Steve's+Page

The Wiki of Steven O.

Can We Get Off the Oil Fall?

Day 1 – Origins of Oil


 * Grade Level – 5th to 8th Grade Material
 * Learning Content Covered:
 * Science
 * Where does oil come from?
 * What parts of the Earth have it?
 * History
 * How does oil form?
 * Language Arts
 * Quick notes on information gathered answering the questions.
 * Lesson Description:
 * In this lesson, students will be encouraged to use the computers in my lab to search the internet for solid information on the origins of oil.
 * Once they have found information, they will be instructed to copy and paste the information into a blog post.
 * Finally, they will post their findings for classmates to review and compare.
 * NETS-S Standards
 * 2.a: interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
 * 4.a: identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
 * Skills Gained
 * Research
 * Copying & Pasting
 * Entry-Level Blogging
 * Lesson Outcomes
 * Students will have blog posts of their own and others to use as a cross-reference.
 * Students will have pictures posted to the blog for all to use.
 * Lesson Plan Sequence
 * Video Introduction: History of Oil - []
 * Discussion of video and relation to our real world today.
 * Pose the Question: How can we become less dependent or even independent of foreign oil? How long will it take?
 * Group Gathering to do research
 * Students find information to put on the blog.
 * Students find pictures to add to the blog.
 * Students review each other’s blog entries for new found information.
 * Technology Usage
 * Students will be using the internet to do research.
 * Students will be blogging to share information and pictures gained.
 * Videos will be used to begin daily lessons.
 * Diverse Learning
 * Students will be able to partner up if necessary.
 * Students will be able to re-write the information if they prefer.
 * Assessment
 * Observation of students during the research process.
 * Blog entry at the end of the day.
 * One-on-one assistance throughout the class period.
 * Blog entry at the end of the day.
 * One-on-one assistance throughout the class period.

Day 2 – Uses & Sources of Oil in the 20th Century

Kristyl's Feedback on PBL Very pertinent lesson when you consider the implications of the recent oil spill in the gulf. The students will have an easy time making a connection to their life with this problem. You should see the students eassily engaged in this lesson. I like how you allow the students to work together if they like. This gives students the ability to work independently if they so choose but the flexibility of teamwork if they want to pair up. The question I have is that how will you determine the amount of involvement that the student has in the problem when they are working in teams? How will you monitor to make sure that each student contributes equally to the solution? The other question that I have deals with the length of the lesson from start to finish. It looks like the lesson is introduced one day and then finished the next - did I miss something? It seems like alot of work for two days. My next question has to do with the use of the internet in the classroom. Do you have enough laptops for all students to be working at the same time? Will you give a pre-selection of sites for students to use or do you allow them the freedom to search the internet as they feel necessary? I work with first graders so I do not have some of the luxuries that come with working with older children...I have to limit their access and find the sites in advance for them. Best of luck with your lesson and with the upcoming school year.
 * Grade Level – 5th to 8th Grade Material
 * Learning Content Covered:
 * Science
 * How do we find oil?
 * What kinds of oil are there?
 * History
 * What have we used oil for in the past century?
 * How dependent on foreign oil have we become?
 * Math
 * What is the percentage breakdown of oil and its usage?
 * How many more years can we survive at the current rate of use?
 * Language Arts
 * Continued blogging and creatin of a power point that will be transformed into a voice thread in later days as the problem is studied.
 * Lesson Description:
 * Students will go further to study the uses and sources of oil in the 20th century and beyond.
 * Students will then begin a presentation tool (power point) that will be carried forward into the following lessons examining the oil in the USA.
 * NETS-S Standards
 * 2.a: interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
 * 4.a: identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
 * 3.b: locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
 * Skills Gained
 * Research
 * Copying & Pasting
 * Entry-Level Blogging
 * Power point creation
 * Lesson Outcomes
 * Students will have more blog entries to review and analyze for productive information.
 * Students will have pictures posted to the blog for all to use.
 * Students will begin the creation of visual aids to assist them in analyzing and making an argument in coming days in response to the question.
 * Lesson Plan Sequence
 * Video Introduction: The Energy Replrt – 6/22/10 []
 * Discussion of video and relation to our real world today.
 * Repeat the Question: How can we become less dependent or even independent of foreign oil? How long will it take?
 * Group Gathering to do research
 * Students find information to put on the blog.
 * Students find pictures to add to the blog.
 * Students review each other’s blog entries for new found information.
 * Students begin creation of their visual aids.
 * Technology Usage
 * Students will be using the internet to do research.
 * Students will be blogging to share information and pictures gained.
 * Students will use common applications to create presentable material.
 * Videos will be used to begin daily lessons.
 * Diverse Learning
 * Students will be able to partner up if necessary.
 * Students will be able to re-write the information if they prefer.
 * Assessment
 * Observation of students during the research process.
 * Blog entry at the end of the day.
 * Visual aid files emailed to me through the student Gaggle.net account.
 * One-on-one assistance throughout the class period. 
 * One-on-one assistance throughout the class period. 

﻿Steve, I like your lesson ideas, they sound like they would be fun to complete in your class. With that said I have some feedback and a few questions for you. You had mentioned that you may or may not use partners with your students, do you think the research would be more interesting with the use of partners and would the students learn more. Or would students learn more working individually? I think sometimes groups are great for collaboration and research, unless the students mess around and do not complete the work. The idea of cross-curricular instruction is great to include in lessons as well. I think the more subjects included in the work the better and more well rounded the student will become. Blogging- what blogging site will you use? Would you use a wiki site or a blog-spot site. I feel that it may be easier to monitor a wiki site than it would a blog site. And lastly do you have access to classroom computers or to computers in a lab? How much time will the students be allowed for internet use? Overall, nice lesson and great inclusion of technology and new ideas for students to use. Julie

Day 3 – Share Your Findings


 * Grade Level – 5th to 8th Grade Material
 * Learning Content Covered:
 * Science
 * Student Oil Findings
 * History
 * Students gained knowledge of oil history
 * Math
 * Students share oil statistics online
 * Language Arts
 * Students do asynchronous communication to share knowledge gained in a complete fashion.
 * Technology
 * Students learn how to properly operate a wiki for information sharing amongst classmates.
 * Lesson Description:
 * Students will take what the information they have gathered and learn to apply it to the decision making process.
 * Students will then share what they have learned and uncovered from analysis of the class data to make entries and comments on a running wiki page..
 * NETS-S Standards
 * 2.a: interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
 * 4.a: identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
 * 3.b: locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
 * 4.c: collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
 * 5.b: exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
 * Skills Gained
 * Data analysis
 * Informed response
 * Writing for proper communication
 * Share ideas with classmates and beyond
 * Lesson Outcomes
 * Students will have posts on the wiki to show lesson learned and objectives met.
 * Students will learn from one another.
 * Lesson Plan Sequence
 * Video Introduction: Wikis in Plain English []
 * Discussion of video and relation to our real world today.
 * Repeat the Question: How can we become less dependent or even independent of foreign oil? How long will it take?
 * Group Gathering to enter data, collect appropriate findings and present outcome presentations.
 * Students compile information into informative reports.
 * Students find pictures to add support for their report.
 * Students finalize their reports and share with team members.
 * Students post their information sources to the wiki.
 * Technology Usage
 * Students will be blogging to share information and pictures gained.
 * Students will use common applications to create presentable material.
 * Students will use a wiki to build a final presentation built by the entire class.
 * Videos will be used to begin daily lessons.
 * Diverse Learning
 * Students will be able to partner up if necessary.
 * Students will be able to re-write the information if they prefer.
 * Assessment
 * Observation of students during the analysis and production process.
 * Wiki entry at the end of the day.
 * Visual aid files emailed to me through the student Gaggle.net account.
 * One-on-one assistance throughout the class period.

Kristy's feedback on collaboration lesson Another teacher using a wiki to increase team building and collaboration among students. Great plan and very effective. I have to think that most teachers plans that I am reading are using the wiki that it may even be more valuable than many realize. I love the fact that it allows students to work together to create a project that is reflective of all their individual expertise. Finding lab time for students to work if they do not have a computer at home will greatly impact the success of the collaboration piece. Great idea and it looks like a plan that they students will enjoy doing together.