Evaluating Web-based materials

When evaluating web-based materials, the first thing to think about is: Am I looking for facts, opinions, news or entertainment?
If you are looking for facts, you should be able to find the following information readily:

• Author's Name
• Author's Title or Position
• Author's Organizational Affiliation
• Date of Page Creation or Version
• Author's Contact Information

These should be available so that if you have questions about the author's information they can reached.

Another aspect should be accuracy of information, you should look for

• links to original information
• dates that show when information has been updated
• a bibliography or list of links
• information about the criteria for using resources
  
• indications of bias

These are important because anyone can put information on the internet and therefore we need to be able to verify information as accurate.

One more aspect to check on is the purpose of the website, you should know if the site is
trying to entertain
persuade
inform
The answer to this should be obvious, the site should state its purpose and its intended audience

Overall, it is up to the person using the internet to be careful, and knowledgeable about the websites and web-sources they use. When using an internet source, one should be able to clearly defend that decision by havaing answers to the questions asked above or take a chance on having misinformation or passing on misinformation to others!

To help answer my question I used: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/, a very reputable resource with plenty of contact information. Which is intended for the education of others.

Reflection

While working through building this website, I found myself having a brand new respect for websites. I find myself looking at websites and wondering what tool the website creator used to create certain pieces. I really enjoyed learning Dream Weaver and seeing my work become live on the Internet. When we first opened Dream Weaver, I felt so overwhelmed and at the end I do feel as if I learned something and actually accomplished something that I can use something at a later date.

This class actually made me work through two different skill sets in such short time. Building the Web Quest was such a refreshing experience. Using a Web Quest is much different than building one from scratch. Finding valid resources for students to use was indeed a challenge. After valid resources came the challenge of reading material that students can read and understand.

This is one of the few projects that I feel I can take back and share with teachers in my school and also help them to create a Web Quest of their own. This type of project can go in so many directions that the possibilities are almost unlimited. Having teachers use this as instruction piece can help both teachers and students at my school become more independent thinkers and problem solvers. It gives students a true purpose for using the computer and also for reading the various pieces of information.
By completing this course assignment, I have demonstrated my ability to plan and design a learning environment that will be conducive for teachers to integrate technology across multiple subject areas in the classroom. Using this instructional strategy can maximize student learning and meet various learning styles. This strategy also encourages teachers to use and create rubrics to assess student work. Rubrics also help students to reflect and self-assess.
Overall this experience was a positive experience for me. I look forward to using this Web Quest with students at my school. I also look forward to helping any teacher at my school who may be interested in using this technique in their classroom.

Diigo (social bookmarking)

This web 2.0 application, Diigo, is a social bookmarking site that allows registered users to save links to websites. The site also allows users to tag the websites, join groups, and share lists. This can be helpful to teachers because they can easily find websites by looking at other users tags and categories. Teachers can also join groups and form groups to link with others who have similar interests.

While there are many social bookmarking sites. Diigo is one of the few that are accessible while at work @CPS. It is very user-friendly and even allows you to download a toolbar to add to your web-browser. Every time you add a book mark you can tag it using as many keywords as you want & you can also add it to your personal page or particular groups that you have joined or formed.

Joining and forming groups are as simple as sending an email invitation to a person. If that person is already a Diigo member you can search for them on the site. You can also receive messages and create friends list. If you have friends listed you will get updates on their recent bookmarks that they have added.

The reason this is so useful is because you can search for people and groups that have similar interests with you. You can also search using key words, that will render a search of your bookmarks but also similar searches from other users (even those who you are not friends with).

This resource is very useful to everyone who uses the internet. It allows you to find and share book marks in an organized and friendly manner.

A Great Resource Depository

Read, write, think has become one of my favorite websites to visit. I have used the website to find writing activities for students. But it has so much more to offer. The website has reading activities for students, professional development & tutorials for teachers and a resource depository. This site has information and resources for students grades K-12. The site has pages for lessons, standards, web resources and student material. The website has a quick link drop down menu to help navigate through the site easily. It also has a calendar that links activities to events in literacy and literature.
This resource depository has a numerous amount of English Language Arts resources that are available on the Internet. These resources have been divided into 4 categories, which are clearly defined on the website. This site also has an entire page dedicated to the criteria they use selecting resources. Each resource is also annotated and some annotations include ways to incorporate in the classroom. The website has a panel that is dedicated solely to investigating and choosing resources to add to the ever growing list. The annotations can be helpful due to the wide array of websites and resources available. Based on the provided information, teachers can choose or eliminate choices right away. Some of the resources included are: websites for kids, professional development, history, news, museums, and booklists (just to name a few). Teachers at every school can use this website effectively. The resources can be searched by grade band and or category. This is also a helpful tool for teachers when trying to pilfer through resources.
The website is sponsored by NCTE and IRA which explains why the resources are language based. This site is well organized and easy to use. Visiting this site will open up a plethora of ideas & resources for both students and other teachers. Take a look and share with others http://www.readwritethink.org/resources/index.asp. Have a great time!!!!

WebQuests

While researching Webquests, I came across a WebQuest about zoo animals. I was intrigued because I plan to do complete my WebQuest for this class on that very subject. This web-based PBL was created by a teacher in Texas who wrote the PBL for students in 3-5 grades. She starts the lesson with a quick intro to get the students interested.

The lesson
The gist of her intro is that the Texas zoo has to many animals and the students have been given the job of starting a new zoo for their town. The students have apparently been broken into groups and each group member has a job to do. One member is a zoologists who have to determine what each animal needs to be properly cared for. Another group member is the budeget manager who have to determine the costs for taking care of each animal and they have to research which animals costs the most to take care of & also they have to come up with ways to make money at the zoo. Another group memebr is responible for researaching natural habitats and habitats used at zoos around the country. Making sure that each animal is comfortable and feels at home. The last group member is the architect, who must construct the habitats and design the layout of the zoo.
Site design:
The website is setup very well and has large pictures to match every link they need. The teacher has pre=selected the animals and has a link to get to that list of animals. Each group has to read the history of zoos to give background knowledge.
Under Process the teacher tells each member what to do from begininng to end. Each memebr has their own page and a list of questions to answer. When each group member is done they meet as a group and actually construct their new zoo together. End the end they all present and try to persuade the class to choose their layout.
Assessment:
The teacher has a very kid friendly rubric and also a list of reflective questions for students to answer at the very end of the process. The teacher also has listed the state standards that she is attempting to meet aon the teacher's page. The teacher's page also has a list of every web resource she used to make the WebQuest successful.
My thoughts:
I thought the lesson was appropriate and well written. It was easy for me to follow and seemed easy for students to follow. The questions she had the students answered were evenly spread between open-ended and closed. She used lots of images and charts for students to collect data. Even though the students worked in groups for the end-product most of the research was done individually. This makes me wonder about students who may have difficulty reading the materials. Overall I think this an excellent WebQuest and I will definitely use some of the resources to help complete my WebQuest for this course.

Internet Resourcers

When it comes to internet resources there are just an infinite amount of possibilities. There are sites for children that are fun and educational. Some sites are resource centers for educators and some sites are resources for parents. I think the internet can be a valuable resource if used properly. Students can communicate in real time with people far away, they can get instant access to news & events, and they can contribute to many pieces of information.

One resource for students is educational websites. The interactive sites that are for children can range from early childhood all the way to young adults. Many of the early childhood sites are interactive learning sites that are based off TV programming. www.noggin.com is one site that is for children as young as three. This site has everything from coloring to music videos. It is very user friendly and interactive. For kindergarten and first grade students one of the most popular language arts websites is www.starfall.com. This website teaches letter recognition and phonics with characters, stories, games and everything is interactive. These are the types of sites that can be the most resourceful, due to the fact that the developers use multiple modes of teaching and students view them as games so they are fun and they want to use them. There are many of these sites for older students as well. www.arcademicskillbuilders.com, this site is mostly math games, that are in a word DRILLS. But the students are so engrossed with the interface and the competetion of playing against classmates (on different computers) they don't even realize that they are doing math drills. It is very important that teachers use these resources for students because it allows students a chance for learning in a different platform and at their own pace.

Another piece in education is teacher resources. There are so many sites that have teachers in mind. The library of congress has a teacher resource section on its website, google, google docs, wiki spaces and so many more. Even most of the students sites have links for parents and teachers. www.pbskids.org has a teacher and parent link. These are sites attempt to provide teachers with additional resources to help students but there are also places where teachers can go to become more aware of the internet or just use the internet more. One of the easiest is blogging. Using a blog can be a way for teachers to meet others with similar interest or get more information on a certain topic. Social networking sites can be an additional resource for teachers especially sites that allow you to share bookmarks. It is such an extremely resourceful piece of information www.diigo.com.

Teachers and students can gain valuable information by using the internet, however it can also be a danger if not used properly. Therefore I think the first thing has to be a lesson on internet safety and proper usage for home and school.