I am not too familiar with this website/computer program, but it sounds like it would be extremely helpful for teachers and students of all ages. After clicking on a few of the links that took me to examples of lesson plans in different subject areas, I noticed a great deal of flow charts and graphs. I am unsure if the website offers other materials for teachers to use because the users need to sign up and d/l programs. Let me just say that I have had enough viruses in the past, so I will not be d/l any programs from this website.
It seems that the flow charts would be great for supplemental materials for high school students because, at times, some of the Asian dynasties are very difficult to follow in terms of the leaders or emperors. Does anyone have any other suggestions for how these could be implemented in the classroom?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
WebQuests--Part Deux.
Well I have successfully finished my first WebQuest of my teaching career and I believe that it will not be my last. After watching the intro videos, provided by Dr. Luongo, I thought that this was going to be an easy step-by-step assignment without the headache, but at times I became rather frustrated.
The WebQuests, like many other multimedia creations over the past few years, takes some time to get adjusted. I was unsure of how the various topics on the left-hand side of the page would coincide with the finished WebQuest itself. One aspect that was confusing for me was the Teacher and Student pages. The introductory videos did not explain the similarities and differences between the two pages (if they did, I was unaware). Another facet of the WebQuest that is in need of improvement are the text boxes. I found, at times, words would be connected without spaces, even if the space bar was used. In addition to this, when copying text from Microsoft Word, the spacing issue occurred again. Lastly, my grading rubric was used from a Microsoft Word document and it would not load properly. The student must scroll down to see the rubric, even though I tried everything to avoid this. Did anyone else run into these problems?
On the positive note, I was pleasantly surprised and proud of the finished WebQuest product. I believe that WebQuests can be a major asset to any classroom, regardless of the grade level. Teachers do not hear that much these days. There are very few tools that can be used in a first grade classroom as well as a tenth grade classroom. I was also very impressed with the reading level that was provided for the teacher.
I believe that with more polish, WebQuests could successfully be implemented in my classroom. Does anyone believe that WebQuests could not be used in their classrooms? I am interested in hearing your thoughts. Look forward to seeing all of your WebQuests in the future.
The WebQuests, like many other multimedia creations over the past few years, takes some time to get adjusted. I was unsure of how the various topics on the left-hand side of the page would coincide with the finished WebQuest itself. One aspect that was confusing for me was the Teacher and Student pages. The introductory videos did not explain the similarities and differences between the two pages (if they did, I was unaware). Another facet of the WebQuest that is in need of improvement are the text boxes. I found, at times, words would be connected without spaces, even if the space bar was used. In addition to this, when copying text from Microsoft Word, the spacing issue occurred again. Lastly, my grading rubric was used from a Microsoft Word document and it would not load properly. The student must scroll down to see the rubric, even though I tried everything to avoid this. Did anyone else run into these problems?
On the positive note, I was pleasantly surprised and proud of the finished WebQuest product. I believe that WebQuests can be a major asset to any classroom, regardless of the grade level. Teachers do not hear that much these days. There are very few tools that can be used in a first grade classroom as well as a tenth grade classroom. I was also very impressed with the reading level that was provided for the teacher.
I believe that with more polish, WebQuests could successfully be implemented in my classroom. Does anyone believe that WebQuests could not be used in their classrooms? I am interested in hearing your thoughts. Look forward to seeing all of your WebQuests in the future.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Web Quests!
I just watched the four-part series on Web Quests that Professor Luongo recommended on the syllabus. I am very much looking forward to creating my first Web Quest. If it seems to be feasible for my students to use it for a major assignment, I will more than likely use it in my curriculum for next year.
In years past, I have given the students one project per marking period, but I have been looking for new ways to differentiate instruction and I am crossing my fingers that the Web Quest is the best way to do so. Also, students have always asked numerous questions regarding the project, so I am hoping that the Web Quest will alleviate most of these questions in the future.
I am curious if anyone that has ever completed a Web Quest before can give me some pointers? The video did an above average job at explaining what a Web Quest was and the basics of setting one up, but I was wondering if anyone has any tips or pointers in reference to the Web Quests? Are there any problems that I should be aware of with the website that we are using or hints I should be aware of before I begin? Any advice is appreciated. I hope everyone had a great weekend.
In years past, I have given the students one project per marking period, but I have been looking for new ways to differentiate instruction and I am crossing my fingers that the Web Quest is the best way to do so. Also, students have always asked numerous questions regarding the project, so I am hoping that the Web Quest will alleviate most of these questions in the future.
I am curious if anyone that has ever completed a Web Quest before can give me some pointers? The video did an above average job at explaining what a Web Quest was and the basics of setting one up, but I was wondering if anyone has any tips or pointers in reference to the Web Quests? Are there any problems that I should be aware of with the website that we are using or hints I should be aware of before I begin? Any advice is appreciated. I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
NJCCCS--Not As Bad As You May Think!
A great deal of public school teachers hear the word standards and their skin may cringe. Standards, however, do serve a positive purpose although it appears that they may be a wasted of time. For example, standards would have made my life, and the lives of teachers in my department much easier this school year (I work in a catholic high school if you did not read my intro).
When it came time to make the midterm, all of the teachers in our department created separate midterms. When we found out that we needed one midterm for our department, we ran into many problems because each teacher taught different topics/chapters. If we had standards, or some type of set curriculum, we would not have run into this problem. The social studies standards keep the various topics easy to read for the teachers, parents, and students. I believe that students need to be made aware of the standards because they need to understand why they are in place.
Although we do not currently use the NJCCCS at my school, I will not be dreading them if/when I move back into the public school system.
When it came time to make the midterm, all of the teachers in our department created separate midterms. When we found out that we needed one midterm for our department, we ran into many problems because each teacher taught different topics/chapters. If we had standards, or some type of set curriculum, we would not have run into this problem. The social studies standards keep the various topics easy to read for the teachers, parents, and students. I believe that students need to be made aware of the standards because they need to understand why they are in place.
Although we do not currently use the NJCCCS at my school, I will not be dreading them if/when I move back into the public school system.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)