Student to Student: Think about Your Digital Footprint

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator 

Last year a Burlington High School student shared some advice with his peers on "cleaning up" their digital identity. While all HHS students should read this, it is especially relevant to Juniors and Seniors who are starting to think about life after HHS. We recommend you read this to make sure your digital identity does not come back to haunt you....

Cleaning Up Your Digital Identity: A Student's Perspective.

Study Hall Snapshot

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

Walking through the cafeteria this morning I saw a familiar tableau: students sitting in groups working on their laptops. Their quiet productivity made me pause. Heading back to my office I got to thinking about the scene.

I realized that while this is an everyday reality for all of us at Hopkinton High School, it’s not familiar to some of our staff, parents, or community members outside of the school. I also realized that while I walk by scenes like this daily, I am not exactly sure what students might be working on. So, with my iPhone in hand, I headed back to cafeteria to investigate and grab some photos.

I was prepared to discover that most, if not all, students would be playing games -- and told them that it was okay if they were gaming. Study is their time and they should decide how they want to spend it.

It was a pleasant surprise to learn that of the 15 students working on laptops, only 2 of them were gaming. One student was on TF2. Full disclosure: he had to repeat this twice for me and explain that this is short for Team Fortress 2, a multiplayer online game. 

The second student was playing Cookie Clicker, where players bake cookies to earn upgrades. Side note to students: Really? There isn’t a better game out there? How about checking out other free online games like Minecraft, where you can create a universe, Marvel Heroes, where you can save the world, or Seven Seas Saga, where you hunt for treasure in Medieval Europe?!.

All other 13 students were working on various school projects, homework, or completing online assignments. The majority of students in the cafeteria this morning were focused on Biology projects. Two young women were critiquing images as part of an online forum in their hybrid Photography course. The rest were completing assignments for math and English -- sometimes even helping each other as they worked.

Just another day in “study hall” at HHS!


 Study Hall at HHS (April 2014 on PhotoPeach)

“Don’t Judge a Shell by its Cover”

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

Last week AP Bio students used an online activity, “Exploring Biodiversity,” to compare DNA sequences. As teacher Michelle Odierna explained to her students, like researchers, they could take advantage of the computer to do the hard work of comparing the complex DNA sequences in order to examine evolutionary relationships. Having gone through the laborious process of comparing sequences by hand on the previous day, students really appreciated the power of technology! Rather working painstakingly through long, tedious series of letters that comprise DNA sequences, students could use a digital application that enabled their laptops do the hard comparative work for them.

Students first ran a practice simulation with molluscs in order to confirm that tonnoids and cowries are more closely related to each other than to neogastropods. Then students were able to enjoy the inquiry-based portion of the activity when they compared the relatedness of several species of their choice relatively effortlessly. The app did the work to show that the more similar the sequence, the more closely related the species. It also was able to draw evolutionary trees to depict the relatedness that the sequences suggested.

Using laptops for the hard part of the lab made doing the analysis to discover various evolutionary relationships fun. Here are snippets of conversations from various class sessions:

Did you know the panda is more closely related to the silverleaf whitefly than to the ostrich?

What’s the scientific name for a Black Rhino?

Did you know that the Macaroni Penguin is more closely related to a flamingo than a Blue-Footed Booby?

Did you know there’s a Red Footed Boobie and a Nazca Booby? I love Boobys….

Did you know a Poison Star Frog is closer to a Tree Snake than a Moray Eel?

What third animal should we compare the Dumbo Octopus and the Blob Fish to?

Students learned that, as Ms. O put it, that you “can’t judge a shell by its cover”: it’s the DNA that counts the most.


Image credits: flickr.com, FDA website.

Smarter Searching

from duckduckgo.com

by Kirsten Fournier, HHS Librarian

Honors Biology teacher, Bryan King, and HHS Librarian, Kirsten Fournier, have been collaborating to identify and instruct students in the use of proper tools for research (both digital and print) and MLA citation of that research. Effective searching, the importance of using peer reviewed sources, and interpreting and understanding academic journal articles are all being addressed. Biology students have access to a class web page where they can retrieve course and library resources. Tutorials posted on the website include tips for effective Google searching and how to use student-friendly search engine alternatives to Google (in addition to all of those great library research databases!).

Check out these resources to see what students are working on and to learn that there are ways to search beyond Google....

Apple Security Patch for iPhone, iPad, & Laptops

Today Apple issued an update to fix a security hole for Mac computers.  It addresses the same security flaw that was found in the Apple iOS software that runs on all Apples mobile devices. Left unfixed, a user could gain access to information including emails, instant messages, social media posts, and online bank transactions. Students should take the time to follow this Updating OSX link to address this issue immediately. If there are any questions or problems with running this update, please visit the Tech Center at HHS for assistance.

Students should also be aware that on Friday, February 21st, Apple issued a security update for iOS 6 and iOS 7 devices due to a security risk. Users not running the latest "patched" iOS software may be open to attacks when connected to a shared network. This applies to iPhones and iPads only. Students with MacBook Airs will not be impacted by this development.

While there have been no confirmed attacks on users, experts are recommending that iPhone and iPad users backup their device and run the patch update (go to Settings> General>Software Update>Download and Install).

Please be aware that some users have experience issues when running this update on their iPads. Read this Slate.com article for more information on the patch: ALERT: How to Fix a Major Security Flaw in Apple Mobile Devices.

1:1 Laptop registration - Now Open for the Class of 2018!

by Ashoke Ghosh, Director of Technology

We have created online forms for the entire 1:1 registration process via the school district’s website. In order to register your student you must use the Schoolwires account you created to receive district listservs.  

Please click on this link to complete the 1:1 Laptop Forms for the Class of 2018 

Once you have completed the online forms please turn in a signed copy of the lease agreement to the middle school central office or mail or return a signed copy to Hopkinton Public Schools Administrative offices at 89 Hayden Rowe Street. Include your initial payment with the lease agreement or remit online using our online payment option: https://unipaygold.unibank.com/Default.aspx?customerid=693 

Please contact Ashoke Ghosh (aghosh@hopkinton.k12.ma.us) at 508-417-9360 if you have any questions. If you get stuck in the registration process and need technical assistance please contact Linda Henderson (lhenderson@hopkinton.k12.ma.us) at 508-497-9820.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Darwinian Snails and Evolution

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

AP Bio students kicked off Semester Two by using SimBio to get crabby. Teacher Michelle Odierna used the hands-on Darwinian Snails virtual lab to help her students understand the range of variables that influence the process of natural selection. SimBio is a digital tool, paid for by an HEF grant awarded to Science teacher Charlotte Shire in 2011. The app enables students “to conduct simulated experiments similar to those performed by practicing scientists, in fields of biology where live experiments are impractical or impossible” (SimBio site).

Students were put in teams to “become a European green crab.” As the lab explains, “You will feel especially crabby if you are not getting enough to eat, and the best snacks available on the coastline are these tasty looking snails. All you have to do is crack their shells by pounding on them with your claw.” The student teams manipulate variables in the population in order to determine how these variables affect the population’s evolution. They make predictions, create models, test hypotheses, and analyze data to explore and further their understanding of population genetics. Students collaborate each step of the way, going through exercises where the crab eats snails using the Claw tool and they try to keep the “Crab Happiness Score” high by eating their snails with the fewest clicks possible. Meanwhile, as the snail population reproduces, the student-biologists track variation in shell thickness as some snails die out and new snails are born. The final exercise asks students to consider bigger questions about “What Makes Populations Evolve," e.g., “What role did the predators play in causing the population of snails to evolve?”

A visitor walking into the classroom would find the AP Bio students hard at work, barely pausing as Mrs. Odierna visits each team to check in on their progress. “Awwww!” one group yells, when they let their crab overeat and too many snails are gobbled up. They laugh as they review the impact, noting that green snails, with softer shells, were eaten, whereas red and yellow snails, with harder shells, tended to survive. “Let me know if the red population goes down as I do this,” one of the trio exclaimed, as they continued on with the snail simulation.

During the wrap up discussion, students shared additional things they learned about natural selection and the factors that make it possible. For instance, one student added “selective pressure” as another criterion that makes natural selection possible. During their discussion Ms. Odierna and her students linked selective pressure back to their study of sickle cell anemia during last term. The students agreed that they liked doing this not only because the experience was more like a fun, video game than a traditional "lab," but also it helped them to experience and better understand how natural selection works.