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Engage students and kids of all ages by exploring real-life insects, rotate, zoom, measure, visual definitions of scientific words $5/group ($0.20 each person) What people are saying and sharing. "My Science people will love this!" - Michelle B Branson School District, Director of Instruction who loves technology integration! USA "Kids can learn about the insect world and it is FUN. Check out this site" - Esther W Founded the Palo Alto High School Journalism program, Educator/Education Tech Consultant, San Francisco "Very Cool!" - Keith S Director of Library Services for the School District of Marinette. Award winning tech guru. "Amazing stuff you have there!" - Peter V Teacher, Journalist, Columnist in BC Catholic Newspaper , Technology Enthusiast, Prime Minister's Award for Science and Technology Education, Canada "This will be a student favorite" - Louise L M.Ed. Instructional Design, Certified Google Educator; District Technology Facilitator, Wyoming USA "Insect collection and study will never be the same!" - Laurie F University of Nebraska, Instructor "...check out their site and see what the future of citizen science may look like" - Entomological Foundation Education, MD USA "Science teachers??" - Blair L Instructor IB Economics & Business at Mont Kiara International School Malaysia "Excellent presentation you are helping who want to educate themselves with insects around them!" - Mohammad R. D Badin, Pakistan "3D Spinning Insect Library @Blackhole Collections looks like a great education tool!" - Inspire Share -Twitter "Up and close with Rotating insect app for Classrooms" - Gil B PhD, Chief Scientific Officer. InsideTraker by Segterra, MIT, Boston, MA. "Very interesting, what a neat app. Thanks for sharing!" - Ethan D Entrepreneur and Freelancer for EthanDeyo.com "=:) I like much idea!" - Maria C Puebla, Mexico "Nothing replaces going outside and collecting bugs but looks interesting nonetheless" - Claire H Wetland Biologist; Parametrix, Seattle "This way learning makes a lot of fun!" - Peter R Works at BfArM, Germany "@STLNatureNerd Rotating insect app for Classrooms or Boy Scouts/ Girl Guides/ 4H, mentioned you..." - Cheryl "I found an interesting insect app" - George W Henderson State University, Arkansas USA 19 Ideas to Consider Before Buying this App for Your Kids or Classroom 1.You will be relieved to have this app because creating actual insect collections in the classroom is becoming more difficult with changing regulations and the ethics of collecting wildlife. 2.You will love this app because it helps kids visually understand what they are reading. Click on a linked word and the insect rotates around to zoom in on that insect’s feature. How fun is that! 3.You can show your kids and their parents just how much you care about them and their future by investing in state-of-the-art educational resources. 4.There is a link between kids inspired by insects and those that grow up to become Doctors and Scientists. 5.By offering your kids this app, you are giving your students, rich, beautiful, complex imagery, instead of cute or simple cartoons. 6.Parents will be impressed because you are not just relying on videos to teach. Kids can interact and take the time to comprehend the information and apply it. 7.You can use this app to teach your kids about maps and biodiversity. 8.You can allow your kids to get a first hand look at the connection between the environment, biodiversity and human impact by where insects have been sighted on the map. 9.You can get your kids enthusiastic about engineering by using insects and their features to explore concepts and applications. Did you know flies have specialized ears on their shoulders because the distance between each ear is shorter than the actual length of a sound wave? 10.You can use this app to make kids' imaginations run wild with excitement just by asking, "What two animals would we have to genetically combine to get an animal that looks just like this insect? (kangaroo and antalope) " You will have loads of fun listening to what your kids come up with and why certain features and profiles make them think so. 11.Your kids will enjoy your class on measurements and size. This app has a measure tool that will let your students measure specific features from various angles. What! That insect's leg is the same width as a single strand of my hair? 12.You will rock because you are preparing your kids for the real-life world, not a make-believe animation land. This app has scans of real-life insects with real-life map reading for your class. 13.Be a part of a very important team of teachers that is making a difference in kids futures and education. 14.You don’t need a huge budget to be able to show kids what insects look like under a microscope. Your kids will return in a decade to thank you for inspiring and caring so much about them and their future. 15.Using this app lets you flip nature bringing the outside inside. You will be getting your kids so excited about nature and the world around them in a relevant and meaningful way 16.You can easily take a break and grab a breather from teaching while students are able to read and explore insects on their own. 17.Be a substitute teacher hero with cool and engaging lessons that make Students learn even with a stranger. 18.You can get this app for as little as 20 cents per student. That is less than the cost of a sheet plastic needed to laminate your Teachers-Pay-Teachers TpT unit. 19.We have a small team of people bringing you this very cool technology which is why we are able to make it so cost effective. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Kindergarten Students are expected to develop understanding of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive and the relationship between their needs and where they live. K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live. First Grade - Life Sciences The performance expectations in first grade help students formulate answers to questions such as: “What are some ways plants and animals meet their needs so that they can survive and grow? Students are also expected to develop understanding of how plants and animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs as well as how behaviors of parents and offspring help the offspring survive. 1-LS1.A. Structure and Function: All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow. (1-LS1-1) 1-LS1.D. Information Processing: Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival. Animals respond to these inputs with behaviors that help them survive. Plants also respond to some external inputs. (1-LS1-1) 1-LS3-1.LS3.B. Variation of Traits: Individuals of the same kind of plant or animal are recognizable as similar but can also vary in many ways. (1-LS3-1) Second Grade - Life Sciences The performance expectations in second grade help students formulate answers to questions such as:” How many types of living things live in a place?” Students are expected to develop an understanding of what plants need to grow and how plants depend on animals for seed dispersal and pollination. Students are also expected to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. 2-LS2-2. Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants. 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. 2-LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems: Plants depend on water and light to grow. (2-LS2-1) Plants depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around. (2-LS2-2) 2-LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans: There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water. (2-LS4-1) Fourth Grade - Life Sciences The performance expectations in fourth grade help students formulate answers to questions such as: “How do internal and external structures support the survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction of plants and animals?” Fourth graders are expected to develop an understanding that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. 4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. 4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways. 4-LS1-1.LS1.A: Structure and Function: Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction. 4-LS1-2.LS1.D: Information Processing: Different sense receptors are specialized for particular kinds of information, which may be then processed by the animal’s brain. Animals are able to use their perceptions and memories to guide their actions. Middles School – (Grades 6 to 8) Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics The Performance Expectations in Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems help students formulate an answer to the question, “How do organisms interact with other organisms in the physical environment to obtain matter and energy?” MS-LS2-3.Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. MS-LS2-4.:Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. MS-LS2-5.LS2.C: Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth’s terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health. Middles School – From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes The Performance Expectations in Structure, Function, and Information Processing help students formulate an answer to the question, “How do the structures of organisms contribute to life’s functions?” “How organisms gather and use information from the environment?” MS-LS1-4:Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively. Middles School – Engineering Design By the time students reach middle school they should have had numerous experiences in engineering design. The goal for middle school students is to define problems more precisely, to conduct a more thorough process of choosing the best solution, and to optimize the final design. MS-ETS1-1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions. MS-ETS1-1.ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems: The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that are likely to limit possible solutions. MS-ETS1-2:Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success. MS-ETS1-4.:Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved. Now this is Homework to get excited about, exploring a dozen animals found in almost every backyard. Zoom-in to count hairs on a fly then rotate up-side-down to see if it has a neck. Most flies actually have 4 wings but the extra 2 are shrivelled up and used as counter balances, try to find them. Visualization is key to begin learning about biodiversity, pesticides, Genetically Modified Foods, the food chain of what insects eat and which other animals feed on insects. After learning how to identify a bunch of insects go outside to find them in the wild and bring back photographs to share the experience with friends. Get ready for a group that blurts out answers because they are engaged with information which is now relevant to their lives... today... Applied knowledge is exciting knowledge. In the simplest fundamental essence, a huge but solvable problem is "getting students interested in learning". If this is achieved do most other things fall into place: Students learn something, they are curious about the world, teachers are publicly rewarded for making addifference, other teachers now give it a try. So how to generate interest in students? Could it simply be applying the lesson to something real and relevant to their lives "today". Not a future use. Like physics taught from the perspective of hitting a baseball harder or farther. And as Esther Wojcicki suggests, allow students to take some ownership by choosing a hockey puck, football, or paper spitball instead. (making it absolutely relevant to the individual) The Moonshot we are working on is "flipping nature" from outside to inside the classroom. Learning about biodiversity through lions, tigers, and polar bears, lacks the relevance of being encountered "today". We have chosen insects because a student can easily find 20 of these animals living in their own backyard TODAY. Pesticides affect their health TODAY. Pest resistant GMO's genetically modified organisms are in ingredients of almost all food via corn syrup, TODAY. Billions of people in other cultures eat insects directly. We eat fish caught by a person "fly-fishing" because fish love tasty insects. Bald eagles eat insects indirectly through fish as we do. Bears and their honey. It is not just crops that will be wiped out without pollinators. Give our Moonshot insect content a try to see how it gets students engaged in science, descriptive writing, physics of flight, sound waves, mathematical volumes, evolution, biodiversity, disease, or food chains. This app is free to explore any 3 insects, then ONLY the TEACHER (Leader) will be asked to pay for the class (Group) - All students can then sign-in for free. This is not deemed an in-app purchase, rather, it is a mechanism to offer a free trial to teachers. This app allows students to Mark insect-sighting locations on a map. Only other people in their classroom can see a student's insect Marks. This app does not track a student's geo-location at any time; the student must zoom-in on a map to provide the insect's location. This app also functions as a stand-alone webpage app that is accessible on phones, tablets, and laptops without being installed as a Chrome App. Integration with Google Classroom rosters and assignments is also provided when entering the app from the following URL https://www.BlackholeCollections.org/google/general/demo?crst For a free trial for evaluation purposes contact freetrials@BlackholeCollections.org