Response #3

Topic:

How will you apply the concepts from the NetQuest, Online Research Module/Model, and WebQuest in your final web-based learning experience project for this course?

NetQuests, Online Research Module, and Webquests will all play a part in my final project. I believe my final project will be a Webquest or maybe even a combination of all of them into one. The students will complete it over several days. The main idea from all of the different online learning experiences is making the students answer GOOD questions. This is so important when making a learning experience meaningful for kids and each of these stresses that.

NetQuest: I liked how the article on NetQuests had a series of questions that needed to be answered by the teacher and by the students. I think the teacher-centered questions really help the teacher make sure he/she is accomplishing the right goal for his/her students. I will be sure to have these questions answered in my lesson. I also really like the student-centered I think it is important for students to remember why they are completing the assignment. Too often, students get lost in the assignment and in the end forget what the goal was.

Online Research Module: Students will be required to answer questions, similar to those posed in the Online Research Module. After reading the information, it is clear that students need to have good questions: Why? How? And which is best? I will incorporate these questions into my final project. I like how the Research Module provides a safe research experience on the web for students. I think with my lesson, students will not really be completing the entire research cycle, but parts of it. I plan to use some of these details from the Research Module in my lesson.

WebQuests: After viewing several WebQuests and reading about what they are, I have decided that many elements will be incorporated into my web-based learning experience project. I particularly like the format and setup of the WebQuest. I think the format: introduction, task, process, evaluation, and conclusion is an easy format for students to follow as they complete their learning experience.

Is it possible to have a combination of everything in your final project? I really like what each offers and I would like to take the good in each part to combine it into one thing.

What content area are you thinking about using? You might have a unit that needs some "sprucing up".

I have been thinking for a long time about what content area (Language Arts also cross- curricular - social studies) I want do my final project on. I have decided that the most beneficial lesson I could plan, would be for a novel that the 6^th graders are required to read. Not only would I use this, but all 6th grade teachers in my school could also use this. The novel is Bud, Not Buddy and is about a young African American boy growing up during the Great Depression. Throughout the book there are many themes. My lesson will be cross-curricular and focus on:

• The Great Depression
• Jazz during The Great Depression
  
• Racism during The Great Depression

Students will need to use:

• Writing skills
• Research skills
• Blogging
• Good search skills

Students will be writing journal entries through blogging as the main character Bud. I have found several good sites that I will be using for the research part of the lesson. They are listed below:

What websites have you found so far that you would like to use? Share an online learning experience that you found that you feel could support your curriculum (post the URL).

• http://www.pbs.org/jazz/time/time_depression.htm
• http://pbskids.org/jazz/time/1930.html
• http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/great-depression.htm
• http://museumca.org/picturethis/3_7.html

• WebQuest:
• http://www.todaysteacher.com/TheGreatDepressionWebQuest/Introduction.htm

There will be more to come soon. I am still trying to come up with a final product besides the online journal that the kids need to complete. Maybe something that is a collaborative group thing.

Response #2

Topic: You need to teach your students how to evaluate websites. How will you do this?

As teachers it is our job to not only be sure that we teach our students the curriculum, but we also need to instruct our students to be good investigators and researchers, especially with the internet. Children do not enter into school with the knowledge of how to search on the internet for information, which is why it is imperative for us to teach this within the walls of our classroom.

My plan...

Step 1.
In order for student to understand that information is not always valid on the internet, it is important for them to see examples where information is not true and valid. The first step to my lesson would be to have students visit the website: Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus Site. At the sites students would need to look for information to support if this is a valid site or not. As a group we would visit:

• Forward links
• Back links
  
• Implement Real:
  
• R- read the URL
• E - examine the content
• A – ask about the author and owner
• L – check out the links

Step 2.
After the group has decided how they feel about the validity of the site, we will then take a look at 2 different websites that describe several questions to ask and things to consider when deciding if the website is good to use or not:

• The Quality Information Checklist
• Fact of Folly

Step 3.
At this point students should be at the point to be introduced to evaluating websites on their own. To help them along the way, they will have a worksheet with questions to answer while they are there.

Evaluating Websites

How do we make sure a website is a good one?

There are some steps to always follow…

R- read the URL

E - examine the content

A – ask about the author and owner

L – check out the links

REAL

Always use a…CRITICAL EYE

Directions: It is important to look for valid information when looking on websites. In order to do that we must ask ourselves some questions when we are there. Take a minute to answer the questions to see if this is a valid site.

• What is the URL? __________________________________

• Who is the author of the site? _________________________

• What is the title of the site? __________________________

• What institute sponsers this site? _____________________

• When was the site last updated? ______________________

Answer yes or no to the following questions (circle your choice). You should be able to get an idea if the information is valid or not for your topic if you have more yes(s) or no(s).

• Is the reading level good for me? Yes No

• Is the page easy to navigate (go through)? Yes No

• Are the pictures clear? Yes No

• Is the page organized and well set up? Yes No

• Are there headings/titles on the site? Yes No

• Are there links on the site? Yes No

• If so, list where they go (2 examples)…

• Can you get back to the main site? Yes No

• Is the information on the page useful? Yes No

• Are the facts true? Yes No (See if you can validate on another site or book)

• Is the author biased about the information? Yes No

(Watch this one. If it is a yes then that is

not necessarily good.)

Total: _____(yes) _____(no)

Now…

• What do your totals tell you about the website?

• Go to altavista.com
• Type in Link:(add your url here)
• This will tell you what websites LINK to this page.

• What does this information tell you about your page that you are on?

• After completing your evaluation sheet, do you think this website is valid? Why or why not?

*Students should be on the right track for evaluating websites after this lesson.*

November, A. (2008). Web Literacy for Educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Research Disability

EDTEC 448 - Response # 1

Topic: Your initial thoughts about using the Internet to enhance the teaching and the learning process. (I have a lot of initial thoughts...enjoy! :) )

Internet in the classroom can be a very powerful tool that can fuel and stimulate learning for our “new age” children. As we all know, our computer savvy children crave the use of technology in the classroom. It is our job, as educators, to provide children with all types of ways to learn (differentiated instruction). Using the Internet in the classroom is a way to differentiate your instruction, motivate and engage learners.

In order to provide our children with the proper tools and knowledge to navigate throughout the Internet it is important for educators to know what they are doing while using the Internet and technology. Through my research and reading (blogs and chapters 1-2) I learned that there are many resources for educators to take advantage of. All it takes is one person to do a little bit of research and world of technology information is at your fingertips. Classroom 2.0 is a great site for educators to join so that they can learn more in our world of technology in the classroom. It is a bit like what we are doing as a class (class blog), but on a larger scale. It includes people from all of the world communicating and sharing ideas about how to incorporate technology into the classroom through blogging. It also provides opportunities for teachers to see live broadcasts with chats, audios, and desktop sharing. I even got an email for an event this Saturday. I will list it below for anyone that is interested in attending. I will also include the link for anyone that wants to join Classroom 2.0. Similar to Classroom 2.0 is The Future of Education. This is another helpful resource for teachers seeking information and that are interested in. The site provides information on Podcasts, recordings, and events. Both resources listed above are something that can easily be incorporated into our “tool bag”. After reviewing the information that these sites provide I came to the realization that this is such a critical area that teachers need to invest their time in. I’m sure that I speak for many of you and for myself, that I have sat through many Act 48 meetings wondering why I was there to begin with. Although, we will probably not get the chance to have a live broadcast from Classroom 2.0 as our Act 48 meeting, this is still something that we should strive to visit and embrace. As educators, we realize the importance of education and therefore understand the implications of continuing to learn ourselves. It is our duty and job to learn what are children are learning and doing.

The Internet and technology can be a great way to differentiate your instruction in the classroom. Throughout my research I found a great article on differentiating instruction using technology ">Article The article, written by Lady Dolandolan and Maria Mercado has a specific section on using the internet to differentiate instruction (bottom of page 1). Using online books, websites (starfall and unitedstreaming), or online generated graphic organizers are all very effective ways to differentiate instruction while using the Internet. I have used unitedsteaming.com in my classroom for several years. It is a great source for showing videos and examples of things that you are teaching. They have a wide variety of information on their site. It is important for children to see information presented in a variety of ways, not just one. Can you remember when we were in school? I remember being excited when I was learning something in a way that fit my learning style the best. Isn’t that how we want our kids to feel when we teach? Similar to the Classroom 2.0, they have a Student 2.0, which is a place for student to go to speak with other students or mentors. I love this idea to have students involved with other people around the world. This might be something that students would do on their own, rather than the classroom. All of these are ways to make the learning environment more conducive to our savvy tech kids.

Most teachers and even some students automatically consider the Internet as a resource tool. Of course we all know that the Internet can be a valuable resource. Interestingly enough, my 6^th grade class is completing a research project on a disability of their choice. We have been using Nettrekker.com as our search engine (great site for kids doing research). I decided to take this as an opportunity for a teaching moment and as a chance to implement some of the activities provided from the reading (Chapter 1). We visited the website: ">Robots Students first questioned if there were really robots back in the times of the photos, which then brought to light the URL information. Students were able to understand that not all information on the Internet is valid and helpful. It is their job to look through the information with a watchful eye to see what is useful and valid.

Although all of this information is great and interesting to learn about, we all know that not everyone has these capabilities in their classroom. I come from a very fortunate district where the Internet is constantly working, nothing is blocked, and teachers are given technology every day to use. Strangely enough, we do not have a lot of classes or opportunities to learn more about using the Internet and technology in the classroom. So the question is, how do we change people? How do we make people believe that this is the way of the future for our children? If the administrators do not buy into this, how will the teachers buy into it? I am about 1 in 30 people in my school that tries almost every day to incorporate technology and Internet into my lessons. This is a scary thought. My kids even talk about how they are excited when we do something new using the Internet or technology; they know that barely any teachers use this to their advantage. I guess with the knowledge comes power. I will continue to educate myself and gain the power that I need to help influence my school and other teachers.

If you're interested, this is the event that is occurring tomorrow night through Classroom 2.0

Date: Sat., May 8, 2010
Time: 9:00am PST/10:00am MST/11:00am CST/12:00pm EST
Location: ">Location

Topic: "Piclits: Creating Writing with Images and Keywords"