Part C: Implementation

The two pictures are of my 5th graders using the webquest in Powerpoint for their research project. 

This is the template I created for all of my research webquests:

Research webquesttemplate

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This is the partial webquest I used with my 4th graders:

Web quest4thgrade

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This is the partial webquest I created for my 5th graders:

Web quest5thgrade

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Part B: Storyboard and Script

Our group chose to create a professional development slidecast using Microsoft PowerPoint about using Google Docs and Google Presenter.  We broke the presentation itself into 4 parts, each assigned to a different group member.  Each person was to create about 4 slides with a script that would take approximately 2  ½ minutes, for a total of a 10 minute presentation.  The job of putting the 4 parts together into one coherent presentation was assigned to me, and the last group member will do the reading and recording of the script to finish the presentation.  

Since my role was to edit the 4 parts together, I waited until each of the parts was sent to me.  Then, I saved each segment separately and began to work on combining them into one.  I began with the slides for the introduction and instructions for creating a Google account.  Then, I copied and pasted the slides from each subsequent part of the presentation until the slides were all in order.  Next, I made sure the entire presentation had common background and added a few transition slides to help it flow.  I worked my way through the entire presentation several times to edit some of the transitions, sounds, and wording of the slides and script to pull the entire project together.  

Unfortunately, the last section of the presentation is currently having technical difficulties- the videos will not play.  After trying unsuccessfully to find a way to make them play, I ended up communicating to my group that the project was put together but that the person who created the ending slides would need to fix their videos before the due date.  I then sent the presentation to my group members through email and also posted it in our group discussion forum.  

For now, my part is done, unless I am needed to assist my group members in fixing the videos or in creating the voiceover for the final product.  

Below is the current state of our product, with the script details shown on the even-numbered slides:

Group3 storyboardscript

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Part A: Brainstorm Session, Take 2

Well, after holding our first meeting using Vyew, we decided to try again using Yugma.  Again, it had some good points, but left us frustrated in other ways. 


We were happy that Yugma is also free, and that the Chat feature is easy to use.  Talking to each other was easier this time because we actually talked on the phone.  The program gave us a teleconference number to call and then input our meeting number, and then it was like a regular phone call.  However, something tells me that if more than 2 of us had been able to sign in, the phone call would have been difficult because we would have been interrupting each other.  But, at least there is no echo this way!  Plus, there is no need for a microphone.

Even though 4 of us were available to meet this time, 2 of our group members had trouble getting into the meeting room and did not get to sign in during our short meeting time.  Unfortunately, the free version gave us only 15 minutes to meet.  We learned again that we were not able to record our meeting.  We also did not have a workspace to use to type and record our ideas. 

Fortunately, after both meetings and several emails between group members, our plan is set.  The work is divided into 6 parts, and dates are set.  The first 4 group members will create their parts of the presentation and email them by February 17th or 18th, so I can put the pieces together in order with transitions into one storyboard with a script to turn in by the 20th.  Then, Liat will do the final part- adding the voice and getting the entire presentation into the correct format to be turned in on time. 

Let's hope we have better luck with the rest of this project!

Part A- Brainstorm Session

My group decided to use Vyew for our web conference, a tool that none of us had used before.  It was easy to sign up and create a free account, and easy to create a room and set up a meeting with invitations emailed to each group member.  

Some of the easiest features to use on Vyew were chat, talk, and adding text to the workspace.  To chat, all we had to do was click on the box and type what we wanted to say.  We quickly saw that our chat space wasn’t big enough, but were able to drag the box to make it larger.  To talk, we had to be sure our microphones were connected to our computers, then click on ‘talk’.  It was beneficial to have a large workspace to keep track of what we needed to do and the decisions we made.  I signed in before the rest of my group members and listed our names, some ideas, and what we needed to accomplish during the meeting.  Then, throughout the meeting, we were all able to edit the page to add or change ideas, divide up the work and list our names next to each part of the project. 

We did get frustrated with Vyew a few times.  First, we quickly realized that we were not going to be able to record our session directly through Vyew.   We found that we would only be able to save our work by exporting it as a PDF, which only saved our finished workspace, and not our chat text or our voices.  We decided as a group that 2 group members would use Jing to try to record as much of the session as possible and to use the PDF as a backup.  Another challenge that we had was using the talk feature.  Since not everyone had headphones to use with their microphones, we ended up with a lot of echo when we spoke.  It was also difficult to talk because we realized that even without the echo, we spent a lot of time talking over each other and interrupting each other since we couldn’t predict when someone else was about to speak.  In the future, I would make sure everyone had headphones and only 1-2 people enabled the talk feature that the same time.  For our meeting, we ended up doing most of our communication through the chat feature and by editing the workspace.

Here is the PDF of our workspace:  https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6MxWY47LuPfMWE4NWExZDctZGE5NS00ZGZmLTgyMjAtYzc5MTk1YWJjNmU2&hl=en

Here is the Jing recording we managed to get: (though it doesn't appear to be working)

Here is the breakdown for our project:

Our PD will be about the basics of Google Docs
We will use Powerpoint to create a slideshare (?), with voice for audio

Each of the 4 individual powerpoints should include script (there is space under the slide that says 'click to add notes'- this will be our 'storyboard and script' once they are joined

For Google Docs and Google Presenter, it would be good to have a slide about how they can be used in the classroom
10 minutes total, so about 2 1/2 min each, including any video- try to incorporate screenshots or any recording of your screen if you can

1) introduction, how to create a login (Kris)
2) Google docs basics, compare to Word (Brittany)
3) Google Presenter basics, compare to PowerPoint (Karey)
4) how to share the docs- email, link, blog, etc, and a conclusion (Andrell)
5) put 4 Powepoint parts together, add transitions, etc (Lisa)
6) voiceover (Liat)

PART B: Application of TPACK

1) What is the TP knowledge for the solution?  (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)

Using a webquest, specifically, a webquest created in Microsoft Powerpoint, meets my teaching goals because it gives all of my students access to the information and resources they will need in a way that allows them independence and the ability to work at their own pace.  Using a slideshow presentation of each step of their research process will give my students the opportunity to have the entire assignment accessible in one place while allowing them to focus on each step as long as they need to.  It allows my students the opportunity to review previous or future parts of the assignment as needed.  

Another important aspect of using a webquest designed in Powerpoint is that it will provide my students with regular structure to their research assignments.  This way, over time, my students will be able to practice following the same basic steps from beginning to end and will eventually internalize the research process. 

Also, since the final product that my students will create for many research projects will be a Powerpoint presentation, providing them instruction through Powerpoint gives them good examples of what presentations can look like.  

2) What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?  Be sure to think about representation.)

The technology I chose to use for this project is Microsoft Powerpoint.  Even though many webquests are created as web sites or web pages, Powerpoint will be more accessible to me and my students. 

In the past, I have created assignments using photocopies of different parts of the assignment that I pass out to each group. This was becoming challenging because each group had only 1-2 copies of each part of the assignment, pages were easily lost or placed out of order, and students had difficulty keeping track of everything they were supposed to be doing.  Saved Powerpoint presentations will eliminate the need for photocopying, organization and collection of papers and sharing few pages among several students. 

Now, I will be able to create and edit Powerpoint presentations from home or school on any computer with Microsoft Office.  If I had chosen to have the webquest uploaded to the web, I would be limited to working only where I have access to the correct web design software.  Uploading to the web would also be problematic for my students because so many websites are blocked in schools that I could not guarantee that my students would be able to access the webquest.  With Powerpoint, I simply have to save the presentation in the correct folder on the school network that allows all of my students to access it at any time.  Using a Powerpoint presentation with embedded links allows me to present the information in a way that all of my students can access and interact with it. 

3) What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.

In addition to allowing my students more flexibility and review, using a Powerpoint template for many of my research assignments will allow me to create higher quality assignments.  This is because use of the template will save me time.  Rather than choosing a format each time and beginning from scratch, having a template will allow me to focus on the quality of the assignment itself rather than the way I present the information.  The content of the lessons will be richer because I will be able to focus more on providing a great introduction and question/problem for my students to solve as well as providing great internet resources for my students to use for their research.  In the past, I have simply given my students lists of questions to find answers to, but now I will be able to develop the project from a problem-solving approach that will encourage more critical thinking from my students.  Time was also a limiting factor in providing resources for my students, but now I will be able to create assignments with quality resources built-in as well as opportunities for students to practice searching for and evaluating their own resources.  

 

Part A- Description of Need or Opportunity

As a Library Media Specialist, a big part of my responsibility is to teach my students how to do research.  It is more about the process than the content matter.  My goal is to use technology to create a structured way to teach research and presentation skills that will be beneficial to all of my students.  Since I only see my students once per week, I spend a lot of time explaining and re-explaining directions, instead of being able to give my students a lot of time to work.  I need a way to give instruction about research and presentation that will allow my students more time to work and the ability to work at their own pace.  If I can create a system that allows more advanced students to move ahead while giving slower students more repetition and reminders, teaching the processes of research and presentation will be much easier for me and more beneficial to my students.

I intend to create a Webquest template that can be modified for any research project.  This way, each time my students use the Webquest, time will be used efficiently and my students will be able to work at their own pace while receiving the instruction and repetition they need. Using a Webquest template will also give my students the chance to see structure to the research and presentation process.  Using a Webquest template will also save me time because I will be able to quickly create new projects and also use each version of the Webquest for multiple classes over multiple years without re-creating everything.  

Fortunately, creating a Webquest will not cost anything, but there are a few drawbacks- it will be challenging for my students who struggle with following written directions, and I do not have a good place to post to the web that my students can access.  I hope that since most of my research assignments tend to be group work and the structure will be used regularly, it will become familiar and students who struggle with written directions will be able to catch on and keep up with their peers.  By using Powerpoint to create the Webquest, instead of posting to the Web, I will be able to save the project in a place for my students to access it.

My Webquest template has the possibility of being used endlessly by all of my 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders.  Since I am planning to begin with a template, I will be able to edit the template to create new research projects as often as I need to, but still save the old ones to be re-used or updated.  

To search for resources to help me with this project, I did a Google search for ‘research webquest’

I found this link “ history.arizona.edu/tah/.../activity_research_skills_web_quest.doc “  which is a Word Document that someone created as a Webquest to teach kids about how to do research.  It gives me a few good ideas about elements I should include in my research Webquest and some that I would like to add.  

I also found this article, http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/03_57.pdf, which reviews the basic Webquest elements as well as gives reasons why using Webquests to teach is beneficial to students.  Some reasons are: they are inquiry based, motivating, they use time well, they use authentic resources, and they have students create an end product.

I also came across this Webquest, https://sites.google.com/a/parkrose.k12.or.us/information-literacy-webquest/. This Webquest was designed to teach the research process and has a lot of good information about doing research.  However, it seems to be a higher level than what I would use for elementary students and also uses ‘research’ as the topic, rather than giving a topic for students to do research about.   It has links to useful resources that I can use.  

This website http://bestwebquests.com/what_webquests_are.asp  also reviews some Webquest basics, and makes the important statement that “A Webquest is a scaffolded learning structure…”.  This is one of my main reasons for planning to use Webquests with my students.  

During this course, I intend to create the Webquest template and then use part of it with my students. Since my 5^th graders have already been working on a research project and are now working on the presentation and bibliography, I will provide them with the end of the Webquest tailored to their project to help them with these last parts.   Even being able to observe my students using these parts of the Webquest should give me a lot of feedback about whether or not it is successful.  After this course is over, I will continue to use my template to make each future research project into a Webquest for my 3^rd-5^th grade students.  This will provide them with a regular structure to follow as well as the freedom to work at their own pace.  It will also save me time by enabling me to change only the parts of the template that need to be specific for the current project. 

After implementing the ending of a Webquest based on my research Webquest template, I should be able to tell quickly through observation of student work and end products whether some of my goals have been met.  For example, I will know right away whether the Webquest format is benefiting my higher level students by allowing them to work more quickly and if it is supporting my lower level students by keeping directions and resources easily accessible for review.  Since the end of the Webquest will contain instructions and information about creating a bibliography and presentation, it is the part that is most likely to stay the same for each future project.  The first implementation will provide me with useful feedback about whether it is effective.  After using my own template to create one Webquest, I will be able to see how easy or hard it is to edit and update the template to save myself time and also allow me to make improvements in the future.  

After implementing the entire template to create a brand-new project later this year, I will be able to decide whether or not using a Webquest template to structure all research projects is beneficial in the way that it provides a sense of structure to the research process. 

CEP 812 Introduction