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Teaching Ideas: I can remember my early attempts in elementary school to reproduce the complex designs on butterfly wings. While the notion of sketching each stage is still a good one, we didn't have digital cameras available to us at that time. I'd like to encourage teachers to combine both elements in their classroom study of butterflies. Many schools have Sony Mavica cameras capable of taking both stills and short movies that could capture each stage of the butterfly's life. These media artifacts could be used in student projects. There are children who won't attend long enough to sketch the butterfly but who will stand still with a camera in their hands or secure on a tripod to film the exciting moments in the transformation of the butterfly. I've created a simple project template with some possible questions loosely based on the structure at the Field Museum site noted in the links further down this page. The object well holding all the elements to build the project is available for download. The idea of doing the project was a result of the combination of talking with teachers and the abundance of butterflies on our university campus. I wanted to show that the backgrounds and resources to create a multimedia project are readily at hand wherever we are. If you're still building your confidence with a digital camera or camcorder, then please feel free to use the butterfly pictures available at the "Photos" link and the video clips that are at the "Video" link. The project I've posted here is simply designed to act to stimulate ideas for you and your students. It isn't intended to act as a model except in that it shows how you can use local resources. I'll explain how I created each frame as we go along. The instructions apply to both eZediaMX and eZedia QTI. It doesn't matter which you use. The Title Frame shown in Figure 1 makes use of the photo near the bottom of the first page of butterfly pictures: http://www.jmadden.info/Butterfly01.htm To get the effect where the back of the picture is blurred and the butterfly, flower, and leaves are highlighted, I simply took the photo into my photo editing software and used the lasso tool to trace around the part of the picture I wanted to stand out. That "selected" that section of the picture. I then chose the "plasticize" or "plastic wrap" or "plastic" effect (depending on how your software refers to it - usually found under the textures category of effects). With the photo section still highlighted and now made to look like it was plastic, I then told the photo editing software to inverse the selection so that everything except the butterfly, etc., was highlighted. I then chose a Gaussian blur for that part. Short-cut: Get the students to do this OR simply use the picture I've provided. You can use a different title. Once I had my photo ready, I brought it into eZedia and added it to the background. Figure 1: The Title Frame  To save space, I'm now switching to smaller screen captures. If you've got young students tackling this project, something like Figure 2 might be appropriate. Students identify their butterfly, type in the name, and bring in a picture. For older students, you might want to have them create their own frame contents. You'll see in Figure 3 that I've included a blank frame following each of the ones with print. All the bits and pieces are in the Object Well for this project, so you or your students can use whatever you want. Figure 2 shows some text, a placeholder object, and a different background picture. To do this, I selected another photo from my collection on the web, brought it into the frame, and then right-clicked on the photo to Edit Graphic. I dropped the transparency level of the photo and then added it to the background. (If you're unfamiliar with how to lower the transparency level, you'll find instructions at another location at this site. Click here.) Figure 2:  Figure 3: Blank Frame  Figure 4: Life Cycle  In Figure 5, you'll notice that there is a slight color difference between it and Figure 4. You can signal changes in the content for viewers by using the same photo as the background for your project and then changing the color of the frame itself. The color is visible through the photo and gives it a different look. Contrast Figure 5 with Figure 6 for another variation. To change the frame color, click on Frames > Frame Set-up > Color. Choose any color you like. It will only take a second to change it again if you don't like the effect. Figure 5: 2nd stage  Figure 6: Using another color for the frame other than white.  The simple roadmap for a project: 1. Find the topic. 2. Use an approach such as "The Big 6" to organize what is going to happen. If you haven't found that yet, go here: http://www.big6.com/kids/ 3. Assemble your research and your media artifacts. Keep them organized in folders - this applies to both you and the students. 4. Design your frames BEFORE heading for the computer. This is called storyboarding. I know advanced planning is painful for us all, but it pays off in the amount of time you or the students will save. 5. Assemble the project. This part goes together very quickly when we're organized. 6. Test it. Are their any little glitches anywhere? No? Good. Now, have someone else take a look at it to see if they get your message. 7. Finish the last of the refinements. The following sources offer information, pictures, activities, and lessons plans on butterflies. Information on the Western Swallowtail is available from USGS at: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/usa/714.htm The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center of USGS has a comprehensive (and very handy) site that will fill you in on the butterfly population of the United States at: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm Additional sources that might help you identify your butterfly: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/help/faq/bflymoth/idmoth.htm Butterflies of South Carolina can be found at: http://www.npsc.nbs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/sc/toc.htm There's a wonderful site from the Field Museum called "Butterfly Basics." It's a terrific starting place for all of us trying to sort out what we should know about butterflies: http://www.fmnh.org/butterfly/basics.htm Here's the site of a butterfly fan that has a number of pictures, including caterpillars: http://www.geocities.com/wwright24/butterflyphoto2.html For an endless supply of butterfly pictures from all over, check out the links at: http://www.butterflypictures.net/ For young children, check out the USGS children's site on butterflies: http://www.mesc.nbs.gov/resources/education/butterfly/bfly_start.asp According to the information at the following site, their page hasn't been updated in a long time. However, I tried out a number of their links and they still work. There's a well-classified listing of butterfly sites available at: http://www.isis.vt.edu/~fanjun/text/Link_specb04.html A complete unit of study on butterflies is available from: http://www.klru.org/butterflies/butterfly_lesson.htm They also have a small video clip showing the complete life cycle of the Monarch butterfly: http://www.klru.org/butterflies/butterlife.htm Animated GIF of the Eastern Swallowtail Butterfly going from caterpillar to chrysalis. http://users.htcomp.net/weis/xxchrysalis.html Picture of a Spicebush caterpillar with connections to the picture of the butterfly: http://www.washacadsci.org/meadowlark-gardens/conservation/spicecat.htm
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