Sandra’s ICT Blog

On finding out that i am going to actually make my own WebQuest in ED4134 i am completely freaked. After merely being introduced to WebQuests i cannot fathom how i am going to put a fullt-fledged WebQuest of my own together. To get more of a feel for WebQuests i decided to completely ‘the WebQuest about WebQuests’ (who named this! how lame! lol). I suppose i can conclude that after spending my precious time completing this WebQuest i am starting to get more of a feel for the elements of a ‘good’ WebQuest as opposed to a poor one. This little tutorial greatly helped me with the portfolio item that i just completed! I think that once you complete a WebQuest and then analyse one you tend to take for granted the amount of work and effort that has been put in (which kind of scares me, for i dont want to complete a WebQuest that i would rate as poorly as the ’shocking sharks’ one i examined). I want to be able to create a WebQuest that facilitates inquiry based learning, guided discovery and problem based learning so that students will be able to go beyond, completely extending themselves intellectually as to a specific topic.

According to Mark Lee “the WebQuest model focuses on having students use Web-based resources supplied by the teacher/WebQuest designer, as opposed to having students find resources for themselves.” On reflection of my primary school experience i recall the majority of WebQuests that i engaged in being more of the comprehension-rote learning style, not having me find my own resources and such. In regards to Mark Lee’s comment there are both advantages and disadvantages to the modern WebQuest approach. Firstly, in regards to advantages with students having to use the resources they have questions posed to them which cannot be answered simply by viewing a site and regurgitating the information that it provides. Also, by using the resources higher order thinking is facilitated so that students are able to fufil the criterion of analysing, synthesising and evaluating through a simple internet task sooner rather than later. Further i think that by ‘using’ resources rather than having to sift through all the endless crap provided by search engines e.g. AltaVista this saves ample time that can be dedicated to analysing the information provided. Though in regards to disadvantages and this approach i think that children should be able to have the choice to find internet sites that may be better suited to what they are seeking out, as some teachers may not be the best judges of relevant and accurate sites in relation to information.

I sincerely do not think that WebQuests are suitable for for all types of learning situations and scenarios as i tend to feel that for younger grades in primary especially a more hands on approach is needed for some tasks. I dont think that young children can particularly focus long enough on a task to be able to complete a WebQuest thoroughly enough, especially in the hot weather. I think that WebQuests do have their merits but in my future classrooms they would be a rarity because lets face it, they take quite a while to make and they dont exactly develop the motor skills that young children need to. I believe WebQuests would be more predominant amongst the secondary year groups rather than primary schoolers, where it is more about comprehension as compared to high order analysing, synthesising and evaluating.

 (Advanced). How do WebQuests support Constructivist learning?  According to Funderstanding, “Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences.” I think that by understanding constructivism one can link WebQuests to the Constructivist approach as by taking part in ‘using’ resources one can analyse, synthesis and evaluate, all constructivist approaches rather than regurgitate.

Mark Lee proposed the question: What is meant by scaffolding (c.f. the work of Lev Vygotsky), and why is it important within the context of a WebQuest? To be honest i had no idea what scaffolding actually was, that was until i did a little research of my own. I found out that scaffolding is defined as “A process by which adults or more able peers provide supportive structures to help children learn and play. Scaffolding occurs at a time when children are faced with a challenge that they can solve with a simple hint, question, or prompt”, thankyou google! So therefore scaffolding is important to WebQuests in general beacause a WebQuest provides a structure that allows children to interactively learn while under the illusion of playing on a site. By ‘using’ resources and ‘transforming’ and ‘configuring’ answers from the information they are unknowingly participating in Vygotsky’s notion of scaffolding…

Anyway to end on a good note… i finished my portfolio item yay! sadly the Newcastle Knights lost to Parramatta!

WebQuest 1- Freaky Frogs. I rated this WebQuest a 37/50, 74%. If my class were specifically studying science, with a focus on frog mutation, I would definitely use this WebQuest. In terms of overall aesthetics I found that the WebQuest was lacking visual stimulation for the students that this would be targeted at. As there was no immediate stimulation I feel that students would make little connection to the immediate concepts and ideas that this WebQuest deals with. Though in regards to navigating the WebQuest the links were simple allowing the student easy access to the task at hand. Yet, the external links were problematic as many were not able to be accessed. On a brighter note, the introduction was intriguing, setting the tone for a fun WebQuest to undertake, having the students envisage themselves coming across the mutated frogs, compelling them to find out more to fulfil their curiosity. The ‘task’ section did not clearly connect with the process when expressing what was expected within the teacher’s marking evaluation. Consequently, I believe students would underestimate the importance of this WebQuest task based on the three brief points listed, resulting in students treating the task as more chore-like than a critical analysis. The ‘process’ section was impeccable, with all steps easily understood by students with little scope for confusion. The build up of tasks in the process challenged the students to go beyond and build up a strong knowledge base of frog deformity, even though separate roles weren’t really assigned. I was not impressed by the resources on this WebQuest, even though students had 3 weeks to complete the tasks, I feel there were too many repetitive sites to investigate with some links out of date as well. I thought the accompanying criteria for teachers was well integrated with the tasks, providing a clear marking rubric that students would be able to understand easily, therefore completing the tasks to an exemplary standard. These students will surely have the skills to make “a difference in the life of freaky frogs.”

WebQuest 2- Shocking Sharks. I rated this WebQuest a 33.5/50, 67%. If a class was studying sharks I’m not sure if this would be the most suitable WebQuest. In terms of overall aesthetics, I found this WebQuest lacking visually, with basic shark images failing to promote a relationship with the task described. With little visual stimulation and images that emphasise ‘shocking sharks’, students would be underestimating the WebQuest. In regards to navigating the WebQuest, with the amount of links on the one page, I felt younger students would possibly lose their train of thought. Further, there were also problematic external links unable to be accessed, proving troublesome for the student working through the WebQuest. I felt that the introduction was lacking, with no elements of intrigue with a rather lame approach at motivating the student as to the task. Further, the introduction was far too brief, and not eye catching at all, doing little to outline what was to come in the task, not being clear cut enough to have the students reflect on their prior knowledge of ‘shocking sharks’.  The ‘task’ on this WebQuest was clear and concise, connecting to what was expected of the student within the marking rubric. There was little scope for wrong interpretation of the task, with students excited at the prospect of creating their own shark commercial or adventure story, going beyond a simple rote type task. The ‘process’ section was clear, with steps categorised into research and writing components via specific images (pencils and sharks). Process activities were able to elicit further understanding with checks in place where students were to share and contrast their research, even though individual roles weren’t really assigned. The resources connected to the WebQuest were terrible, with the few able to be accessed containing repetitive information.  Students would be better to find their own websites regarding sharks. The accompanying rubric for teachers was well incorporated with the tasks, with a marking rubric that students could go by to complete their tasks on ‘shocking sharks’ at an exemplary level.  These students will be even more terrified of ‘shocking sharks’ after all they’ve found!

Im generally not the best person to ask about the World Wide Web. Yeah i tend to use it  for research or general interest purposes though if someone were to ask me to define it they would probably get the answer umm! rather than as according to Lockard and Abrams “The www is a global netword comprised of millions of servers… Most users understand the Web as the resources- the documents, graphics, audio and video files- that are found on those servers”. Geez! lol.

But! after attending this week’s tutorial i feel a little more confident about my ideas and abilities. I know the difference between a home page and a URL  as well as the components to the URL (i feel like such a supergenius lol). I feel confident to start a conversation involving web jargon.. although i think that would be slightly lame… lol. I completed the Pandia tutorial but found it really confusing… the only part i understood was in relation to key words and searching which helped me loads with my portfolio item 2 searching techniques.

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the Web in relation to classroom teaching and learning? What are some of the specific ways in which you might use the Web in your own teaching? Nowadays i think it is common teaching technique to use the web in teaching. On my first practical the teacher that i was working with introduced me to a mathematics website with brain teasers and class activities that she used each morning to wake her students up and get them going before their maths lesson was to officially begin. This is definitely an example of a specific way i will implement the internet into teaching methods in the future. http://www.transum.org/Software/ (This is the website! hope you’ll find it interesting!). Though there are definite advantages and disadvantages to using the Web in relation to classroom teaching. In regards to disadvantages a teacher may become too dependent upon the internet for classroom teaching/activities which would prohibit the children developing themselves with hands on activities… and more importantly the internet is not always reliable and so therefore wouldnt be as effective as an approved book for information and such. Advantage wise using the internet for teaching activites develops the necessary searching skills for young children and presents one with information at their fingertips instantaneously.

Why is it important for both students and teachers to develop skills to enable them to critically evaluate the quality of information found on the Web? What criteria are important when evaluating web sites for educational purposes? It is important for both students and teachers to develop skills enabling them to evaluate quality information from the rubbish so that when students are older they will find web researching a much easier task, enabling them to complete their work more efficiently. For teachers in particular, they must be able to evaluate the quality of information on the net so that they can model correct internet ettiquette in regards to this topic and also so that they can delve through internet information, providing their students with correct and quality information that they can add to their knowledge base in regards to particular topics. The criteria that are important when evaluating web sites for educational purposes as according to the website The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: or, Why It’s a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources, http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html, includes checking the authority of the webpage, delving into whether the site is accurate, reliable and error-free, deciphering whether the page is bias in its presentation of information, checking the date and currency of the page, and finally the general coverage of information on the page… its ‘intrinsic value’.

I am a WWW connoisseur!

Smart Boards Leave Chalk in the Dust. I was soo intrigued by the Year 5 class that i am currently doing practical with having a smart board within the class, used regularly by their teacher that i thought id do some independent investigation lol.

I came across this article online from The Australian that generally pointed out the great reception that ‘The Smart Board’ has had within classrooms today, though that they are costly. But! in my opinion money should not be an issue when we are extending the knowledge and understanding of young people today through the use of this technology. I absoloutely loved the following quote and it basically reiterates my point of view, “The boards allow teachers to use educational software and access the internet while engaging the entire class, rather than having students using individual computers”.

I believe that the Smart Board is going to revolutionise classrooms around Australia allowing for more intuitive skills to plant themselves within younger generations.

Today i felt like delving further into the tangled web of understanding the web and expanding my knowledge on the internet interacting with email services. After checking the announcements from Mark Lee i decided to delve into the prescribed sites online ‘How web servers work’ and ‘Internet for Education’.

Firstly, in regards to the ‘Internet for Education’ site i found it to be particularly informative in terms of incorporation of ICT into teaching. I found that there were actual links to official sites dedicated to outlining nearly every aspect of teaching imaginable. The site continued to detail both non-familiar and familiar internet databases for searching such as ERIC and HERO. Most importantly the website allowed for my to create my own ‘links basket’ and allowed me to identify a number. I also found this site great because it listed the pros and cons of search engines (which also helped me a little with my portfolio item 2 researching). The site further reiterated the point that in a search it is imperative to pick out the best search terms and key words.  This is definitely an idea that i will be putting to my future students to aid them in their quest for the most effective searches. I particularly enjoyed the ‘Judge’ section of the website where emphasis was put on the internet not always being trustworthy but more importantly i came across a helpful little acronym that will aid me in getting this idea to students in the future- When looking at a website ask yourself the 3 WWWs- who, where and when. I can pretty much conclude that this website is one that i will surely refer to when teaching in the future as there were a number of helpful hints/tips on the implementation of computer knowledge for students.

Secondly, in regards to the ‘How web servers work’ site i found it really helpful as it explained the whole ‘browser and server’ scenario, bringing it visually alive with a simple image lol. It reiterated various points regarding computer connections to the internet around the world and IP addresses, etc. I found this website was helpful for myself in reiterating points that had been slightly unclear from the tutorials, though ultimately i’m not sure if it would be wholly important in the educating of students… though in 3-4 years time who knows what will be being taught in classrooms.. so i will not refer to this site as redundant in regards to teaching methods just as yet…  who knows maybe by then computers may have taken over the world! :O!

Why is it important for a teacher to have an understanding of how computer networks, as well as the Internet and WWW, work? I think it is imperative for a teacher to have an understanding of how computer networds as well as the Internet and WWW work because students these days are intuitive little beings and are wanting to broaden their knowledge base as much as possible- and generally a hot topic in their minds is in regards to understanding computers and the internet. I think it is also important for a teacher to know about computer networks and such because to be an effective teacher in regards to the implementation of smartboards into classrooms which call for a complete understanding of these elements. If the basics of computer networks and the internet are not understood properly by the teacher it is obvious that a complete understanding cannot be passed onto students = ineffective teaching.

What are some potential applications of Internet services such as the WWW and email that you might draw on to enhance teaching and learning in your classroom? As the smartboard is a predominant member of the teaching classroom nowadays i can draw on a number of english and mathematics activities and have the class complete them as a group task discussing opinions and answers along the way. Im not sure if email would be appropriate for young children and class activities but again with WWW it can be demonstrated to smaller students as a tool of broadening knowledge when search effective techniques are employed.

Newcastle beat Manly 13-12

Portfolio Item 2 has just been completed. And thank god its done may i add lol! I found that producing the task and its MSWORD elements was quite simple as i have quite a profound prior knowledge of MSWORD and its devices from school assessments and such. From choosing the appropriate fonts, to aligning paragraphs and further to inserting graphics and such the document activities were profoundly simple.

I found this portfolio item to be slightly tedious as prior to uni i was familiar with Boolean searching methods and so have always felt quite confident when searching for specifics online. I suppose though that the activity did have its benefits whereby i can now conclude that the google search engine coupled with Boolean searching methods is more effective in granting helpful and matching documents.

I suppose that by completing a task such as this that i will be more able and *slightly more knowledgeable in instructing my future classes in effective searching methods and engines online. As most classwork i predict is surely going to be demonstrated via smartboards i feel that i will easily be able to model correct searching methods and such now, so that the younger people i will be teaching will feel confident and proficient in searching methods, aiding them long into their teens and further, when dealing with searches on interests, for essays and such.

BTW! Easter was fun!

What i learnt in this tutorial:

I found today’s lesson to be quite intense compared to our past few tutorials. I am someone who does not have a great grasp of the purposes of the internet and such, so today’s lesson really opened my eyes to it all. By attending this tutorial i am now able to understand the function of the program MS DOS. I suppose that MS DOS isn’t a program that i will be utilising within my future profession but for my own knowledge i am happy that ive gained a greater understanding. I now am able to use the program to find the ip addressses of various sites which will enable me to connect to the sites slightly faster. But we also learnt about many other interesting insights into internet usage and such. I was previously aware that generally internet usage is used for the world wide web and email but my knowledge was furthered in regards to the notion of clients and servers, whereby i now understand that the client is a program (e.g. MS Outlook) that is utilised to access a specific server (mail server).

My home computer has been prone to viruses and such and seeing as my family are pretty much technologically inept this tutorial did wonders for me. I am now aware that you ‘cannot catch a flu from a computer’ lol. More importantly i find that i will be able to more so recognise specific viruses and how they infiltrate your system i.e. through email attachments and such. Another key little insight i learnt within this lesson was that a trojan horse is NOT! a virus strangely enough… but instead a program that is implemented to plant a virus or damage specific files on your computer… how scary! I really believe that this tutorial was a pleasure to attend… i can now conclude that the internet is good, though at the same time bad

How what i learnt in this tutorial may be applied to my future profession as a teacher:

Through expanding my knowledge base within this tutorial i feel that any questions directed at me by my future students regarding email and the internet especially the notion of clients and servers will be able to be answered both more confidently and thoroughly. By listening in on this tutorial i feel that i will be more competent with my internet usage and therefore a better model for my future students to follow as to computer use. I will be more able to guide them in the use of safe programs as well as the avoidance of viruses and such. Again as i foresee that smartboard will be implemented into the vast majority if not all classrooms in the future and the internet accessed and demonstrated through it, so as this tutorial has built up my confidence in regards to internet usage i believe that more effective internet learning and familiarisation will occur in my classroom as a result.

Sandra’s Competency Test After just completing my personal computer competency test i now can conclude that i am not great with the use of computers, receiving a score of 27, therefore not faring well at all within this personal competency test. Specifically when dealing with computer tasks involving spread sheets, desktop publishing, digital video, graphic organisers and multi-media projects i can see that i am not at all proficient in these areas, scoring myself a 1 in each, possibly this was because i have never come across any of these terms but more likely because my computer experience has been limited to msn, microsoft word, powerpoint, myspace, itunes, facebook and bebo lol, all computer programs i believe i am proficient with. I am happy and relieved that i am going to be studying in a course such as this because it would be a worry for my future students if any tasks and demonstrations would have to be conducted by myself at school at the current level of computer proficiency i am at the moment. I hope that my lecturer Mark Lee will be able to dedicate enough time in class to deal with my lack of knowledge and bring me up to date with such computer tasks/items inclusive of spreadsheets and web publishing in particular.

How i fared in the test: Briefly, i can conclude that i did not fare very well within the test as i received a score of 27, one of the lowest amongst my peers. But on receiving this score i can now see that this class will not be a waste of time, educating me in the usage of programs that i will need to be proficient in when i am teaching in a few years give or take.

What some of my strengths and weaknesses in relation to ICT, as revealed by the test: In short i can conclude that i do not have many strengths in relation to ICT as revealed by the test. The main programs that i rated myself proficient in were merely in regards to microsoft powerpoint and microsoft word. I can conclude that i had many weaknesses, the most potent when dealing with spreadsheets and computer multimedia programs as well as creation of websites and blogs such as these lol. ICT has opened my eyes to the fact that there are many weaknesses that i am going to have to address when completing this course.

What areas I need to develop in (i.e. knowledge and skill gaps you need to address) in order to become a proficient user of ICTs in the classroom: As i said before i think it is clear that i need to develop my knowledge and skill in the usage of multimedia computer programs such as digital video and graphic organisers in order to become a proficient user of ICTs in the classroom.

I can conclude that in terms of this class, ICT, i still have much to learn!, no wait a whole load more to learn! Being able to gain experience and such with these new technologies will definitely aid me in my teaching in the future, where classrooms are sure to be dominated by the smartboard.

Computers + Sandra = Trouble! lol

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