WebQuest

Your Role

X Efficiency Expert

Your Impressions

WebQuest	Strengths	Weaknesses
Grow School Greens	Students will know exactly what to do since everything is covered	Very long winded and big words students may not understand. A lot to take in for an elementary student. They will not be paying attention long enough to understand the entire project.
Where is My Hero?	Very concise process and rubric and the students will be able to follow along and understand easily.	The students may get lost when heroes are discussed, and the links to the heroes are very extensive for an elementary student to read.
Underground Railroad	Gives large words, but also definitions so the students can keep moving forward in the project. Very easy to navigate, and not time consuming at all. Very concise in direction, not much room to waste time.	Its difficult to get onto the rubric and some of the links which will take up a good bit of time. Some students may have a difficult time opening up documents and webpages and navigating them.
Ice Cream	Very concise and well to the point. Its easy to navigate and doesn't take much time to look through.	The credits are all over the place and hard to read which may take up time for the students when they want to see where the research is coming from. Jumbled wording throughout the process and sometimes hard to read. Process seems to be out of order and hard to understand.
Ancient Egypt	-----------------------------------------	-----------------------------------------

As a group we decided the Underground Railroad, because of it's great setup and how well it accompanies an elementary lesson. It was easy to understand, and since I was the Efficiency Expert, I definitely thought it was very concise in direction and easy to get through. The worst WebQuest would be Where is My Hero. It was set up very poorly and hard to read and understand. It was not great as an elementary lesson. The process had me confused, so I'm sure there would be much time wasted when trying to explain what to do to the students.

21st Century Skills: The Challenge Ahead

The following three quotes are pulled from the article 21st Century Skills: The Challenge Ahead on Educational Leadership. I do feel that 21st century learning is much more difficult than anything we have come across before. I definitely think that some of the skills required for 21st century learning are pulled from the past, but now they are expanded upon and studied more thoroughly. The common standards that most teachers, students, and parents/guardians are used to are not enough anymore, and must be broadened. Teachers need to be aware of the 21st century learning that is taking over, and I think it will be especially challenging for the older teachers to understand how to adapt to the new times.

• "Another curricular challenge is that we don't yet know how to teach self-direction, collaboration, creativity, and innovation the way we know how to teach long division. The plan of 21st century skills proponents seems to be to give students more experiences that will presumably develop these skills—for example, having them work in groups."
• "These methods also demand that teachers be knowledgeable about a broad range of topics and are prepared to make in-the-moment decisions as the lesson plan progresses. Anyone who has watched a highly effective teacher lead a class by simultaneously engaging with content, classroom management, and the ongoing monitoring of student progress knows how intense and demanding this work is. It's a constant juggling act that involves keeping many balls in the air."
• "Curriculum, teacher expertise, and assessment have all been weak links in past education reform efforts—a fact that should sober today's skills proponents as they survey the task of dramatically improving all three. Efforts to create more formalized common standards would help address some of the challenges by focusing efforts in a common direction. But common standards will not, by themselves, be enough."

Teacher of The Year

In my Education Quarterly magazine article I tried to depict myself as a very educated and intelligent person. I used bright colors to grab the attention of the reader and also used a picture of myself that would show off my education. I felt that if I used a graduation picture I could look more like and "expert" and use this as my persuasion technique. My cover and sell lines are used to make the reader want to read into the stories in the magazine. "Make your classroom classroom Tech Savvy in 5 simple steps!" would be my cover line. This is what I hope grabs the readers attention in order to read more into the story. Since I'm aiming my audience towards teachers, I feel like this could really help sell the magazine. I used alliteration, "Tips and Tricks for an Elementary Teacher" and also used rhymes, "ABC it's easy as 123." This cover is meant to attract the eye and the mind to dig deeper into the articles found inside.

Media Literacy

Digging deeper into media literacy will definitely help students in learning to recognize bias, track down sources, and cross-check information, as stated in Educational Leadership. Teaching media literacy will help critical thinking in more subjects than just one. Not only can students read and point out stereotypes, advertising, and propaganda, but they can also participate in social networking and put their own input into what they are reading. Media literacy can really help incorporate technology into today's teaching, and it could really help the way students think and create.

The Two Arnolds

This image makes you want to become more like Arnold, with his big arms and bulging veins. MUSCLE & FITNESS, GET LEAN, and 20 INCH ARMS stick out the most on the cover. This is to make you think if you do the workouts that Arnold does, then you will have the body he does. It makes you want to go to the gym and start working out. This magazine cover is targeted for those who want to become more muscular and fit. The scar on Arnold's face make him look very tough, and also the sunglasses he is wearing makes you focus more on his muscles rather than his eyes. The fiery background makes the magazine look tough and aggressive. All of the captions such as: Seven Exercises That Are Robbing YOU of Results, The man, the movie, and the workout, and stay out of the gym to burn more fat, all stand out and make you want to read more into the magazine.

Learning Styles Don't Exist

Learning styles: real or imaginary? There have been many tests and studies performed on learning styles. Kinestheic, visual, and auditory are the different learning styles. There is also something called multiple intelligence, which is when you think more a certain way than the other. I definitely think there are different ways for thinking, but I do not believe that there is a better type of learning or teaching method over the other.

I think there are definitely different types of learning, but I agree with Daniel Willingham in his video, Learning Styles Don't Exist, and say that one person is not a certain type of learner over the other. All three styles of learning: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, all must be used in order to gain information. It's not helpful to test for learning styles, because the student is taking the information in for meaning, not auditory or visual aspect. The information you learn is not remembered by vocabulary terms, but by the quality of picture or sound the information comes from.

On the other hand, I do feel like different people find certain activities easier to learn from than others. This is where multiple intelligence comes into play. Some students prefer to listen to music, while others may prefer to look a the sheet of music. It all depends on their intelligence style. There are eight different intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, body-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, and naturalist. Many people use many of these intelligences in their learning, but some intelligences are stronger than the other. I am mainly body-kinesthetic, but I also am very strong in intrapersonal and musical. Every person uses multiple intelligence, but this doesn’t deal with anything in learning styles.

I definitely think teachers should use different types of teaching such as auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. An effective teacher is not one who stands in front of the classroom all day and lectures to his/her students. Teachers must include all the learning styles, because students need a variety of different approaches to s subject in order to fully wrap their head around the subject. Learning styles aren’t true in the way students are stronger in one than another, but they should be incorporated into everyday teaching styles.

Of course there are different ways of thinking, or else no person would be unique, but there are not better ways of learning over the other. All learning styles must be used in everyday teaching to improve the students understanding on a topic. Multiple intelligence is used to see how you think the best. Take the Multiple Intelligence Quiz for yourself and see how you think.

My strongest areas of multiple intelligence are kinesthetic, intrapersonal, and musical.

Wikipedia VS Textbooks

Going into elementary education, I feel it would be much more difficult for younger students to ditch the textbook and learn straight from the internet. Elementary students could have a balance between the two, attempting to look up and read easier topics on Wiki or other sites, but then reading their stories from the textbook. With younger students it is not so much the research and details as much as comprehension and learning. In today’s society, I feel that Wikipedia could start being used to fill the gaps between textbooks and understanding.


On the other hand, my mind has definitely changed about Wikipedia. "NO WIKIPEDIA" was drilled into my head from sixth grade until now. I was told Wikipedia was fake, anyone can change it, and it's not a reliable or acceptable source. Now my opinions have been changed after watching Common Craft Wikipedia, and I feel that Wikipedia is a reliable source of information. For a Wiki page to be changed there must be citations; Every change to a Wiki page is monitored by professionals that keep a close eye on the page. Bias opinions are normally taken out and/or debated on.


I feel that middle schoolers and high schoolers should be looking more into internet learning than the "old school" textbook ways. As I read in A Textbook Example of What’s Wrong with Education, textbooks are written not by experts but by no one. Textbooks are put together by the entire company, and some have no idea what they are writing about. This is why textbooks are boring to many students. They aren't exciting and descriptive, they only scratch the surface of some very important topics. Wikipedia is a great way to look up something and dig deeper into the topic.

Wikipedia isn't perfect, but what website is? Textbooks have mistakes and are bias at times. It just depends on the way a person looks at things. More teachers should be looking at technology and how to integrate it with their teaching. Wikipedia is not only a reading website, but students can possibly edit and put their thoughts into a topic they really care about. This helps the students think in different and efficient ways. Textbooks should not be completely left out of the education system, but I do think technology sources, such as Wikipedia, should be brought more into the system. For young students who are still learning to read, write, comprehend, and understand it would be difficult forcing them straight into technology. Increased internet use in the classrooms will help students development in the future, and advance their technology skills.

Our Brains on Video Games

Three things I learned today are video games make students think faster, they also help develop different parts of your brain, and it helps build up multitasking and problem solving skills. The most important thing I learned from the video Are Video Games Making Your Kids Smarter is the Flynn Effect and how average human intelligence is increases as time passes.

There are so many things you hear in today's world about the effects videogames have on the average person. I am not much of a "gamer" myself, but I have two younger brothers who play constantly.

The positive effects of video gaming would be:


learning how to multi-task


developing and increasing the use of different parts of the brain


enhancing hand-eye skills


focusing


All the positive effects of video games can definitely help children become not only better students, but better people. On the other hand, the different video games being used can have negative effects on the children. Games such as COD or Grand Theft Auto can harm a child's development teaching them curse words, cruel actions, and showing gory images. I feel like if parents stay on top of the game restrictions and ratings there wouldn't be as much controversy.


I think the idea of game based learning is excellent! It’s not just throwing a TV in front of a child and having them play a game...it's showing the student that videogames are not only fun, but they can also be your teacher. Game based learning school, such as the one in the video Game Changers: New Ways to Teach Our Kids is such a creative way to include video games in everyday learning.


Honestly, I do feel that video games, to a certain extent and with modifications, can be very helpful for today's students. I also feel that higher rated games such as, 17+ or mature, should not be used by young students, because it teaches the wrong things to the children. We need to make learning like a protein shake, have good ingredients (video games) disguising the gross protein flavor (learning).

Is Texting Making Us Bad Writers?

In the article Can Texting Help With Spelling there are many great points that support the use of text messaging instead of arguing against it. In this article is states, "The average American teen, you may not be shocked to discover, texts a lot: 3,339 messages per month, according to a recent Nielsen survey." In most cases when it comes to school the use of text messaging is frowned upon, such as the argument Historian Niall Ferguson gives in an opinion piece in Newsweek. He states, "Teens who text do not read books." Which is not true, but in fact texting helps with students reading, phonology, inventing skills, and historical roots. All these facts help to prove texting is a helpful tool for the average student not only for spelling, but for many other everyday skills.I think texting is improving not only our writing skills, but also their communication skills. In the video Txting is Killing Language. JK! by John McWhorter he explains that texting isn't decreasing our language skill, but creating it's own way of conversation. Texting is kind of a branch off the original language that is spoken. It is also a way to write the way we speak, rather than how we would write in a paper, essay, or letter. Texting is a convenient way of contact. It is just a way to speak to someone, but instead of actually speaking it is written.

Education Needs a Digital Upgrade

The 21st century learner is much different from any generation in the past. There are still many values that are the same, but also some are dramatically different. As time advances, so will technology. The students that come through our schools must have an understanding of what the future holds. Technology needs to be used more in the classroom, and teachers must be more aware of the works of technology. In Education Needs a Digital Upgrade by Virginia Heffernan she states, "fully 65 percent of today’s grade-school kids may end up doing work that hasn’t been invented yet." Students must be aware that times are changing and advancing quickly, and their teachers need to be their main source of encouragement while they learn to understand.









I feel this video is very informative and important, because not only does it display education in the United States but also all around the world! Times are changing, and we as teachers must be prepared. We should be ready for changes and use technology as much as possible.



If teachers stick to the "traditional" ways of teaching it will just harm the students in the end. As a teacher you must be open minded and willing to not only teach, but also learn. Teachers learn throughout their entire career, and should use that knowledge to help advance the students.




21st Century Learner

This article is based around the way technology will change the classroom. Classrooms are starting to progress into more advanced places of learning, Smartboards, iPads, desktops, and applications are going to take over the ways of teaching and learning in the classroom.

Introduction

I'm Mariah Ack, I'm 18 years old, and I grew up in in Keyser, West Virginia. I came to Fairmont, because I was aware of the outstanding elementary education program. I know I am a leader and I tend to take charge quite a lot. I have known, since I was very young, I wanted to grow up to be just like my father and teach elementary.

I fell in love with the sport of gymnastics at a very young age. I was a competitive gymnast for 13 years, participating in state and regional competitions. I knew I wanted to continue some type of gymnastics in college which is how I got involved with the Acrobatics and Tumbling team here at Fairmont. This was also a major reason I came to Fairmont.