Article Response: The Student WebQuest

This article is basically an introduction to Webquests. It defines WebQuest and tells about what elements are neccessary to make one successful.It tells a little bit about the original creators and gives suggestions of good exemplars for us to experience. Personally, I can see that there are so many options with this tool. It seems that the challenge in creating one is, of course, time and then, know-how. It takes a lot of time to come up with a real world scenario that requires the learner to take his or her learning to the analyze, synthesize, and create level. Then, the Quest creator must put the website together gathering everything from pictures to appropriate sites for students to investigate. the creator must understand the technological processes of doing these things. However, challenges aside, I am excited about the possibilities WebQuests offer me and my students.

Final Project

For my final project, I would like to take my existing Wiki and develop it much further. I would like to have a page for each subject I teach with information about what we are doing in that subject as well as links for students and parents. I would like to revamp the way I do my homework page to make it easier for me to use. I would like to include more pictures to make the Wiki more interesting and inviting.

Lesley Web 2.0

BrainPOP

The Web Application I will be showing everyone in class is BrainPOP at BrainPOP.com
This program offers so much for K-12 in all subject areas. It is for kids, parents, and teachers. BrainPOP revolves around 3-5 minute movies starring animated characters, Tim and Mobie. You can find a movie on about any subject you are interested in...from rounding numbers to the Black Death to food chains to similes and metaphors. The site offers experiments, activities, and quizzes to go along with each movie. The site is not free, but you can subscribe to a trial membership. It is an awesome teaching tool!

Article Response: The Learning Power of Webquests

Wow! This article is really heavy duty! It makes me question whether or not my plan for my WebQuest would be acceptable to the author's guidelines. He maintains that a WebQuest should require the learner to make something new, which I certainly understand, that being the pinnacle of learning on Bloom's taxonomy. He does realize that some basic fact finding is necessary. A student can begin a Quest with fact retrieval and then go on to use that information to solve problems and predict outcomes. I spent some time browsing through a few of the WebQuests created by the author. They all involved working in groups and were, in my opinion, very challenging.

Response to Article: YouTube Comes to the Classroom

I guess when I usually think of YouTube it is as a recreational/entertainment resource. However, I can certainly see the author's point that it could be a powerful tool for education. Students love knowing they are creating for an audience. If assignments involve helping students find their voices, and communicating via Youtube makes them feel that their work is authentic, it stands to reason that the depth and quality of their work will improve.
I also learned something new in this article. The Website, KeepVID, that enables PC users to convert videos to another format sounds like a great tool. This would help protect students from accessing the negative things on YouTube.