Emerging+Technology

= [|FunnelBrain] =

PA State Standards Addressed:
3: Science and Technology and Engineering Education 3.1: Biological Sciences - Grade 5 3.1.5.A2: Describe how life on earth depends on energy from the sun. 3.1.5.A3: Compare and contrast the similarities and difference in life cycles of different organisms.

**NETS Standards Addressed:** 1. Creativity and Innovation Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students: b. create original words as a means of personal or group expression. 2. Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students: a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or other employing a variety of digital environments and media.

Implementation:
This project was created using www.FunnelBrain.com which is a Web 2.0 tool that allows students to create flash cards for easy studying. What is neat about this site is that students can create study groups, which allows students to create the flash cards as a group via the Internet, and then study together. The flash cards I created were for a 5th grade Science assessment on Threatened and Endangered Animals. To implement this project into my classroom, I plan to have students begin using this site with my already created flash cards. Students would be set up into study groups and would spend time studying for their assessment in class with this site. Once students become comfortable with the site, they will be assigned a test to create flash cards for. Finally, I will have the already created study groups use the flash cards to help study for their assessments. What I like about this is that students are creating flash cards together with peers, learning how to work with others and figuring out what information is important to include. Depending on the home accessibility of the Internet for my students I will include studying on FunnelBrain as homework prior to a test.

Ethical and Social Issues:
FunnelBrain is a social site that allows students to create study groups. Ethical and social issues that need to be addressed for this project would be copyright laws, cyberbullying, and appropriate use of the site. Students have the ability to create flashcards as study aids in groups over the Internet. They will need to know appropriate copyright laws when publishing flashcards to the Internet as well as being advised to publish appropriate information due to the permanence of the flashcards once published.

Student's computer literacy will be evaluated though their use of the website FunnelBrain and their ability to work as study groups over the Internet to create these flashcards together.