WebQuests Day 1

Getting WebQuests

The following is a WebQuest designed to introduce educators to both the lived experience of a WebQuest as well as some of the challenges and opportunities we face in 21st Century schools.

Introduction

“In the beginning, there was the computer, then the Internet (the Internet?).  In 1994, along came the World Wide Web.  Within 15 years a few things happened…”

Big Question

How should schools change to adapt to the 21st Century?

You have +45 minutes to immerse yourself in your role and begin addressing your task below.

Roles

Technologist

• Personal tool: From Vision to Reality  (really?) and an update and beyond
• From the hardware (Early hard drives) to the “Software” (Electronic Skin)
• Brief history of the Internet
• Tracking: RFID at WalMart, in Schools and GPS tethering young drivers (demo)
• Google’s Eric Schmidt on Privacy (& How Google Collects Data About you and extensive list)

Task: Given the changes in technology, how can it support school-based learning? (click to begin answering)

Pedagogue

• Changing Education Paradigms – Ken Robinson / RSA
• 21st Century Pedagogy – Greg Whitby
• New Experiments in Self-Teaching – Sugata Mitra
• Flow: The Science of Optimal Experience – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (“Chicks-sent-me-high-yee”)
• Grit: The Study of Achievement – Angela Duckworth
• Research on Self-Determination Theory & Education

Task: Given expert opinions about the old and new ways of schooling, how do you think schools could / should change to suit the 21st Century? (click to begin answering)

Educator

• A Vision of Students Today – Michael Wesch
• Shift Happens 2.0 – Karl Fisch
• The Surprising Truth about what motivates us – Daniel Pink RSA
• CNN on Slumdog Millionaire’s Real Inspiration
• NSW version of DER

Task: Given the changing landscape of global education, how could / should Australian schools change to suit the 21st Century? (click to begin answering)

Creator

• The Machine is Us/ing Us – Michael Wesch
• An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube – Michael Wesch (55 minutes)
• When I become a Teacher… – Marco Torres
• The Kahn Academy – Sal Kahn (on PBS NewsHour)
• Mash-ups: George Bush as Bono, Mankind is No Island, London Riots and Areas of high unemployment or Top 100 Celebrities.

Task: Given the new media and ways of expression, how could / should  learning be represented by Australian schools in the 21st Century? (click to begin answering)

Group Task

Now that you have been able to focus on one aspect that impacts learning and schools in this century, you need to bring this expertise together to answer the Big Question:

How should schools change to adapt to the 21st Century?

Your Team answer must include consideration of each of the four main areas.  In other words, the group response must be informed by an understanding of changes happening in the following four areas:

• Technology
• Pedagogy
• Education
• Creative Media

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creator / pedagogy / schools / technology

Your team can choose how to present your answer.  One suggestion is to create an Infographic. Here is a description of how to do it and here’s a tool you can use (Team 1, Team 2, Team 3, Team 4 or use a whiteboard wall or?).

Presentation and Feedback

Each team presents their ideas.

Debriefing and De-constructing the “WebQuest”

Use this stixyboard to brainstorm your insights into the WebQuest process

Use the Comments link at the bottom of this post to give Tom feedback on how this experience was for you.

Introduction

• Tom’s presentation & discussion
• Example: Terrorist or Freedom Fighter? and handout
• Big Wide World WebQuest
• Bernie Dodge’s QuestGarden
• Tom’s Ghostly BestWebQuests.com

Resources

• Download the handout
• BestWebQuests Assessment Rubric
• Apple’s re-branding of WebQuests as CBL – Challenge-based Learning

Articles

• Tom’s Educational Leadership article: The Learning Power of WebQuests
  
• Tom’s longer version: What WebQuests Are (Really).
• Bernie weighing in on  “Real WebQuests”

Next Steps – Homework for next week

1. choose a topic
2. brainstorm its related perspectives
3. If you have time, begin looking for resources