Consider the source, the author, and if the data has been updated recently, but remember anyone can buy a domain name and the data may or may not be reliable.
A
WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the
information that learners work with comes from the web. These can be
created using various programs, including a simple word processing
document that includes links to websites. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webquest
All webquests have 5 parts:
Introduction
Task
Process
Resources
Evaluation
Conclusion
They provide a scaffolding of learning with:
resource links a compelling problem or task templates for student products guidance on cognitive and social skills
The model was developed by Bernie
Dodge at San Diego State University in February, 1995.
Kathy Schrock's revised graphic of Bloom's Taxonomy shows the "Cogs of Cognition" are entwined. Project based learning and webquests take our learners beyond a basic understanding and enhance higher order thinking.
Webquest Examples
Bernie Dodge's site Zunal is a free service that walks you through the process of creating a web quest. It also has a matrix to search for a plethora of webquests that other teachers have created. Kathy Schrock's Authentic Learning: EMINTS Webquests made by teachers. Best of the WebQuests
In project based learning the teacher becomes the facilitator. Training in the medical profession is a good example of this type of learning. Project Lead The Way , a STEM based curriculum is another wonderful example.
In the news this morning, Battle of the Brains would also be project based and have the real world component. Students are competing for $50,000 for their school and to have their entry be the next exhibit at Science City.
A few of my old projects: Orphan Trains and Survivor Webquest and Australia Connection
“Children today are completely comfortable with the visual bombardment of simultaneous images, text, and sounds because, for them, such experiences provide relevant and compelling experiences that can convey more information in a few seconds than can be communicated by reading an entire book. Moreover, these new media are not just designed for passive viewing, because passive viewing just doesn’t cut it. This generation no longer wants just to be the audience; they want to be the actors. They expect, want, and need interactive information, interactive resources, interactive communications, and relevant, real-life experiences. ”
http://www.committedsardine.com
Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast! Digital Natives
– like to parallel process and multi-task
– prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite
– prefer random access (like hypertext)
– thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards
– prefer games to “serious” work.
Today’s average college grads have spent:
– over 10,000 hours playing video games
– over 20,000 hours watching TV
– over 200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received
– over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones
– over 500,000 commercials
– less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading
Media Tips
-Start small. Find one movie, song, or news source and incorporate it into your class. Expand once you are comfortable.
-Provide a clear link between what you want your students to learn and the media. Care must be taken provide the proper learning context.
-It takes time to integrate media effectively into a course. This is not edutainment, it is the conscious use of media to enable students to learn more.
-Use the subtitles feature for visual media. This is especially useful in focusing student attention on the words being said.
-Be prepared. Technology does not work 100% of the time so have a back-up plan. If the media equipment does not work, go to plan B and continue on with your class without missing a beat.
-Evaluate student understanding. Students respond to incentives. If you require them to write a reaction paper, take a quiz, or place questions on your exams that relate to the media content they will pay more attention and learn more in the process.
-Stay legal.
You Tube:You can create your own youtube channel or one for your district or department. You can even set the channel up to be private.Zamzar: -this site will allow you to download and convert media files to a file that your district's server will support. Have you ever seen a video clip on YouTube and seen inappropriate ads, or comments posted? Perhaps the related videos on the right-hand side of the screen displayed a clip that your students should not be viewing. This link will fix that problem. View Pure
Wordle: is a word cloud. The cloud you see above this entry is from Wordle. It is easy to use. Type words multiple times to increase their font size.
Tagxedo: turns words, famous speeches, news articles, slogans and themes, into a word cloud. You can choose from a variety shapes, colors, and fonts for your word cloud.
Lexipedia: a multi-lingual visual dictionary that creates a word web and defines words based on their part of speech.
SnappyWords: This site will interactively help you find meanings for words and connections to associated words within its interactivity and thesaurus. It will look like a “word web” that can easily be manipulated. Click on the beta link to see an example. Then you will want to register for your free account.
Visuwords: is another word web dictionary. Enter words into the search box to look them up or double-click a circle to expand the tree. Click and drag to move the background around and use the mouse wheel to zoom. Hover over circles to see the definition and click and drag individual circles to move them around and to help clarify connections.
TheVisual Dictionary: uses photographs of words in the real world to visually explore them.
Shahi: This is a visual dictionary that combines Wiktionary content with Flickr images and more.
WordStash:Create your own account at this link. It is built on top of a dictionary, so you can look up words and save them. With one click, students can access dictionary information and create flash cards or play the interactive games with YOUR words for review.
Taggalaxy.de will create a 3D galaxy of words and their associations. You can even click on a word and move it to the center of the galaxy and watch the globe populate it with new Flickr images and facts. You have to check this one out! Your students will love it.
Vocabulary.co has vocabulary games to expand your students verbiage.
Bookworm: Magazine publishes the stories, poems, essays and artwork of kids ages six through fifteen.
StoryKit: This application puts student work online privately in a format that can viewed by iPhone.
Storybird: Use the art on the site to illustrate or inspire student storytelling. This is a sample Rubric for cooperative learning and a video tutorial on how to use the software.
Stapleless Book: At this interactive site, students follow the prompts to produce their own books. Students can work with bulleted lists, headlines, and text; they can leave space to add pictures after printing. Everything prints out on one piece of paper. Follow the instructions to fold and cut.
Yudu: This resource lets you upload all sorts of content including Word documents and PDFs. It will quickly convert the documents into an impressive virtual magazine with flipping pages. Account creation is optional but an email address is required. You can also set privacy settings to public or private.
Issuu: Pronounced "issue", is another option to upload almost any document format and transform it into a virtual flipping book. Of course, you can share and or embed the resulting creation. For example, you can embed the book on your classroom homepage or wiki.
Lulu: Online publishing for books. You could publish a book written by all your students on poetry or perhaps a class recipe book. There are countless ideas on their site
Read Write Think This site has complete lesson plans with "interactives". Teachers, students and parents love the polished products your students will create BUT be warned they products do not save once access the interactives.
What is a blog? Wikipedia defines a blog as a discussion or informational site published on the web and consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order. You can also choose to restrict comments. Blogger is FREE and and user friendly. It is one of many blog resources available to educators. Richard Byrne assembled a collection of classroom blogs. Choose one of the blogs from his list or one of the following blogs and discuss how the teacher is using the blog to enhance his/her instructional goals.
Richard Byrne's Collection of Blogs,
Prairie Branch School Blog,
Mrs. Twiehaus' Blog, , and a Pinterest collection of Early Childhood Blogs.
The following is a link with a Youtube video on how to create you own blog in Blogger.
