Dodgen Pond with Judy Cox and her students

Be sure to check out some of the fantastic learning going on at Dodgen.

http://www.cobbk12.org/cobbedtv/video/DodgenPond.wmv

Yoder Reflection

Maureen Yoder had high praise for Bernie Dodge and Tom March due to their “invention” of WebQuests. I was having difficulty discriminating between a scavenger hunt and a WebQuest. Upon reading Yoder’s article, I have come to find that mostly it is what the students do with the information they have gleaned that gives deeper meaning to a WebQuest. The problem solving aspect of WebQuests often creates a feeling of importance to student’s work rather than working simply to get a good grade. Students become vested in the information and outcome of their research. I only hope I can create a quest which will accomplish the standards but not take the entire year.


Yoder, M. (1999) The Student WebQuest: A productive and thought-provoking use of the Internet. Learning & Leading with Technology, 26(7), 6-9.52-53. Retrieved January 8, 2004 from http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/myoder/webquest.pdf

My Project- a webquest

I plan on creating a webquest in which to teach my students about pond monitoring. We will be working with Cobb County Adopt-a-Stream for our training but I want my students to have a more in-depth understanding about why we monitor, what organsims we are observing and classification of organisms. I hope for them to use the data they collect along with data from other volunteer groups to better understand our ecosystem and the effects of our actions on our environment.

Cool Math Presentation

www.Coolmath.com presented by Trish & Heather

There were only a few negative comments about this interactive site. Some of the comments from the presenters as well as the audience were that the scrolling cursor can be annoying and the black background is too dark. Yet students enjoy the cursor and the black background is appealing to some as well. Another concern is that the ads cannot be blocked due to usage policy. You also cannot print and distribute materials from site even under teacher area (but copyrighted materials and fair use explained)

This site primarily received positive feedback such as the ease of navigation, teacher resources, resources for students, parents, and grandparents. You may contact the author and also find information about the author’s background.
CoolMath provides a variety of formats for the same topic. Games incorporate learning and deeper understanding without the “pain”.

Comments from teachers included: “Coolmath is cool!”, “Great site”, and “Survivor math sounds great”.

Heather’s students reviewed the site as well.
www.Infalg2.blogspot.com

Web Presentation

Stacie and I are going to present Biology for Kids. All kinds of science information is available here as well as some fun facts, quizzes and games.
There is even a link to a new site by the same developer for math nuts called Number Nuts.
Have fun exploring.

My Bookmarks

My most recent bookmarks for Lesley and personal use can be found at FURL:
Barkley FURL

I really like the ease of use of this bookmarking tool especially the one click feature for quick bookmarking. But the ability to tag bookmarks is better for my purposes or I would never find what I saved.

I use IKeepBookmarks with my students.
I have not switched from this site possibly because of the work that would be required to organize a new site. Any ideas? I do like the folder view of IKeepBookmarks because I can guide my students to the correct information easier.

Any suggestions on a better site for students?

Goodreads

Found a great site on Holly's FURL.
Check it out:
www.goodreads.com

Vesey Reflection

As technology savvy as many believe me to be, I still have many of the concerns that Vesey professed in his article The Internet-only Research Approach: Does the Web Really Have All There Is to Say?. Students too often feel that the internet should be the beginning and the end of all information gathering. When I gather texts, encyclopedias and books for science research, often students are heard to ask, “How old is this book?”, “Is this still good?”. I try to use these opportunities as teachable moments and explain that sometimes our take on information may change but that it is beneficial to read “old” books as well as updated information on topics. Yes, science theories change so it is especially important for students to see the development of theories over time. I like the idea of a library quest and have heard the term used before but when I tried to go to Vesey’s webpage, it was expired and I couldn’t find him as a faculty member at Lovett anymore either. Ah well we all must move on sometime.
Vesey, K. (2002) The Internet-only Research Approach: Does the Web Really Have All There Is to Say? From Now On The Educational Technology Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2005 from http://www.fno.org/sept02/internetonly.html

Warlick reflection

Upon reading the beginning of Warlick’s article, A Future Fiction, I immediately thought of Harry Potter’s marauder’s map indicating where each person is in Hogwarts but that may be due to my Potter on the brain. The politics and privacy issues will be challenged at first I am sure but hopefully most will realize the safety ramifications and also the importance of attendance on education. Much of the article seemed enchanting but to me what seems more magical is the enthusiasm of the students portrayed in this article than the technology. Upon reflection when students are truly engaged in their work especially when it involves new presentation technology they are excited about their work. What concerns me now and for the future is whether information will be lost as students become more enamored with the mode of communication rather than the information being disseminated.

Warlick, D. (2004) A Future Fiction. Library Media Connection. Retrieved May 26, 2005 from http://davidwarlick.com/ff_article/.