Flickr and Webquests

While I think that it is really fun to work with digital images I'm not sure how I feel about Flickr. There are definitely a lot of good tools, like notes, tagging, and the map but I felt like it was a very confusing program to use. I had trouble uploading my pictures and then rotating them. It is hard to organize the photos and even rearrange them. I feel like there are a lot of limitations to this program. We also had trouble getting everyone into the groups and seeing everyones photos. In the group, the photos are not even organized. That means that if I wanted to see one person's pictures and see their story I would not be able to. I felt very constrained by this program.

I think WebQuests are really cool and I never knew about them before. I never did one when I was in school. I think they are extremely applicable to a Spanish classroom and I think it would be a good comprehesive project for students to work on. If you pick a good one, many skills can be practiced all in one project. Oftentimes, the WebQuests get students to think about Spanish outside of the classroom and lets them experience the language in different contexts. I think that is really important in helping students understand future goals and opportunities that they have with a languge skill.

Webquests in the Classroom

I think Webquest will be VERY helpful in the field. Coming up with lesson plans can sometimes be very difficult. It is great to have a way for teachers to share their ideas with others. I can see myself looking at other's Webquests and then modifying it for my own classroom. Many of the Webquests I have found are ways to use math in everyday life. I think this is especially excellent because many students do not understand the importance of math in their own world. There were lessons dealing with vacations, weather, sports, shopping, etc. Students will most likely be interested in one of these topics if not all of them. I have found that students are more motivated and willing to put in extra effort when they are interested in the project. With the thousands of Webquests out there I know I can find one that fits each individual class and I might even be motivated to create my own! It will be difficult to choose one that I think is the best, because there are so many that I like!

WebQuests and Flickr

I think WebQuest can be a very useful addition to a classroom. Today we were able to scan a couple of different WebQuests and figure out which are good and which don't really qualify as a WebQuest. I think they are beneficial because they can teach about a specific topic related to the class as well as involving higher order thinking. WebQuests are designed to make you think, not to just give you the answer. They help students learn while having fun. I really enjoyed the WebQuest about mathematicians. Students get the opportunity to learn about different mathematicians as well as being creative and picking which one they like the best. This WebQuest also includes a lot of other fun games and activities which are hyperlinked form the original page.

I am beginning to feel more comfortable with Flickr. I can see the benefits from it, however, for beginners, I feel it is somewhat difficult. There are a lot of different options to pick such as public or private. These desicions can make it difficult when trying to work with Flickr as a class. If the teacher is very fluent with Flickr and knows what they are doing and how to explain it, then I think it can be beneficial. The teacher really has to know what they are doing because I know a lot of people can become frustrated with Flickr. I mean, we had a lot of difficulties in our own classroom and we are all pretty compentent with technology. In other words, I feel one has to be careful when it comes to Flickr.

WebQuests

I really like the idea of WebQuests. I think that it's a great and useful technology and use of the web in class. There are so many great WebQuests out there already, so why not make use of them? I like that the purpose is plainly laid out and they are intended for higher thinking, so I feel that their standards would make it difficult to come across a bad WebQuest. I had no idea that this was out there, some of the projects that I read about while browsing the English WebQuests seemed reminiscent of projects I did during high school, but my teachers always presented them as their own ideas. I wonder if they got inspiration from similar WebQuests. I think the article, which talked about modifying WebQuests for students who have learning disabilities was very interesting as well. The modifications don't take that much time but they could do a world of good for students who need modifications. I also like that WebQuests teaches students to look at quality websites and it is more interactive than text books. Text books were not my friend in high school, I thought they were big and heavy and I never enjoyed reading assignments out of them, and I don't think I was alone in feeling that way. I think this technology definitely has a place in high school, and should be utilized.

Flickr and WebQuest

As with some of the other projects we've done this semester, I didn't really see the application of Flickr to mathematics at first. After some time, however, I saw how a math teach teach could be resourceful and find a use for a technology such as flickr, even if it is a stretch.

On the other hand, I can see clearly how WebQuests could be useful in teaching mathematics. I think that using WebQuests would be a great way of having students do projects or even just homework. WebQuests make students use the resources of the internet to accomplish the same tasks that they do in class. One advantage of WebQuests that we haven't really discussed yet is that they are environmentally friendly. I'm sure that any WebQuest project could be assigned using a paper format, but having the online format saves paper.

Flickr, LD Webquest

The introduction to both Flickr and Webquest this week has been so informative. Flickr is a really neat way to post, organize and share pictures. I feel like I have to investigate and learn more about the available tools for Flickr because right now I only am familiar with the basics. I think Flickr can be a really resourceful learning tool with the ability to label certain parts of pictures as well as using the notes application as a way to further explain the significance of the picture. Webquest is another new teaching tool to me that if it weren't for this class I am afaid I would have never learned about. I think the concept behind Webquest is very dynamic and can really be beneficial for all types of students. The process and direction that a Webquest provides a student increases the student's capacity to learn about the topic. The internet can sometimes be too vast and can become overwhelming and I think the Webquest does a great job of making the web a navigable and possible task for student's of all ages.

Flickr & Webquest

I like the Flickr tool because it is easy to use and upload photos. I liked the slideshow we were able to create, but I do not like that Flickr can only handle so many photos. We could use other websites or even powerpoint to create a slideshow with more photos. For classroom purposes, however, I think Flickr is an appropriate addition to lessons and projects that students will enjoy using. I especially like the note feature that allows you to add text to the photos. This is very handy for imagery analysis, ect. and could even be used on text if a text image was uploaded.

I LOVE webquests! I think they are so much fun and students enjoy doing them. They are similar to research projects, but much more entertaining. I was overjoyed at all the English related webquests there are out there. I think this is one of the most valuable resources we have found all semester. I would incoporate these webquests any chance I get in my classroom because they encompass so many resources.