WebQuest

The concept of a WebQuest is one that is relevant for both students and educators. For educators, it can be used as an engaging tool for multiple subjects. For student's, it is an adventurous and independent approach to learning.

WebQuests are an intriguing way to invite students into learning. By introducing a specific objective to a class in a fun and entertaining way, you allow the student to be compelled to discover what the lesson is through guided learning.

Student's are given a hands on learning experience with WebQuests while the teacher has ultimately continued to set the boundaries on the lesson. They are a wonderful way to incorporate videos and websites that are teacher selected, and to find out information that is picked out from the educator while the student feels they are picking it out all on their own. Students using WebQuests are given a guideline of what they are ultimately supposed to discover and know by the end of their journey, but also given the freedom to find and express it in multiple options.

For educators, WebQuests are a great tool to teach independence in the classroom, as well as a nice change of pace from lectures and readings. Following the outline of Introduction, Task, Process, Resources, Evaluation, and Conclusion ensures that all elements of the lesson are being met. Being able to upload WebQuests is also an extremely useful way to see how educators nationwide are using and incorporating WebQuests into their own classroom. I really enjoy how you can use a WebQuest to gauge children's learning levels in a different way than just papers or testing, it is a more open form of an assessment that is nice to mix into a unit.

I am very excited to create my first WebQuest and use it in my Pre-Kindergarten room to see how my students respond to it. My WebQuest will obviously be more teacher guided rather than independent exploration because of their age group. I am confident that my little one's will be just as interested in exploring with me as I was in creating it!

Microsoft PowerPoint

Before beginning the tutorial for Microsoft PowerPoint's Do's and Don't, I was visualizing all of the "don'ts", which included: a highlighter colored background, a neon font, and text flying in from all corners of the screen with an obnoxious typewriter sound accompanying its entrance to the slide. Surely, when used appropriately motion and sound within a PowerPoint can be beneficial, but through the years of watching it being poorly used I have realized that there can truly be an art to using PowerPoint.

Upon beginning the tutorial I almost immediately had an "Ah-Ha" moment when reading about Master Slides. I had never known that this option existed and whenever I would make a PowerPoint I would go through and add a background to each slide individually. The Master slide is a huge time savor and helps convey a consistent theme throughout your slideshow.

The Charts option of PowerPoint was another interesting feature to read up on. When thinking of using PowerPoint I envision pictures and bullet points to make your points clear and concise. However, with the user friendliness of adding pictures it only make sense that you would also add charts and diagrams where appropriate. With over 20 different choices, charts can be used to give information to a slide without having to add any further explanation.

Animations and movies are another tool that can be used to add originality to your PowerPoint. When used correctly it can add some energy to a slideshow that can help capture and contain the viewers attention better than simple writing would. Lastly, and almost most importantly is the use of hyperlink. The possibilities with hyperlink are seemingly endless. Hyperlink is a great tool to help guide the viewer to specific slides within your slideshow without having to scroll through x number of slides. It is also a great tool to use to connect the viewer to a specific website, as used in WebQuests.

All of the features that Microsoft PowerPoint offers are extremely beneficial to education on both the student and teacher side. I hope that student's can become more knowledgeable on all of the aspects of PowerPoint and we can further the use of PowerPoint in the education field.

Microsoft Word in the Classroom

 When thinking of the uses of Microsoft Word, the first thing that pops into my mind are the endless papers I have written throughout my years of schooling. While documents may be the most common use of Microsoft Word, there are multiple ways in which this program can be used for education.

So let's begin with the benefits of Word documents. First off, Word allows the option of spell check, something that can be extremely useful for beginner spellers. Spell check helps the writer to edit and double check their work, as well as their grammar. A thesaurus can also be used within Word to help enhance the level of writing and promote a more diverse vocabulary. Being a long time Microsoft Word user, I felt as though I already knew a lot about the program. However, after further researching the capabilities of the program I have found that the ways in which Microsoft Word can be used is seemingly endless. There are various options on how to personalize your writing whether it be by changing the font, size, shape, or even color; all ensuring the uniqueness and originality of your document.

Besides using Microsoft Word for documents, it is easy to use for a variety of other tasks as well especially for education. We now have easy access to templates that can help with classroom assignments such as brochures, calendars, cards, flyer's,etc. We are also given the ability to help make a document interactive by inserting hyperlinks. Hyperlinks can be used in multiple ways: whether it be allowing the reader to click and connect to a webpage, or even using a hyperlink in a content Jeopardy! game connecting you to the correct answer.

Microsoft Word should be used in every classroom by both the teacher and the student. It allows an engaging way to learn and a hand's on involvement in the lesson. Microsoft Word opens doors for unique learning needs and fun, interactive learning. I am excited to put my new found knowledge into practice!

Web 2.0 and Social Media

When thinking of the Web, it is hard to imagine its existence before Web 2.0. Interaction among the internet is its most common use in today’s society. Almost any site you visit, there is a link for you to interact with others, or even chat directly with people. It’s as if we are so immune to this concept that we forget to appreciate how insanely helpful Web 2.0 truly is. Social media has the ability to help us connect to anywhere at any time. Consider how much time is being saved and applied elsewhere. The rate that news travels is unprecedented and can be contributed to the interconnectedness that Web 2.0 has allowed.

It is easy to see how these ideas can be criticized in the field of education. Having a forum where we can so easily reach out to others to communicate can be used incorrectly, and seen as a distraction in the eyes of many. But consider the vast numbers of people and places we are able to touch base with in just moments, and realize that there is a much bigger picture here to see.

Social media is used everywhere; whether it be a “like us on Facebook” or employers  reading into people’s pages during an interview process, what people write and post is being taken seriously. This unfortunately has been the downfall of many, and I believe it to be a reason why social media may put a bad taste in educator’s mouths. With so many children going home to login to their social media accounts, it may the last place that educators want to direct more time to. However, social media I believe is a wonderful means for learning to take place. Having your teacher and fellow students in a group and reachable at all times is only beneficial to learning. It is a great way for students to keep track of their education and stay updated on what is going on presently and what is to come. It is easily accessible for parents to be kept in the loop of what their children should be doing and when. It can even be used to download homework if you are sick or to ask questions to help you understand your studies. Web 2.0 and social media should definitely not be left out of education but rather the opposite. Integrating social media and interactive websites into education can help to ensure that all learners needs are being met at all hours of the day.