Information that helps you understand and explain the nature of technology you plan to use.  If you want to see the unit plan, click here!

• Wikis in the classroom: http://www.techforteachers.net/wikis-in-the-classroom.html
• What to use based on what parents want; describing wordpress, weebly, and blogger: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/6639
• 41 Websites for Teachers to Integrate Tech into Your Classroom: http://askatechteacher.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/41-websites-for-teachers-to-integrate-tech-into-your-classroom/
•  Edublog, a blog tool for teachers and students: http://edublogs.org/curriculum-corner-using-a-blog-with-students/
• Word press support: http://at.blogs.wm.edu/using-wordpress-in-your-class-for-student-writing-and-web-sites/
• Discussion around class blogs and their importance: http://ltlatnd.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/class-blogging-options-and-three-strategies/

Here are a few examples of other class blogs that could be beneficial for this project using edublogs.

• http://cmiraglia.edublogs.org/about/
• http://biologyblog.edublogs.org/about/
• http://ourspace.edublogs.org/

 Specific Activity types:

•  Take notes (building conceptual knowledge): a way for students to organize information in their groups or individual
• Discuss (building conceptual knowledge): Students support/respond to other groups; provide additional networking information for groups; discuss positives/challenges/goals
• Explore a topic/conduct background research (building conceptual knowledge): post information about topic
• Organize/classify data AND analyze data (building conceptual knowledge): with group members students go over findings, discuss relevancy, connections to science/daily lives
• Learn and practice safety procedures (procedural knowledge): students learn the ins/outs of the technology they are using; how to react/discuss with other students on the site in a community based manner
• practice (procedural knowledge): use the website doing a little scavenger hunt
• Respond to questions (knowledge expression): respond to questions other students have posed
• Present (knowledge expression): Go over what it means to present, why it is important; how to present a website, what would make it interesting/compelling for the observer/reader;
• Create (knowledge expression): students create there own blog based from the wordpress about their topic

Scaffold the Technology.  

•  As a teacher to be better informed, create an example for the class from my classroom website that they can log into; this will help build a foundation for them
• Discuss importance of technology in classroom in general at the beginning of the unit; find out why/if students find technology important and what they would like to see in the classroom; go over blogs and wordpress
• Pre-asses student use or awareness of this form of technology/computer use in general
• Scaffold looking up research online (give specific websites to start out with); this will need to be scaffolded; examples/non-examples of what important/credible research looks like for the topic
• Still working on how/what needs to be scaffolded……