The first topic I chose to address within this chapter is social bookmarking. Social bookmarking expands the concept of bookmarking from one user at one computer to a community of users on many computers. Basically, instead of a private resource library seen by one person, social bookmarks create a public list that can be viewed and added to by many readers. An example of social bookmarking is a website called Delicious. I have some experience with Delicious because of this course. In the beginning of the semester, I was required to create an account and put links that I've used for assignments on the account. Personally, I think that Delicious has been an extremely helpful resource. I also took the liberty of adding any links to my account that I thought might be helpful to me in my future teaching career. Little did I know, I would be starting a new job as a teacher last week and while I was stressing out about how unprepared I really was, I thought about all of the resources that I've learned about during this course. Delicious was one of the ones that assisted me the most when creating my lesson plans. Especially because I only had two days before I had to start and I was losing my mind and completely blanking. Thankfully, I had saved tons of resources beforehand for this exact situation. I think that some of the most important parts of being a teacher are being organized and prepared. Delicious and other social bookmarking websites are something that I would recommend to any potential educator.
Secondly, I have decided to write about WebQuests, since it was the most heavily covered topic in this chapter. A WebQuest is an online inquiry by students that are designed and guided by teachers. In a WebQuest, students follow an electronic map or take an online tour, moving from one web resource to the next to gather information and learn about a particular topic. The steps of a WebQuest include the introduction, task, process, evaluation, and the conclusion. During this lesson, I was required to create a WebQuest of my own. WebQuests are a very creative way to integrate technology into any thorough lesson. Unfortunately, I seemed to struggle with the WebQuest assignment. It seemed like a simple enough task, but for some reason I just couldn't really get a good grasp on it. Despite this, I do think WebQuests would be a very fun activity and a very valuable resource for some teachers. I personally do not think that WebQuests would be something that I would use in the classroom, but that could very well be because of the fact that I am still trying to adjust to using so much technology and I admittedly am still slightly biased in favor of traditional methods. WebQuests may have been a little too technologically advanced for me now, but I will definitely put one into my Delicious account and look into it again in the future.
The last topic that sparked my interest was online learning and virtual schools. Online learning and virtual schools refers to the delivery of educational experiences through computer and other technologies. The subject of online learning and virtual schools is highly debated and discussed. The ones in favor of online learning in virtual schools appeal to technology and the constraints of school budgets. Students are freed from a fixed schedule and more open to do other things. Critics of virtual schools state that online schools have a huge lack of social interaction with peers, have fewer opportunities to learn together collectively and receive less individual attention from instruction. During my educational journey, I have done both online/virtual school and on campus. I struggled with online schooling in high school but excel at it in college. I grew up with an autoimmune disease and online learning/virtual school was one of the absolute best things that I used. It's not for everyone, but I would definitely recommend giving it a try if you're interested.
Resources:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Morrison, T. (2015, November 15). Chapter 6 By: Taylormorrison90. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://flipquiz.me/u/taylormorrison90/chapter-6
First of all, congratulations on your new job - so glad that you have been keeping up with Delicious and that it was a 'lifesaver' for you! :) Haven't seen your WebQuest yet, but they are more difficult to construct (at least good ones!) than first glance. The best part of them are the inquiry, but the good news is that there's plenty of WebQuests out there that you can use (i.e., you don't need to create them!).
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