What Is A Webquest??

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web.

Which WebQuest Is The Best?

I went to the Elementary WebQuest section and picked out the Grow School Greens WebQuest. I thought it was super cute. It got straight to the point and it really caught my attention. This site was very easy to navigate around and gives many steps on how to do the WebQuest.

Another one of my favorites was the We All Scream for Ice Cream. It was a very close race for this one and the Grow School Greens. They both really caught my attention and made me want to actually use these in my future classroom. They both included all the parts to a WebQuest.

Which WebQuest Is The Worst?

“Where is My Hero?” didn’t grab my attention at all. The page was more boring and generic and didn’t really seem to be a fun WebQuest.  Although the first you see is our current president, Barack Obama, being superman, it just didn’t keep my attention help throughout the whole WebQuest.

Overall all the WebQuest’s used some great pictures and were suitable for the younger ages. I noticed to have a successful WebQuest you need to be somewhat creative. Add pictures to make the WebQuest more enjoyable, add some different font choices to make the student want to keep reading, and just have fun with it. If you don’t enjoy what you are making your WebQuest over then you can’t make the WebQuest interesting for everyone else who is reading yours.

Academic Software (:

How would you add to or change this list?  What characteristics do you consider most important in selecting software for purchase?

Some characteristics that I find important for evaluating academic software are that the site has a license, that it is suitable for my grade level, that save features are there, and that the cost isn’t too high. I want my software to have all the features both suitable and appropriate for my grade level. I also want my software to have a special low pricing for educational users for abundant features. I also want there to be saving features that both automatically and manually save student’s work and be started at the same point later on. I think the list is pretty good, it covers all the basics about what to watch for when ordering/buying academic software programs.

I would like to be able to use Adobe Photoshop in my classroom because children could learn how to scan photos, and even be able to fix the "red-eye", depending on how mature they are. Photoshop can be a complicated program for the younger students to use. I didn’t learn how to use it till I was in high school, and even now I still have some trouble trying to use it. A fun education game I would have would be "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego.´As a child I loved to play that game during school and I would do all my work just to be able to play it. I would have software downloaded onto the computer in which children who can't see as well can use this software to enlarge the text, and have some software that reads words aloud. Some students have problems pronouncing words and being able to see them on a screen and hearing them read aloud could really help those kids learn the words better.

Incorporating New Digital Tools

Digital Cameras: I would like to use Digital Cameras in my classroom because I think it would be beneficial to students to be able to familiarize with different technologies. Some activities can be done using a digital camera, but not the whole project done, but examining different objectives in the whole project. Also I would like to use digital cameras because some children in the classroom may come from low-income homes and they may not get to use these new emerging technologies and it would give those children a chance to explore technology in a whole new perspective. An example of a project that could be used in the classroom would be going to the zoo, dividing the classroom into groups of 4 or 5, and having each group use a digital camera to take a picture of a given animal. Like group #1 would have elephants, group #2 would have penguins, etc. and they would have to use their picture to write a little report on that animal and how they live, eat, sleep, and even play! I also would like to incorporate a webcam into the classroom, providing that I have permission from the school and parents of children in my classroom. I have always thought that having pen-pals with another classroom in the U.S. would have a fun activity to do. We could write letters back and forth and then eventually lead up to seeing what it is like in a different classroom across the states.

Touch Screen Computers: Touch screens can be used for prereaders and children who learn by seeing and touching. I am not sure though how to really incorporate learning by using the touch screens. I know that if I were to have a couple of computers in the classroom they could be used as a reward of finishing their work or doing all of their homework, tiny things like that. As I grew up we always had at least 1 computer in the classroom. I remember taking reading tests on it and sometimes if we got super lucky we could play some learning games on it.

Electronic Whiteboards: I never had the chance to have an electronic whiteboard in my classroom but most of the classrooms I have been in have them now. I would like one in my classroom because it is a fun way for children to interact in the classroom. Instead of using a chalkboard, like back in the old days, we could use the whiteboard to play word games like hangman, tic-tac-toe, and we can also have some learning time by taking notes. Previous teachers, that have had whiteboards in their classroom, have used them for board races and for taking notes, although this was at a high school level. I guess with having a whiteboard we would need to have a projector and an Elmo. For those of you reading this that don’t know what an Elmo is, it’s a projector that is like an overhead projector except it doesn’t use light to project.

Speakers and Headphones: I think having sets of headphones in the classroom is a good idea because it allows the students to listen to books being read to them without having all the background noise. As a student I couldn’t read/pay attention if there were all kinds of different noises in the background. Speakers in the classroom could help with getting children to express themselves. Letting instrumental music play in the background could help those students who don’t like silence focus and potentially do better than without music.

Multiple Intelligence

• What is your own view of how students learn and how you should best communicate with them?

I think that the way of how students learn is by seeing how it should be done. As a student I had trouble visualizing many problems, whether it was in math class or how to write different styles in English class, it always helped me learn easier if the teacher showed me how things were to be done and then I could do it myself. The best way to communicate with a student is by having face-to-face time, or just some one-on-one time. It seems to help the student know that you are there for them and are willing to help them succeed whether they think it or not. As the teacher you are supposed to care about them and sometimes it can be hard to show students that you care but eventually it will get easier to show them and giving them some one-on-one time will help them in the long run.

• What do you believe is the best way to assess the learning characteristics of your students?

We live in a generation that is fast paced as teachers we must do things that capture our student’s attention. This is often done through PowerPoint’s, movies, and even using the smart board, most of those activities are accompanied by hands-on activities.  Learning style tests can help a teacher determine how students will learn their own way. These types of tests will ask about topics as to how their homework, lectures, worksheets, projects, tests, and other assignments help with the way that they learn.

• What is your personal teaching style and how will you adapt it to your students’ needs?

My personal teaching style would have to be musical, but Naturalist and Spatial are very close. Even though I scored higher is musical, the other 2 are very close into how I learn and how I learn. While teaching I can use my main teaching style to incorporate all subjects but also I can use all the other learning styles in all assignments, for those students who aren’t like me and need different ways to learn.

• How does educational technology fit into your teaching style and your future students’ learning styles?

Educational technology fits into my teaching style because through technology music is made using many different software tools. I can communicate with my students through non printed, audio, and musical ways. My main focus point will be musical but I can take advantage of my other intelligences and provide activities that will interact best with all of the eight different learning styles.

• What are your multiple intelligences strengths and weaknesses?

My strength is musical, which is surprising because during my high school and middle school years I was involved with every band program possible, whether it was concert band, jazz band, pep band, marching band, and even the percussion ensembles. I love listening to music, but most importantly I love that I am part of the music sounds that are played daily. My weakness would have to be Existential, because I don’t ever wonder where I have come from, which doesn’t surprise me.  

The Digital Generation and Myself :)

I would like to say that I am part of the digital generation. Although I can admit that I am not as up to date on the tweeting and blogging, but i am constantly checking my Facebook and I have an Ipod. My generation has become very technologically inclined. I know that I try not to even write out papers if I have the option to type them out. I have become very dependent on technology, and I am one of the few family members in my family that continues to become dependent on technology.

When I was younger I didn't even think about having a cell phone, around Elementary level, but when I hit middle school, or even high school I started thinking that I need to have a cell phone and because all of my friends having one I needed one. Well that isn't the case now. I babysit students that are Elementary students and they all want to have a cell phone. Even more middle school students are texting on their cell phones and even tweeting or Facebooking. Most of my friends have a Facebook, cell phone, and a lap top. There are few friends who don't have any of all the above. I find it awkward to use a desktop computer vs. my lap top, that is portable and able to go everywhere with me. Technology in the classroom has gotten, in other words out of control. Some classrooms are using computers to write papers, and even some schools will use the new Ipads to look up geography, to write papers, to do math problems, and even to use as a dictionary. I guess I can say that technology spoiled me in many ways.

Having a computer in the classroom isn't always a bad thing. When I was younger I always looked forward to using a computer, but not to do school activities, it was more like a reward to play games after my class work was finished. I enjoyed playing some games like Typer Shark, which is a game in which you have to type the words that appear on sharks before they eat the diver. It taught me how to type without looking at the keyboard or even looking at the screen as I type.

I think a computer should be used as a reward for finishing the classroom work and sometimes even excelling more than usual.

Ranting about technology makes me believe that while writing this blog I have been doing a lot of the same activities that I have been going on about. I am constantly checking my cell phone to see if I have a recent text message, checking my Facebook to see what everyone is up too, and even playing the constant games on my Ipod.