Journal Post 6

Journal Post 6
EME 2040

Chapter 6 "Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps"

Focus Question: What are WebQuests, virtual field trips, and video conferencing? 1. WebQuests 2. Virtual field trips 3. Video conferencing

WebQuests is new to me, I really never heard of it until now. Teachers have control on what her students can see and what will help them achieve their goals. Teachers use WebQuests for students to work in a group or by themselves.  The teacher preselects the resources the students will read. The students can watch videos of the topic that the teacher selected and see it happening in action, to get a better understanding. In this chapter is an example "Lesson Plan, 'Weather Station WebQuest', shows this method in action."  (Maloy 139)

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/search/page/-/-/lesson-plan/weather/index.cfm

This will take you to the resources the teacher would like for you to view. The students will click to view different lesson plans. This one in particular talks about the different types of weather.

Let's talk about virtual field trips. Who would of thought that a teacher could talk about dinosaurs and get a virtual trip out of it? Students would be intrigued and could see actual dinosaur fossils that were found and other informative information. Let's take the Smithsonian Museum, it takes you to the beginning of your "trip" and you have control of where you want to go next. It will take you around the museum as if you were there taking a look around, learning. There are many virtual field trips out there, some are already set-up, others you need to contact them and set-up a date and time to view it. The virtual field trip takes the students where they have never gone before in a classroom setting. This is an example of the dinosaurs at the Smithsonian Museum.

http://www.mnh.si.edu/vtp/1-desktop/

"Videoconferencing a powerful learning technology that offers real-time access to people and places that students are unable to visit." (Maloy 141) In an interactive video conferencing, the students can interact with other students, doctors, lawyers, and just about anyone. An example, if the teacher wants her students to learn about a science experiment. She sets up the interactive videoconferencing with a scientist that does this. The students will be where the cameras are set up at their school (if they don't have it in their classroom) and the scientist has his cameras and monitors where he does his experiments via videoconferencing. The scientist can ask the students questions and the students can ask the scientist questions too, this is called "real time". There is a video that I have inserted below. This video is of middle school students talking to elementary students about healthy eating. One of the girls reads the story, they ask students questions, and the students get to answer them too. The elementary students are guided by their teacher so that it is managed and they all get to answer the questions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma-xRiSdzqs


Nowadays, the teachers can be more informed and can utilize the webtools that are available and different ways to be digitally organized. Their lesson plans can be enhanced with adding links and videos so that when it is time to talk about the topic, it is ready to go in their computer. When I begin to work with elementary students, I will make sure that I incorporate virtual field trips, interactive conferencing, and WebQuests so that my students can get a better understanding about the lesson that they are learning. In my voluntary prekindergarten class, I can incorporate the virtual field trip and I am sure they would enjoy it and learn something from it.

References:

Maloy, R. W. (2014). Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps. Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed., p. 139 and 141). Boston: Pearson.

Panoramic Virtual Tour. (n.d.). Virtual Tour: Panoramic Images: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Retrieved February 22, 2014, from http://www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas/#

STEAM Video Conference. (2013, April 8).YouTube. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma-xRiSdzqs