Class 39: Capstone

Today we are continue working on the Capstone project. You will write down at least two objectives for your capstone project, using the ABCD rule. We will discuss these objectives and share with the class.
You might also want to send me your project to my email to get my feedback before it is done.

Class 38: Capston--ASSURE model

Monday we introduced the Caspston project and the first three components in the ASSURE model-
A: Analyze Learners
S: State Objectives
S: Select the Media, Methods, and Materials

Today we will introduced the last three components -
U: Utilize Media, Methods, and Materials
R: Require Learner Participation
E: Evaluate and Revise

Examples:
Lesson Plan -- on The Giver: A Novel by Lois Lowry

Then I wish you could share your lesson plan idea with your neighbours. After this, you will work on your project independently. You will follow the steps listed in the online instruction guide for completing the ASSURE lesson plan template.

Class 37: Capstone--ASSURE model

There are many different lesson plan formats, but one that helps
to organize teaching and learning through the use of technology
is the ASSURE model:
A: Analyze Learners
S: State Objectives
S: Select the Media, Methods, and Materials
U: Utilize Media, Methods, and Materials
R: Require Learner Participation
E: Evaluate and Revise

Examples:
Lesson Plan -- on The Giver: A Novel by Lois Lowry

For your Capstone Project for the course, you will select one of
the projects you created this semester and write an original
lesson plan that uses that project to teach a Georgia Performance
Standard. You will use the ASSURE model as your lesson plan
format. The instructor in IT program, Gretchen Thomas have
created a web page that will walk you through the development
process step-by-step. You can view the actual project description
and grading rubric.

Your final product (due Wednesday, December 5th) will be the completed
instructional plan template. It will most likely by 3-4 pages long. The
largest section of your template should be the "Require Learner
Participation" section, as this is where you will describe your actual
learning activity -- what your learners will be doing.

Resources

• Samples from previous students
• Sample 1
• Sample 2
• A List of Instructional Strategies and Methods
  
• Teaching Strategies & Descriptions
  

For Wednesday:
Begin working on your lesson plan with using ASSURE model

Class 36: Peer Review on WebQuest

Today we will do the peer review on your WebQuest project. By now you should have already finished at least half of your project. Your group should find another group(s) and review each other's works based on the review form that I sent to you.

Groups are encouraged to discuss your projects with other groups when you are reviewing.
Each of the groups needs to send back your review forms both to me and the group that you have reviewed.
You will have more time to work on your project after the review.

Monday is the due date of the WebQuest project. Your group can come to work in classroom, and I will be here to work with you . But if your group can finish the work before Monday, or you feel comfirtable to work with your group members outside of the classroom, you can send me the link of your WebQuest page to my email. So for some of you who might not be coming on Monday, have a happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Class 35: Continue working on WebQuest--Resources, Evaluation, and Conclusion

Today we will continue working on the components of resources, evaluation, and conclusion for your WebQuest project.

For the component of resources in your WebQuest, as required in the rubric, you will need at least 5 web resources for your students to use when they are accomplishing their tasks. These web resources should be age appropriate and relevant to the tasks. You might want to use those resources that Ms. Nadine Cohen provided in last Wednesday's class.

For the evluation part, I wish to see that there is a direct link between the required task and the evaluation. Your rubric should be quantified, in details and clearly stated.

For the part of conclusion, you will summarize what students will learn when they finish this project, and you might also want to inspire their further thinking toward the subject content and the skills that they have been used, by asking some questions. A good example of conclusion can be like this.

On Friday, we will have the peer review on your half-finished project. You need to finish at least half of your project before Friday's class, including the introduction, tasks, process, and some resources. You will find another group and you two groups will review each other's work. Or, if we can do three-group review.

Class 34: Working on WebQuest--Introduction, Task and Process

Last week we looked at the major components of the WebQuest.

Today you'll be given most of class time working in pairs on your WebQuest -- by Friday's class it is expected that you will be at least halfway finished with your entire WebQuest ( Introduction, Task, Process and Evaluation on the student's version). We will be working in groups on Friday to conduct peer reviews of your WebQuests and the rest of time will be given working on the project. Friday will be the last day for you to work on WebQuest project.

Please refer to the assignement description while working on it.

Two gateway websites National Digital Science Library
and WebQuest Taxonomy of Tasks - what types of tasks can you assign to students?
The Building Blocks of a WebQuest - what are the specific parts of a WebQuest?
The WebQuest Design Process - what is a good way to put together a WebQuest?
Sample WebQuests

Class 33: Introduction to WebQuest

Both your reflection page of iMovie and your reflection on a reviewed WebQuest are due today.
It's registration time for our undergraduates so you might want to know about EDIT 5500: Technology Enhanced Learning Environments that will be offered T/Th 12:30-1:45 during Spring Semester. It is one of the core courses for the Technology Integration Certificate Program.

Today will be a quick review of Webquests. I want you to have enough information to complete the project and have enough time as well.

Generally, a good WebQuest topic should have some inherent complexity, such as controversial issues, multiple perspectives, unknowns, etc. The topic needs to have your students take information in and transform it, using their own judgement and creative problem-solving techniques -- a LoTi level 4 or higher -- the learning should be authentic. Certain topics tend to lend themselves more to the WebQuest format than others.

All WebQuests follow a set structure with an Introduction, Task, Resource, Process, Evaluation, and Conclusion.

What is a webquest?

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented online tool for learning, says workshop expert Bernie Dodge

• This means it is a classroom-based lesson in which most or all of the information that students explore and evaluate comes from the World Wide Web.
  
• Beyond that, it can be as short as a single class period or as long as a month-long unit; usually involves group work, with division of labor among students who take on specific roles or perspectives; are built around resources that are preselected by the teacher.
• Students spend their time USING information, not LOOKING for it.

***I require that your project is longer than one class period and is to be completed by students working in teams!***

What are its main characteristics?

There are six critical components in a WebQuest but I also require you to include a teacher resources page.

Introduction:

1. Provides background information and motivational scenarios like giving students roles to play provides an overview of the learning goals to students
2. The infusion from other media (prints, posters, models) and guest lecturers (other faculty members, parents, business leaders, experts, etc.) adds real-world components to online investigations. This is very important because depending on technology alone to convey the meaning of a lesson tends to create a sense of unreality.
3. Adding "introductory" types of information and material throughout the duration of the WebQuest keeps students fully engaged.

A sample of introduction

Task:

1. A formal description of what students will have accomplished by the end of the WebQuest.
2. To create a task the teacher must find resources for a particular topic on the Web.
3. The teacher must devise an activity for the students that incorporates the information from the various sites.
4. Developing this task -- or the main research question -- is the most difficult and creative aspect of creating a WebQuest.
HINT: A task should be visually and aesthetically appealing, inherently important (global warming, acid rain, welfare policy, etc.), and fun for the students.
5. A successful project can be reused by the teacher several times (either with a different class or the next semester).

A sample work of Task description
Process:

1. This is a description of the steps learners should go through in accomplishing the task, with links embedded in each step.
2. The demonstration takes the students through the process step-by-step and reinforces written directions.

A sample work of Process
Resources: (sometimes they are also called "credits")

1. This section of the WebQuest consists of a list of the resources (bookmarked Web sites, print resources, etc.) that your students will need to complete the task.
2. WebQuests are enhanced by materials that supplement the online resources. These can include things like videos, audio cassettes, books, posters, maps, models, etc.

A sample of resources page

Evaluation:

1. Each WebQuest needs a rubric for evaluating students' work. The standards should be fair, clear, consistent, and specific to the tasks set.
HINT: Many of the theories of assessment, standards, and constructivism apply to WebQuests: clear goals, matching assessments to specific tasks, and involving the learners in the process of evaluation are all concepts from earlier workshops that apply here.
2. During the introductory stage of the WebQuest, it can be very helpful to point out three types of student examples: exemplary, acceptable, and unacceptable. The range between exemplary and acceptable work may be great and will spur the students to strive for excellence, while the demonstration of what constitutes unacceptable work will set clear minimum standards for all to achieve. The goal is for all students to have a good experience of the project.

Sample of Evaluation page

Conclusion:

1. This step allows for reflection by the students and summation by the teacher.
2. Setting aside time for discussion of possible extensions and applications of the lesson honors the constructivist principle: "We learn by doing -- but we learn even better by talking about what we did."
3. During the concluding section of a WebQuest, you can encourage your students to suggest ways of doing things differently to improve the lesson.

A sample work of Conclusion page

Teacher Page:(Remember, the audience for this document is other teachers, not students)

The teacher's page section of a WebQuest provides additional information to any teacher who might want to use your WebQuest in their own classroom. This page is helpful in providing data needed for lesson plans. It should include:

1. A brief explanation of the WebQuest. Ex. What are the student's researching?

2. The selected Georgia Performance standard and grade level for the designed WebQuest.

3. A list of the prerequisites and materials needed for the WebQuest.

4. What skills does a teacher need in order to pull this lesson off? Is it easy enough for a novice teacher? Does it require some experience with directing debates or role plays, for example?

5. List here the sources of any images, music or text that you're using (with permission, of course). Provide links back to the original source. Say thanks to anyone who provided resources, help or inspiration.

6. Include this: "We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date)."

A sample work of Teacher page

In Summary a WebQuest is:

1. A clear, concise introduction that provides necessary information and sets up the activity.

2. An interesting and concrete central task.

3. A collection of information resources needed.

4. A step-by-step description of the process to be used for the task.

5. Guidelines on how to organize the information acquired (questions that should be answered, etc.); this will be the backbone for the Web site students create.

6. A closing lesson that reviews what the students have learned and how it can be brought to bear on other subjects.

7. The teacher resources page includes the standards that are addressed, the appropriate grade level and directions on how the teacher can use the webquest for their classroom.

WebQuest Resources:
Some Thoughts About WebQuests
Building Blocks of a Webquest
The Webquest Design Process
Taxonomy of WebQuest Tasks
WebQuest Rubric
Process Checklist
Concept to Classroom
Searching tips
WebQuest Templates

Sample WebQuests:

Bernie Dodge's Top WebQuests
Middle School WebQuest Matrix
George Mason Univ. WebQuests
Maryland Tech Academy WebQuests
Other examples

Here are some questions to consider as you are working on your WebQuest (you do not need to turn in responses to these questions):
*Is your WebQuest topic authentic in order to engage your students?
*Is your WebQuest task challenging and doable?
*Do your learners need to think independently and critically during the WebQuest activity?
*Is collaboration between your students important for the successful completion of the WebQuest?
*What scaffolds (visual organizers, software tools, prompting questions and suggestions) are provided in your WebQuest?

Before Monday's class:

• You should have already found a partner for your WebQuest project.
• You'll want to identify your WebQuest topic. Use this websiteto help you in the selection process. It may be related to work you have already done in our class or work you are currently completing in other courses. It could even be something completely new in your content area. After you have some ideas together, review the WebQuest assignment so that you are clear on what is expected.

On Monday:
Spend the majority class time working on your WebQuest, making sure to check the project description and rubric to ensure you are including all required elements. Have at least 1/4 of your WebQuest completed by Wednesday's class.