Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Name: On a Journey

Content Area: Science
Grade Level(s): 2nd Grade
Content Standard Addressed: S2L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the life
cycles of different living 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 Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity: Journey North

URL(s) to support the lesson: https://journeynorth.org/

Describe how you would incorporate an Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in your
classroom: Journey North is an online learning project that can be implemented in the classroom throughout
the year. I would use this website in my classroom when teaching students about the different life cycles of
different organisms. Students will choose an animal that is featured on Journey North and study it by using
their website tools. The student will observe the animal using the website’s live feed cams or in their own
environment.
Students will create an observation journal on their animal of choice for three days. Their journal should
incorporate physical characteristics, stage of life, eating habits, living environment, or anything else that the
student feels is important and will boost their observation journal. Upon completion of the observation
journal, students will share their findings with their classmates.
What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a classroom?
Desktops, laptops, tablets-anything that is able to access the internet
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: Collaboration with those outside is reached when students are seeing research by others and
they can post their own findings on the Journey North website.

b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (creating original data and or producing original
products as a result of engaging in a project): Students are engaged in creating original data by
developing an observation journal using their own discoveries and reflecting on their observations.

c. Higher-order thinking: Higher-order thinking is addressed by promoting original works and analyzing
and evaluating projects while providing feedback.

d. Students publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their product: Students are
able to publish their work to the classroom blog so that others can see their original work.

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

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 Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities
Universal Design for Learning (UDL): In order to assess UDL, we can allow ESOL students to complete their
journals in their native language. Also, since anyone can access Journey North from the internet, students can
access this at home to work on their assignment, but the teacher will also allow time in class in case some
students do not have access to internet at home.
Lesson idea implementation and Internet Safety Policies: We can still implement this lesson in the classroom
while adhering to all the district’s Internet Safety and Student Privacy Policies. Journey North does not require
any personal information but it does allow you to post a photograph of your findings. To ensure maximum
safety of the students, we can make sure that the student is not in the photo or we can receive consent from
the parent before posting.
Reflective Practice: After creating this lesson plan, I feel that students will have been impacted because the
website allows for engagement of students in their own environment. This website offers a variety of
different things that can be a great resource for students to use not only for this assignment, but that they can
reference for future assignments as well. This assignment could be further enhanced and reach higher LoTi
level by having the students publish their observation journal online for others to see.

Spring 2018_SJB