Day 4 Readings

A Checklist for Evaluating Web Quests

This article is not only a checklist for evaluating, but also a checklist on what you need in a web quest. First, the teacher needs to decide on what type of web quest they are going to have the students do; a short term project or a long term project. Would you like the assignment to last 3-4 class periods or 3-4 weeks? Once you have made this decision you can focus on the type of project the students will be completing.

A few of the requirements I feel need to be included are below:

• Allow for collaborative tasks and for individual work.
• Provide a variety of activities to accommodate different learning styles.
• Give clear directions.
• Technology must be used in the final project.

In teaching freshman math, I don't have many opportunities to have the students work together on projects. This will allow them to use reasoning skills to prove an outcome, instead of just following the steps to the correct answer.

Copyright 101 for Educators

The underlying meaning of this article is copyright is a VERY complex issue. To be on the safe side always get written permission before copying anything from the Internet or any other publication. If you can't get written permission, original create all material yourself! A lot of students are not taught the difference between right and wrong at home, so the only place they are going to be held accountable is in the classroom. We need to be role models in every aspect of life.

Day 3 Readings

Searching the Internet Effectively

I always thought you logged on to the Internet, did a key word search and then went through the THOUSANDS of sites to find what you needed. I couldn't understand why people loved the Internet so much, it seemed like a lot more work than going to the library and looking up what I needed. Well, since I was searching so poorly, it was faster for me to drive to the library and look up information. I never realized there was a difference between a search engine and a directory. Now that I do watch out!

I now know that you want to use a search engine (Google.com) when you have clearly defined terms and a directory (Yahoo.com) when it's hard to define your search in a few key terms. I also understand that there are advance searches to help you filter through all those unwanted sites to shorten your research time.

The only thing that is still a little puzzling to me, is whether or not the information is correct and trustworthy. Why would someone want to deliberately put out false information? At least now, I know to verify the information before using it somewhere else.

Day 2 Readings

The first article "An Internet Primer for Teachers" was great in explaining different ways to search on the web and also the need in making sure students stay within the "G" rated material on the internet. Several of the tips they gave are basic steps that everyone should know, but when you grow up before the "internet world" existed it becomes a learn as you go process. The second article "The World at Your Fingertips" addressed that very issue. Kids today know how to use all technology. I don't think it's all taught, as much as kids aren't afraid to try anything and adults are afraid of making mistakes. The internet is a great tool for research, notes and even homework assignments, but if the teacher is not trained on how to use it, how can they expect us to teach the kids how to use it? I understand that training means cost, but isn't the cost worthwhile in the long run?