High School Student Takes Inspiration to Science Fair
Punnett squares and inherited traits have long filled the genetics
projects at high school science fairs across the country. One high
school freshman used Inspiration to complete a zoology project that
stood out from the rest.
With a little Inspiration, Leslie Smith ended up winning First Place
in Zoology at Fairfax High School in Fairfax, Virginia.
Leslie focused her project on labrador retrievers and the inherited
trait of coat color. Using Inspiration, Leslie created a family tree web
for each litter. She started each web by entering the parents of the
group as the Main Idea. Percentage of each coat color of the offspring
were linked from the parents. For each litter, Leslie webbed the
percentage of each coat color: black, chocolate, and yellow.
After finishing her research, Leslie used Inspiration to complete and
customize her family tree webs, copied the diagrams, pasted them into
her word processing program, and printed out visuals for her poster
presentation. Her finished presentation included a text description of
her research, Punnett squares, and her Inspiration inherited trait webs.
(Story continues below diagram.)
Her work won First Place in Zoology and landed her a spot at the
Regional Science Fair and an Honorable Mention in the 1999 Women in
Science and Engineering Student Challenge.
Leslie learned about Inspiration from a neighboring school district's
Instructional Technology Training Coordinator, Dana Smith, who also
happens to be the proud mom of the young scientist. In conjunction with
22 Instructional Technology Coordinators (ITCs) throughout Arlington
Public Schools, Ms. Smith provides technology integration training for
teachers from kindergarten through high school. . . 40 schools in all!
ìI really believe part of Leslie's success was because her
presentation looked so professional,î said Ms. Smith. ìUsing
Inspiration not only helped her organize her research, but also helped
her create nice, professional-looking presentation visuals.î
In her work as a district technology trainer, as well as with her own
children, Ms. Smith continues to find new ways to use Inspiration. ìMore
and more, we are focusing on visual methodologies with our students,î
she said. ìSo many students learn best when information is presented
and organized visually. We have to acknowledge this mode of learning and
structure activities to support it.î
Over the past year, Ms. Smith has offered training on Inspiration to
a variety of groups. But her Inspiration expertise hit home this year
when daughter Leslie used Inspiration to complete her winning genetics
project!
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