07 Classroom Blog Lesson Idea Template

Classroom Blog and Website Creation Tools Lesson Idea Name: Physical Properties and how they change Content Area: Science Grade Level(s): 2nd Content Standard Addressed: S2P1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the properties of matter and changes that occur in objects. a. Ask questions to describe and classify different objects according to their physical properties. (Clarification statement: Examples of physical properties could include color, mass, length, texture, hardness, strength, absorbency, and flexibility.) Technology Standard Addressed: 3 Knowledge Constructor Selected Technology Tool: ☒ Blog ☐ Wiki ☒ Other: BrainPop

Website Creation Tool (list): Edublogs

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable): http://emilyddavis0416.edublogs.org/ https://jr.brainpop.com/science/matter/physicalandchemicalchanges/

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s): ☒ Remembering

☒ Understanding

☒ Applying

☐ Analyzing

☐ Evaluating

☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level): ☐ Level 1: Awareness

☐ Level 2: Exploration

☒ Level 5: Expansion

☐ Level 6: Refinement

☐ Level 3: Infusion

☐ Level 4: Integration

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Engagement: Students can use interactive websites or videos on a blog to learn or review materials. Learning can take place in the classroom or at home. Students can use computers or iPads to learn their material instead of just having pencils and paper to learn and complete activities. Representation: Using a classroom blog to offer a flipped classroom model can be very helpful to many, if not all, students. Flipped classroom models allow students to get acquainted with a subject at home before coming to class and hearing more detailed information about the subject. It is a way to offer students a different, and maybe more comfortable, learning environment in their own home. A flipped classroom model allows students to prepare themselves as much as they want before going to school to learn about the topic. Flipped Classroom models on a blog gives students constant access to information and materials used in class. They can look at it as many times as they want, replay any videos as needed, have transcripts for each video available, and can ease their minds when they know what to expect the next time they come to class. Students with hearing or seeing impairments, English Language Learners, students with anxiety, and students who simply just need to learn at their own pace can all benefit from a flipped classroom model set up on a blog. Other pages on the blog, such as a helpful websites page, could also benefit students. Now they have a location to go to in order to practice and review the things they are learning through playing interactive games. Action and Expression: Students get to choose when and how many times they view and complete activities on the classroom blog. They may be asked to do something on the blog before the next class, but they have the freedom to decide when and where to do the activities before the next class. Some of the activities posted on the blog can offer students a choice in what subject to do the activity over or how to complete the Summer 2017_SJB

Classroom Blog and Website Creation Tools activities. The blog can also offer multiple websites to use for each subject so, students can choose which one they like best to use in order to review a particular subject. Lesson idea implementation: The teacher will set up a post on the flipped classroom page on the class blog (edublog). There will be an audio recording on the page that will introduce students to our next class topic and will ask them to complete the flipped assignment posted. The page will include a link to the video they are to watch and will clearly state the two assignments they are to complete with that video. The flipped classroom model will include a BrainPop video discussing the physical and chemical changes of matter and a statement asking students to: view the video, take the easy quiz on BrainPop to assess what they learned from the video, and use the draw about it tool on BrainPop to draw something before and after it goes through a chemical change. Students will be asked post their picture to the password protected page of the class blog. This way the teacher and all the students can see each other’s drawings of their objects going through a chemical change. The picture will help the teacher to be able to assess student’s learning of chemical changes in particular objects. When students share their pictures with classmates they can collaborate and learn from each other. It is probably a good idea to have students create fake names for their account so that when they make a post none of the other students can know exactly who it is. This way no one has to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about posting their work for their classmates to see. To introduce the student’s assignment the teacher will remind students at the end of the day that they are to complete the flipped classroom model assignments before coming to the next class. The teacher could also put the assignment on a class calendar or student’s agendas, and can make a post in the important information page on the blog to remind students and parents to complete the flipped classroom model assignment before the next class meeting. The flipped classroom assignment will take about 15-20 minuets to complete. The student’s drawings can be used as a final product that they created to be put on the blog. By placing it on the blog students can see each other’s and can learn off of each other. It shows what they have learned and the students or the teacher can comment on pictures to further discuss their understanding of how some of the students’ pictures shows a chemical change happening. To extend this lesson to a higher learning level student could be asked to make at least one comment on another students’ drawing post explaining why that student’s picture is in fact showing a chemical change. This makes students reach the evaluating level because they are evaluating each other’s work in order to decide if a proper chemical change is being showed. To conclude the lesson, when physical and chemical changes of matter are being taught in class, the teacher can start with going through the student’s pictures to introduce the topic and to make any clarifications if needed. This way the teacher can close out the flipped classroom part of the lesson before beginning the actual inclass lesson. Students can receive feedback about their work through the teacher commenting on their post or by having the teacher talk about each student’s pictures anonymously in class.

Importance of technology: Using a website-creation tool to make a classroom blog is critical to this class assignment. Website-creation tools allow teachers to post things for all students to have access to in or outside of class. This way when teachers assign things such as flipped classroom models/ homework students can go and read the specific instructions and view the materials as many times as they need. It also ensures that all students are looking at the same video or other materials and no one is confused on what is supposed to be watched and completed. All the resources students need are posted and available on one page. A website- creation tool makes it possible for students to share their work with all other students in the class before the class meets again face to face. Without the classroom blog students have no safe place to post their work and they lose access to important tools that are needed in order to complete the flipped classroom assignments. Students could still be given the assignment either verbally or in a handout in class, but they could forget all the instructions or Summer 2017_SJB

Classroom Blog and Website Creation Tools lose the handout before they get a chance to complete the assignment. Without the blog students would not be able to complete a flipped classroom model with ease and they would not be able to learn at their own pace. Using the website BrainPop (in this lesson’s specific blog post) gives students a way to watch their video at their own pace and to complete the quiz and drawing tasks easily as BrainPop has both those tools on the same page the video is on. They will be easy for students to find and they guide students through an informal assessment of what they learned from the video. Internet Safety and Student Privacy: Some issues concerning internet safety could arise from this project. Students and the teacher should not post any personal information at all on a class blog. Students should be careful where they post their work on the blog. For my lesson I minimize risks by having the page that students post on set as a password protected page. This means only the people I give the password too can access the site. The students and their families are the only people who are allowed on this page. Another concern could be allowing people to comment on posts on the blog. To minimize the risk for this, the comments can be put on a setting where the teacher must approve the comment before it publicly posts. As long as the teacher is selecting and monitoring comments nothing out of the ordinary or inappropriate can pop up. When using classroom blogs teachers must be mindful and careful of FERPA and CIPA laws. FERPA laws require teachers to keep student's academic records private and CIPA laws requires schools to either block or monitor websites where students interact with each other. When posting on a classroom blog teacher must be mindful that they cannot put out students' work, names, or pictures without parents’ consent. It is the teacher’s responsibility to know whose parents have given permission and whose parents have not. Teachers should also teach students about internet safety. Teacher are to help students understand that they cannot post any personal information about themselves or their contact information online. Most schools will also have an internet policy that states that teachers should not post anything that indicates the students' location on a blog or website. Implementing these settings and following these guidelines will help protect the students and teachers, alleviate parents’ or administrations’ fears, and ensures the blog is following common internet safety practice. Reflective Practice: This lesson can enhance student’s learning by providing them with a website to go to either receive information in advance or review content and important information that was previously mentioned in class. With tools on the website that will help students review the information or practice what they learn using some teacher suggested websites, students can enhance their learning. To further extend this lesson, after wrapping up the flipped classroom portion of the lesson, the teacher will go into completing an in-class discussion and interactive activities to learn about physical and chemical changes in matter in class. Now students get to hear the material for a second time and they get more detail and more hands-on learning with the content. For the in-class lesson the teacher could use some additional technology tools to further students learning. The teacher could find online interactive simulations of things going through chemical and physical changes. Students could be given time to use the simulation on their own. They could use the interactive whiteboard, computers, or iPads.

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