I have to say that beginning work on creating a Webquest this past week was much more enjoyable than updating my e-portfolio! I love the idea of webquests, allowing self exploration and creation by the students. I have used several webquests in the past while teaching in the traditional high school English classroom. My favorite was a Shakepeare quest, "Will the Real William Shakespeare Please Stand Up". I also have used "Life in Shakespeare's Time". I like both because my students liked them. I used to do a project about Elizabethan times and use library books and other research materials. While some of my students did a good job with it, others just lost interest while trying to sift through books and find information that pertained to the specifics parts they were looking for. Another problem with doing library research is that a school library is only stocked with so many books, so students can't check them out to use outside of class. Trying to get 6 classes of 25-30 students each enough print references to complete a project is a real teacher's nightmare!
Another great aspect of webquests is that the students are able to be as creative as they want. Most webquests ask the students to complete some sort of presentation of their knowledge. I am usually pleasantly surprised by the presentations I see. I don't require students to do power point presentations, but I have seen some great ones done, and also a variety of other kinds. Posters, videos and even a costumed plan! When I allow the students to come up with their own vision of how to present the knowledge they have gained, I find that they are much more innovative and creative than me!
Creating my own WebQuest this week, titled "Money, Money, What to do with the Money" has been fun. My idea comes from the fact Eagle Academy will be moving into a new building in about a month. We have computers and the basics needed for running an alternative school, but I wondered what sorts of things the students would think would be the ultimate in a technology based school. My webquests imagines that a fictitious booster club is giving us $25,000 to spend on technology. The students are to explore different types of hardware, software and other materials that they would like to have, and then present their ideas to the boosters. I am really excited to see what they come up with, and think I will put the webquest up for them to use in the next few weeks. I am using Zunal.com for this webquest, and while it is a really easy program to use, basically fill in the blank, I think over time I would want to move the quest off to my own page so I could be creative in the design. For now though, it is a great program and I think it's a great way to create quickly and easily. For a teacher who wanted to create lots of webquests, or practice with content without worrying about the formatting, it is perfect!
About Me
- CTER Blog
- A Blog created for EPSY 556: Analysis of Advanced Instructional Technologies
What About Me?
My name is Margie Hay-Ashcraft and I am just about to complete my CTER course work at the University of Illinois. Yeah!!!
This year marks my 11th in teaching, and I must say the time has flown by! I teach at the alternative education program, Eagle Academy, at Rantoul Township High School. Our program is in its second year, and I really think Ihave found my dream job! I work with 30 kids on a daily basis and help them to finish high school on time. Most of our students are way behind and we use a combination of NovelStars, a computer based program, teacher taught classes, and individualized packets for the students. The best part of the day is seeing a student who has had little success in the regular school setting complete a class to earn a credit!
At home, life is a circus! I have a husband, two daughters and two grandchildren living under one roof! My daughters are 20 and 22, my grandaughter is 3 and my grandson just turned 1! My 82 year old mother lives next door, so I am definitely a part of the "sandwich generation". But, our house, while busy and cluttered with trikes and toys, is one that I look forward to coming home to every night! I also have a stepson who left for
Afghanistan in April. We pray that he will return to the states safely in July of 2009.
I am a digital immigrant. I bought my first computer in 1993 and taught myself just about everything I knew about it. I was a 3o year old computer nerd! I was also the first "nerd" I knew! I was in college working on my teaching degree and knew that I wantd to teach with technology. I was one of the first teachers to use power point or show internet video clips in my classroom. I am now a part of our school's first "teaching with technology" team! The process has been slow, but I thinkl we moving forward.
More later... I think some of the circus clowns have escaped and are about to let the monkeys loose!
This year marks my 11th in teaching, and I must say the time has flown by! I teach at the alternative education program, Eagle Academy, at Rantoul Township High School. Our program is in its second year, and I really think Ihave found my dream job! I work with 30 kids on a daily basis and help them to finish high school on time. Most of our students are way behind and we use a combination of NovelStars, a computer based program, teacher taught classes, and individualized packets for the students. The best part of the day is seeing a student who has had little success in the regular school setting complete a class to earn a credit!
At home, life is a circus! I have a husband, two daughters and two grandchildren living under one roof! My daughters are 20 and 22, my grandaughter is 3 and my grandson just turned 1! My 82 year old mother lives next door, so I am definitely a part of the "sandwich generation". But, our house, while busy and cluttered with trikes and toys, is one that I look forward to coming home to every night! I also have a stepson who left for
Afghanistan in April. We pray that he will return to the states safely in July of 2009.
I am a digital immigrant. I bought my first computer in 1993 and taught myself just about everything I knew about it. I was a 3o year old computer nerd! I was also the first "nerd" I knew! I was in college working on my teaching degree and knew that I wantd to teach with technology. I was one of the first teachers to use power point or show internet video clips in my classroom. I am now a part of our school's first "teaching with technology" team! The process has been slow, but I thinkl we moving forward.
More later... I think some of the circus clowns have escaped and are about to let the monkeys loose!
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4 comments:
I bet your students will be fully motivated to work on that web quest. I'm looking forward to seeing your web quest draft. I wonder what the students come up with when they are asked to explain why they choose hardware/software and how they are going to use for their class.
Margie,
I should have contacted you when I was mulling over what to for a Webquest!! Your enthusiasm spills over and you seem to know so much. This is my first attempt at making a Webquest, and since I dont have an actual class at this time, I used a lesson plan that I have presented in the Computer lab for the past 3 years for 5th grade. Its a Pond Life Unit and previously, it was mostly research. While the students enjoy findng info on their pond animal, they mostly have fun finding pictures on the internet got their report. The "reports" have always been rather dry and (plaguerized mostly) not really creative. I am hoping the 5th grade adopts my webquest as it will make the students delve more deeply into the relationship amongst pond creatures and learn their survival tricks and traits.
Curious.. web software are you using? I am using Microsoft Expression for the first time.
Thanks for you thoughts as it has made me feel more positive about this experiece! Cynthia
Margie, I think you have a great idea for a web quest. It seems to be something the kids will really like and without that they won't buy into it (literally). I think students need to see the real world value of the project and yours definately does that. I also like how you have them justify what they are doing because Without accountability they will get silly and get off focus.
Margie, Your excitement about webquests is contagious. I really struggled with what my topic should be and then again with what to put into the webquest. I will be very honest - I did not share your enthusiasm. Finally, I got my thoughts together and came up with, at least what I think, is a good webquest. Now that it is complete, I can share the enthusiasm that you have. I think that students will really enjoy working on my webquest and they will learn a lot along the way. I love your topic and the fact that you are willing to give your students so much freedom to choose their presentation format. I am sure that your students really enjoy your class.I, too, started in zunal. The format is easy to use and I liked that but I felt the need to be more creative in the format and switched to creating my own in Frontpage. Like other projects throughout the CTER program, I am pleased with my final project. By the way, your house makes my house look tame (and I don't say that often - maybe this is the first time ever!!)Enjoy your projects and enjoy those babies!Rita
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