Rationale: Plant Life Cycle Technology Lesson

Context

Under the advisement of my cooperating teacher Lori Waller, I created a technology extension activity to a science unit on plant life that I was teaching in the classroom. This activity was conducted in the school's media lab and the children were instructed and guided to the school's web page and were directed to a link of the website titled "Plant Wise".  I used this website to initiate discussion and provide opportunities to re-teach  and expand content knowledge that was introduced in class.

Impact

This activity provided me the experience to interact with a class in the computer lab and how to literally guide the students through a website.  I also plan to use this website and others as extension activities to my regular classroom lessons and even some as lessons on their own. 

Alignment

I have met NETS-T Standard III-A because I used the "Plant Wise" website as an extension activity to the standard met lesson that I created for the classroom. 

I have met NETS-T Standard III-B because I paired up some students  according to technology skills and used this lesson to re-teach the students who didn't grasp the content the first time it was presented and to challenge the students who did catch on through discussions.

I have met NETS-T Standard III-C because throughout the lesson I intionally asked questions that required students to think outside of the box and one of them being "Describe in your own words the ideal place in the classroom you would place a seed you were trying to grow and why." 

I have met NETS-T Standard III-D because I had to manage student learning throughout this activity.  I had to constently informally assess the students, help the ones that were behind and not at the right place on the computer, ask and answer questions, and think ahead to know what was coming next.