Peggy's podcast
Podcast #2 Answer 1) Tom March certainly loves the cyber technology and he uses it in education. He is an expert in the cyber technology and WebQuest is one of his passions in education. However, as an expert March sees some obstructions WebQuest contains that many others do not see. March brings some critiques about WebQuest and elaborates its usefulness and authenticity concerning as an important teaching/learning tool. In his first paragraph he explains âwhat WebQuests are notâ certainly WebQuest is not a miracle tool that teaches or explains every topic and carves the information into learnersâ brain 100% indefinitely. WebQuest is a mere teaching/learning cyber tool that its usability depends on the teachers/learnersâ complex decision making process and progress. In his article March mentions that real WebQuest requires critical thinking, authenticity and transformative learning. However, many learners do not know the real intention of WebQuest and use it as a âcompleting a taskâ tool. He thinks that many teachers/learners use a âcopy/pasteâ solution only in order to complete a task or prepare a WebQuest. Yes, the learners or preparers probably complete the task only doing âcopy/pasteâ solution but do they teach or learn? Actually not! Why? Because teachers/learners do not use or improve their critical thinking skills while copying and pasting information using the WebQuest. March says âWebQuests help students construct a deeper understanding and move through a crucial transition phase toward a more autonomous learning-centered education process.â In his statement âcrucialâ is a vital word and it means âserious learningâ I think. I believe without serious learning WebQuest does not accomplish its mission. March mentions that without serious learning teachers/students unnecessarily occupy bandwidth in the cyberspace and most importantly they waste precious classroom time. In order to improve usefulness of WebQuest March advices a powerful learning strategy and he calls it âthree Rsâ Real, Rich, and Relevant. I think March wants teachers and learners use their critical thinking skill, creativity and common sense while keeping the topic authentic. Today, traditional classroom and teacher/student relationship is now shifting to more technology based teaching/learning environment. However, the usefulness of cyber technology and its utmost benefits in education is still in discussion and it will continue for a while I think. Answer #2) I did not count but I checked many WebQuest pages. I found that they are all interesting and useful. I particularly checked WebQuests in business, politics, and travel because these topics are related to my background. I did not find WebQuestâs âsearch for WebQuestâ link user friendly but I found âQuestGardenâ and âCurriculum grade level matrixâ search links more resourceful and user friendly for me. In order to prepare a WebQuest a proper lesson plan and many internet researches are required. It is more than a Power Point or a blog. WebQuest probably is combination of Power Point, blog and podcast. For example I checked âpeace in Middle East, political decision making process, travel to Latin America, employment facts, small business, how to build a garden, storytelling in English etc.â Some WebQuests are very detailed and long, they use many external links and graphics. It is hard to follow the subject and learners easily can get bored and lose their interests to long WebQuests I guess. I think short and well organized pertinent WebQuests are more useful for learners. My final impression is WebQuest looks frozen since it was originated. Probably WebQuest needs some developments and a long time strategic plan in order to catch up multi-phased, speedy technology. read less
Mon December 28 2009
Podcast #2 Answer 1) Tom March certainly loves the cyber technology and he uses it in education. He is an expert in the cyber technology and WebQuest is one of his passions in education. However, as an expert March sees some obstructions WebQuest contains that many others do not see. March brings some critiques about WebQuest and elaborates its usefulness and authenticity concerning as an important teaching/learning tool. In his first paragraph he explains âwhat WebQuests are notâ certainly WebQuest is not a miracle tool that teaches or explains every topic and carves the information into learnersâ brain 100% indefinitely. WebQuest is a mere teaching/learning cyber tool that its usability depends on the teachers/learnersâ complex decision making process and progress. In his article March mentions that real WebQuest requires critical thinking, authenticity and transformative learning. However, many learners do not know the real intention of WebQuest and use it as a âcompleting a taskâ tool. He thinks that many teachers/learners use a âcopy/pasteâ solution only in order to complete a task or prepare a WebQuest. Yes, the learners or preparers probably complete the task only doing âcopy/pasteâ solution but do they teach or learn? Actually not! Why? Because teachers/learners do not use or improve their critical thinking skills while copying and pasting information using the WebQuest. March says âWebQuests help students construct a deeper understanding and move through a crucial transition phase toward a more autonomous learning-centered education process.â In his statement âcrucialâ is a vital word and it means âserious learningâ I think. I believe without serious learning WebQuest does not accomplish its mission. March mentions that without serious learning teachers/students unnecessarily occupy bandwidth in the cyberspace and most importantly they waste precious classroom time. In order to improve usefulness of WebQuest March advices a powerful learning strategy and he calls it âthree Rsâ Real, Rich, and Relevant. I think March wants teachers and learners use their critical thinking skill, creativity and common sense while keeping the topic authentic. Today, traditional classroom and teacher/student relationship is now shifting to more technology based teaching/learning environment. However, the usefulness of cyber technology and its utmost benefits in education is still in discussion and it will continue for a while I think. Answer #2) I did not count but I checked many WebQuest pages. I found that they are all interesting and useful. I particularly checked WebQuests in business, politics, and travel because these topics are related to my background. I did not find WebQuestâs âsearch for WebQuestâ link user friendly but I found âQuestGardenâ and âCurriculum grade level matrixâ search links more resourceful and user friendly for me. In order to prepare a WebQuest a proper lesson plan and many internet researches are required. It is more than a Power Point or a blog. WebQuest probably is combination of Power Point, blog and podcast. For example I checked âpeace in Middle East, political decision making process, travel to Latin America, employment facts, small business, how to build a garden, storytelling in English etc.â Some WebQuests are very detailed and long, they use many external links and graphics. It is hard to follow the subject and learners easily can get bored and lose their interests to long WebQuests I guess. I think short and well organized pertinent WebQuests are more useful for learners. My final impression is WebQuest looks frozen since it was originated. Probably WebQuest needs some developments and a long time strategic plan in order to catch up multi-phased, speedy technology. read less
Tue December 15 2009
1) How can teachers take advantage of the popularity of blogs and podcasts? Come up with at least 3 ways. I think blogs and podcasts are a sort of version of expressed digital-personal thoughts. No more than that. We should not overestimate or underestimate the facts of technology. If we underestimate the power of technology such as blogs and podcasts we will miss many advantages and opportunities in our life. Contrary, if we overestimate the technology and its features we will be slave of the technology and we will afraid to go further technological steps. Moreover, we will be confused to distinguish right and wrong information supplied by the technology. Teachers can utilize blogs or podcasts while teaching. Blogs and podcasts which contain enormous information that we can teach to our students. The only problem the teachers must be aware of the credibility of blogs and podcasts. Any credible information is useful. For example we can use a podcast prepared by a Nobel winner economist in the classroom or we can bring a travelerâs blog to our classroom and teach geography and world cultures to our students using the blog ownerâs point of views, pictures and experiences. We can also ask to our students to prepare their own blogs and podcasts. Teachers and students may utilize classroom blogs or podcasts if they cannot come to the school. However, I see some level of dangers. If students and teachers heavily rely on podcasts and blogs the real classroom activity can diminish and teacher/student relationships become estranged. 2) Do you agree with Keen that Web 2.0 is worse than you think? Explain? In some extent I agree with Keen but mostly I do not agree with him. I guess he is talking about confusion of digital information because of its enormous size, I call it âdigital information pollution or digital pollutionâ or maybe he thinks that the technology is out of control. Maybe too much personalization is another reason but at least the digital era gives opportunity to everybody to express their opinion. I should call it âglobal digitalized democracy or global digital citizenship.â At least the technology raises global citizenship awareness. However, I think Web 2.0 is just a step in the immense digital age. Keen should be ready for more advanced technology than Web 2.0 in a decade I believe. I think categorizing and filtering the vast information in Web 2.0 is the single most important problem. Probably we need âa digital business bureauâ which can help us to check the credibility of information in the Web 2.0 3) How would you define the âwisdom of the crowd phenomenaâ and how would you prepare your students for it? The crowd phenomenon can be good or bad. There is too much information available over the internet and sometimes itâs hard to say which information is correct. As professor Marcy showed us in the classroom some websites have bias or purposefully manipulate the truth. A positive wisdom of crowd phenomenon helped to create a useful encyclopedia Web page such as âWikipediaâ or âYahoo answers.â A negative wisdom of crowd phenomenon creates hate pages, gives deceptive information or tries to manipulate the truth. The teachers must be aware of that kind of pages available over the internet and make sure the page is credible while teaching it to the students. Unfortunately, a collective wisdom is not constructive all the time, in the internet many ill organized destructive pages waiting to poison individuals who do not have enough information how to use the web properly. Teaching our children and students how to use the web and get credible, safe information must be the first step in the education system I believe. read less
Mon December 14 2009
In Tom Marchâs article, âThe Learning Power of Webquestsâ, March lists three examples of WebQuests that fall short from his definition of true WebQuest which he defines as: an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet. (Dodge, 1995). The three activities he describes seems to be a just a form of getting information or âlearning inputâ as March describes and really requires no metacognitio, transformative learning, or group processes and according to the definition and March, WebQuests should experience a more in-depth application of the information they gather. Scaffolding, a method of teaching teachers have been using for quite some time would no longer be applicable to students if their assignments merely require âcopying and pasting and/or presentingâ, theyâre really not learning anything in this way but as March suggests, the right WebQuests will still stimulate student thinking and continue the process of scaffolding. Also a disadvantage of the three assignments that are bad examples of WebQuest assignments, is that they do not include any open-ended questions for the students and again they would just be âcopying and pasting.â Open-ended questions allows for students to do more internet research and come up with their own answers by comparing, exploring, and applying information from several internet sources. Iâve always loved reading and one of my joys as a teacher would be to introduce great novels and authors to my students such as The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Great Gastby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. If I had to choose one of the WebQuest assignments it would have to be The Grapes of Wrath. The students were required to personalize the major events experienced by the people who survived the Dust Bowl and critically think about what they would do in that situation. Students are also required to think about and compare what type of action the government took then and now. This assignment implements cooperative learning as a strategy which is helpful because it promotes students to have conversations with their peers and discuss or debate the events that took place. Another attribute to this assignment would be the use of music and pictures. Many times, teacher overlook the fact that some student learn better visually and what better source of a wide range of pictures than the internet. Students are also not learning the work of one of the great American authors, but they are also able to apply or learn their knowledge of history into the assignment. I chose to use this WebQuest because John Steinbeck has written many different novels, some of which are required in high school curriculum and so this will allow students to compare the different works of John Steinbeck either in the same class, or other classes (I wouldnât have my students read more than one novel by the same author, I plan on introducing a wide range of authors to my students). read less
Mon December 14 2009
Web 2.0 is a new and innovative way of communicating and teaching. One thing to note, technology is constantly changing or improving, and so as future educators our students will be more up to date than the teacher which is often the case. Instead of shying aware from computer use and dodging every opportunity to use it, teachers should stay updated on technology and implement it into the classrooms. Growing up, my high school English teacher would have us free write in our journal every day. As an English major, I enjoyed all aspects of writing so it wasnât difficult for me; I already had a passion for it. Not all student s are as passionate or love writing though and thatâs where the teacher comes in to introduce new ways for students to write or get their thoughts out. One way teachers can make use of blogs for their student is to have them create their own free blog account. With MySpace and Facebook so popular these days, students would be thrilled to have an opportunity to do this in class. Students would still be able to accessorize their page however they wanted and they would also be able to communicate with their classmates on their blog. The blog may not have to be used as a form of communication either, it can simply be used as a replacement of the traditional method of journal writing in a journal. Teachers can assign free writing via blog and with the teacher having access to their blog addresses, assessment of the activity wouldnât be difficult. Podcasting can be used as an effective method for teaching a language. Teachers can have student s find a pen-pal to communicate with via computer. The student is therefore given the opportunity to practice language with a more authentic audience. This also allows the teacher to meet certain ESL Standards. âPodacastingâ is also something that would be quite exciting for students to experience. Just because there is fun involved in this process does not mean learning stops in any way, shape or form. âPodcastingâ gives students an opportunity to experience something other than bookwork. Lastly, blogging and podcasting is an excellent way for teacher to effectively communicate with students. In a classroom with low student attendance, these methods may be used as a way for students to catch up, of course the teacher actually teaching may be the best method but as a hypothetical situation if a student is absent, the teacher has no time to re-teach everything that was taught the previous day so what usually happens is the teacher simply gives the student the assignment and holds the student accountable for knowing how to complete the assignment. With blogging and the podcast, teachers can use this as an additional method of communication in common situations like these. I agree with Keenâs arguments that Web 2.0 does have some dangers to it. One danger of Web 2.0 is that the credibility of the source is not always trustworthy. Itâs difficult to trust sources these days and sometimes it takes research of the source to know whether itâs credible or not and sometimes thatâs difficult also. Although there are negative aspects of Web 2.0, it makes society a little more careful and even smarter. Wisdom of the crowd phenomena can be both negative and positive. Teachers must warn students of the dangers of believing everything they see online or read. However, I still believe that people are smarter and even if any negativity comes out of the wisdom of the crowd phenomena, people will use it as a learning experience. read less
Sat December 12 2009
PODCAST #2 Letâs talk about WebQuests. Tom March tells us that educators and students are not using this educational technology the way they should, saying we arenât using them to their full potential. This is probably true, but I would like to point out that at least people are using them! Looking back on material we have already covered in class we know that experts say most teachers are behind the tech curve- either because they donât know how to use it or donât want to (again- probably because they donât know how to use it). So for the moment, isnât it good enough that teachers are at least designing WebQuests and students are doing them? As my grandmother always said, âGood enough isnât.â A good way to think about the potential of WebQuests is to think about digestion. The way they are being used according to March would be that students are consuming the information they find on a subject then regurgitating it for their teacher onto a PowerPoint, poster, etc. They never get the nutritional value of the information. What a WebQuest should be is eating a large, tasty feast of information, digesting it to obtain all the nutrients and vitaminsâ¦really synthesizing the information, and finally expelling it in a natural way that proves the student has accomplished something with their end product. Bowel movements aside, the student must synthesize the information in the WebQuest to really learn and understand it⦠not just cut and paste (literally or technologically) information from the internet onto their presentation. In searching for a WebQuest on Dr. Bernie Hodgeâs WebQuest.org, I will say this: Either he doesnât list anything interesting to me, or he has very few topics to search through. I searched a dozen words that had to do with Chicano studies, Anne Frank, piano, travel, baseball. Somehow, travel in Henderson, Nevada came up under travel (four other options were available) and the baseball search gave me âthe 1960âsâ. I was not impressed with my options. Henderson, Nevada won out over the 60âs, though, because having worked extensively with the 5th grade target audience of this particular content, I was interested to see how this would be worked into curriculum. Also, could it really be engaging for 5th graders. Letâs be honest, travel to Henderson doesnât sound like a really exciting travel destination unless you are spending the majority of your trip a few miles down in the road gambling and eating $1.99 prime rib. Fast forward to completing a thorough review of the WebQuest that is supposed to help you convince the entire family to visit Henderson⦠and guess what? Still have no desire spend my vacation there! But I enjoyed the WebQuest if only for the sheer implausibility of it all⦠getting a teenage girl excited about this location for a family vacation is clearly not realistic. I do like that students were encouraged to write the mayor and create a Venn diagram comparing Henderson to Las Vegas and their hometown. That would be very interesting to see! I can see this only being interesting for students who either live in Henderson and want to learn more about their community, or students who want to visit Henderson some day. That was just a joke. No one really wants to go to Henderson! Anyway, I would use this format in my own classroom but have it set up to inspire students to want to travel or learn about history. For example, plan a trip along the Silk route, or the Pioneer trail, or even modern day cultural meccas. For the record, I love San Bernardino, but would never require a student to do a WebQuest on it, because chances are they would rather complete a project of this size on somewhere they want to visit. That would be far more inspiring in the long run. As a side note, I still have the travel project (not on a WebQuest- but the same project sans technology) I made for my high school Spanish 2 class. When I attended that teacherâs retirement party recently I was thrilled to present my project to her again but this time show her how many places I had actually been to since then. As a teacher, I was reminded of the impact my lessons can make. As a student, I was glad to see the teacher that inspired me so proud. read less
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