Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Name: Finding the Red Robin

Content Area: Science
Grade Level(s): 3rd
Content Standard Addressed: S3L1. Students will investigate the habitats of different organisms and the
dependence of organisms on their habitat.

Technology Standard Addressed: ISTE Standards 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Selected Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity: Journey North is an online learning

project because it is technology based, allows students to interact with their peers or others around the world
learning about the same topic, and students collect data to publish onto the site.

URL(s) to support the lesson: This site provides students with rich vocabulary that will support this lesson.
https://www.rcboe.org/cms/lib/GA01903614/Centricity/domain/860/science/Habitats%20Study%20Guide%2
0Cheaves.pdf (How do I get my link for this lesson plan onto this page? Is that what URL I am supposed to
put…the link to this lesson plan?)

Describe how you would incorporate an Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in your
classroom: I will begin this lesson by showing the short YouTube video (3:37) that goes into detail about the
characteristics of the American Robin. The speaker goes into detail about the Red Robins diet as well as their
migration pattern. After viewing the short video, I plan to have the students create anchor charts about facts
they just gained from the video. I might even show the video again to refresh their memory. I will then move
to my computer or use one of the tablets to sign into the Journey North website. This will likely be my
students first exposure to the site, so I plan to introduce the site by showing all the features and possibilities it
has for our learning experience with the Red Robin. There are news sitings to read about, live cams to view,
maps, projects and more. I will first pull up information that has previously been submitted about the Red
Robin so the students can get an idea of what we will be doing.

The students will need to constantly be on the lookout for this species of bird over the next month. This
project will stretch out as we gather data and learn how to publish it to the Journey North site. I am hoping as
they visit the website that it will instill a hunger within them to learn more about this species as we go along. I
will encourage them to take photos anytime they site a Red Robin. They will also need to keep up with a
journal notebook to jot down significant information as they site one of these beautiful birds. I will also be
teaching them how to figure out longitude and latitude as those are some of the statistics, we will need to
post in our newsfeed to Journey North. As we journey on this path to learning about the Red Robin species, I
will also print out information I might find online as well as bring in any books I find at local libraries or even
our school library on this topic.

What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a classroom? A
computer or tablet is needed to implement this learning activity in the classroom.

Describe how the following features are addressed in this learning experience (note: all of them may not be
addressed in the project, but most should be if you are reaching a high LoTi Level).
a. Collaboration with peers, near-peers, mentors outside their classroom and often beyond their
school: The students will be collaborating and reading about siting’s of the redbird from others around
the world.

b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (creating original data and or producing original
products as a result of engaging in a project): The students will actively be participating in gathering

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their own data to report to Journey North. They will be keeping track of the dates and times of the
siting’s as well as the location. They will learn how to publish a news report to the site so that others
can learn from their knowledge.

c. Higher-order thinking: This project will be higher order thinking as they share their knowledge beyond
the classroom in a publishing format. Technology being integrated into the central, standards-based
learning activity that will be closely monitored and assessed will also provide a high-order thinking.

d. Students publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their product: Students
being able to publish their work on a site such as Journey North will certainly be taking their learning to
a LoTi level 5 or even a 6.

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): I will have a computer set up in the classroom equipped with ZoomText,
a program that enlarges font size on any device. This will be specifically for those with visual impairments. In
regard to the books I find at the libraries, I will try to focus on large print just in case the need arises. I will
have all these resources available for students to learn from that need a hands-on approach of needing to
read from a text in order to grasp the information. I also plan to set up game centers that will have flip cards
that I create with facts on each card. I will have them play a matching game with the cards in order to help
learn the information. I feel this activity and the technology tool I selected supports and enhances the
learning experience for the students in my classroom by exposing them to a resource that is likely unfamiliar
to what they have seen before.

Based on the UDL Guidelines, Principle I, providing a multiple mean of representation, is being met by having
the students create anchor charts as well as the increase size of the font I plan to provide the students with
the books and printed materials (Options for Perception). Principle II, providing multiple means of expression,
is being met through options for expressive skills and fluency. I will be supporting this principle by providing
web applications and presentations for the students to learn from. Principle III, providing multiple means of
engagement, is being met through assisting students in learning to collect, chart and display data (Options for
self-regulation.)

Lesson idea implementation and Internet Safety Policies: I could send home a permission slip to parents
asking for their permission for their student to participate in the project. I will emphasize the knowledge they
will obtain from participating in the project and reassure them that the site has been checked out and is safe
for the students to use.
Reflective Practice: I feel that exposure to the website, Journey North, will open the eyes of my students in
the classroom who want to learn more through technology resources. This will likely be something the entire
class will enjoy as it implements technology, learning about animal species and recording data to other
students possibly around the world. Since this is an introduction to our unit on bird species, I will plan to
invite an ornithologist from the Atlanta Zoo to come speak to our students on bird species. An ornithologist is
a zoologist who focuses on birds. Another website I might implement during our journey of learning about

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birds is, Gizmos, as it is a tutorial and simulation site that focuses on math and science. So, I am certain it
might come in handy over the next few weeks.

Resources:

Conservation in Action. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2019, from https://zooatlanta.org/

ExploreLearning Gizmos: Math & Science Simulations. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2019, from
https://www.explorelearning.com/

GeorgiaStandards.Org (Official Site) - Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE). (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2019,
from https://www.georgiastandards.org/

Richmond County School System / Welcome. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2019, from http://www.rcboe.org/

(n.d.). Retrieved July 5, 2019, from

https://journeynorth.org/sightings/querylist.html?season=spring&map=gray-whale-
spring&year=2019&submit=View Data

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