ICT was used in communication between the classes, experts and moderator. The website was, and is, a source of information and was used for the sharing of information such as individual school’s worm count, enhancement plans and expert feedback on these plans.
Students audited all life forms inside a metre of their school grounds, collated and presented their findings and then formulated a plan to enhance the area. That plan was given feedback by Department of Conservation and Landcare experts and from this feedback innovative suggestions were selected and implemented, with results being monitored.
ICT was used for driving, supporting, enhancing the Meet a Metre project learning by:
· Involving families and extended families in their learning. · Connecting management, curriculum and assessment. · Helping develop a Community of Practice by facilitating the development of a collaborative learning environment. · Enabling several groups such as the school Enviro group and Gifted and Talented groups and, Correspondence School students to do the project individually. · Connecting science to the real world.
The project website provides additional support for teachers and students, such as lesson plans and implementation guidelines.
ICT was also used to keep the standard of work high. Students, knowing their work will be shown to the world online always make sure what they present is of a high standard.
The students were from year 1 to year 10 (5 to 14 years old). The participating schools were from all over New Zealand and included rural and city schools and a residential Special School for girls. The project was web-based which so the students had access at school and at home.
The project featured in a Scoop article: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0905/S00038.htm
Otago Daily Times article featured Meet a Metre and Abbotsford School: http://www.odt.co.nz/your-town/dunedin/58620/pupils-focus-tiniest-terrestrial-life
Snells Beach School’s featured the project for Arbor Day which was filmed for the TV3 Breakfast show.
The project held a competition to mark, Friday May 22, 2009 the International Day for Biological Diversity: http://www.scifest.org.nz/meet_a_metre/28_Meet_a_Metre_2009/24_invasive_alien_competition.cfm
Cockle Bay School had a visit from Ruud Kleinpaste, an internationally known 'bug man' who much to everyone’s delight arrived with an entourage of live weta.
