Bio Connections

         I think that Sara, Jesse, Wilbur and Sarah's lesson plan provides a great avenue for students to make use of technology in and out of the classroom. I could see this lesson working really well with a group of students in my placement at Scarlett, much like over the summer. The lesson involves teaching students about different species of trees both through traditional instruction, and a not-so-traditional activity, in which the students go outside, gather photos and data of various trees, and use that information to discover what types of trees they encounter. I think that the lesson is well-balanced in that, the students are provided with adequate information about species, and different ways to identify species prior to going outside to do the work. 

          I also think that the time constraints will work to the advantage of the educator(s), in that the warm up is a fun/short activity where the students start out activating their prior knowledge of parts of the tree, and the mini-lesson is both short and interactive. These activities keep the lesson moving, and provide the students with adequate information to do the final activity, where they actually get out into nature and move around. I see this lesson as being well-received by students because the majority of it is interactive and keeps the students moving. I think that the final activity benefits from time constraint as well. The students are given a limited amount of time to go out and collect their data, and additionally, they are given "one technology" per group restrictions, and I think that both of these things will keep students on task and diminish the possibility of them using technology for distracting purposes. 

        Additionally, the final portion of class, after students return to the classroom, is spent using technology to assess whether their identifications of the trees were correct, and to have a whole class discussion to assess how the students responded to the activity and whether they made any interesting discoveries. I like that the assessment for this lesson is a discussion rather than a formal test because I think that a discussion is an appropriate assessment for an activity and their experiences. Students will be much more excited to share the information they found with their classmates rather than do a formal writing or test assessment to show what they've learned. It also seems appropriate for a lesson that is primarily interactive. 

        Finally, this lesson was adept at providing ways for students to interact with technology. Students use technology when they are taking pictures outside, are provided an opportunity to use smart phones and tablets to look up information about their species, and it is suggested that if time remains, students might be able to put their photos on a smart board to share with the class. I wouldn't have necessarily thought of all of these very useful and diverse ways to integrate technology into the classroom.