Hypermedia Quiz

Creating a hypermedia quiz will help students develop several life and career skills. The quiz provides them with clear goals. By telling the students weather the answers are correct or incorrect, it gives them feedback and lets then know where they need improvement.

Bookmarks

Using bookmarks allows students to develop several information and media literacy skills. Bookmark enable students to quickly access important sites. This will improve organization and efficiency. Having the sites readily available will make it easier to compare sites with different information, enabling the students to better check a site's credibility. Bookmarks allow students to manage information from a number of sources. Without them trying to keep track of resources could become tedious.

WebQuest on WebQuests

In groups, we examined a Webquest which asked up to analyze other WebQuests. We each took on a role (Efficiency Expert, Affiliator, Altitudinist, or Technofile) and judge the WebQuests based on what our roles were looking for. Our group selected Grow School Greens. The WebQuest meets NETS standard 1 by having the students construct knowledge. It presents them with a task and asks them to gather important information and use that knowledge to make a decision.

WebQuest Assignment

For the WebQuest assignment, we each found a WebQuest in the field we will be teaching which was not well constructed and could be improved. We then constructed our own WebQuests using the old ones as a model.

I chose a WebQuest about gravity. In this WebQuest gravity will be treated as an enemy which must be overcome. I order to defeat this adversary the students must gain an understanding of the gravitational force.

Original Gravity WebQuest

This activity will not only meet several CSOs, it will provide students with resources to investigate ideas on their own. The Wequest specifically meets seventh grade natural science CSO SC.O.7.2.25 which states that students will learn to explain the effect of gravity on falling objects.

Wordle and Media Literacy

Earlier this semester we participated in a group activity, in which we constructed a Wordle. We each thought of words that come to mind when we thought about "Web 2.0". We came up with related words such as connection, technology, collaboration, innovation. A Wordle is a good tool which could be very valuable in the classroom. Wordles collect information and then display the data in a visually appealing way. They can he used to show related ideas or group opinions. Wordles and other types of "word clouds" can help students better interpret information.

Deconstructing Arnold

In class, the professor showed us two magazine covers, both with pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The two pictures were both taken in the same year, but appeared very different. One image showed Schwarzenegger as the tough-guy and the captions were about the new Terminator movie. The other image showed him clean-cut and in a suit and was about his bid for California governor. The two covers conveyed very different ideas. The class discussed what effects were used to create this different contexts: clothing, lighting, colors, camera angle. This activity could teach students a good deal about modern media. By examining these images students will learn to critically evaluate information and determine the mediums purpose and potential biases.

Are SmartBoards worth it?

SmartBoard Research

This site provides evidence that SmartBoards can influence student learning. It must be taken into account that the research was done by the company that produces the SmartBoards, and therefore may be biases. The site does make several interesting points regarding the advantages of SmartBoards in the classroom. I personally believe that Smartboards can make a difference and are well worth the expense as long as several criteria are met. Obviously the teacher who will be using the board must understand how to operate it. The school should also be certain that the SmartBoard will be utilized, so that the investment is not wasted.

Can Students Use Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a very useful resource. The information on it is not always accurate (although it usually is), but the site is an easy way to become familiar with a subject. Most pages begin with an easy-to-follow summary of the subjest. If a student is just beginning their research this could help[ immensly. Wikipedia can also offer other, more credible, resources. Here is a page describing the forces behind and the history of the Theory of Plate Tectonic.

SmartBoard NETS

THere are clear advantages to using SmartBoards in the classroom. As I said previoulsy SmartBoard Demonstration our group was able to demonstrate how this technology can be used to make ideas more concrete. We were able to use the boards to model an atom. Other groups showed that the boards could be used to clarify directions during an activity, such as a disection. The use of these boards meets ISTE standard 2. When creating a lesson employing a Smartboard a teacher is designing and developing digital-age learning experiences.

Microblogging- 21st Century Skills

Creating a microblog on a social networking site helps students develop several competencies from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. They learn to utilize the social networks to connect with other and share information. Its a simple step to go from sharing interesting facts about one's self through a social network to using the network to collaborate with others. Microblogging will also give the students an appreciation of the differences of others and diversity.

Digital Storytelling NETS

Students participating in the creation of a digital story are practicing multiple teaching standards. By using technology creatively to develop their story they meet standard 1. When they collaborate by continuing of critiquing each others stories they meet standard two. These students are experiencing first hand how technology facilitates the exchange of information and ideas.

Will My Students Use Wikipedia?

I will encourage my students to use Wikipedia. I understand that not everything on the site is 100% accurate, but Wikipedia provides well organized information and will make finding and sorting through resources easier. I will not allow them to use Wikipedia as a source in a bibliography but I will encourage my future students to use the site to locate credible sources.

Think Aloud

Virgle?

We have been discussing the importance of using credible sites. Our next assignment is to create a Think Aloud that explains how to analyze a site and determine its credibility. For my Think Aloud, I found a site that presents plans for a corporately funded Mars mission. More than that, it presents an entire outline for Mars colonization. At first glance the site appears credible. It is hosted by Google. The project is called Virgle, which comes from the company names Virgin and Google, the two companies funding the supposed mission. The site appears to be a genuine Google project, unfortunately (and much to the disappointment of all of us who were hoping companies would pick up where NASA left off when Obama cut the budget) the project does not exist. Google maintains the facade throughout the site offering only subtle hints (like Guitar Hero II skills as an application requirement). A link at the bottom of the Q&A page leads to a page not listed in the Virgle links where the hoax is finally revealed to be Google's annual April Fool's joke.

Virgle