Originally developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University in February, 1995, a WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. Teachers pre-select online resources for students to use during the inquiry process, and students are assigned particular roles to support student collaboration. Student typcially use both online and print resoruces to accomplish the tasks associated with the project.

(student faces are blurred for privacy reasons)

Librarians worked on setting up their blogs and adding content, and had additional support from Eric Caldwell and Angie Martinez from Library Services as well as the Instructional Technology team.

View some examples of Library sites:

Thornton Creek Library

Whitman Library

McClure Library

For more information about blogging and using Edublogs visit the Instructional Technology resource site.

Besides learning to write poetry, students  learned to write specific praise and constructive criticism for commenting on each other’s work. They practiced this element of the project on poems posted to the blog by Kristi and her student teacher. Kristi observed, “Students are now posting their own work and commenting with maturity and grace! Success!”
You can see their project by going to  http://www.msdahlstrom.edublogs.org

Kristi says, “I set up a class blog using Edublogs called The Ninth Wall, and created usernames for each of the students in my class.  This was time-consuming, requiring me to split one email address 25 times to create unique usernames, but it takes several steps out of the process, including the tricky one that requires students to have email accounts, which many do not. I used Gmail, adding numbers and letters (1A, 1B, 1C, etc.) after a plus sign and before the @gmail.com.  For example, an account address would have been ingraham.la.student+1L@gmail.com.  It worked very well, allowing me to keep track of passwords through a single account. For more on how to set up this type of gmail account click here.

After setting up the accounts, Kristi asked each student to submit at least one poem to the blog to form a class anthology.  Before the poems were published to the blog they went through an editing stage. After being edited, the poems were turned in to Kristi and she posted them to the site. To make sure that the students’ comments were serious, Kristi gave herself complete moderating control. This takes teacher time, but is worth it for the quality of comment she is asking of her students.

If you ask Kristi if all the time spent was worth it, she says: “This has been the most enjoyable project! I would highly recommend it.”

Resources:
http://www.edublogs.org
Why Should I Blog with My Students

• Using a PowerPoint Template: Each student worked from the same basic PowerPoint, so the focus could be placed on content.  So that the students wouldn’t have to navigate to save  their projects, a copy of the Ocean Report (.ppt) was put into each student’s folder on the server.  This also prevents the original from being overwritten.  To prevent overwriting, you could also just save one copy in a main folder as a template (.pot) so when it is opened a new file is created.
• Student Checklist: A checklist (.pdf) was created so that anyone who was helping the student would know which part of the process he/she still needed to complete.  The students did a fantastic job of becoming experts and teaching classmates techniques they had learned. (i.e. inserting action buttons) If you would like a copy of the checklist as a word document, so you can revise it, please leave a comment and I can email you one.
• Finding Pictures/Images: A word document was created (by an adult) with available pictures (about 10) and links so the students could copy and paste the picture and the source into their reports.   This took less time that having students finding their own images on the web, but still allowed them choice since not all of the pictures needed to be used.  The word documents were named by animal and placed in a Pictures folder on the server.
• Presenting the Projects: Because the projects were stored on the server, it was easy to bring them up on the presentation station when it was the student’s turn to present.  Not only did the student use the handheld mic but we were also able to connect the USB cable (the document camera end goes in the projector) from the computer to the projector (it’s on a table) so the projector remote could be used to advance the slides.  They looked so official!
• Student Reflection/Rubric: The student reflection (.pdf) focused on their presentation skills, not just their product.
• Publishing to the Web: A letter was sent home to parents describing this particular project and  publishing it to the web.   If the letter wasn’t returned, then the project wasn’t published.   Since the students  had a copy of the original PowerPoint in their folders each project was renamed with the student’s first name.  Publishing the PowerPoints was a little tricky.    If a PowerPoint is saved as an html page, it doesn’t always appear the same in different web browsers.  So, sometimes the pictures wouldn’t show or the animation wouldn’t work.  I tried some of the various online slideshow/sharing sites, but they also stripped the animation/interactivity from the PowerPoints or were blocked on student machines.  The solution I found was to turn the PowerPoints into Flash movies.  I ended up using a nifty free application called iSpring to convert all of the projects.  Then we just had to give them to the school’s webmaster to publish on their school site.  I was also able to use iSpring to post the 3 example PowerPoints directly to SlideBoom (blocked on student machines) to be able to embed them on this blog.

Here is a  PowerPoint designed for a high school music class to be used on the presentation station.  The PowerPoint demonstrates how to combine the videos of your choosing, Delicious, and PowerPoint 2007.
youtubesymphony.ppt

The presentation gives an overview of the YouTube Symphony so that all of the students view the selected videos and have a chance to participate in a class discussion. This gives them all a base of common knowledge that will help them as they work on their assignments.

After viewing the PowerPoint, students are given a study packet designed using the PowerPoint notes feature. Assignments outlined on each slide page with instructions. You print these out from the slides by going to the Office Button > Print.
A pop up menu appears.
Go down to Print What: > Select Notes Pages and Click OK.
Using these pages, students are able to work from any computer at school, at home, or at a public library to access the Delicious resources and complete their assignments as scheduled by the teacher. Using resources in this way allows for whole class and individualized learning.

Notice that the PowerPoint is saved as a .ppt not as a .pptx in order to place it in a file share for students to take home to their own computers. The .ppt will work on a Mac or a PC with older versions of Office installed. By using the file share at your school you also have the ability to give the presentation to students who were absent.

Project Purpose: to create a “sense of place” about a country in North Africa or Southwest Asia. See her project handout for details about student expectations. This project was part of a larger unit that included a UNESCO essay designed to use a research gathering tool which prompted students to gather background information about an assigned country (essay handout).

Key Resources: UNESCO website, eLibrary (great resources for pictures & maps), Photostory3 handout (QRD)

Timeline:

• Day 1: Project overiew and discussion about UNESCO (1 period = 50 min)
• Day 2: UNESCO fact collection/research in library & homework (1 period)
• Days 3: Demo examples, including inspirational video about Matt Dancing around the world (click on Matt’s Place)
• Days 4 & 5: Student work days (4 periods in library – block schedule)
  ** There was no formal instruction about Photostory3, the demo and QRD (Quick Reference Document) was sufficient to support student use.
• Day 6 & 7: Student presentations

Step 1: Teacher, librarian and IT specialist met to explore Photostory3. Mrs. Beers used the QRD to guide her development of 2 model projects, 1 modeling what not to do, and another providing a positive exmple.

Step 2: Mrs. Beers create 2 demos at home, showing both a strong and weak example of a multimedia project. She focused on limiting text and photo selection. Creating a project gave her a better understanding of how student might use the tool.

Step 3: Class project days

Step 4: Student presentations – samples Omar| Jordan

Important Technical Issues:

1. Save both the Phtostory project files (.wp3) and the final rendered videos (.wmv) in either student folders on the server or in a virtual teacher drop-box
2. If projects will be available on the web, be sure to discuss copyright issues associated with using music from a file or CD. The customized music option in Photostory makes copyright compliance much easier to manage.

Nathan Hale science teachers Matt Hinkley and Karl Englert are always searching for useful technology tools for their classrooms. One of their favorites is Google Tools for Educators. Google Docs is one component of the Google Tools suite (Sites, Calendar, RSS Reader, Picasa Photos, Maps and more). Specifically, Google Docs contains a word processor, presentation, and spreadsheet application. All 3 of these are stand-a-lone applications but also integrate well with Microsoft Office. Also in Google Docs is Forms, an easy-to-use survey tool. In addition, they use Google Calendar. All of these are available with a free Google account.

Here are a few descriptions of how these teachers are using Google Docs in their classrooms…

Google Tools: Google Forms and Spreadsheet:

1) During a 12th grade Environmental Science lab on organisms, Mr. Hinkley created a Google Form (a survey that puts the data in a spreadsheet and creates a graph) for students to collect and record the number of organisms in agricultural and natural areas they were studying. Students entered their lab data into the survey. Mr. Hinkley used the graphing feature in Forms to share the “collective” results with the class from his presentation station. As the students continue to add data Hinkley was able to update the graph to reflect the changes.

2) Mr. Englert uses Google Forms for students to complete an online Current Event assignment. Englert inputs the information and selects the type of questions required (multiple choice, open response, etc.). Once the assignment is ready, he embeds the Form/Survey (see picture below) on his Source class page for student access. As the students complete and submit their assignments, this work is compiled in a spreadsheet.

Click to view the sample images.

Google Tools: Google Documents (Word Processor):

1) Both Hinkely and Englert use Google Documents for students to collaborate on research projects. While working at their homes, at school, or in a library, students can work in collaborative groups to write and edit projects, like a “virtual meeting.” Using their telephones and or the build-in chat, students are able to have multiple people working on the same document at the same time. Also, because the students share their documents with Mr. Hinkley he is able monitor the progress of their work.

Google Tools: Google Calendar:

1) Karl Englert embeds a Google Calendar on his Source Class page to post assignments details, quizzes, tests, and other important class dates .

Notes:

1) Click here for more information about Google Tools for Educators.

2) Once students create a Google Account at home they can work on Google Docs from home or at school on student computers.

3) The instructions for finding and embedding the HTML code is on the Google Docs site.

When you go to David’s wiki to read these reviews keep these minimum student guidelines in mind. There must be:

• a summary,
• an explanation of why they are recommending this book,
• a description of where this book can be found which includes links,
• information about the author which includes links, and
• one or two images.

If you would like to know David’s thoughts on this project and how he set it up, click on

David says:
“I like the way the wiki lends itself to collaboration. It is an opportunity for students to work together and help each other. After the WASLs, I increasingly emphasize the reading culture, which includes discussing and writing about books with peers. Having the students collaborate took that idea a step further.”

“I had a rubric that set out my expectations for how they should work on the wiki and what they would accomplish. I set out the assignment clearly, blocked out lots of lab time, established rules for working on the wiki, and set them loose. I worked with them constantly, troubleshooting problems and helping them do what they wanted to do. I told them that their article had to be perfect because they were going to be public. The students helped each other with editing, but I also printed out their drafts and required many rewrites. Near the end, I sat down with students and helped them revise their articles in real time. Classes that finished early had an additional assignment of conducting interviews with wiki participants.”

“The project, in my view, was very successful. Almost all students completed it with good results. Many felt they had learned “real-world” skills. It was a good experience for them to have to write something to perfection. Because it was public, they understood why their pieces had to be perfect and they were motivated. Also, many felt they had the opportunity to do something “special.” Keep in mind, I teach struggling readers – - they liked being able to do something that was out of the ordinary.”

Set up:
“The key to making this work was planning. It was very labor intensive. I thought it would work more smoothly if I created email accounts for every student. I set up wiki accounts for every student, and then as administrator, I had to invite the students to participate in the wiki. I then accepted the invitation for them via their email accounts. Now, in May, all they’ll have to do is sign in with their assigned usernames and passwords. It makes it easy for them, and I have complete control over administration.”

“This year I created my email addresses using Google Apps, which allows you to create group email accounts. That turned out to be easy and cheap ($5 for the domain name). This service is connected with Google Sites, which allows you to create websites and wikis. I won’t be giving my students their email addresses, because I’m only using the email to set up their wiki accounts and invite them to participate in my wiki.”
(It should be noted that currently the only District email approved for student use is gaggle.net and epals. For those interested, here is a suggested gmail trick from Edublogs. …Janice)

“My wiki account on Wikispaces allows me to set the permissions to one of the following:
Public – anyone can view, edit, or comment
Protected – anyone can view, only members can edit and comment
Private – only members can view, edit and comment
Custom – defines custom permissions
I choose “Protected.” My wiki is not searchable, however. You can’t find it from Google, so far as I know. I have the option of updating my wiki to “Private.”

“There is no way to contact the students who are working or have worked on the wiki. The email addresses are not available on the wiki. The students do not have their email addresses because I don’t give them to them. I only use the email addresses to set up their wiki accounts.”

“There is only a 2 to 3 week window when the students are actively working on their wiki. As they complete their work, I lock down the pages so no one in the project can change them. When the project is completed in late June, I delete all the members except myself, the administrator. Thus, there is no way for anyone to get back into the project after it’s over.”

“I’ve never had any problems with inappropriate comments, writing or editing. The students are well aware of the rules. I check the comments the student make – they actually get graded on the comments. I would delete any inappropriate comments. In addition, students only go by first names or usernames. Students are not allowed to use their last names, and I would delete it if one was ever used.”

“As I said, this is a very labor intensive project. For teachers who are new to it, I recommend they start with one class of about 30 students or fewer. Expectations of students must be very clear. Treat the first time as a pilot project, and then see how it goes.”

Lori Leberer, art and multimedia teacher, and Chuck Meding, technology teacher, have involved SBOC students in the Adobe Youth Voices program for the last two years. This program works with schools worldwide using the Adobe Premier products to achieve Adobe’s goal to help students create with purpose. The theme for SBOC student projects is, “I Am From…” Chuck Meding says, “Our goal is to demystify the power of the computer and to help our students communicate their stories to others. Digital story telling is powerful when simply done with pictures and student voices. Lots of our students are scared and lost when they come here, and getting their feelings out in video helps them tell all of us their story without worrying about language. It empowers them.”  You can see that in the three student videos featured here.

Students stay with the SBOC from one to four semesters transitioning through three literacy levels and five math levels. Their greatest impediment is communicating in English. Telling their stories helps them grow in English communication skills as they work with teachers, volunteers and other students to get their stories to publication.

The Adobe Youth Voices program is designed to be finished in an academic year, but at the SBOC the projects must be finished in a semester (20 weeks), because the students who qualify to work with the Youth Voices program are the ones who will be transitioning out to other schools at semester breaks. This is a steep learning curve for students as they strive to tell their stories through pictures, sound and narration.

Here are three of their stories.
Rolando:

Claudia:

Jeong:

The unit began with the students learning to sing and exploring several popular children songs (e.g. Wheels on the Bus – Twinkle, Twinkle, – Row, Row, Row, Your Boat). Students used Thinking Maps and a  Writing Template (Student Sample) to practice writing their own words to each of the tunes. After conferencing with their teacher, each student selected one song to “edit and polish” for their final recording.

Stabelfeldt, Aldridge, and Gunsolus consulted with their Instructional Technology coach to select the appropriate tools for the task, understand the software features and functionality, and plan the recording sessions for their students. Parent volunteers recorded each song in Garage Band (Tutorial) and then moved the song to iTunes. In iTunes, the parents collected all of the songs into an album, which they then burned to a CD.

As a celebration of the student writing, each class had a “Release” party and invited parents and students to listen to their album together. Also, students received their own copy of the CD with a special Valentine’s Day cover.

Student Song