This week we concentrated on WebQuests and we also read about the internet in our textbook. I found that the information in our book was mostly a review of the internet, but there were a couple of items that stuck out to me pertaining to education. The first one was a "You Decide" discussion on page 244. It questioned the use of chat rooms in the classroom, and I thought a good point was made when it stated that inappropriate comments can be said just as easily as they can be typed. I think the point here is to stress to the students that the same rules apply online as in the classroom. I also found the website evaluation rubric to be a good tool when evaluating educational websites. I was excited to see that a downloadable rubric was available at the “My Education Kit” website, so I can use it in the classroom.
Our main project this week was creating a WebQuest. I had never done one of these before, so our online reading articles this week came in very handy. I also looked at several sample WebQuests to get ideas, and discussed one of these on our discussion board. After much research I decided to do my WebQuest on recycling for a fourth grade classroom. I gave my students the role of environmental scientists and assigned them the task of creating a school wide recycling program based on their research. My WebQuest required students to individually research a recyclable product and write a short paper on it. They would then rejoin their team to share their findings and complete two short activities. Finally, the students collaborated to create a PowerPoint detailing their team’s recycling plan for the school. This WebQuest fulfilled many standards that I outlined on the teacher page of the WebQuest. One of the standards was the Kentucky Practical Living Standard PL-04-3.1.4 which states that students will identify and describe consumer actions (reusing, reducing, and recycling) that impact the environment. Students also improved the 21st Century Skill of environmental literacy by taking individual and collective action towards addressing environmental challenges.
Creating this WebQuest has been one of the most time consuming tasks since starting at University of the Cumberlands. One problem I had with my WebQuest was that I created it using word, which was fine, except I ended up with minor formatting issues and I also had to download all of my graphics since they will not copy into the WebQuest. I also found it a little difficult to navigate at first, but once I played with it for a little while, I actually found the setup quite user friendly. Completing this WebQuest fulfilled NETS-T 2 A, because I was able to design a learning experience that incorporated digital tools. When I create my next WebQuest I hope to improve on the basic skills that I acquired in this task. I am very excited that I can add this tool to my skill set, because I think with WebQuest there are endless possibilities for students to learn while having fun. Below I have attached a link to my Recycle WebQuest.
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