WebQuest Rubric

Here is the rubric for your WebQuest. Go through it and make sure that you meet all of the requirements before you submit your finished product. A few things, such as assigning roles to the students, were not part of our discussion and are therefore not required in your assignment.

You'll also notice that the last item on the rubric is a reflection. This is to be completed individually and posted on your blogs - Due November 7th. Here are the requirements:

Write a reflection of approximately 500 words concerning your experiences with creating a WebQuest and working with a team. Use the following as a guide:

WebQuests
• What did you think about WebQuests?
• How will you use WebQuests in your own classes?
Process
• What worked well?
• What did not work well?
• What worked well and/or did not work well working with a team?
• What would you do differently the next time you design a WebQuest?
• What further training might you need to complete a WebQuest on your own?

WebQuest Assignment #1

Morning class: Your assignment for this week is to choose your core curriculum standard, write your essential question, write some objectives for your WebQuest (what should students Know, Understand, and be able to Do?), and to write your Introduction and Task paragraphs.

If you missed class, please speak to others in your content area to join a group.

Intro to WebQuests

Today in class we are completing a WebQuest about WebQuests to learn what exactly these things are. After a discussion about the necessary elements of WebQuests, you will work in groups to complete a WebQuest in your subject area.

We will be using backward design and this worksheet to begin planning the WebQuests. One group member should copy the worksheet to his/her own Google Docs area and then invite others in the group to participate. You may also want to use Google Docs to assist you in planning the entire WebQuest so that everyone can contribute.

Finishing Hypermedia and Beginning Publisher

You have all done amazing work on your hypermedia PowerPoints. I know that some things - particularly the video - has been challenging. I hope, however, that this experience has helped you to understand how you can make learning with technology more engaging and interactive for your students.

Today in class we are evaluating each other's hypermedia assignments using this evaluation sheet.

I am also introducing you to Microsoft Publisher - a great tool for helping your students publish their work in interesting ways. It's also very easy to use! Your assignment is to come up with five ways you could use Publisher to teach topics in your subject area. Post these ideas on your blog. Then you will create an example of ONE of those ideas and post it on your UEN page. Keep in mind that Publisher files generally have more than one page, found in tabs at the bottom of the screen. You can delete pages from this, but watch your formatting when you do (check the print preview to make sure it still looks good!).

Have a great long weekend!

New Extra Credit Opportunities!

I have had the great fortune this week to attend seminars by two outstanding educators and I want to share them with you. If you are truly serious about having a career in education, I strongly encourage you to watch the videos of these seminars and reflect on them. To get extra credit, watch a video (or watch both and do two reflections) and write a reflection including 3 things you learned from the presentation in your blog.

Patti Harrington
State Superintendent of Public Education
Topic: Education in Utah
Approx. 45 minutes
http://blip.tv/file/409942/
Listen rather than watch. The video's REALLY bad!
If you went with me to this presentation, you're welcome to just reflect on that experience.

Carol Ann Tomlinson
Master educator at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education
Topic: The differentiated classroom
Approx. 1 hr. 45 min.
http://blip.tv/file/410486

Research Assignment Description

You can now access the description for the research assignment online.

Inspiration to PowerPoint

If you already finished the linear version of your PowerPoint for Wednesday's class, you're going to hate me. If not, you're going to love me. I just found out that you actually CAN convert your Inspiration web to PowerPoint. Follow these steps once you finish your Inspiration web:

1. In Inspiration, click the Outline button at the top of the screen
2. Pull down the File menu to Export
3. Choose the Format: MS PowerPoint RTF
4. Click Save.
5. Make note of where the document is being saved so that you can access it.
6. Open PowerPoint
7. Pull down the File menu to Open
8. Browse to find the file you saved in step 4. (If you don't see the file, change the File Type to All Files)
9. Choose the file
10. Click Open
11. Run through to check that everything's in the order that you want and that things are in the right places.

VOILA!