The task: Create a curriculum page using a wiki or a webquest.
Last week my task was to create a wiki. A wiki is a webpage that can be easily edited and accessed by students and teachers alike. It is also (for me) one of the easiest ways to create a webpage for my classroom. You can change information easily and create a lot of interactive tools to go along with any lessons you post on the wiki. So, my next task was to use my newly created wiki to make a curriculum page. A curriculum page helps teachers “by giving their students a simple list of pre-selected, teacher-approved, educationally relevant, "safe" Web sites” (Thompson, 2011). Rather than have your students search all over the internet…which we all know can be a disaster…you can set up a lesson on your wiki.
The basics of a curriculum page should include: an introduction, task, process, and resources for students. Also, there should be some type of evaluation included. Usually I include a rubric because it is easiest for students to follow. In the past I have create a WebQuest based on the Everglades which had the students research by clicking on linked words.
Here is the link to that WebQuest: http://www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=77287
For my wiki, I created a curriculum page/WebQuest based on influential Americans. One of my former classes was actually assigned this, but at the time I did not create a WebQuest. I set it up so that the first page explained what the project was and how it was to be done. Since a list of influential Americans could be endless, I set it up with the 5 people my students last semester decided on. The great thing about a wiki is that I can change this at any time. I can add/change/delete any information that would change each time I do this project. Furthermore, I linked other pages in the wiki to the first page so that everything was easy to navigate. I learned this recently, because I found it confusing myself when the pages were not all linked together. It is much easier to link them rather than hit the back/forward button on your browser. If I were going to improve upon my wiki, I would want it to be a little more creative. I think that I could make it look more fun and interesting, now that I am looking back on it. Also, I think that I would like to change it so that the instructions, evaluation, etc would each be on their own pages. In my previous WebQuest, this is the way I did it and I think it makes it look a little nicer. Good thing is that since it is a wiki it is very easy to fix!
Below is the link for my wiki:
http://msernstsplace.wikispaces.com/
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI liked looking at your wiki, WebQuest, and Curriculum page. I used pbworks and Glogger to create my curriculum page, so it was nice to see the diversity of the different modes to create a curriculum page. At the same time, it is also very overwhelming to have so many options to create the same thing. However, because of this class we can get a glimpse of the different formats and see which ones work best for use and which ones we feel we are more confident in creating.
I really enjoyed reviewing your Web-quest page on the Everglades.So organized and exciting.Your Wiki page is great as well. I liked the way you laid out the material. I am sure the students would enjoy the assignment.
ReplyDeleteI am new to all the different ways we can post a site to the web. I looked at a few and felt most comfortable using Wiki spaces. Wiki spaces I have only participated in as a student doing a group project. It was more of a way for us to communicate. I spent many hours working on my curriculum page learning so much as I spent this time. The more time you spend on a project, the better we become at it. I am feeling better about possibly using Wiki spaces in my classes. Of course much tweaking is still needed, but I am much more confident now. Thank you for sharing your Web-Quest.
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your Wiki, I like how you gave them a list of influential Americans to choose from. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to pick, but by giving them options your students have a better chance to succeed and find a lot of information. I also like how you are giving them a checklist to make sure they did everything they were supposed to do. My “classroom” is focused on history too and I also used a Wikispace to create my curriculum page, I liked the website but accidentally created two pages and can’t figure out how to delete one of them! I struggled with my page a bit but besides making two pages, I like the website. Overall I think your students will learn a great deal from your digital storytelling project.
You wrote: "The basics of a curriculum page should include: an introduction, task, process, and resources for students."
ReplyDeleteDo all curriculum pages have to have these parts? Or are these the sections of a Webquest? Is there even a set formula for what curriculum pages must be? I must confess that curriculum pages kind of confuse me. I'm not always sure how to fit my chaotic ideas into that one set structure. Then again, my new lesson idea might work better than my old one, so these concerns might not be an issue now.
Great wiki, by the way. I liked how you included the link to the information in your questions. Have you thought about also listing the site information itself somewhere? As we are always trying to teach students to evaluate their sources on the web to make sure they are accurate and credible, showing who posted the information on each site might be helpful even with younger kids.
Thanks for the post!
Kelley