Back to Showcase

Worksamples

Quickwrite sample        Song sample        Tips sample

Cyberlesson Reflection

My Cyberlesson guides students through the reading of a biography picture book called When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan.  It was designed for a fifth grade class.  Its main purpose is to be the introduction to a biography genre study unit, but its other focus is on civil rights.  Therefore, this Cyberlesson touches upon a genre that students are required to understand as part of reading and language arts curriculum and also the issue of civil rights which student are required to learn about as part of social studies curriculum. 

            Since I have not started teaching in my own classroom yet, I implemented my lesson with two fifth grade students from my home.  These students are average to above average learners.  They completed the Cyberlesson over three days.  Each session took them about 50 minutes.  In the classroom, I would suggest that the students be given four, 45-minute periods to complete this Cyberlesson.  I think that my students completed it in less time because I was always right there if they had a question.  Having me right there also kept them well on task.  The Cyberlesson asks students to work in different groupings (individual, partner, small groups).  I only had two students to work with, so they were able to do the individual work and partner work, but had to do the small group work as partners.

The students loved the Cyberlesson.  They really liked how it was on the computer and how it was linked to the word documents and Web sites.  The pictures and background of the slides kept them engaged.  When they were finished, I asked them if, in their own classrooms, they did work that was similar to the work that they did on the Cyberlesson. (eg.  quickwrites, KWLs)  They said they did but that they liked doing the work on the computer better because it was more fun.  I think it is interesting how simply putting regular classroom activities such as quickwrites and KWLs on the computer and providing the students with links to find information makes them more appealing.

            This Cyberlesson worked well because the students found the Web sites appealing and easy to understand.  They especially enjoyed the audio and video components of the Web sites.  I think that is because they made the Cyberlesson more interactive.  Another strength of the Cyberlesson is that the students are provided with all the materials that they need.  All of their writing and researching is done on the computer and saved there so that they don’t have to worry about making sure they have a pen, paper, and reference materials.  The teacher does not have to worry about students being short of materials or forgetting them because they are not needed.  However, if a student is more comfortable writing than typing, then I think it could be allowed.

            A weakness of the Cyberlesson is that I think it might be too long.  It was difficult for me to make it shorter because for each of the levels of activities (before, during, after, beyond) I wanted the students to both focus the genre study aspect as well as the issues addressed in the book.  I thought it was important that these two aspects be examined on each level.  However, the students did find it a little long so it might work better if some of the activities are taken out or made optional for extra credit.  Another small weakness is that I think the students could have used a little more direction for using the Web sites on the Cyberlesson.  At first, they seemed a little overwhelmed by them, but then seemed to get used to them because they use a computer at home and have explored Web sites before. 

            This Cyberlesson supports student learning by first giving the students a purpose for reading the book by having them make predictions, access background knowledge, and identify what they still want to know.  It then provides the students with a Web site so that they can build their background knowledge before reading the book.  During the reading, they are required read the book carefully because they must identify important passages explain why it is a biography.  After they read, they are required to use what they learned to respond to questions correctly and also explain what they learned.  The Beyond Reading Activities show students that they can use their reading experiences to expand their knowledge beyond the simple reading of a book.  For example, one of the Beyond Reading Activities shows students that not only can they read a biography, but that they can also write one.

            Recommendations for how I would modify the way in which I implemented the project to make it more successful include making sure students get to do small group activities with at least two other students.  I think that since the students who completed my Cyberlesson had to work as partners for the group activities, they felt more pressure on them.  I think that if the students actually got to do the small group activities in small groups they would have felt more comfortable.  Also, as I said before I think that students would need four, 45-minute periods to finish the lesson since a large group of students would be working on it.  A last recommendation is to make sure to prepare students for using Web sites before they do the Cyberlesson and to also provide them with some guidance in the Cyberlesson.  A way that I think teachers can do this is by providing students with a lesson on reading Web sites and using their standard features so that they can practice using them in order to learn from them.  This will help students to get the most out of Cyberlessons.