Module 6 - Webquests and Projects

In an earlier blog, I spoke about projects (Project Based Learning).  Webquests are essentially projects whose primary source of information is facilitated by the internet i.e. the web.  Therefore a webquest is really a learning quest that uses the internet to facilitate learning.

Most elements of a regular project remain the same such as timeframe, research, scope of investigation, using experts etc. However, some new issues are presented.  The internet is so vast that learners may be lost on just were to begin or where to get information, they may even struggle to figure out what information is legitimate.  Therefore, a webquest creator has to spend a lot of time adequately framing questions and finding targeted resources which can be used by students in the quest.

Some elements of a quest include the overview or introduction of the project, the outlying of the tasks to be carried out, the actual process to be followed, step by step, to effectively carry out the quest, a set of resource materials/websites, an outline of how the learner would be assessed in the quest, and finally a conclusion.  Each of these elements need to be carefully thought out by the creator to ensure the learner can effectively carry out the quest without frustration, and for learning to actually take place.  Quests need to be interesting, logical, applicable to the learner, thorough, and visually appealing.

Module 6 - Activity 5 - Curriculum Framing Questions

Curriculum Framing Questions (CFQs) are a vital part of creating any project.  These questions are used to help the creator focus on the objectives of the project and how they actually fit the curriculum requirements.  In addition, they guide the learner through aspects of the project in a structured way, by answering a variety of questions that build a conclusion of the overarching question.

CFQs are broken into:
The Essential Question
Unit Questions
Content Questions

The Essential Question is the big question that needs to be answered.  The Unit Question(s) is a supporting question(s) that narrows the Essential Question down to a more manageable size.  From the Unit Questions come the Content Questions which are to be quite varied.  There should be several Content Questions which build towards answers of the Unit Questions.  Having answered the Unit Questions, conclusions can be drawn for the Essential Question through critical thinking and analysis.

Module 6 - Project Based Learning Activity 1-3

Project Based Learning (PBL) is a great way for learners to be involved in the learning process.  In it, learners address a broad-based question which calls for them to use higher thinking skills in an investigative approach in order to come to some conclusion.  PBL puts more of the responsibility for learning on the students therefore making it a student-centered approach.

In PBL, students typically work as part of a team, and the team can then utilize the individual strengths of each member.  This promotes greater interactivity and collaboration, critical thinking, exposure for members who may be introverted, and self reliance.

Since they address the overarching question using an investigative approach, students have a greater chance of retaining the content learned - the content comes alive in their minds.  Many projects also have real-world application which makes learning relevant.

Many curriculum objectives can be addressed through the use of PBL.  It can be useful to review some previous projects and topics to see how they can be revamped to take advantage of the benefits of PBL.

New Module - Module 6

For some strange reason this post never went live before!

So here we are once more.  The beginning of another module.  Here I am once more.  Many things on my plate.

It's the month of our national Independence celebrations so it's busy times at school with regular classes plus getting students ready for our Independence school concert.  Then there is preparing the Cadet band for the military parade, and the parade rehearsals which begin this week.  

No doubt other rehearsals will be called soon for shows marking our celebrations.  My hair is already falling out (being pulled out is the same as falling out, right?).

So here we are once more.  The beginning of another module.

Module 8 - Activity 10: The Flipped Classroom Approach

The flipped classroom approach is one in which the teacher prepares video or audio lectures and makes them available to students (most often online) for home study.  The studying of the content at home really frees up the regular class time to do a lot more than would generally be possible by the time lectures are completed.  When the students come to class, they work on problem solving assignments, projects, have discussions and more.   In a way, its like having the students do their regular class lectures at home, and do their homework at school.  In so doing, students get to work more at their pace.  They can pause, rewind, and rush through video/audio lessons as best suits them, then in class as they work, they can collaborate more with other students and put more of what they are learning into practice.  They also get to interact with the teacher on more specific issues that they have with their learning as an individual.  For instance Student A might have problems with concept 1 and 3, while Student B has problems with concept 2 and 5 and so on.  Rather than each of those students sitting through a general class explanation on concepts they are comfortable with, they can go ahead working and get tailored help for their specific problem areas.

For this approach to be effective, the necessary infrastructure must be available to the student - media access at home (computer, smart device, internet etc.), or portable media (flash drives, CD ROM, etc) so students can take material home.  Parents also have to be educated about the process so they can support the students when working at home.  Teachers must also prepare a variety of interesting activities to keep students engaged for the duration of face-to-face classes.  These must revolve around the video/audio concepts studied at home.  They also need to have room for exploration and critical thinking.  Multiple activities must be available at any given time to accommodate the different paces at which students are working.  It is also important that students have access to teachers and peers while away from the classroom so they can seek clarity, engage in discussions and so on while away from the classroom.  This can be achieved through social networking portals.

The flipped classroom is not as easy as it may appear.  Teachers have to invest a great deal of planning time to prepare the materials, class activities and projects.  Added to which, the classroom becomes a space where all students may be working on different aspects of their learning rather than the whole class doing the same activities or being at the same place in their course.  This calls for excellent management and juggling skills by the tutor to be able to: harness the students creativity and energy; address problems spanning multiple topics or multiple subtopics in a single class; to prepare activities to keep all students actively involved during class time.

This approach is very interesting but must be carefully thought out and systematically applied for best results.

Module 8 - Activity 8: Managing Online Communication and Collaboration

Social networking is one of the major trends today and has become one of the major uses of the internet, especially among young people.  The fact that it is used so much by students to communicate, share, and collaborate in their personal lives shows that it has the potential to be used to support education.  Social networking can be used effectively to keep students connected with their peers and educational content in and out of classrooms.  They are able to keep up-to-date with new information especially in courses that may involve keeping track of current happenings such as journalism studies, media studies, social studies, information technology studies, music and more.  It is very easy to share information on these network platforms and their very design encourages discussion.  The average social networking platform today handles a variety of multimedia and when used with smart devices like tablets and phones, users can share audio and video recordings within minutes of them happening and some may even allow for live streaming of content.  Therefore, a student could be out hiking on the weekend and film some of the natural phenomena that is seen that connects with the work being done in Geography class for instance.  This can be uploaded for the benefit of classmates and be seen/reviewed/discussed even before getting back to the physical classroom.  Even with the benefits and avenues available through social networking, e-safety must be given due attention.

e-Safety (electronic safety) is a major concern in today's world, or at least it should be.  In an age where the world has seemingly gotten so much smaller because of how connected we have become through the internet, many persons slight the dangers that exist since they are enraptured in the amazing opportunities that dazzle us in the technologies we have available.  Increasingly, it is difficult to exist today without being a part of this grid in many ways - email, social networking, blogging, music, videos, film, instant messaging, online collaboration, and much more.  With all of this connectivity, we expose many details about our lives, sometimes absentmindedly or unwittingly, other times naively.  Our table and smartphone devices often have very private data stored on them, or the ability to access our private data - everything from personal emails to medical records to financial dealings, almost all of our lives are sometimes accessible.  Yet, many persons fail to practice adequate e-Safety.  When using technology in the classroom, teachers (and by extension, schools) must take responsibility for the education of students in the area of e-Safety.  Students must be taught how to practice appropriate online behaviour as well as how to spot inappropriate and harmful behaviours, especially behaviours that could put their personal safety at risk.  Students need to be able to identify things like cyber-bullying, signs of sexual predators, offensive online conduct, inappropriate content and so forth.  Schools also need effective e-Safety policies to manage the use of the internet, communication devices, web traffic and so on.  Investing in management software designed for this purpose can be very important and effective - some software will allow the filtering of internet traffic on the network to avoid inappropriate content passing through, some will allow teachers to view what is taking place on the computer/device screens in their classroom to ensure students are on task, some may even allow the teacher to disable the devices when there are not to be in use.  Yet above all this, I believe students education about safety is most critical since when all is said and done, much of their habits and experiences online will rest squarely on their shoulders.

Module 8: Activity 7 - Table devices in the classroom

Tablets offer another dimension to learning in the classroom.  There is a lot of information and tools at the fingertips.  For the majority of things you want to get done, as Apple phrased it, 'there is an app for that'.  Even if there isn't an app currently available, with a bit of training, a teacher may well create an app to suit their needs.  Tablets can replace the need for taking many textbooks to school each day by having the books available on the device itself, all in one place, ALL THE TIME.  Furthermore, certain apps will afford the student the ability to make notes, and highlight important parts of the book so these things are always available when re-reading.  Digital eBooks also allow for the embedding of multimedia within the books so students have enriched content of audio and video in addition to text and pictures.  Tablets can offer opportunities for virtual tours, many interactive problem solving activities/games, collaboration, cheap application resources, student portfolio tracking and more.

Management of these devices can be difficult though.  They are quiet fragile and need to be handled with care especially with younger students.  In light of their portability and lightweight, the can be easily stolen as well.  A great amount of monitoring would be necessary to safeguard against damage and theft, but also against misuse by the students.

Tablets are relatively inexpensive when compared to laptops especially when the low cost of software is taken into account.  Further the tremendous amount of apps available is a great plus.