Lesson Crashers

Integration of  Instructional Technology

Topic of Lesson

Functions of the Brain

Lesson Objectives

1. Help students better understand the functions of the brain in preparation for their exam.  
2. Use technology to help engage students and for them to have a “take-away” from the lesson that they could access on my Google Site to prepare for their exam.

Description of Original Lesson

Students formed groups of 4-5 and were assigned one of three case studies.  Using whiteboards, students brainstormed all the parts of the brain and their functions as they related to the case study.  Students would report out to the larger group.  

Problems/ Needs/

What I’d Like to Improve

Students completed this task on whiteboards, so there was no take-away for them to use when studying for the exam.  Although they did have the three case studies, they would have had to take notes while others groups presented.  

What I wanted was a take-away they could easily access and have multiple versions of the case studies.

Description of Revamped Lesson

• Students still worked in groups and reviewed their assigned case study.  
• A template Google Drawing with an image of a brain was shared with each group on the teacher’s Google Site.  
• Each group made a copy of that drawing, and labeled each location of the brain shown in the case study with the name of the section and how it related to the case study.  By working with an image of a brain, students were able to make the connection of the name of the part, it’s function, and how it related to the case study.
• Then, students submitted a public link of their brain drawing to a Google form on the class website.  
• The spreadsheet created by the form with all student work was made public and added to the website, so now, all students can view each other’s work (from all class periods), and have copies of all case studies to review for their unit exam and the AP exam in May.
• Teacher “Answers” to case studies.

SAMR Model for Technology Integration

A

In this lesson, technology augments the learning activities.  Using a Google Drawing, students collaborated with each other as they label the different parts of the brain and how they apply to their assigned case study.  Students also share their work online, using a Google Form and the results spreadsheet, so everyone in the class has resources to review (all responses are recorded on the teacher’s Google Site).

Reflection

I was so excited with this lesson, that I scheduled my first evaluation for the same day.  Students were engaged, working together and having fun.  Some of them were experts with diagrams and added arrows and other items to help make their case study brain more readable.  I think the best part was that they all (even those who were absent) have access to multiple versions of the case studies to help study for the Brain Exam, but I am also keeping the links on my Google Site for the entire year, so when it is time to review in April, they can still go back to the three different case studies as a review tool.  I originally asked Melissa for an idea using technology (I thought just using Google Docs in a different way) and Melissa turned it into something way more amazing.  Her creativity and ideas did not stop, once she started with the Google Drawing idea.  I would have never known about this idea if it were not for working with Melissa.

Tech Tips &

How To’s

• Create a Google Drawing

• Google Drawing Basics
• Google Drawing Template Gallery
• Quick Tutorial

• Sharing Google Drawings/Docs

• Google Classroom - share the drawing with your class as an assignment, and choose to make a copy for each student.
• Website - share the drawing so anyone with the link can view.  Then, change the URL of the document so that at the end where it says /edit, it says /copy.

• How to Create a Google Form