webQuests.

I really like the concept of webquests. It is a really great way to bring technology into the classroom and homes. If I were going to develop a webquest, I would produce one off of a project or problem. For my webquest project, I would like to develop a site that teaches kindergarteners more about their community and the people involved within it.

Standard II: Students will develop a snese of self in relation to families and community.
Objective 2: Identify important aspects of community and culture that strengthen relationships.
Indicator c. Describe resources in the community (e.g., police officer, firefighter, library, museum)

This webquest could be very interactive and make learning more fun! Webquests really motivate a child's learning and addresses their needs and interests!

[this is just an IDEA...]

website eval.

After using the different evaluations, this one was the most useful in my mind:
http://www.bv229.k12.ks.us/bvn_lmc/web_site_evaluation_form2.htm


a. I liked this form the best because it allows you to write in your own comments about the website you evaluated. In some of the others, it doesn't allow you to personalize it but only lets you check yes or no. If you are going to take the time to do an evaluation, make it worth while so that if you ever need to refer to it again, you would know exactly why you would or wouldn't use it.

b. I didn't find any hidden secrets in the websites I evaluated but I am sure there are many in others. Evaluations do allow you to discover these hidden bias. When you do find them, you can make a note of them in your evaluation form to remind you later.

c. Websites can be created by anyone, therefore I believe that it is crucial to follow an evaluation if the website is being provided to parents or students. The value of the website evaluation could be very helpful and useful in the future. Without some type of evaluation, the usefulness and critiques of the website will be forgotten.

d. Not every time would you use a formal evaluation because it takes time, and that is not something teachers have. Many times you can use your knowledge to gain a pretty good idea whether the website is a credible source or not. When you are providing the website to students, parents, faculty, or a community of people an evaluation should be done to make sure it is credible for them to use.

Evaluations I feel over all are beneficial but can also be time consuming. It is your best judgment when to feel one out or not!

graphs. surveys. SPREADSHEETS. tables.

The spreadsheet program on both Google and Excel are great ways to bring technology into the classroom. As for myself, early childhood aged children would have a difficult time creating a graph but they could plug the numbers in to see the graph or table develop. You could take a survey but have a teacher read to each child what the question asks. I believe this would also be a great way to better the parent involvement in your classroom. Setting up times for parent teacher conferences, parties, deciding about different choices could all be ways I would use spreadsheets to gather my data. For me as a teacher, spreadsheets is a great way to develop a grading system or a way to keep data all together. With spreadsheets it is easily seen and read. I hope to better educate myself even more about these programs and the parents and children I will be working with. If we all have a basic understanding of the programs, it could really benefit our classroom needs.