The Learning Portal: Hundreds of Free Digital Activities Using Models and Probes

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Innovative Technology in Science Inquiry (ITSI) project is a learning portal with hundreds of free, customizable science, math, and engineering activities funded by the National Science Foundation at the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology. The project engages K--12 students in web-based STEM activities using probes and models. With these activities, students * investigate problems through hands-on activities, * use technology to ask and answer questions, * collect and analyze data, and * engage in argumentation to defend claims with real evidence. ITSI activities come from the Concord Consortium's collection of classroom-tested exemplars. They follow the 5E Instructional Model and address the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013) (see box, p. 61, and "On the web"). In this article, we offer a sample of the many activities available on the ITSI portal, describing one activity in biology and another in physics (see "On the web" for links to the activities). Biology: Protein structure--DNA mutations How can a mutation in DNA affect a cell's growth? In this activity, students learn that mutations can be helpful, harmful, lethal, or neutral. Using our Molecular Workbench software, which models atoms and molecules as well as larger structures like DNA, students create a mutation by making a change to DNA. They explore the differences among the effects of insertions, deletions, or substitution mutations on the resulting protein. Students look at brachydactyly, or clubbed thumb, as a sample neutral mutation in humans. Later in the activity, students are asked to identify which type of mutation causes brachydactyly. Organisms big and small achieve the diverse structures and behaviors seen in nature through their varied protein structures. Humans use 21 amino acids to synthesize proteins, and that number fluctuates surprisingly little across the tree of life. To create useful chains of amino acids, cells store information for their proteins in the DNA molecules within their nucleus. DNA does not degrade over time as proteins do, which allows it to pass information for proteins on to future generations. In an intermediate step, DNA is used to create RNA before the protein is made. This allows a greater number of opportunities for regulation of the gene's expression. But what happens when a mistake is made? This activity takes approximately 45 minutes. Students can work individually or in groups of two or three, each needing an internet-connected computer. Engage Ask students: "How is a molecule of DNA created?" Or try this intriguing question: "If you had to communicate English words (26-letter alphabet) using only our numbers (10 digits), how would you do it?" (Hint: You could use multiple digits to represent single letters.) Explore Students use a Next-Generation Molecular Workbench model to explore transcription and translation of a normal protein (Figure 1). They also make a number of mutations: substitution, silent, frame shift, as well as stop codons, which stop the replication process (see box, p. 59). Explain Hold a class discussion, starting it off by posing questions about replication of normal and mutated proteins. (The discussion questions provided below can be used at any time during the activity.) Students return to the discovery question--What are the different types of mutations?--at the end of the activity, responding with what they have learned. Individually or in groups, students should present their mutations to the class, including how they produced their code. Evaluate Formative assessment questions are embedded throughout the activity. Students take digital "snapshots" of their interaction with the models by clicking a camera icon on the computer screen to capture their work. …