Connections Across Disciplines: A review

It was interesting to go through Wilbur, Sarah, Jesse, Sara's  lesson plan on identifying tree species and incorporating BYOD in a very creative way. I liked the idea of using technology and especially the camera of a phone as a tool to capture useful information. More often than not, students forget that there are umpteen things around us to get curious about and many such useful methods on hand for recording observations.
The objectives of the lesson plan are concise and well identified and very realistic in order to be completed with in the allocated time. I would have suggested that they elaborate on the Michigan Standards part, for reference purposes, but I noticed that the Michigan Merit Curriculum does not explain much as well. But the broader context under which this lesson plan would fall was useful i.e. what adaptations make some species survive and other extinct.. (http://www.michigan.gov/documents/BIOMMC_168213_7.pdf).
I really liked the bell work with worksheet. It is fairly simple to do and all the information are already given in the reference,
(http://www.larne.gov.uk/upload/docs/Investigating%20Trees%20Worksheets%20Mono.pdf)
, for students to identify the leaves. I liked the idea of first feeling the leaves and tree parts, using our senses during mini-lesson. After giving students some time to identify the species during the mini-lesson, taking the students to outdoors seems sensible. The students at this point would have already gotten an idea about what to look for in the woods. Their interest would be kindled more when they find similar leaves and fruits. Giving them a chance to take pictures of the leaves and record observations is a great idea to store and retrieve information using technology. Students can even share these pictures with family and friends and feel elated sharing their knowledge. I also liked the idea of students evaluating themselves using special applications on their devices.
Over all I think, it was a great lesson plan that would serve a dual purpose of teaching the content as well as teach about the wise uses of technology. Students this day and age, literally have not seen life with out 'information on fingertips'. But such resources on hand are only useful if used. This BYOD based lesson plan aims to teach just that.