WEBSITEANDCLASSROOMBLOGCREATIONTOOLS

Name:ErinMcNicholas
GradeLevel:9thgrade
ContentArea:Biology
TechnologyUsed(checkallthatapply):
Blog Wiki OtherWebsiteCreationTool(list):

ContentArea/Grade/Standards/TopicsAddressed:
SB1.Studentswillanalyzethenatureoftherelationshipsbetweenstructuresandfunctionsinlivingcells.
a.Explaintheroleofcellorganellesforbothprokaryoticandeukaryoticcells,includingthecell
membrane,inmaintaininghomeostasisandcellreproduction.

BriefDescriptionofLearningExperience:

StudentswillcometotheclasshavinglistenedtotheRadiolabpodcastentitledCellmates,andreflectedon
theirknowledgeofprokaryoticandeukaryoticcells.Duringclass,wewilldiscussthepodcast,andtheidea
thatvirusesmayinfactbelivingorganisms.Thisshouldcreatesomecognitivedissonancewiththeclass,
astheylearnedinmiddleschoolthatvirusesarenonlivingbecausetheycannotreproduceontheirown.
Followingthediscussion,studentswillsharewhatquestionstheyhaveonthetopic.Studentswillhavethe
nextthreeclassperiodstoresearchtheirquestions,andpublishtheirfindingstoaclasswiki.Studentswill
reviewandcommentoneachotherswikipages.Withinthewikipage,studentscanlinktooutside
resourcesormaterialstheyhavecreated.
BloomsLevelofCriticalThinkingRequired(checkallthatapply):
Seehttp://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy

Remembering

Understanding

Applying

Analyzing

Evaluating

Creating

StudentEngagement/LevelofTechnologyImplementation(LoTi):
ThislessonhasaLoTi4becausestudentsareinchargeoftheirlearning,andassumingtheroleofteachers.
Theyhavevoiceandchoiceaboutwhattoresearchandhowtopresenttheirfindings.
Importanceoftechnology:Whyisusingawebsitecreationtoolcriticaltotheproject?Couldtheproject
becompletedwithoutthistechnology?Whatwouldbelostwithoutusingit?Whatothertypesof
technology,ifany,aregoingtobeusedinthelearningexperience?

Havingablogtocommunicationclassassignmentsandprogresswithmystudentsandtheirparentshelps
fostercommunity.Thewikiisagreatwayforstudentstocollaborateandpublishtheirworkwithan
authenticaudience.Thewikiallowsstudentstoengagewiththecoursecontentoutsideofclass.Ifeach
studentcreatedanindividualwebsitetopublishtheirwork,theprojectswouldnotbeascollaborative.A
wikiallowsforquickchanges,andallowsfortheclasstocontinuethelearningprocessandmakeeditsas
newinformationisdiscovered.
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WEBSITEANDCLASSROOMBLOGCREATIONTOOLS
InternetSafetyandStudentPrivacy:
Theclassblogandwikiwillbepasswordprotectedsoonlythestudentsandtheirparentscanlogon.
Studentsandparentswillgiveconsentbeforethestudentspublishtheirworktotheblog.Whenstudents
createtheiraccounts,theywillonlyusefirstnameandlastinitials.
Describeyourpersonallearninggoalforthisactivity.Ihaveneverassignedaclasswikibefore,butI
seeitasanopportunitytogivestudentsvoiceandchoiceaboutwhattheystudy,andtoshareitwiththe
classinanauthenticway.