Cyberlesson Reflection
1. How did you implement your Cyberlesson? (Small group, whole group, posted on the Internet to be done at home? Individually, as learning center etc.)
This Cyberlesson
was created for Grade 5 students. It was completed in the computer lab
individually by students who were reading the book Animal Chatter. I chose to
have students within the class reading the different books in the informational
series book on Discover. The students who completed the Cyberlesson and book,
Animal Chatter were those students who are currently reading on grade level.
2. How did your students respond to the project?
The students who completed the Cyberlesson absolutely loved it! In fact, those students who were working on other activities with their books were very envious of those who got to complete the Cyberlesson. There were some students who I purposely chose for this Cyberlesson because they do not like to read. It was so amazing to see them motivated and excited about reading.
I think that it worked especially well because the activities that they were asked to complete were not new skills that they had to learn. For example, the students are all very familiar with PowerPoint, so they did not need help with that. They were able to be much more focused on the task that they needed to complete.
This Cyberlesson did take a long time to complete, but it was well worth it. I really think that they students were able to take apart and learn the material in the text so much better because of the various activities that they completed.
3. Strengths?
I think that the
biggest strength of this Cyberlesson was that it incorporated technology into
Language Arts. It builds on so many technology skills, but yet incorporates
elements of good reading instructions. I also think that another one of the
biggest strengths is that it is so motivating for students who do not like to
read. It allows them to incorporate skills that they have learned and apply
them to new reading.
4. Weaknesses?
One of the biggest weaknesses is the amount of time that it takes to
complete. Looking back, I don’t think that I would change anything because all
of the activities are worthwhile and important; I think though, that I would
allow for more time to complete this. I feel that some of the students rushed
through some of the pieces. I might also have the students work in pairs in the
Cyberlesson, rather than alone because so many activities call for team members
to meet and having more than one computer with the same thing just doesn’t make
any sense.
5. How would you modify the way in which you implemented the project to make it more successful?
· I would have the students work in their team groups at the computer rather than having the students work at individual computers and having to stop and meet then go back to their individual computers.
· It created such excitement among the students that I wished that I had created a Cyberlesson for each book. The students were so excited about it that it made it difficult to keep them on their own tasks.
6. Recommendations?
· Be sure to know the computer and the software well. Technology is so kooky that it is possible for things to go wrong and you want to be able to fix it as soon as possible.
· This book is definitely for those readers in your class that are reading on grade level.
· Have websites and extra copies of worksheets just in case the links do not work.
·
Have fun and relax, especially if this is your first Cyberlesson.
Know that things will go wrong, but it’s the overall idea that you will be
improving non fiction reading comprehension for your students!