WebQuest Teacher Page

Teacher Page:
Who is the teacher for whom this WebQuest is designed?

You're likely one of the following:

An IT instructor in a School of Education at a college or university who might want to use this WebQuest as part of a course;

A School District Technology Coordinator who runs IT training sessions for in-service teachers;

A Technology Coordinator for a single school who's asked to run IT training sessions for fellow teachers;

A teacher, or small group of teachers, who just want to take some time to deepen their understanding of how to integrate the Web into their curriculum.

A teacher-computerist who's been asked by the principal if (s)he'd run a workshop for other teachers to help them learn about integrating the web into their curriculum.

Project management:

Overall: It would significantly enrich team projects if the team members were provided group communication tools such as group e-mail. This can easily be done using BlackBoard's CourseWeb product, or WebCT. Schools where neither of these products is available can use Yahoo groups at no charge. Go to the Yahoo groups website and click on the button to Start a new Group. Do this for each team, including yourself, the teacher, as a member of the group. Give each group a distinctive name related to your school and the project. The members of the Yahoo! group account can easily exchange e-mail, with everyone being able to read everyone else's postings . This can be done on an ad hoc basis from semester to semester, or within a semester from project to project.

With regard to the Rubrics designed for evaluating students' outcomes from working with this WebQuest, if you do not require a PowerPoint presentation as an assignment, you may not need to include the sections on Design and Sources in the evaluation.

Project Management Overview: For the most part, pre-service and in-service teachers should be able to work through this WebQuest without further direction from the instructor. It will help students, however, if a timeline with deadlines is provided for the completion of various stages along the way. These stages might be as follows:

Investigation: where the student understands his or her role, reads the material provided above, checks out the online resources, and assembles the information that will be the basis for the oral presentation to the other members of the team.

If included as a component of the WebQuest process, Planning and Preparation of the individual participant's written review of his or her role in the WebQuest.

Planning, preparation, and delivery of the oral presentation.

Team and instructor assessment of the oral presentations with ensuing discussion and feedback.

If included as a component of the WebQuest process, Planning and Preparation of the team PowerPoint presentation, followed by Delivery of the team PowerPoint presentation to the class as a whole.

Final assessment and project feedback from the instructor.

How long students take to complete tasks is invariably an individual affair. Students will generally take as long as you allow them to get the job done. Often, they tend to do the burden of the work shortly before it's due, so breaking the project into small sub-sections with clear deadlines will encourage students to spend an appropriate amount of time and effort on each task.

Project Management: Here is how I do it with my students. My course is lab-based and I have no more than 24 students to a class. I divide the students into teams of up to 4-6 members, and each student assumes one or other of the four roles outlined for the WebQuest--Information Specialist (1 or 2 students), Web Search Strategist, Communication Specialist, Toolsmith (1 or 2 students).

The project is spread out over three weeks (it's a 2 credit course, so this amounts to three weeks of the semester).

During the first class session I orient the students to the WebQuest, explaining what a WebQuest is and overviewing the contents of this specific WebQuest so that everyone has some opportunity to appreciate the whole. I assign students to their teams, and explain carefully what each student needs to do to fulfill their role, as follows.

Each student must carefully examine the web-based resources that I have pulled together for them and which provide information pertaining to their role.

Taking notes as necessary, each student is then responsible for writing a relatively detailed review of their set of resources which is submitted to me as an email attachment.

Each student also must prepare a 12-15 minute PowerPoint presentation. I tell them that they must prepare carefully so as to usefully use the full time slot. To guide them in their preparation of the PowerPoint, I give them the handout which you can download by clicking here.

During the second and third class sessions the teams come together in their teams around an online computer to make role-based presentations, thus "jigsawing" their learning as they share their knowledge. I time the presentations and warn them when 12 minutes are up, and that they have a minute or two to wrap up. I encourage them to interact, ask questions of the presenter, and basically relax and enjoy the experience.

If you have other ideas, please share them with me (poole@pitt.edu) so that I can add them to this list. Thanks!

Standards:

As mentioned in the Introduction to this WebQuest, the tasks involved have helped the pre-service or in-service teacher to measure up to the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) for teachers. These standards are the outcome of an International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Project in collaboration with a distinguished group of partners and contributors through the U.S. Department of Education's PT³ grant program.

I. TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS AND CONCEPTS.

Teachers demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Teachers:

	demonstrate introductory knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts related to technology (as described in the ISTE National Education Technology Standards for Students).
	demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies.

II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES.

Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology. Teachers:

	design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners.
	apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning environments and experiences.
	identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.
	plan for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities.
	plan strategies to manage student learning in a technology-enhanced environment.

III. TEACHING, LEARNING, AND THE CURRICULUM.

Teachers implement curriculum plans, that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning. Teachers:

	facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards.
	use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students.
	apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity.
	manage student learning activities in a technology-enhanced environment.

IV. ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION.

Teachers apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies. Teachers:

	apply technology in assessing student learning of subject matter using a variety of assessment techniques.
	use technology resources to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning.
	apply multiple methods of evaluation to determine students' appropriate use of technology resources for learning, communication, and productivity.

V. PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.

Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice. Teachers:

	use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.
	continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of student learning.
	apply technology to increase productivity.
	use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning.

VI. SOCIAL, ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND HUMAN ISSUES.

Teachers understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and apply those principles in practice. Teachers:

	model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use.
	apply technology resources to enable and empower learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities.
	identify and use technology resources that affirm diversity
	promote safe and healthy use of technology resources.
	facilitate equitable access to technology resources for all students.