Ideas for WebQuest

After viewing several Webquests online I am becoming a fan! I was worried that it would be difficult to create a Webquest for kindergarteners, but apparently that is not the case. One important thing I noticed was that although the directions were easy to follow, an adult will probably need to be availabe at least for the first time through to read the directions.

Because literacy is a foundation for future learning, I have decided to create my webquest on letters. My Webquest will direct students to fun games for learning the lower and upper case letters of the alphabet as well as the sounds the letters make. Many of the students in my kindergarten class can do this already; my Webquest will offer those that have not mastered this skill some extra help. I think the kids will enjoy learning letters from a new, fun, and interactive medium.

Technology in Kindergarten

Technology has become so embedded in our daily lives that it is easy to be oblivious to the ways we use it. When I began to pay attention to the use of technology in the kindergarten classroom I was amazed at how often it is used. The following list includes the ways we use technology in my kindergarten classroom: books on tape, VCR, TV, document camera, computers, digital camera, and a printer.

The books on tape are used daily in center activities. The document camera is used daily for sharing at lunch time and also when a few students share journals. I used the TV and VCR during snack time to show a video about spiders during my scince unit. Of course the digital camera is always used to take adorable photos of our cute kinders. Finally, we have 2 student computers and 1 teacher computer in our classroom currently. However, on Thursday our school rolled out brand new laptops for each teacher. These new laptops are set up for use by the teacher and the student. They will be hooked up to the document camera for showing video clips, creating graphs, flashing sight words, or whatever else one can think of.

WebQuest

Although I have yet to create a WebQuest, I can see its relevance in the classroom. WebQuest are a great tool for teaching a lesson and controling students' Internet access. I can see it working well in many situtations, especially if you are doing center or small group work. WebQuests are also an additional tool to try and reach diverse learners.

Planet Earth

In light of the recent discussions we've had in science about the solar system, I found this interesting picture of the Sun and the Earth.

Evaluating Web Pages

Since I appreciate whenever anyone takes the time to write-up and share a lesson plan, it is hard to say anything negative about it. However, based on the evaluation criteria for web pages from our technology class, http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceSpiderWebsK5.htm, is less than satisfactory. The author does not state her credentials or an affiliated organization, there is no date of publish, there are several advertisments on the page, and the information provided is very vague.

The credible web page that I located (http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=119), on the other hand meets all of the evaluation criteria for accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage. The lesson plan even includes teacher background information, state and national standards, extension activities, and it highlights key vocabulary to be pre-taught.

Digital Literacies

Becoming digitally literate is a necessity in the 21st century for nearly all professionals. To what extent one becomes digitally literate can vary greatly. I can remember my first year of college not even owning a computer and now I can't live without my laptop! The majority of our students are entering elementary school already tech savvy! Since being digitally literate is practically a requirement in the real world, we owe it to our students to model and teach them digital literacy.

By the way, what does the word "blog" mean anyway?