MultiMedia Tools

Lesson Idea Name: Fossil Video

Content Area: Science
Grade Level(s): 3rd Grade
Content Standard Addressed: S3E2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information on how fossils provide
evidence of past organisms.

Technology Standard Addressed:

Global Collaborator:
Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others
and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

Selected Technology Tool:

☒ Movie (list application): iMovie app
☐ Audio (list application):
☐ Other: (list)
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable): http://www.discoveryeducation.com/

Reference for video snippet used in sample video in Weebly:

Mazzarella Educational Media, 2014. Fossils. [Video Segment]. Available from

http://www.discoveryeducation.com

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration

☐ Level 5: Expansion ☒ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Including captions for the video will help students with auditory
disabilities. Students with learning or advanced physical disabilities (such as having to use a wheel chair) can
be pared with buddies to help them complete their portion of the assignment.

Lesson idea implementation:

This assignment will be used as the final project for a unit study on fossils. Students will be creating their own
video to be shared on Discovery Education’s website where it may be accessed and used by other educators
and students. The project will be introduced at the beginning of the unit on fossils. Parent and administrative
permission for publication of a video recording of students and their work must be obtained prior to the start
of the unit. Also, permission to publish video recordings of professionals in the field must also be obtained by
these individuals. This project should take the entire time spent on the unit on fossils and will be the final
product showcasing student knowledge and work. Students will be assessed on the quality of their work
through the correct use of technology and the correctness of the information given in the video.

Spring 2018_SJB
 MultiMedia Tools
At the beginning on the fossils’ unit, teachers will have given students their own notebooks for keeping
running notes on all that they have learned throughout the unit in class and on their own. Students will have
been given chances throughout the unit to conduct research in class as well as on their own. Finally, students
will participate in two different field trips (one local science museum and a local fossil dig) during which they
will take photos and videos of artifacts and professionals working in the field. They will interview and obtain
additional information on their topic from these individuals. Students will work in groups creating a
storyboard for their video, gathering their photos, and organizing their research to be presented in the video.
Students will take turns presenting the information through audio/video recordings of themselves. With
teacher assistance, they will use their chosen tool to create their video using all of the material that they have
gathered/created. The final product will be shared with parents in a final presentation and will be published
online to the Discovery Education website so that other educators and students may benefit from it.

Importance of technology: The use of the various technology tools within this project is vital to reaching a
LoTi level of 6. In particular, sharing the video to an online site will allow people outside of the classroom to
benefit from the children’s work.

Inspiration (optional): The concept of this lesson is my original idea. The video used in the sample video is not
mine and can be accessed at https://app.discoveryeducation.com/learn/player/7d43d62a-0ddf-480a-bf62-
2e2a3fa50a2b

Complete reference for video:

Mazzarella Educational Media, 2014. Fossils. [Video Segment]. Available from

http://www.discoveryeducation.com

Internet Safety and Student Privacy: Because of the broader audience outside of the school that will be able
to access student work, safety and privacy issues are of great concern. In particular, students’ voices and
recorded images may be seen by people outside of their classroom. To minimize this risk, no personally
identifiable information (names, ages, school name/location, etc.) will be included in any part of this video or
accompanying material. Parents and administrators must be briefed on all of the aspects of this project
before beginning any part of it and permission must be granted or alternatives (such as not recording
students) must be agreed upon if this project is to be done at all. Finally, all non-original work (music, video
clips, etc.), if any, must be properly cited within the video and proper permission must be obtained.

Reflective Practice: This project requires heavy teacher involvement and planning in order to ensure that all
safety and privacy requirements are met and full permission is granted to publish it online. However, I believe
that it is a wonderful way for students to impact a broader audience and, therefore, gain experience in real-
world work that has a goal outside of their own academic achievements. An alternative tool that can be used
if students are not allowed to be recorded is a green screen or stop motion video creator app for which
students can use paper characters or clay figures as performers.

Spring 2018_SJB