Click here to return to Small Groups Page

Title: Fact or Fiction

Project Authors:

Tammye Shadle, Springtown middle school. Springtown ISD, Springtown, Texas

tshadle@springtownisd.net.

Donna Erikson, Lyncourt UFSD. Syracuse, New York.

derikson@lyncourt.cnyric.org

Subject Area and Intended Grade Level: Technology Applications Grade 8

Life Science

Description:

Are you tired of your students using bogus websites while conducting their research? Here’s a few hoax sites to get your students to think about, whether what they are reading is fact or fiction.

Learner Outcome:

The student will learn how to effectively use the internet to locate and validate factual websites while conducting research on any given topic.

Students will decide whether or not a given website is factual or fiction

Time:

2 video conferencing sessions

Each conference will be 38-40 minutes, or 2 class periods

Preparation:

Each individual teacher will have already discussed with their class:

1. That they will be video-conferencing with another class in ____ (Texas, New York) on the procedures used to locate and validate factual websites on the internet while conducting research.

2. Ground rules for interacting with the other class

3. Roles will be assigned for video conferencing.

4. The agenda for the period, which will be posted and students will also have a hard copy.

5. A copy of the powerpoint will be handed out to each student.

Materials:

Paper

Pen/Pencil

Agenda handouts

Powerpoint handouts

Research project handouts

Videoconference Agenda:

Include the agenda for the connection and who will do each part.

Begin with roll call and introductions.

Some type of presentation/video using bogus website(s).

Discussion about how to tell if the site is a bogus website(s) using guided questions.

Powerpoint on how to check for validity and reliability.

Post Activities:

What activities do you recommend for follow-up to this videoconference?

Students will do research on a chosen topic using what they have learned from the videoconference.

Assessment & Evaluation:

How will you assess the learning? How will you assess the use of videoconferencing?

Assessment will be the videoconferencing- how well they performed their duty; how well they communicated information with the other class; what they did with the information they received; the final report that the student produces.

Implementation Plans:

Draft your ideas of how you might use this project next year. For Technology class, it will be part of a unit on Online Research.

For Science class, it will be part of their Science Fair lab report.

When might you want to do the project? As we are at the middle school level, and change classes every period, we are going to check with each other once we start back to school and compare our schedules to determine when we will be able to do the project

Who will be the lead coordinator? We will take turns, one of us will lead the first conference, the other will lead the second conference.

How many classes might participate from each area? I have up to 6 classes each semester.

I would like to get 2 classes to participate initially.

What time of year would this project be implemented?

When will be better for you?

I am thinking sometime in October initially; then second teleconferencing in March or so.

Day 3 Small Group Checklist:

•

Do you have a Google Drive Document started? yes

Have all members been invited? both parties, yes

•

Do you have a Publisher? yes, DonnaH

Has their PBworks account information been submitted to the lead facilitator? Yes

Begin Day 4 Activities

123VC Handbook 2014, Page 53

Day 4: Preparing Your Presentation

Now prepare an advertisement or commercial to share your project with the whole group (all

participating sites).

Here are the requirements for the presentation:

•

The presentation should be an advertisement or a commercial for your project.

•

EVERY person MUST speak on camera for a portion of your presentation.

•

Use