Would You be Interested in Beta Testing the Foldscope Microscope?

Science teaching colleagues,

As you may know from my previous posts here, I am interested in the potential of the Foldscope microscope for adult secondary education science and/or health literacy classes. I have just received a reply from the Foldscope inventor, Dr. Manu Prakash at Stanford University, indicating interest in including ABE science classes in a beta test of Foldscope. For more information about the beta test go to http://www.foldscope.com If you are interested in the possibility of participating, please email me at djrosen123@gmail.com . If you know other adult basic education science educators who might be interested, please forward this post to them, and ask them to contact me. I am eager to know if our field is interested in participating in this beta test, and would like to hear from those who are interested before Friday April 11th.

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

Comments

Colleagues,

I have heard from adult education science teachers and health literacy educators in Ohio, New York and Louisiana who are interested in beta testing the Foldscope high power, durable, inexpensive (under $1.00) microscope in their classes. If you are interested, please email me by Friday, April 11th. If you know adult education science or health literacy teachers who may be interested, please forward my original post on this, and ask them to email me.  If you want to learn more about the Foldscope, watch the videos at:

Inventor, Manu Prakash's TED Talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/manu_prakash_a_50_cent_microscope_that_folds_like_origami?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2014-03-08&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=talk_of_the_week_button

A more recent YouTube video:
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/525471/the-1-origami-microscope/

Thanks.

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

Science teaching colleagues,

I am excited to report that the adult education teachers of science volunteer Foldscope microscope beta test project, with over a dozen adult basic and secondary education teachers, has been fascinating, worthwhile for teachers and students, and has had a range of kinds of learning for students. Winding down now -- I already have 25% of the lesson plans and project reports -- I can tell you that making the Foldscopes was easy for teachers and students, that with minor exceptions they worked well, and that teachers and adult learners liked them. (Some learners want to buy them for themselves and/or for their children when they are available). When I get all the reports, I hope by the end of June, I will write a project summary and post it here. Then, if you have questions -- which I hope you do -- I could ask some of the participants who are already members of the Science CoP -- or others who would be willing to join -- to answer them.

For more information about the Foldscope, an inexpensive, fairly high-powered, durable microscope that one can carry in one's pocket, designed in particular for low-income and developing countries, you could watch these videos:

Inventor, Manu Prakash's TED Talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/manu_prakash_a_50_cent_microscope_that_folds_like_origami?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2014-03-08&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=talk_of_the_week_button

A more recent YouTube video:
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/525471/the-1-origami-microscope/

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

 

Science teaching colleagues,

Remember the Foldscope beta test project launched here last year? The Foldscope, you may recall, is a newly-invented, high-powered pocket microscope that is projected, when released, to cost under $2.00. The beta test is now complete, and although most of the participants were in poor countries,  adult education teachers of science and their students, at my request, were also included.  You can read the Final Report and below is the background and summary of the project in that report.

What do you think? What questions or comments  do you have about the report or the project?

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

-------------------------

Background

In April 2014, I posted this message to the LINCS national adult education teachers of science community of practice:

 “I am interested in the potential of the Foldscope microscope for adult secondary education science and/or health literacy classes. I have just received a reply from the Foldscope inventor, Dr. Manu Prakash at Stanford University, indicating interest in including ABE science classes in a beta test of Foldscope. For more information about the beta test go to http://www.foldscope.com . If you are interested in the possibility of participating, please email me….. If you know other adult basic education science educators who might be interested, please forward this post to them, and ask them to contact me. I am eager to know if our field is interested in participating in this beta test, and would like to hear from those who are interested before Friday April 11th.”

There was a very positive response, so I submitted a proposal to the Foldscope project, and in December 2014 it was approved.

I proposed to distribute Foldscopes to teachers who would agree to:

  • Use them with their students
  • Develop at least one high school equivalency or adult basic education science lesson plan to be shared with me, and that I would share with the Foldscope project and with the LINCS Science Community of Practice 
  • Prepare a one-page project report that included: 1) How they used the Foldscopes with their students, 2) What they and their students liked and didn’t like about the Foldscopes and using them; and 3) Where relevant, how they felt the Foldscope helped their students prepare for the high school equivalency test.

Over several months, seven teachers, from various parts of the country: Evanston, Wyoming; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Beaver, Pennsylvania; Springfield, Ohio; Winterville, North Carolina; Monroe, North Carolina, and Largo, Maryland, used Foldscopes with their adult learners in short-term science projects.  Below are their reports, and lesson plans.

Many thanks to Manu Prakash and his Foldscope project team for providing access to the Foldscopes for beta testing with adult basic skills learners in the U.S., and for being immediately responsive to my many inquiries and requests as the beta test project began. Many, thanks, too, to the dedicated adult education teachers who created lesson plans, beta-tested the Foldscope with their students, and wrote the reports included here.

Summary of Project Findings

“To be able to carry a microscope to different environments enables students to think about education in a completely new way. Education is no longer restricted to the classroom; it is a part of everyday life and living.”    April Lange, Evanston Wyoming

Advantages and opportunities provided by the Foldscopes included:

  • Access to a microscope, for many students for the first time
  • Portability, “carrying a microscope to different environments enables students to think about education in a completely new way”
  • Ease of use (although some teachers and students did find some features difficult to use – see below)
  • Hands on Approach “Students loved the hands on approach to learning”
  • Students engaged in thought “Students appreciated the different ways to use the Foldscopes. This also sparked a thought process in students of the best way to use the Foldscopes; for example, should we use natural light source or an alternate light source. My students were always thinking of how to make their images clearer and easier to see.”
  • Opportunity to pair-up Students using the Foldscope in pairs was beneficial because “one student could always get the image in focus, then the other student could view the sample”
  • Useful in high school equivalency exam preparation. One teacher wrote that “it was a great experience for students to read a scientific article and then apply the information to a hands-on activity using microscopes.” Another teacher wrote that, “the Foldscope gave students the chance to experience using observation and the scientific method. Students were able to see, first-hand, magnified items and use higher level thinking skills in reading and writing as well as science to engage in activities involving comparing/contrasting, predicting, inferring, drawing conclusions, describing, and summarizing.” Yet another teacher wrote, “using Foldscopes in my classroom has prepared my students for the High School Equivalency test in many ways,” and she listed and gave examples in her report of these three ways: developed critical thinking; enhanced technology skills; and engaged students in reading.
  • Attached Smartphones. “A few students took photos with their smartphones and posted the photos on the beta testing website.” (However, other teachers reported that attaching an iPhone to a Foldscope was difficult. See below.)
  • “Students were enthusiastic about the Foldscopes, especially when they understood Dr. Prakash’s vision of improved health care in the developing world and better science education everywhere.  Several students expressed a desire to purchase a Foldscope for themselves or their children.”  One student wrote, “The Foldscope gave me a whole new interest in science.” Another wrote,  “I think every kid should have one of these.” A teacher wrote, “Students liked using the Foldscopes and seeing the microscopic world. They were amazed that this paper origami was so powerful. They began to understand the notion of cells, tissues and systems in life science and the difference between plant and animal cells.”
  • Opening explorations: “we wouldn’t have had the chance to view so many items through magnification without them.  Using them gave us a taste for pursuing and seeking more information about microscopes, career fields that use microscopes, and what kinds of things we might be able to see with stronger microscopes. Additionally, we took a field trip to the medical assisting lab across campus and looked at blood samples. We feel as if we sparked interest and curiosity to learn more and research more deeply topics that we touched on through using the Foldscope.”

Challenges in using Foldscopes included:

  • Directions difficult to follow. Some teachers and students had difficulty building Foldscopes from the printed directions. One teacher wrote, however, that after looking at the YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxgPFLcBz6I her students understood how to build and use the Foldscopes.
  • Difficult to use at first. “Initially some students had a very hard time using the Foldscopes. Finding the sample and focusing appeared to be a struggle, but with time it got easier.” One student said “The more we use them the easier it gets!”
  • Problems with the Foldscope design or parts:
    • A high magnification lens was not usable.  (A lab tech family member looked at it and said it was defective.) Another teacher wrote, “The lens fell out several times…”,
    • Several teachers reported that they and their students were not able to attach the cellphone camera. For example, one teacher wrote: “I found connecting the Foldscope to iphones difficult because of the positioning of the magnetic couplers to a phone where the camera is located in the corner. It seemed to work better just putting it up to our eyes especially in a classroom situation where we were sharing two [Foldscopes].”
    • One teacher thought the Foldscopes were “flimsy due to the material they were made from”
    • One teacher reported that “the original light kept falling out of place
  • Students with poor vision, or who wear glasses, had much more difficulty using the Foldscopes.

Other comments:

  • “…my Foldscopes were used at least once a month and were related to an article the students had read. Using the Foldscopes was very time consuming because the students wanted to use them and compare what each group found. The amount of learning and teaching my students performed in these lessons was amazing! I will continue to use the Foldscopes in my classroom to enrich my reading lessons and create the hands-on learning experiences that my students love!”
  • A student said, “This brought what we read to life!”

End of Summary. For the individual teacher reports and lesson plans, read the Final Report .