IB Biology Practical Investigations/Human Health and Physiology/Menstrual Cycle Animation

MENSTRUAL CYCLE ANIMATION TASK TEACHING OBJECTIVE: Produce an animation to illustrate the menstrual cycle TASK OUTCOMES: By the end of this activity, students will be able to explain the menstrual cycle using Flash animation. TIME REQUIRED: ongoing project INTRODUCTION: Many students by now have ICT skills that surpass those of their teachers and seem to love fiddling with animations. This task takes a fairly dull topic and allows them to produce a resource that could be used in middle-school health classes or as a simple revision tool for later on. MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT: Macromedia Flash Professional (or other animation software) 1 computer per student or pair OTHER RESOURCES NEEDED: text or revision guide input from counsellor if the results are to be used for middle-school education INSTRUCTIONS: If all students in the class are strong on animation, work solo. If some have limited ICT skills, pair them with stronger members of the class. They can split the research/ animating elements of the task between them. Agree as a class on a time limit for the project - 2 weeks may be sufficient. If students have their own laptops, you may want to give up a few lessons for the project. Define the task clearly. At minimum, SL content must be covered effectively. HL students may want to add in extra detail, as either an option in their animation (selected from a menu), or as a more advanced presentation that would probably be insuitable for middle-school use but may be used for DP revision. Personally, I prefer that information is clear, not copied, and not too wordy. Animations are supposed to make learning more simple, not confuse the issue! I also prefer that students don't include any overpowering soundtrack, especially death-metal or happy-hardcore rave tunes, as this distracts from the point of the animation. Needless to say, they still do it. Emphasise substance over style. SAFETY/ RISK ASSESSMENT In some cultures, parents may need to give approval before students are shown materials of this nature. Censor content before it is shown to younger students - be especially vigilant with errors or misconceptions that may lead students into poor life choices. IDEAS FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION This could be used as part of a parents' education day, or in a school health symposium. The task could be easily adapted to most topics in Biology. SOURCES AND REFERENCES: