Webquest

I've been working on my webquest the last couple of weeks.  It was a little harder than what I thought, but once I found a groove I was able to get it close to done.  According to Internet Expeditions website, "Bernie Dodge, a Professor of Education at San Diego State University, coined the term “WebQuest” in 1995 to describe an inquiry-based activity that involves students in using web-based resources and tools to transform their learning into meaningful understandings and real-world projects. Rather than spending substantial time using search tools, most or all of the information used by learners is found on pre-selected websites. Students can then focus on using web-based information to analyze, synthesis, and evaluate information to address high-level questions".   I had never heard of these before and was a little scared of what to do.  I had a bit of an issue figuring out what to do as far as a topic, but I eventually had a creative spark.  There are loads of resources out there to help you if you would like to make one on your own.  There also hundreds of webquests already made on any topic that you are looking for.  Here are some links that can help you when you are ready: Questgarden, Zunal and Internet Expeditions.

Website Creation

I made it through my first website creation.  I tried 3 different sites to practice.  They are:

• http://www.google.com
• http://www.wix.com
• http://www.weebly.com

Google was not that hard to do, but it was kind of plain and you had to search for things.  I loved Wix because of their wonderful animations, but this site posed some issues for me.  When I was trying to switch in between the slides it was beginning to drive me crazy.  At one point a slide was stuck and I couldn't figure out how to fix it.  I then went to Weebly and found this site much easier for beginners like myself.  It was straightforward and user-friendly.  There were a lot of templates and once I got the hang of how you placed graphics and text in it was kind of easy.  My opinion is go with Weebly for beginners and the others when you are a little more technologically inclined.  I am going to spend more time with Wix because I did love their graphics.

What I Hope to Learn

On July 5, 2011 I began my Summer II course: Using the Internet in Education.  I hope to add to my list of digital tools that I have acquired during my year in the Technology Education program.  Our first project is to create a website and it is frustrating me a little.  But, I'll figure it out!