I would like to integrate blogs in a science learning activity. This activity is designed for third grade and is based upon the SOL standard 3.5, Living Systems:

The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Key concepts include
a) producer, consumer, decomposer
b) herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and
c) predator and prey.

This learning activity requires students to research in groups one set of the key concepts listed above. So students will choose either a, b, or c and investigate what each concept in their set is, how the concepts relate to one another, and will give particular examples of aquatic and terrestrial organisms related to their concept. They will find information about their concepts online, in encyclopedias, and at the library. I can also put together a cart with science books in the classroom. For this activity the students will keep an online science journal so that they can organize their research projects and so that I can assess them continuously and at the end of the unit. Each group will have a blog space that is to become their science journal. Students will follow a format of their own, but similar to the one below in order to structure their online journals (Koch, p.354-355):

-What do I know about _______?
-What am I trying to find out?
-What materials do I need?
-How did I research?
-What did I find out?
(Sample Structure from Koch, Janice. 2005. Science Stories: Science Methods for Elementary and Middle School Teachers (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.)

They will answer each question as they research, adding and editing information frequently. Students can also include links to websites where they found their information, thus designing blog spaces that are useful to others. They can also utilize links to other parts of their assignment. For example, links to pictures, concept maps, and short videos about their concepts, found on the web, or drawn by hand and scanned onto their blog pages. As a culminating exercise, students would present their blogs to their classmates. Each group would have the chance to teach a set of concepts, and all students would learn from their classmates’ blog spaces.

I think this would be a fun and creative activity that easily integrates technology and science. As science is naturally an exploratory subject, students would be thrilled to research their own ideas (within the SOL standard), learn a little bit about technology, and be proud when they have a product to share with their classmates. Using blogs for synthesizing activities can be very valuable to the learning process; this activity will help students feel confident in their planning, researching, and organizing skills, and especially their technological skills. Plus, the students will develop a much deeper understanding of the standard, Living Systems, by taking part in a synthesizing activity where they gather information and create a product of their own.