WEBSITE AND CLASSROOM BLOG CREATION TOOLS

Name: Bethany Fort

Directions:
Students will navigate the blog that accompanies this lesson template to learn required content standards.
Students will use the blog for this activity to review information about the standard listed below that
discusses the basic needs of plants and animals. Students will reach a Loti level of 4 by applying what they
have already learned about plants to do the virtual plant simulation. Students will add to the blog, writing a
sentence about what they have learned about plants and animals to the blog. This will be meaningful
because students will both be using technology to produce facts for others to view. This makes the product
useful.
Grade Level: 1st
Content Area: Science
Technology Used (check all that apply):
Blog Wiki Other Website Creation Tool (list):
Content Area/Grade/Standards/Topics Addressed:
S1L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the basic needs of plants and animals. a.
Develop models to identify the parts of a plantroot, stem, leaf, and flower. b. Ask questions to compare
and contrast the basic needs of plants (air, water, light, and nutrients) and animals (air, water, food, and
shelter). c. Design a solution to ensure that a plant or animal has all of its needs met.

ISTE-S: Empowered Learner: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving
and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

ISTE-S: Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a
variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

ISTE-S: Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to
construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves
and others.
Brief Description of Learning Experience:

The required learning standards that will be addressed is: S1L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate
information about the basic needs of plants and animals. a. Develop models to identify the parts of a
plantroot, stem, leaf, and flower. b. Ask questions to compare and contrast the basic needs of plants (air,
water, light, and nutrients) and animals (air, water, food, and shelter). c. Design a solution to ensure that a
plant or animal has all of its needs met.

Teachers will have students navigate the web page so that they can then insert new sentences discussing the
learning standard. Students will write this sentence to demonstrate what they have learned about plants and
animals. The project would be introduced after the lesson covers the standard. Students will use computers
to access the blog page and develop their sentence to add to the page. The audience that will be looking at
the webpage is the other students in the class. The class will be able to access the web page while and after
students write their sentences. Students can look at what others have written to see what information others
got from the lesson that they may not have themselves. This will serve as a review for the lesson.
Blooms Level of Critical Thinking Required (check all that apply):
See http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy
Remembering Understanding Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating

1
 WEBSITE AND CLASSROOM BLOG CREATION TOOLS

Student Engagement/Level of Technology Implementation (LoTi):

This activity is Loti level 4 because students will take what they have learned about
plants and animals to add a sentence about what they have learned in class to the blog. They will write
about what they have learned about the basic needs of plants and animals. They will do this to apply what
they have learned in class. They will use technology which is relevant to students to review what they have
covered in class.

Importance of technology:
Using the website is critical to the project because students are using technology. Students need to use
technology to reach the knowledge and interests they already have. The site also allows students to practice
typing and learn about using blogs. Students also are able to demonstrate what they have learned when they
write their sentence. Without using the blog page, students would not be accessing the virtual plant tour
which would allow them to apply what they have learned in real life. The computers will be the only
technology that are used for this project. Students will use the computer and will access another web page
for this assignment.
Inspiration (optional): If you used existing example as a model for your project (whether in part or
whole), include the URL(s) so we can visit. Explain what concepts you borrowed from others.

Internet Safety and Student Privacy: Briefly discuss some possible issues surrounding Internet safety and
student privacy that could arise while implementing this learning experience and explain how you would
(1) minimize risks to students/yourself; (2) alleviate any fears by parents/administrators, and (3) follow
common Internet Safety/Acceptable Use Policies.

I would minimize the risks to the students by not including their names, phone numbers, or other personal
identifying information on the website and would watch students to ensure they have not included their
names. To give parents a sense of security I would have them sign off ahead of time and let them know
what project I am having students do in class. I would give them the link to the webpage for them to access
the page themselves and let administrators know I will not be using photos or other identifying contact
information including my name or location as the teacher.
Describe your personal learning goal for this activity. What are you trying that you have not tried
before? What do you hope to learn from this activity? How do you hope it will help students learn?

I am allowing students to type sentences in the web page themselves instead of writing information on
paper. This way students get more familiar with using blog pages. I hope to learn that students enjoy using
blog pages to publish their work. I hope to find that students are more motivated to pay attention to the
lesson if they know they will get a chance to shine on the web blog.

Other comments about your proposed activity: