Encountering E-Learning Education

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I thought this a useful and interesting image in conveying the multiplicity of e-teaching Internet resources available online.

This is a quick addition to my previous blog entry. It is a video I found on YouTube that demonstrates how to use Scratch.

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Scratch is a new and innovative programming language which allows users to create their own stories, animation, games, music and art which can then be shared on the web. The constructivist design approach allows young people to develop computational and mathematical skills and ideas which develop a greater understanding about the design process. It is free to download and is an excellent teaching resource in demonstrating to students the principles behind animation. The rationale for the program is allowing people to be involved with interactive media in a dynamic way. Scratch uses a simple graphical programming language which facilitates complete control and design for the user.

The coding for Scratch is much simpler than traditional programming. A script is simply created by using graphical blocks which snap together. Projects created in Scratch can then be shared on the Scratch website or other web-pages such as MySpace or Facebook. This makes it a powerful learning tool as students can share their work with a wide audience.

Animations created using Scratch are not necessarily sophisticated or seamless. However, they are very user-friendly. Students are easily empowered by taking control of their learning in an engaging and personal way. Scratch is also an effective teaching tool as it provides ample opportunity for students to share their work.

A young user of Scratch commented:

“I’ve found a great site called Scratch. It’s about programming. You snap together blocks to create stories, games and animations. Then you can share your projects on teh web!! You can download it for free!” Mick, age 10

A teacher reflected:

“There is a buzz in the room when the kids get going on Scratch projects. Students set design goals for their projects and problem-solve to fix program bugs. They collaborate, cooperate, co-teach. They appreciate the power that Scratch gives them to create their own versions of games and animations.” Karen R, teacher, Minnesota

 I thought it would be worthwhile reflecting upon a number of educational tools available through the internet to further my discussion about teaching using technology. The first online teaching medium I have chosen to evaluate is WebQuest. WebQuest is a guided research resource where students have a role and sense of responsibility in learning. WebQuest is an effective teaching tool as it gives students educational direction whist providing scaffolding for learning. WebQuest was designed as a resource for teachers to teach through using the web. This is achieved through directing students to materials and resources available online focused on a particular topic or idea. It is an inquiry orientated activity where students draw upon the web in seeking information. This model of teaching was developed in 1995 at Dan Diego State University by Bernie Dodge and Tom March. It receives a startling 1700 hits per day.

Web-quests are becoming widely accepted amongst primary school teachers as an effective and informative way of encouraging students to learn through inquiry and investigation. The process of learning is largely reliant on students taking responsibility for their educational experiences. Generally WebQuests are good at directing students to topical online resources which develop greater insight and depth of knowledge in any given subject area. Some WebQuests also embrace the concept of constructionism. This is done through giving students roles such as navigator or secretary and embracing the idea of exploration to increase motivation. However, other WebQuests use a fairly restrictive and limited approach towards teaching using technology and the extent on constructivist approaches is simply sharing students’ work with the class’. I feel that the Internet is such a powerful and easy tool for sharing students work and providing them with a real, global audience. I do not consider only sharing students work within the classroom as deep sharability or a meaningful sense of audience.

WebQuests all follow a similar four step format: Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation, Conclusion. Additionally at the end of each QebQuest there are pages for credits and teacher evaluation. I believe WebQuests are an excellent teaching resource. It is interactive and provides students with responsibility and purpose in learning. It is also a very diverse resource and covers a vast array of topics which could be explored in the classroom. As a prospective teacher I can envisage myself using Web-quest but also creating my own WebQuest pages. I can imagine that WebQuests would be an effective way to encourage collaborative work and assemble learning activities in an engaging manner.

I thought it would be worthwhile reflecting upon a number of educational tools available through the internet to further my discussion about teaching using technology. The first online teaching medium I have chosen to evaluate is WebQuest. WebQuest is a guided research resource where students have a role and sense of responsibility in learning. WebQuest is an effective teaching tool as it gives students educational direction whist providing scaffolding for learning. WebQuest was designed as a resource for teachers to teach through using the web. This is achieved through directing students to materials and resources available online focused on a particular topic or idea. It is an inquiry orientated activity where students draw upon the web in seeking information. This model of teaching was developed in 1995 at Dan Diego State University by Bernie Dodge and Tom March. It receives a startling 1700 hits per day.

Web-quests are becoming widely accepted amongst primary school teachers as an effective and informative way of encouraging students to learn through inquiry and investigation. The process of learning is largely reliant on students taking responsibility for their educational experiences. Generally WebQuests are good at directing students to topical online resources which develop greater insight and depth of knowledge in any given subject area. Some WebQuests also embrace the concept of constructionism. This is done through giving students roles such as navigator or secretary and embracing the idea of exploration to increase motivation. However, other WebQuests use a fairly restrictive and limited approach towards teaching using technology and the extent on constructivist approaches is simply sharing students’ work with the class’. I feel that the Internet is such a powerful and easy tool for sharing students work and providing them with a real, global audience. I do not consider only sharing students work within the classroom as deep sharability or a meaningful sense of audience.

WebQuests all follow a similar four step format: Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation, Conclusion. Additionally at the end of each QebQuest there are pages for credits and teacher evaluation. I believe WebQuests are an excellent teaching resource. It is interactive and provides students with responsibility and purpose in learning. It is also a very diverse resource and covers a vast array of topics which could be explored in the classroom. As a prospective teacher I can envisage myself using WebQuest but also creating my own WebQuest pages. I can imagine that WebQuests would be an effective way to encourage collaborative work and assemble learning activities in an engaging manner.