Big Blue Network recently introduced Foldscopes and gave two classes on seagrass and algae to the 9th grade class at the Zamboanguita Science High School on Negros Oriental, Philippines, at the invitation of Ma’am Luzviminda Abejero, head science teacher.
Based on our experiences working with these classes, we have developed general guides for discovering seagrasses and algae with Foldscopes. Please see below for more details.
In two groups, the students assembled their Foldscopes, practiced focusing with some pre-prepared slides, and then prepared their own seagrass slides.
In a second session, a combined class of nearly 60 students learned about the importance of seagrasses and algae in the marine ecosystem. They also examined 9 different algae, prepared their own slides, and recorded their observations drawing pictures of what they saw with their Foldscopes.
The students’ level of concentration was quite impressive, especially considering it was the last day of school for the year!
Thanks also goes to the teachers Ms. Nemie Gallardo, Ms.Berna Gracielle Generiso, and Mr. Ericson Elnar. We are looking forward to continuing our work with the same group in the new school year.
Here are some links to materials that we hope will help others in the Foldscope community:
Seagrass:
Big Blue Network Foldscope Leader’s Guide – Seagrasses https://bit.ly/2HUTadR
Big Blue Network Foldscope Seagrass Handout https://bit.ly/2IN2E7e
Algae:
Big Blue Network Foldscope Leader’s Guide – Algae https://bit.ly/2wl0vhH
Other useful resources:
- “Seagrass Educators Handbook” (https://bit.ly/2GTJiR6 ) and Module 2: Key Seagrass Species and How to Identify Them from the “Seagrass Syllabus” (https://bit.ly/2Hy3Rjg ) also available at www.seagrasswatch.org.
- “Do You Know Your Marine Algae?” from the University of Maine: https://bit.ly/2jnxpET for a general introduction to marine algae.
- “Snorkler’s Guide to Marine Life of the Philippines,” by Lee Goldman.
Dear KIM@BIGBLUE
Thank you for introducing Foldscopes to Zamboanguita Science High School. The guides are so helpful. Thank you for sharing with the community!
Thanks, Honomi! I appreciate the support!
This is fantastic. I hope you had an opportunity to take pictures with the seagrass and algae. It would be great if you or students could share them with us.
I just added a couple of photos to the post. There are also photos in the guides and also in a previous post titled “Seagrass and Algae.”
What are the booklets the students are using?
We made a one page handout for them on seagrass – the link is listed above. For identification of seagrass and algae, we gave them photocopies of 2 pages from “Snorkler’s Guide to Marine Life of the Philippines,” by Lee Goldman because it showed several species in our area. I will edit my post to add other useful resources. Thanks for your interest!