Week 2-WebQuest

WebQuests are interesting internet tools that can be used in the classroom. According to Bernie Dodge, A WebQuest is an “inquiry-oriented lesson format” that uses the web as the format student led investigations. WebQuest.org is a website with a plethora of information on WebQuests. It has the standard definition of a WebQuest, plenty of WebQuest examples, design templates, and a number of other useful resources. One particularly interesting resource that I found on the site is a community message board where people can post information, questions, and even chat with one another about different WebQuest technologies.

I think that WebQuests are very useful. They kind of remind me of a learning center. Only older learning centers were typically designed with cardboard and paper. I think that we will see a change in WebQuest development over the course of the next few years. For example, most current WebQuests are designed with using hyper-text mark-up language. Hyper-text mark-up language or HTML as it is commonly referred is an older coding language that has been used to publish documents on the World-Wide Web since mainly used for documents. However, with the development extensible markup language or XML, websites can be connected to databases and end users can choose multiple formats from which to retrieve and enter data. Finally, I think that there is a lot of excitement about the development of Active Server Pages or ASP, which is a programming language that is derived from VBScript. ASP.Net is a free technology developed my Microsoft that allows programmers to develop dynamic, interactive websites. It will be interesting to see further development of WebQuest’s using some of the more advanced web programming languages.

Week 1-Constructivism

The journal article, Constructivism, Technology, and the Future of Classroom Learning by Erik Strommen and Bruce Lincoln calls for integrating more technology into the classroom. Strommen and Lincoln state that through the use of technology in the classroom, children develop better learning skills and begin to guide their own learning in a collaborative setting. Strommen and Lincoln call this self-guided, collaborative setting a “child-driven learning environment.” CDLE’s can be developed within the classroom by building a constructivist learning atmosphere. Constructivism is a theory of cognitive growth and learning in which children actively construct their knowledge. Rather than simply absorbing ideas spoken at them by teachers, or somehow internalizing them through endless, repeated rote practice, constructivism posits that children actually invent their ideas.
The foundation for creating a child-driven learning environment is to design a constructivist setting in which students integrate technology and learn through play, experimentation, and collaboration. The child-driven learning environment is organized as a four-step process that includes exploration, conceptualization, production, and post-production.
In response to the journal article entitled, Constructivism, Technology, and the Future of Classroom Learning by Erik Strommen and Bruce Lincoln, I feel that the article made a convincing argument in favor of using technology in the classroom. More students than ever before have had some experience using technology in their homes. Whether they are using remote game controllers, programming their digital video recorders, or simply sending email through their computers, technology has impacted young people in an exciting, energetic way. Incorporating technology within the classroom can captivate student interest in learning and give students the ability to construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world in which they live. According to Strommen and Lincoln, “Two specific features of constructivist philosophy hold particular promise (Strommen et al, 1993).” The first is the notion that play and experimentation are valuable forms of learning and the second is collaborative or cooperative learning has demonstrated the benefits of children working with other children in collective learning efforts. The capacity of student’s to self govern their learning and share their knowledge with one another is paramount to their ability to succeed in the real world.