Re-purposing Technology Lesson Plan Template
TE 831: Teaching School Subject Matter with Technology
Summary BoxLesson title: “Repurposing Cell Phones for an Outdoor Activity”
Prepared by: Dan Witte
Subject area: Advanced Placement Biology
Technology integrated: Camera Phones, Digital Cameras, Digital Camcorders, Photo editing software
Length of lesson: 5 – 70 minute class periods
Suggested grade level: 11th – 12th graders
Lesson Abstract:
This lesson will occur at the end of the school year. After the Advanced Placement test, my students do not have a “rigid curriculum” that we must adhere. So, I try to finish the school year with laboratory activities that get the students “doing” biology instead of just “studying” biology. The students should have learned the material in order to complete this activity during the entire school year. In order to demonstrate content knowledge, students will be asked to complete a scavenger hunt using some method of media recording and some method of photography modification.
I am choosing to use digital cameras due to the abundance of them in my classroom, even though we rarely use them. It seems like an overwhelming majority of my students have phones with cameras, so it makes sense to use their cameras educationally. The students will take pictures with the cameras on their phones and email or upload the pictures so that they can be edited using photo-editing software. There is a lab with Adobe Photoshop installed on it upstairs at our school, so I will use that computer lab to have my students edit their photographs.
Lesson Objectives:
- By the end of this lesson, the students will be able to identify and classify organisms that meet specific biological characteristics.
- By the end of this lesson, the students will be able to create a photo collage using digital cameras and photo editing software.
Student NETS Standards Alignment:
· Student NETS 1– Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
o A. Students apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, and processes.
o B. Students create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
· Student NETS 2 – Students use digital media environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
o A. Students interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
o D. Students contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
· Student NETS 4 - Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
o B. Students plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
· Student NETS 5 - Students understand human, cultural and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
o B. Students exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
· Student NETS 6 - Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
o A. Students understand and use technology systems.
o B. Students select and use applications effectively and productively.
o C. Students troubleshoot systems and applications.
o D. Students transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
Materials:
· Students will need their textbook to learn about the different phyla of living organisms.
o Campbell, N. A., & Reece, J. B. (2005) The Evolutionary History of
Biological Diversity. (pp. 510-709) Biology (7th ed). San Fransisco:
Pearson
· Students will need an assignment sheet
· Each group of students will need a cell phone with a digital camera
· The teacher will need a cell phone with text message capabilities
· Students will need access to a computer with photo editing software
· Extra digital cameras (in case students forget their phone)
· Neoprene waders (for river or pond collections)
· Life preservers (for anytime the students are in water)
· Minnow traps
· Bug collecting containers
· Field Guides for many different types of organisms (fish, plants, mammals, birds, ect)
· Account to Flickr.com (optional)
Detailed Lesson Procedure:
Day One
· The teacher will pass out the assignment sheet to the students and explain the objectives of the assignment to the students. The teacher will also break the students up into groups of two. The teacher should make sure that groups are organized so that at least one person in each group has a cell phone with a camera.
o The teacher will discuss the types of pictures that the students should focus on taking. The students should focus on tight, close-up pictures of the organisms that meet the assigned requirement.
o During the discussion, the teacher will explain the rules regarding where students may or may not go during the class period.
§ The grounds surrounding the school have a variety of habitat areas where students may go (woodlands, grasslands, river, or pond) during class periods. Students are not allowed to leave the school grounds.
§ The teacher will inform students that they are to be back in the classroom 10 minutes before the end of class. The teacher will send a text message to the students 15 minutes before the end of class.
· Once the students are in their groups, the teacher will explain the tools that are available to the students for field collections.
o The students will have access to the following materials:
§ Neoprene waders (for river or pond collections)
§ Life preservers (For anytime the students are in water)
§ Minnow traps
§ Bug collecting containers
§ Field guides for many different types of organisms (fish, plants, mammals, birds, ect)
· The students will then be released to go outside and begin their collections of photos of organisms.
o The students will have three class days to complete their collections as well as any time that they spend on their own after school. There are local parks where the students could choose to explore and find some more pictures.
o The teacher will walk around the outdoor education area around the school to monitor student progress with the assignment.
· When the students are back into the classroom, the teacher will have the students email the pictures taken today to the teacher, or have the pictures uploaded to a photo storage account like Flickr.com that both students have access. By each student having access, there is no problem if a student were to be absent one day.
Day Two & Day Three
· The teacher will get the students into their groups immediately upon the start of class. Once class has begun, the teacher will spend the first five minutes of class answering any questions that the students may have regarding their field experience yesterday. I would anticipate that students might have questions about certain organisms that they saw outside. I would also anticipate students would have questions regarding the artifact list.
· Once students have asked any questions that they have, the teacher will insure all students have all necessary materials for their field experience (cell phone camera, possibly waders, field guides, ect.). In case students do not have their cell phone with them today, the teacher will keep two extra digital cameras that students can check out for the class period.
· After students are all equipped for the day, the teacher will release the students to collect the pictures of the specimens for the scavenger hunt. Students are instructed to be back to class 10 minutes before class ends. While students are in the outdoor education area, the teacher will move from group to group to insure proper time management and answer questions from students.
· The teacher will send out a text message 15 minutes before class ends reminding students to be back in the classroom in five minutes.
· The teacher will have the students email pictures or upload pictures to Flickr.com before class is over.
Day 4
· The teacher will bring the students to the computer lab. In the computer lab, the teacher will give the students a quick introduction to Photoshop.
o Specifics skills to include would be:
§ Cropping pictures
§ Resizing images
§ Copy and paste
§ Color editing (for backgrounds)
§ Ability to merge multiple files
§ Teach students how to layer images
· Each group of students will have two computers to complete their five collages. The teacher will circulate around the room and answer questions students may have during the creative process.
Day 5
· The teacher will have the students meet in the computer lab, and the class will begin work as soon as class begins.
· The teacher will circulate around the room and assist students as they work on the project.
· By the end of class on day five, each group of students should have five collages completed, one on each of the phyla that they chose.