Digital Blog Post #K - Chapter 6

With becoming a teacher in the century that we are in, we have access to so many different types of technology that we are able to use inside of our classrooms. It's truly amazing the impact technology can have on our student learning. With technology, students are able to gain more knowledge because this allows they to have hands on assignment that they can use. Students nowadays are able to help teachers with technology since they use technology at school and their home.

Some of the technology that we can use inside their classroom I have never even heard of. All these different ways to use technology has engaged more and more students inside and outside of the classroom into the learning process. Web Quest is an excellent form of technology that students can use. Web Quest are designed and guided by the teachers. Students have access to these Web Quest whenever they need them. When creating a Web Quest for your students, you want to include the following:

• Stage setting- introduction made by the teacher before the students begin the activity.
• Task- list of activities that students are expected to do during the Web Quest.
• Process- Step-by-step instructions that students will follow on the quest.
• Evaluation- How the teacher will evaluate the students quest.
• Conclusion- Summary of the learning goals that were embedded in the quest.

With technology becoming popular in the academic learning, there are educational websites that are designed for the teachers and students. There are six types of these education websites. I chose to pick three out of these six. The first one is lesson plan websites. This website is the most widely used type of educational website. This site provides lesson plans as well as activities that go with the lesson plans. The second one is skills practice websites. This website offer subject- specific activities for students at all grade levels. Most teachers use this website by assigning students in small groups on the classroom computers so they can work directly with other students. The third one is exploration and discovery websites. This website engaged students in online explorations on the topic of their interest. An example of this website is National Geographic Kids.

When using websites inside of your classroom, you want to make sure these educational websites have the following features: Interactivity, exploration, and engagement. Interactivity allows students to interact with online content by viewing demonstrations. Exploration are opportunities to explore questions and topics that seem interesting to the student. Engagement are by using different ways to engage the students either it be from a story-line, interesting characters, or a controversial issue/idea.

The following is a quiz that I created. Enjoy!

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/58f69f60-c193-4686-b91e-a9ae2dc2985f

The following video is a few minutes long. The video is students telling what a Web Quest is and how much they like using it inside the classroom. When I was these students age, I didn't have Web Quest and I wish I did because it's a great source for students to work together or by themselves. Web Quest allows students to go at their own pace and to explore the website on their own.


Sources:

• Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
•  What's A Webquest? (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6e46g_QcnY 
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