Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
A Webquest About Webquests
Elementary Level
Role: The Affiliator
Group 1
Grow School Greens: This project was all about working in groups. The students would design and plant a garden all as a group. One of the objective clearly states "worked together to achieve all of the outcomes." Each student is assigned jobs. After finishing the garden, the students reflect by completing the Group Think brainstorm. The thing I thought may be an obstacle is how long this project would take. It would be a year long process and the students may get bored with the idea.
Where Is My Hero?: The process for this activity involves group collaboration. It starts with discussing the definition of hero in a group and then moves to being assigned groups and receiving certain jobs. Collaboration is also used when group members interview a family member or friend outside of the group and then reporting the information to group members. The following product, a poster, is from the work of a whole group, not just one student. The site says this project is designed for eighth grade students. I think heroism should be taught at a younger grade level such as fifth or sixth. I think the project could have been tweeked a little bit and made for younger students.
Unraveling the Underground Railroad: Students begin by being assigned to groups of four and then deciding on certain roles. Each student fills out a graphic organizer and creates a journal entry alone and then shares it with the group. In the end, the students work together to make an appearance on the Timmy Tom Show where they will be working with the teacher.
We All Scream for Ice Cream: Students start out by doing research in groups and ;istening to eachothers' ideas. The group will work on advertising as a group and complete a poster which will be shared with the class. A con is that the worksheet is done alone so some members may not understand as well as the others.
In the end, the group makes homemade ice cream together. This is a good idea so if it happens that one student's doesn't turn out perfect they don't have to feel left out. The only thing I saw wrong with this project is the educational perspective. I like the whole idea and it seems fun, but I don't see anything educational the students could get out of it.
Ancient Egypt Webquest: This whole project is done in partners. The class is also collaborating with the Egyptian Tourist Bureau. Both the class and the bureau will benefit from this. The students will finish knowing new information that they may not have learned without this project and the bureau will have new brochures. There is a large amount of work for each set of partners. More may be accomplished if the groups were larger and each student wouldn't have to do as much. They could still learn everything by reading the end product.
Role: The Affiliator
Group 1
Grow School Greens: This project was all about working in groups. The students would design and plant a garden all as a group. One of the objective clearly states "worked together to achieve all of the outcomes." Each student is assigned jobs. After finishing the garden, the students reflect by completing the Group Think brainstorm. The thing I thought may be an obstacle is how long this project would take. It would be a year long process and the students may get bored with the idea.
Where Is My Hero?: The process for this activity involves group collaboration. It starts with discussing the definition of hero in a group and then moves to being assigned groups and receiving certain jobs. Collaboration is also used when group members interview a family member or friend outside of the group and then reporting the information to group members. The following product, a poster, is from the work of a whole group, not just one student. The site says this project is designed for eighth grade students. I think heroism should be taught at a younger grade level such as fifth or sixth. I think the project could have been tweeked a little bit and made for younger students.
Unraveling the Underground Railroad: Students begin by being assigned to groups of four and then deciding on certain roles. Each student fills out a graphic organizer and creates a journal entry alone and then shares it with the group. In the end, the students work together to make an appearance on the Timmy Tom Show where they will be working with the teacher.
We All Scream for Ice Cream: Students start out by doing research in groups and ;istening to eachothers' ideas. The group will work on advertising as a group and complete a poster which will be shared with the class. A con is that the worksheet is done alone so some members may not understand as well as the others.
In the end, the group makes homemade ice cream together. This is a good idea so if it happens that one student's doesn't turn out perfect they don't have to feel left out. The only thing I saw wrong with this project is the educational perspective. I like the whole idea and it seems fun, but I don't see anything educational the students could get out of it.
Ancient Egypt Webquest: This whole project is done in partners. The class is also collaborating with the Egyptian Tourist Bureau. Both the class and the bureau will benefit from this. The students will finish knowing new information that they may not have learned without this project and the bureau will have new brochures. There is a large amount of work for each set of partners. More may be accomplished if the groups were larger and each student wouldn't have to do as much. They could still learn everything by reading the end product.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Blogging
I like keeping a blog for this class because it's pretty much like an online folder for all the work I've done. It has many different things I can use in the classroom when I start my teaching, so when I do start I can get back on my blog instead of just forgetting the whole class. I want to keep using my blog when I start teaching. The possibilities are endless. I can let students make blogs so that they can get on mine and look at things I've posted such as homework, learning materials etc. A blog can never get lost like paper can. I can post important things I don't want to lose, and then just get back on when I need it.
I have learned so much in this class so far. I will always remember collaborating with the students to create their stories. This is an example of collective intelligence since we shared knowledge with eachother to complete an end product. It was a great experience and I hope to use it in my future classroom.
I have learned so much in this class so far. I will always remember collaborating with the students to create their stories. This is an example of collective intelligence since we shared knowledge with eachother to complete an end product. It was a great experience and I hope to use it in my future classroom.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Website Evaluation
Name of page: Dog Island Free Forever
Address/URL: http://www.thedogisland.com/
Date Accessed: March 31, 2011
How did you find the page? Recommended by teacher
What is the domain of the page? .com
Do you feel that the domain type helps add to or lessen the page’s credibility? I think it lessens the page's credibility. If it was .gov or .edu it would add to the credibility.
Is the author of the page identified? No, but it gives names of those associated with the group such as Xiao Min, President and Co-founder. On the bottom of the page with the copyright date it says The Dog Island-Disclaimer, so I think the author would be an organization.
Does the organization have a reputation for credibility? I googled for the organization and there was nothing except the website I am validating. I think if this were an actual place, there would be many articles about it. There are also spelling and grammatical errors on the page.
Does the organization explain its purpose, mission, goals, or guiding principles? Yes.
Does the organization provide the names of its officers, editors, staff or other major participants? Yes, there is a list of those involved in the organization and their background information, title, and e-mail address.
Does the organization provide contact information (phone, address, or at least an e-mail address)? It provides e-mail addresses for those listed above, but there is no contact information, let alone a name, for the author of the website.
Does the organization appear to filter the information appearing under its name? No
Does the organization display any obvious signs of bias? Yes, they say all home lives for dogs are bad and
unhealthy.
In conclusion, do you think that this organization is qualified to present the information found on its web page? No
Is the purpose of the page clearly stated? Yes, they want to help dogs in need.
What is or appears to be the purpose of the page? To persuade you to send your dog to the island.
Does the page contain advertisements? Yes
Do the ads distract from the page’s content, affect the page’s reliability, or appear to be the main focus of the page? The ads distract from the page's content because all the ads talk about dog training and that has nothing to do with the island.
Might they be necessary to support the organization responsible for the page? They might be the reason this site is on the web.
Who appears to be the intended audience for this information/page? Dog owners.
Does the level or complexity of information provided, the vocabulary used, and the overall tone of the information/page match your needs? I think if this organization were real, they would user higher level vocabulary. There are even some spelling and grammar mistakes.
When was the information on the page created or last updated? It doesn't say. The copyright lasted until 2010.
Are the dates of articles, news stories, newsletters, reports and other publications given? The event calendar only tells the month and day, not the year. News stories and other publications give no date.
Is the page properly maintained or does it have broken links, outdated events calendars or other signs of neglect? All links work but I don't know if the site is outdated since there are no actual dates.
Is the content peer-reviewed, authenticated by experts, or subject to some sort of editorial scrutiny? No
Does the page display any awards given by reliable sources, or link to favorable site reviews by reliable sources? No
Considering your answers to the previous questions, other observations you’ve made, and your overall sense of the page, how reliable does this source seem? The information given and the overall idea seem phony. It tells of things that are not possible. It doesn't seem reliable.
Do you feel that this source is appropriate for your current assignment or information need? Yes
Would you recommend this source to a friend doing similar research? Yes because it's fun to read and humorous.
What reservations, if any, do you have about the source? Nothing other than it's hard to answer the questions about outdatedness when there aren't any dates with years given.
Address/URL: http://www.thedogisland.com/
Date Accessed: March 31, 2011
How did you find the page? Recommended by teacher
What is the domain of the page? .com
Do you feel that the domain type helps add to or lessen the page’s credibility? I think it lessens the page's credibility. If it was .gov or .edu it would add to the credibility.
Is the author of the page identified? No, but it gives names of those associated with the group such as Xiao Min, President and Co-founder. On the bottom of the page with the copyright date it says The Dog Island-Disclaimer, so I think the author would be an organization.
Does the organization have a reputation for credibility? I googled for the organization and there was nothing except the website I am validating. I think if this were an actual place, there would be many articles about it. There are also spelling and grammatical errors on the page.
Does the organization explain its purpose, mission, goals, or guiding principles? Yes.
Does the organization provide the names of its officers, editors, staff or other major participants? Yes, there is a list of those involved in the organization and their background information, title, and e-mail address.
Does the organization provide contact information (phone, address, or at least an e-mail address)? It provides e-mail addresses for those listed above, but there is no contact information, let alone a name, for the author of the website.
Does the organization appear to filter the information appearing under its name? No
Does the organization display any obvious signs of bias? Yes, they say all home lives for dogs are bad and
unhealthy.
In conclusion, do you think that this organization is qualified to present the information found on its web page? No
Is the purpose of the page clearly stated? Yes, they want to help dogs in need.
What is or appears to be the purpose of the page? To persuade you to send your dog to the island.
Does the page contain advertisements? Yes
Do the ads distract from the page’s content, affect the page’s reliability, or appear to be the main focus of the page? The ads distract from the page's content because all the ads talk about dog training and that has nothing to do with the island.
Might they be necessary to support the organization responsible for the page? They might be the reason this site is on the web.
Who appears to be the intended audience for this information/page? Dog owners.
Does the level or complexity of information provided, the vocabulary used, and the overall tone of the information/page match your needs? I think if this organization were real, they would user higher level vocabulary. There are even some spelling and grammar mistakes.
When was the information on the page created or last updated? It doesn't say. The copyright lasted until 2010.
Are the dates of articles, news stories, newsletters, reports and other publications given? The event calendar only tells the month and day, not the year. News stories and other publications give no date.
Is the page properly maintained or does it have broken links, outdated events calendars or other signs of neglect? All links work but I don't know if the site is outdated since there are no actual dates.
Is the content peer-reviewed, authenticated by experts, or subject to some sort of editorial scrutiny? No
Does the page display any awards given by reliable sources, or link to favorable site reviews by reliable sources? No
Considering your answers to the previous questions, other observations you’ve made, and your overall sense of the page, how reliable does this source seem? The information given and the overall idea seem phony. It tells of things that are not possible. It doesn't seem reliable.
Do you feel that this source is appropriate for your current assignment or information need? Yes
Would you recommend this source to a friend doing similar research? Yes because it's fun to read and humorous.
What reservations, if any, do you have about the source? Nothing other than it's hard to answer the questions about outdatedness when there aren't any dates with years given.
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