Web 2.

0 Tools for Communication and Collaboration

Lesson Idea Name: Introduction to Characteristics of Living Things
Grade Level/Content Area: 7th grade life science
Content Standard Addressed:
1. obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to construct scientific explanations to describe
how cell structures interact to maintain the basic needs of organisms (GSE S7L2)
1a. engage in an argument from evidence to support that a cell exhibits the characteristics of life
(Clarification statement: Emphasis of indicator is on developing evidence that living things are made
of cells, and distinguishing living and non-living things.)
ISTE Technology Standard Addressed: What would you like students to know and be able to
1.6 Creative Communicator: Students do by the end of this lesson:
communicate clearly and express Students should be able to watch the 3-minute video
themselves creatively for a variety of and answer reflective questions that follow on Padlet,
purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, with a link or QR code provided by the instructor.
formats, and digital media appropriate to Students should be able to use sentence stems to
their goals. answer questions in complete thought using critical
thinking skills and their prior knowledge.
What is the student learning goal(s) for this lesson idea?
• I can name examples of living things and their characteristics.
• I can analyze the video to jot down ideas of what I notice and wonder.
• I can evaluate others’ posts and make connections to my own thinking.
Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):
☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating
I can have students evaluate peer’s posts and respond to their ideas to deepen conversation.

How do you plan to implement this lesson and integrate the technology? Check all that apply:
☐ Teacher-led: There is no student voice and choice in the activities. Students are guided by
teacher direction and expectations. Learning activities are assigned to the
student and mostly practice based.
☒ Student-Led: Students are given voice and choice in the activities. They may select the topic
of learning and/or determine the tool they will use to meet the learning goal. The
teacher facilitates the learning as the students direct their own learning processes.
☐ Problem-based and/or Publishable: Students are solving problems
and completing projects to demonstrate their learning. Additionally, the projects can be shared
outside of the classroom. (Note: This objective could be reached by displaying the project on the
school’s morning newscast, posting the project to the classroom blog, presenting it to another
class, or publishing via an outside source.)

Lesson idea implementation:

Each student will be provided a device and the Padlet link to input responses. The teacher will
review over the expectations of the task and go over the questions the students will answer during
and after the video on ‘Introduction to Characteristics of Life’. The interactive posts on Padlet allow
students to draw from their prior knowledge and experiences of living things. Students will need to
write about what they see and wonder from the video, provide some examples of living things and
what makes them alive, and complete a sentence stem to define what living things are in their own

Lee, 2022
 Web 2.0 Tools for Communication and Collaboration
words. Students will be able to read and react to peer’s responses by liking posts which helps with
student engagement and motivation. Once all the responses have been collected, the instructor will
hold a discussion at the end – scrolling through the different responses portrayed on the big screen.
This could lead to the next activity where students will work with a partner to choose any two
organisms and identify at least 8 ways living organisms are alike. The intent of this activity is for
students to ensure each of the 8 characteristics previously discussed on Padlet could be applied to
ALL living things. Thus, this Web 2.0 tool eventually leads to a small group Joint Productive Activity
which comes from the instructor’s intentional planning.

Managing student learning:

Utilizing Web 2.0 tools provides all students a platform to be active social learners. Because students
are actively able to see people’s ideas come up on Padlet, this will encourage students to make a
contribution and want to be included in sharing their thoughts without being called on by the
teacher or stared at from their peers. The 6 interactive posts on Padlet will be divided up in half
where students will work on the first 3 posts first, teacher will provide 2 minutes to pause video and
provide wait time for all students to finish their thoughts, then continue to the last 3 posts. Padlet is
also a strong visual representation of community of learners because students can see different
responses on one page and learn from one another. This allows students to quickly reflect on their
knowledge and have a sense of achievement.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

This lesson idea supports UDL for students will be able to represent their knowledge in a method
that is most appealing to them. ELLs may use their home language or add pictures to express their
ideas. Students will be given sentence stems that assists their writing skills, a video for visual
representation to spark ideas, and most importantly live student models as an example of how the
task should be completed. Anyone can partake in this lesson which is made possible due to Web 2.0
tools like Padlet.

Reflective Practice:
Web 2.0 tools play a significant role in the teaching and learning process that paper and pencil
cannot provide. In this lesson idea, students are engaged in Padlet that will not only collect
everyone’s’ responses but also represents student misconceptions and understanding for instructors
to quickly catch. I think Padlet is a great resource to collect responses from all students rather than
the select few that volunteer to answer questions. I personally like using Padlet to get a sense of
understanding and student thinking across the room. This tool also allows me to notice student
ideas and thoughts that may be different, creative, or unique.

Lee, 2022