weaver.repurposingtechnologylessonplan

TE 831: Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology

Summary Box
 * **Lesson title: [[file:Plant Life Scavenger Hunt and Report.pptx]]**
 * Prepared by**: Steven Weaver
 * Subject area:** Science
 * Technology used:** ipad
 * Length of lesson:** 30-45 mins
 * Suggested grade level:** Second Grade ||


 * Lesson Objectives: //The student will be able to//** use the ipad to take pictures and then write a paragraph about the photograph.

works or solve problems, Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media, Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
 * Student NETS Standards Alignment:**
 * Creativity and innovation: creating original works as a means of personal or group expression.
 * Communication and collaboration: Contribute to project teams to produce original
 * Materials:**
 * Ipads
 * Journals
 * Pencils/pens
 * Access to the school garden and greenhouse, classrooms “growers” (UV bulb grow kits), window baggy garden, window sill garden
 * Lesson Procedure:**

~make sure students are familiar with the five different areas the groups will be assigned to explore and define. Students will have already worked with and used all of these stations in their science lessons and today will be doing some deeper understanding. Make sure ipads are charged and ready for use.
 * Before:**

~Students will be divided into groups of five and assigned to a growing area: garden, greenhouse, grow kits, window sill garden, or baggie window garden. ~Students will be exploring these areas to see what stages of the plants life cycle the plants are currently in, what needs, from the needs for plants growth, are being met at that area/what are missing, what advantages and disadvantages are there for the plant at that area. ~Once the students have collected their data they will write in their journals a synopsis of their findings to present to the class. ~Each group will present their pictures with their corresponding information (for example they will show the picture of the baggy garden and how it has seeds and sprouts and then tell the class that it has seed and sprouts for the stages of the plant cycle but lacks the plant and flower stages…). As a class we will review each group’s pictures and analysis of their area discussing any mistakes, disagreements, and/or furthering of the information presented.
 * During:**
 * ~**Students will use the ipads to take photos of their assigned area to collect images and proof of different stages of the plants lifecycle and proof of the needs for the plants growth as well as any advantages or disadvantages at the area.
 * After:**

~I have not done this lesson as my school has already dismissed for the summer. This lesson is to take the place or beef up a lesson from our science kits in which the students are given a bag of pictures and words of a pumpkins life cycle and told to match the pictures to the corresponding words and then check with peers and reflect. ~Depending upon how well this works I my do either some differentiation or a follow up on this idea. My thought is to have more skilled students or for my next step be to have the students take the photos and use programs on the ipad to create a power point presentation to present to the class. This would incorporate the ipad, and another program like //Present it Lite// that the students could use. Furthermore, I could have the students use the program //Bump//, to bump their images to a computer and then have them use power point or word to create their presentation. I tried to keep it simple and that way I can adjust per class/student level.
 * Additional Resources:**
 * Reflection**
 * I chose to use ipads for my technology because I purchased two this past year for my classroom and was not successful in implementing them into my lessons as much as I had wanted and anticipated. I chose to be proactive during my summer recess and create plans to implement next school year. So using the ipad as my form of technology to integrate worked perfectly for me and gave me ways to see and plan for the furthering the use of the ipad, adding other programs for students to use, and seeing the possibility for differentiation.
 * I would have to say that SCOTs did not govern this lesson. I can use other means to achieve the objective, that is finding out whether my students can tell me the stages of a plants life cycle and the things plants need to grow, as well as identifying those needs. No this lesson indeed falls more in line with the ideals of TPAK. This lesson allowed me to think about the lessons objectives and how I could use, in this case simple but never used before, technologies to integrate technology into science and writing. It also allowed to the opportunity to look at this lesson as a stepping stone to more technology integrated in future lessons and even progressing int eh amount of furthering/new technologies or differentiating the lessons accordingly.
 * I predict that the students will thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to use the ipads and create their own presentation for the class. In the past my students have thrived on the attention from their peers and leap at the chance to share their thoughts, ideas, methods, understandings, and knowledge with each other. I think that this will be a great lesson for me to see the true knowledge of the science content that I have been teaching. I believe that this lesson incorporates many of the higher levels of blooms that are found to be better for students like, creating, evaluating, and analyzing. It also includes many different learning styles; written, oral, visual, kinesthetic, and includes collaborations among peers at many different time in the whole lesson. With these good hopes I also see the potential for problems. Fighting over who gets to take pictures, hold the ipad, where to go first, correct parts of labeling or identifying. I also see the potential for students sitting back and doing nothing while others take over and boss around. I would hope to control this like any other lesson using my classroom management skills and procedures. I think that the success of this lesson, and I might be a little optimistic here, could lead into other lessons following a similar style. My hope is to use this lesson and really do some deep reflecting to see what other technologies could be used and implemented into my lessons. Furthermore I hope to see some great value in the ipad that I worked hard to achieve to have in my classroom and start to utilize their full potential.
 * I really think that this could be the start of integrating my ipads for all sorts of uses through all subjects. I can see it being used as sources for getting ideas to write. Maybe using them to take pictures to create or retell a story. Use it to act out a story and then write the lines to the movie…make it into a play. I could use this to have students take pictures of how they use or see math used in everyday life situations, or use it to have them record themselves teaching their parents/siblings their math homework. The same ideas could be applied to reading. I could use it as a reading station, where the students could read to me a 3-5 minute section of their story. I really feel like this lesson could be applied to almost any lesson and or subject that is taught with slight modifications. I idea of taking photos and then hand writing and organizing and then presenting the information is very simple, and I hope, effective. The draw backs will include access to the ipads. For my students they will have limited access to the ipads during school and outside of school there may be 10-50+% that have access to ipads at home. Luckily this lesson as mentioned could be modified to the use of cameras, phones, webcams, camcorders…
 * This lesson aided in my professional development and teaching practices because it allowed me to look to new and exciting ways to engage my students. It made me focus on the objectives of the lesson and realize that the lesson could be adapted to include other curriculums, like technology, as well as give my students a better understanding and, with my intentions, better learning environments with multiple learning styles and intelligences. I know that to some teachers this lesson would seem cutting edge while with others it will be out dated. For me, I use it as a stepping stone. This lesson is something I have not done before, but to most is elementary (hahah). I plan to see how my students responds and conduct themselves as learners in these adaptive lessons, and then adjust more lessons to incorporate the furthering of technology’s use that we used, and then what new technologies to introduce that will further their learning of the subject and the use of technology in the classroom.