WebQuest

My webquest is a journalistic task because students are told they are reporters and must write a newspaper article as part of their task. Here is my completed webquest.

Would Socrates Approve of WebQuests?

I believe that Socrates would approve of webquests. One reason is because he said, "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance." In many webquests students acknowledge what they don't know by thoroughly researching information. Another reason is that, "For Socrates, answers were always steps on the way to deeper questions." A webquest makes a student complete various steps, answer questions, and/or research information. As a result, students are encouraged to probe deeper into their own minds to ask more questions and search for more answers. A good webquest should make students hungry to know more. A third reason that I believe Socrates would approve of webquests is because "Socrates did not teach in a conventional classroom; his classroom was wherever he and his students found themselves." In today's world, the place where students and teachers find themselves is undoubtedly the Internet. It is important for students to be taught using technology that they are going to need to know how to use for the rest of their lives.

Rough Draft of my WebQuest

Here is the rough draft of my WebQuest. It still needs some work.
http://sites.google.com/site/sarahhalbertwebquest/

Webquest Experience

I have chosen to work on a webquest for Spanish students about Christmas (La Navidad) in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
The address for it is: http://rosarodz.tripod.com/webquest.htm

There are several things I would change about this webquest. The first being the graphics because the current graphics do not add anything to the webquest, they actually make it seem less attractive. The rubric states "Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships." That is not accomplished in this webquest. The second thing I would change is that instead of putting students in pairs, I would put them in groups of 4, assigning each group to pick 2 Spanish speaking countries to study and compare. The rubric says that "task is doable and engaging," I believe that putting students in groups of 4 makes it more doable because writing and presenting a project in Spanish can be difficult and with 4 people working on the project it would be easier. In addition, I would ask each group to prepare a traditional Christmas food from each of their countries, as well as present their presentation of the 2 countries in class. This meets the requirement in the rubric which states "The task requires synthesis of multiple sources of information, and/or taking a position, and/or going beyond the data given and making a generalization or creative product."

Here is the link to my photostory on TeacherTube:

http://www.teachertube.com/members/viewVideo.php?video_id=127249&title=When_I_m_A_Teacher

Multimedia v. Traditional Papers

I do believe that there are times when a multimedia project, such as "The Power of One" can be just as effective as a written paper. NETS-T standard 2A: "design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity" is met by "The Power of One." I do not believe, however, that The Power of One" was so effective as be a proper substitute for a 15 page paper. Writing a 15 page paper takes a lot of effort and a lot of time. Think of all the proof readings and rewrites it requires to write a good 15 page paper - hours, not to mention all the research. "The Power of One" may have taken a couple hours, involving research. I know it had to take some time, but it would not be nearly as much as it would take to find all the information needed to fill 15 pages and then write it and proof it well. I think "The Power of One" would have been great to go along with a paper, as a sort of summary because it is a very well done multimedia project.
Being able to create media projects is important for students. As "Orchestrating the Media Collage" states "being able to actively create rather than just passively consume new media is important for the obvious reason that it teaches literacy and job skills that are highly valued in a digital society." But that by no means is a reason to lose the value of good writing; the author says, "When we write, we think. We slow down and reflect as we struggle to synthesize, clarify, and communicate." Writing is still an important skill to be achieved, "Effective writing has a new kind of importance for students in what can often be a digitally distracted world."
While "The Power of One" definitely meets NETS-T standard 3C: "communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats." I just do not believe it delivered as much information or took as much time as a 15 page paper; which, I think, is the issue at hand.

Webquests

Best Websites:

• John Wilkes Booth-(Strengths) Easy to read, format consistent, background information, step-by-step directions, organized (Weaknesses) Not too many pictures, links opening take a lot of time
• Creative Encounters-(Strengths) graphics were good, forward/backward buttons, separate jobs and then work together, standards on the page, time saver for teachers(Weaknesses) Broken links

Worst Websites:

• Landfills-(Strenghts) All the information was on the site, handout, good topic to work on, step-by-step (Weaknesses) Didn’t correspond to geography, just killing time, older students
• Poetry of War-(Strenghts) Visualize from poems, picture changes, introduced in non-feminine way (Weaknesses) Work on your own not a group activity