is sent to judges to grade 4. People are more willing to grade because they don't have to arrive at a specific time. 5. Judges are kept secret since they are not traveling into the campus. 6. You can get judges from outside your community

Negatives :
1. It is hard to induce change with people who are set in their ways 2. You have to have some technology skills in order to do this 3. Your teachers have to be willing to listen to the comments that the judges have and then use the grades that the judges have awarded. Too many time the teachers inflate the grades to keep the students happy, and thus undermined the time and effort that judge placed in that project.

Info for the Teacher
This is the information sheet that I give to my teachers to assist them in the setting up. I actually changed the part about the judges and handled it myself. Most of the judges preferred it this way. If I do this again for another school, I will take screen shots of all the steps. i had asked for time to work with the teachers to help them with this, but was denied to time. It still turned out alright.

Technology Do's and Don't for the student
This is the information sheet that I give to students as a fast what to do and what not to do.

PreLab Form
This is the information sheet that they fill in their ideas with for the science fair. This is also signed by the teacher

Science Fair Powerpoint
This is a powerpoint that I use to talk to the students about science fair. It includes information about proper hypothesis development, places for ideas, and other valuable information.

Science Fair Letter
This is the letter that goes home to the students and parents in regards to the science fair and the dates that are important.

Excel For the judges
This is the grade sheet for the judges. You may want to make multiple worksheets with copies of the form, so that you can send them one form. If they prefer a written one, you can print them. However double check their math. I found some people did not correctly add which is a benefit of the excel.

Things I Learned from this
This is some guiding things that I learned. I will be honest I was naive in how I thought people would handle this science fair. The judges and students LOVED it. The students loved being treated fairly and not being judges on their status in the community.

Student Example
This is some of the student projects.