Criteria for selection of web-based materials

Fifth Blog entry -- Week of July 27th

Although this strays a bit from our “assigned” topic, I’m going to try to relate it to my experience in Second Life. Second Life is a web-based material. As for selection criteria for web-based materials, I learned a lot.

To me, Second Life was too…free? Never having been a “gamer” I have not developed that kind of interaction skills. Therefore, if I had to begin a list of criteria for web-based materials, I would say that the selection criteria depend on the user. As a teacher, I would welcome the opportunity and the tool for a student to broaden their horizons, stretch their minds, become a more creative thinker.

That said, this is not the way I would choose to do it. Luckily, Second Life is not the only venue for web-based materials. Web based materials need to do the previously stated things, but I believe it needs to be introduced in segments. Not everyone can thrive in the “throw caution to the wind and go” kind of atmosphere. As I choose, and I hope I do choose, web-based materials I would hope that they will first allow me to get a footing/strong basis for introducing the resource as well as the opportunity to work more closely with the student as they learn AND I TEACH, the manipulation the technology. Additionally, I would hope that there is a very stretchable boundary to its uses.

I have heard of resources like Facebook, Google docs, Snapfish, webspiration, and multiple others that offer online collaboration, instant messaging, document creation, multiple editors, etc. and I’m more than intrigued by them. They are the wave of the present, presumably the future, but in many ways…I’m a past kind of guy. I teach to my strengths which is to say I like the personal interaction with my students. I will challenge them with technology, web-based resources, but I feel that kids still need to know the roots of good, old – fashioned methods of gaining information and experiences. It does not go without saying that most of my students do not have computers or internet access, nor do many of them even know that the FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY can offer these services. FOR FREE I might add.

A part of me says that more minds equals more opportunity and more experience. Two minds think alike. However, without the “traditionals” as I like to call them, what it the two minds are just plain wrong? If anyone can edit Wikipedia or webspiration ideas, who’se to say that there isn’t someone out there, literally sabotaging this information or, PERHAPS misinformation? I hate to be a nattering-naybob-of negativism, as my dad would say, but until we’re playing on even ground as far as education goes, is web-based resources good for only the “special ones?”

As stated, perhaps I’ve strayed a bit from our “assigned” topic, but I felt that even though we as teachers need to know about this technology and this TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY, even use it, unfortunately it is not for nor available to everyone.

Description and evaluation of Web 2.0 or Web 3.0 applications:

Fourth Blog Entry -- Week of July 20th

Boy have we come a long way in a short time. I remember when I bought my first digital camera. I was debating if I really needed 3 mega pixels, and now, cell phone cameras have this technology. The web used to be so scary. You could find information in just a matter of moments while the Internet searched, well, everything for an answer. It would spit out a list and it took moments. Wow, were we amazed.

Over the years, the Internet has been developed and has gotten quicker and quicker. With technology getting more and more accessible, more and more companies, shops, families, etc. have become more and more tech-savvy. What could possibly happen next?

Welcome to Web 2.0. Web 2.0 has taken your standard, run-of-the-mill Internet and made it social. It used to be that searching the internet was a singular activity. You did it, the information retrieved was on your screen you could print it and then you could share it with someone else. Now, you can type something on a site, and then anyone who wants to (or you allow) can view what you said (Facebook), look at your bookmarked URL collection (delicious.com), see pictures you took (snapfish.com), and more.

Web 2.0 is community based. It allows user interaction, construction of virtual communities, and exchanges between users and the user’s community of fellow users.

Although I have not read it, Lines, by Seth Godin, Web 2.0 has leveled the playing field within our world. Because of this social computing we now have, people can become leaders in their social networking arenas. Since this technology is available worldwide, people with high-powered jobs can continue to strengthen their thoughts, following, and extend their power to people over the Internet. The same can be said of the Mom/Pop who builds an internet empire from Starbucks.

Now that we have these social networking capabilities, we will be learning how to use them as they progress. More new Web 2.0 services/sites will appear and they will continue to help us change the way we communicate until the computer leaders of the world unite and create Web 3.0, which already exists to a conceptual degree. Web 3.0, I’m told, will be interactive to the point that it receive3s voice commands, and creates and holds search results until you retrieve them, at your leisure.

We are moving in the direction of being able to sit in your armchair in the center of your command center and calling out, “Computer, find me the answer to…” and it will respond with your results. Now if we could only get our federal budget to balance…

Take me out to the ballgame...

Third Blog Entry--Week of July 13th
I look forward to this starting again every November -- February and revel in it’s excitement and strategy every March – October. It’s baseball. I feel a loss at the end of every season and yet…despite the fact that it’s not in the news every day, I still have to get my fill of this God – forsaken necessity. Luckily, I have found a number of ways to inundate myself with this passion, 24/7/365.

First of all, there is every sport lovers tried and true, ESPN.com. This site is basically the Cliff Notes for all sports stories. Though I am a sports fan, tried and true, baseball is my first love. When I log on, I always go for the baseball page link. There are always numerous articles to read, blogs to follow, and headlines to capture my eye. However, ESPN is headquartered in Bristol, CT. For this reason, like all reporting agents, it has a bias. In this case it is for New York and Boston. If you’re looking for news about the Bronx Bombers, the Amazin’s or Red Sox Nation, this is the site for you.

For those with taste and a sense of humor, there are sites for the Chicagoans too. CSNChicago.com, the home site for Comcast SportsNet in Chicago, is the Midwest’s version of ESPN. With everything Cubs, Blackhawks, Bulls, Bears, and Sox, this has everything you can hear on sports radio and more. There are clips, articles by reporters whose job it is to follow those teams specifically (Mecca of the occupational world), box scores, shopping opportunities for the Chicago sports fan in you, “This week’s schedule,” poll questions to get the reader involved and right in the action, standings, and more.

Thought there are other good sites, my favorite by far is MLBTraderumors.com. This is a bipartisan view of rumors, trades, and articles/news going on in baseball, year round. This site has reporters and editors from newspapers and radio from around the nation. It also reports on international rumblings. The reasons that I like this site is the fact that it also is a blog of sorts. Reporters and others hired by MLBTR, scour the new wires and comment on each other’s articles. There are live chat room sessions where readers can log in to ask questions and state opinions and thoughts, and posts are made as they happen. Along these same lines, multiple postings are made on previously posted articles which means that as one specific topic may be covered in one posting, as more information is learned about that happening, another post relating to that same topic may be made an hour later. Another fact that makes this site so comprehensive is that links to the reporters actual articles are also included. This allows me to really synch into the news from multiple perspectives.

Finally, for those truly ensconced in all things baseball, there are countless rotisserie baseball leagues where participants can become General Managers of teams. This requires a “league” to be formed where fellow GMs hold mock drafts, operate budgets, make trades, line ups, deal with injured players, roam the minor leagues for talent, and occupy every waking moment with…BASEBALL!

Description and Evaluation of Inquiry-Based Lessons

Second blog entry--Week of July 6th

The Grickle-grass Gazette is a WebQuest based on the story, The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. It is an Inquiry-based lesson on the environment. What makes a WebQuest special is that it is a web-based assignment. Although all assignments might be turned in on paper, the format of the assignment, and all phases there-of, are posted on the Internet. Completed in 2001, this WebQuest holds true and does get the students to think about the bigger picture, “What can I do to help the environment?” After viewing a number of different WebQuests and Inquiry-based lessons, I have found that they tend to follow basically the same format, with most features being the same. It seems they all have an Introduction to start. In the Introduction, the WebQuest/Inquiry-based lesson describes what is going to be the basis for the assignment. In the case of this WebQuest, it is saving the environment.

After the Introduction, this particular lesson has a “Learners” page. Here, the intended audience for this assignment explained (2^nd – 4^th grade students for this one) and gives a brief summary of what the students will need to know in order to complete the WebQuest. I feel that this is important because it breaks down into different steps what skills will be needed and allows for students to get practice in each of these skills. This was a step that was not listed on the other WebQuests I viewed.

After the Learners page comes the Standards page. On this page, the curriculum standards are listed so that teachers know what aspects of the curriculum is being focused on. Multiple subjects and their curricular standards can be listed if need be. Again, this was for this WebQuest only and did not appear on others I viewed.

Familiar to all the WebQuests I looked at was the Process page. On this page are the steps that need to be followed and (ideally) the order that they should be followed in. This is an important piece to the WebQuest because it helps the students budget their time and it also provides a checklist of sorts to help them stay focused in terms of what they have completed or what they still need to do.

On The Lorax WebQuest, the next page was Resources, which was unique to this lesson. It simply listed the resources that were used (text, websites, videos, technology) to create this WebQuest.

Next comes the Evaluation page, which includes the rubric that the students will be assessed by. On this page, a rubric was used. However, on another WebQuest I viewed, the Evaluation was questions to ask yourself to make sure you accomplished in the process step of the WebQuest. There was no specific rubric listed, just reminders to make sure certain points were made during the process stage.

In the Conclusion page of the WebQuests I looked at was where it seemed like the “inquiry” question was asked. It seems like this is where the project was concluded and the upper level thinking was summarized.

I viewed a number of WebQuests for this assignment. After viewing them I better realize what a WebQuest is, the components that make them up, and have ideas for future creation of multiple WebQuests for my students. One thing is for certain...make sure that any links remain unbroken so that users can accomplish your assignments without running into problems.

The value of Internet resources for education

First blog entry--Week of June 29th

The Internet is here to stay, but as it has since it’s “inception” in the 1990’s (originally a Governmental tool created in the 1950’s) it has morphed into the bigger, better, stronger, faster, creature it is today. And, it will continue to do so, so long as people can continue to imagine and think, “What if…” The value of Internet resources available for education are also morphing, to the point where it seems the realm of possibility, as far as the Internet is concerned, is endless.

The value of Internet resources for education has also morphed over the years, but I do not believe it has been properly taught for nearly as long as it has existed. While it’s existence and usage is truly awesome, I believe its capabilities are even more so. This will come with time, as pre-service teacher programs start requiring more technology classes as part of their graduation requirements.

In the mean time, the Internet has brought to education a completely new way of collecting information (through searches), organize it (through social tools such as Delicious.com), and even store it (through on-line databases). Additionally, the Internet has opened the world of information up to the world itself. Students of all grades and ages can access databases without going to the places were this information was generated. They can do it at home, at school, at the library, or anyplace that has a computer and an Internet connection. And, instead of someone having to wait for a particular book on said research topic to come back into the library, multiple users can use the same on-line source at the same time.

Through the use of well designed assignments and web-quests, and creation of better curriculum, the Internet can and will be taught to students in a more pertinent and constructive way. I believe this includes teaching the basics in a more organized way, by starting with learning the different Top Level (US) Domains, such as .com, .net., .edu, .gov, and others.

As I stated above, the value of Internet resources for education is wonderful. We have come so far with what we can now do with a computer and an Internet connection that it can become overwhelming and intimidating. As more and more pre-service teachers are required to take more technology courses as graduation requirements, more tech-savvy professionals will be around to help teach students how to use it to the best of their abilities, AND, help teach students the newest, most up to date Internet resources as they pertain to education. --- Todd