Internet Workshop, Projects, Inquiry, and WebQuests

Skylar, Higgins, & Boone (2007): Strategies for Adapting WebQuests for Students with Learning Disabilities

       “Research suggests that students with disabilities who use technology are more highly motivated and complete more assignments when using the technology” Sylar et al 2007, p. 3). Therefore WebQuests can be used as a motivational tool for students and can be easily modified to meet the needs of students with disabilities.  In my own classrooms, I would use the graphic organizers when completing WebQuests in order to keep students thoughts organized and on task. 

Sox & Rubinstein-Avila (2009): Webquests for English-Language Learners: Essential Elements for Design

       “One of the main purposes for using Webquests is, after all, to narrow the search to maximize the relevance, comprehensible input, and efficiency of students’ Internet researches” (Sox & Rubinstein-Avila 2009, p. 46).  This helps English Language Learners who have difficultly generating keywords to search.  Also, there are no distracting advertisements surrounding the new information being read. 

Click on the image to go to a WebQuest website for all grade levels.

             

Click on the image to go to a WebQuest specifically for Biomes.

Donald J Leu, PhD provided many examples of how to implement Internet into your curriculum and classroom.  His quick videos can be found at http://ctell.uconn.edu/canter/canter_video.cfm.  I was particularly interested incorporating Internet workshop into my instruction when I have a classroom of my own.  According to Leu, “Internet workshop develops content knowledge, strategies for using network information sources, as well as student collaboration.”  The first step for incorporating Internet workshop is to locate sites.  This can be done by using central directories in your curriculum area or by using pre-screened search engines, such as Yahooligans.com or Askjeeveskids.com. 

Click here to go to yahooligans.com

The second step is to develop your research activity.  When developing your research activity, it is important to focus on your goals.  For example, “To introduce students to a new unit, to develop background knowledge, or to focus on the critical literacies of evaluating information on the Internet."

        

Click here to go to Askjeeveskids.com

         The third step involves having the students complete the activity.  Leu suggests that teachers should allow students to work with a partner for thirty minutes as well asindividually each week.  However, in my own classroom, I would increase Internet workshop to everyday in order to help generalize material learned.  I liked how Leu suggested having Internet journals to reflect on the students previous work completed.  This would become a good starting point for each session. 

         The fourth step of Internet workshop is to share and exchange information.  This can be a short workshop session at the end of the week celebrating the accomplishments of each student.   Leu suggested asking more open-ended questions that require multiple answers and perspectives.  I think this is necessary to have students become critical readers and writers on the Internet.  The literacies involved in Internet workshops are navigating websites, analyzing information, as well as searching topics and comparing multiple perspectives.  

Podcasts and Digital Storytelling

            Podcasts are an excellent way for students to record information and broadcast it to their audience.  Richardson describes podcasts as “the creation and distribution of amateur radio on the web” (Richardson 2010, p. 112).  One of the benefits to using podcasts in the classroom, is that they are easy to make as well as consume. 

            An interesting podcast I looked at this week was from BookWink.  Bookwink.com provides students with book summaries each day through video podcasts.  Students and teachers can easily access the archives and search for books that interest them.  Listening to this educational podcast can help students learn about books as well as model how to create their own book reviews. 

Click on the image to watch a video podcast from  bookwink.com

            Coleycasts is an excellent example of how students can create their own radio shows to broadcast on the web.  It is  updated each day by the students where they discuss what they are learning and can be assessed at anytime.   Podcasts offer opportunities to introduce or reinforce information from the classroom, to remediate students who need additional instruction or access to content discussed in the classroom, or to feature content experts or guest speakers under the guidance of a teacher external to the actual school building” (Putnam & Kingsley 2009, p. 101). 

Click on the image to go to choose a podcast 

         Figg, C. & McCartney, R. (2010). Impacting academic achievement with student learners teaching digital storytelling to others: The ATTTCSE digital video project. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 10(1), 38-79.

        “Using a framework such as The Model of Digital Storytelling (Figg, 2005) provided a scaffolded approach that introduced writing skills and concepts, providing student learners with opportunities to practice these skills within an engaging task” (Figg & McCartney 2010, p. 54). In Figg’s study, digital storytelling was found to motivate student learning as well as build self-esteem for the students.  

The model of digital storytelling: 

Digital storytelling in Plain English:

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Click on the link below to watch digital storytelling from a teacher's perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIkJnwD8OxE

Here’s a student’s example of a digital story:

http://www.dtc.scott.k12.ky.us/technology/digitalstorytelling/specialmemories_t1.mov

Wikis and Collaborative Learning

Wikisummaries.org is a wiki I followed this week.  It that provides summaries of books as well as external links to study guides.   It is very user friendly and provides a significant amount of information on each book.  For example, I searched, “Harry Potter” and was taken to a page with a summary of each book in the series.  This would be a great tool to use in the classroom for students as well as teachers.  At the bottom of each book summary page, there are external links to lesson plans and study guides for each book chosen.

Hunt’s article discusses how wikis provide opportunities for the community to become, “reviewers, writers, and editors.”  This can become particularly valuable and motivational for students who want their voice heard by an authentic audience.  The audience is asked to participate, by providing additional information as well as questioning the work, if not authentic.  I think wikis are an excellent tool, providing multiple perspectives as well as audiences.  One concern I would have when using wikis in the classroom, would be the grading of revising and editing. 

The article by Wheeler, Yeoman, and Wheeler, discusses the pros and cons of using wikis in the classroom.  In a collaborative learning environment, teachers take the role of supportive resources, while the students become producers by constructing their own knowledge on the web. This can have both positive and negative effects on student learning.  For example, students may be vulnerable to taking in information from unreliable sources and believe it to hold truth.  There is a need for teachers to become models for their students by showing them how to participate in wikis.  

Richardson discusses the collaboration that wikis can provide when used in schools.  Wikipedia is often used as a quick resource for an inquiry question.  However, anyone can edit the information, which can question its reliability.  Richardson makes an argument that “When mistakes occur, or vandals strike, the collaborative efforts of the group set it straight, usually very quickly” (Richardson 2010, p. 56).  Wikispaces on the other hand, is a more reliable and safe wiki to use in the classroom.  As an educator, you can separate pages for students to collaborate on assigned topics, giving you more control of the workspace.

2/2/11 Social Networking & Social Bookmarking

Social Networking & Social Bookmarking

Greenhow, C. (2009).  Social scholarship: Applying social networking technologies to research practices. Knowledge Quest, 37(4) 2009, 42-47.

            I found this article to particularly useful for student collaboration on social networking sites as well as professional development tools. The article states many advantages to social bookmarking, such as, “A community of learners can examine, share, and observe tag patterns across bookmarked material” (Greenhow 2009, p.42) This would be particularly useful when doing group work, where all members can gather and share information at times most convenient for them during the day. 

            As a graduate student, I was not aware of what social bookmarking consisted of, until I was asked to do a project on the contributions it can have on literacy education. After reading Greenhow’s article, I learned that such websites can be used as a portfolio for information you researched in a given time period.   “Social bibliography sites also called "social bookmarking" sites - such as CiteULike and Diigo not only allow students to better document their trajectory on the Web, but also to archive and comment on resources they collect along the way” (Greenhow 2009, p.43).  Therefore, I find social bookmarking sites not only beneficial to students in elementary and secondary education but college students as well, and as a means of gathering information for professional development. 

Diigo.com

 Alvermann, D. (2008). Why bother theorizing adolescents' online literacies for classroom practice and research?. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(1), 8-19.

            

            Students communicate to their peers outside of school through social networking sites.  Could social networking sites be used as a means for improving literacy skills in the classroom?   Alvermann’s article creates a good argument for using such sites by stating, “When school work is deemed relevant and worthwhile, when opportunities exist for students to reinvent themselves as competent learners (even when they reinvent their social identities), then literacy instruction is both possible and welcomed”(Alvermann 2008, p. 18).  It is important to recognize students’ literacy abilities outside of school as tool to motivate and encourage critical readers and writers, however it should be used as an addition to the regular curriculum and not a substitution for what is being taught.  

   Facebook in Plain English                                                          

Facebook:
       This week we were asked to follow the social network, Facebook.  I am an active user of Facebook, which allows me to stay in touch with many of my friends and family who live out of town.  This week I used Facebook to “chat,” or instant message, my cousin who is volunteering in Africa for the year.  She was able to tell me about her arrival there as well as upload pictures to share with her family and friends.  I also used Facebook this week to “private message” members in my technology class, where we collaborated on our upcoming project on “social networking and bookmarking.”  I am very interested in seeing the movie, The Social Network, because it shows the effects of Facebook across all types of people, as well as how it changed there day-to-day lives.
Click here to read a brief synopsis of The Social Network 

Richardson’s chapters 6 and 9:

            Twitter is an excellent Web 2.0 tool that allows for educators and students to ask questions, through “tweets” and get answers.  It is in “real time,” meaning communication is as quick as someone can tweet or read tweets from people they are following. Chapter 6, like Greenhow’s article, also mentions how social bookmarking sites are beneficial when organizing articles and information, which allows you to annotate and highlight each piece of work.  Chapter 9 discusses social networks, such as Facebook and Ning.  Before reading, I was not familiar with what Ning was and how one could use it in the classroom.  One of the most appealing aspects to Ning, from an educators standpoint, it is self-contained, where classroom work is private and class portfolios can be created.