Understanding Learners - CEP 800

Click Here to listen to my podcast on Understanding Reading from a first graders point of view!
The music for this podcast is called Sunshine A by Kevin MacLeod from http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/.


I enjoyed doing this assignment in the first few weeks of school. It really helped get me in the mode for teaching! I had only known the 3 interview subjects for about a week when I asked them to take part in my project. I chose a student who was reading above grade level, a student who was reading at grade level, and a student who was reading below grade level.

I thought it was interesting that my lower reader seemed the most confident with the answers given while my highest level reader was more reserved in giving answers. The students were thrilled to record their voice on the computer and were even more thrilled when I played the final project for the entire class!

I recieved many answers from the students that were obviously learned in school. For example, when asked how they read each gave the 3 ways they are taught in school...1. The pictures, 2. The words, 3. retelling. One student mentioned that the reason you read is because there is nothing else to do! Taking the time to stop and understand where my learners are coming from helped me formulate my lessons to get them excited about the next step and begin to fill in the blanks of learning to read.

When I asked them who do they read with not one said their teacher! I was glad to hear that each of them had a plan for reading at home however.

This assignment took a lot of time and energy to complete. I first typed up a transcript of each interview in different colored fonts and then cut and paste them together how i wanted it. i was then able to easily find each soundbite and put them together in an organized fashion. I found a piece of music that complemented the children's voices and helped add emotion to their words.

In the end I was very pleased with the resut of the podcast and I look forward to using the technique to present learning to parents and the students in the future at open houses and projects such as digital storytelling!

CEP 812 Final Reflection

• What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?

Modeling is very important when integrating technology into education. There will always be troubleshooting necessary, but much of that can be eliminated if the software or project is first modeled for the students. The focus should be on the curriculum first with technology being the tour guide to get you to the learning objectives. Avoiding as much troubleshooting as possible will help keep the focus on the goal.

When integrating technology the students become active learners. The teacher can become a guide many times as the student takes charge of their own learning.

• How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?

Evaluating web based technologies would have been next to impossible without first integrating them on my own. Through using Google documents in the CEP courses, website creation tools, survey creators, blogs, delicious, and more I was able to learn about the technologies and truly evaluate them. Exploration of the web based technologies opened up my imagination to start thinking of different ways within my curriculum that these would be useful. I even extended my thinking to helping my husband out at work! Being a pool manager he now uses Google calendars to create his employee schedule and survey monkey to collect data/available dates for scheduling meetings and parties. I will be using Google calendars this upcoming school year to do my volunteer schedule, my website to communicate with parents, survey monkey to assess technology access, Microsoft Photo Story 3 to create digital stories, and more!

• How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?
I set four personal goals for myself when beginning my CEP courses.

1. To use technology in positive ways to deliver instruction.
2. To use technology to give students practice on concepts being taught.
3. To aide instruction, not just to use it.
4. To learn to use programs to their fullest potential.

Through the CEP courses I was able to reach each of these goals. Through my work on the WebQuest I was able to use web resources to positively deliver instruction. Through my StAIR I was able to use technology to give students practice on concepts being taught. Through my TechQuest I was able to use technology to aide instruction and not just for the sake of using technology. Through the tutorials I was able to learn a great deal more about the Microsoft programs and how to use them to their fullest potential.

These were all positive experiences that I can take away from these courses and use in the future. I have already used my WebQuest, StAIR, and part of the TechQuest with my students. The success with my students from this gives me encouragement to go forward with more of these types of lessons.

• Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?

My new goals are:
1. To continue researching web based technologies and finding uses for them in my classroom.
2. To continue research on Digital Storytelling and use it in my classroom this year.
3. To do more research on Digital Voice Recorders and set up a recording studio in my classroom by Fall 2011.
4. To update and use my website as a communication tool for my classroom.
5. To complete my MAET by the Spring of 2012.

TechQuest Evaluation

Given what I learned from this TechQuest, next time I approach a project of this type I would tackle my research a little differently. It was difficult to know where to begin so I just started searching how others used technology for my similar dilemma. I didn’t find those searches to be particularly useful. I found it much more useful to start thinking about what I already had available to me as far as resources at my school. As I researched those resources and ways to use them, I discovered other programs, often free downloads, people used for similar projects such as Microsoft Photo Story 3.

Grants are available, but if your problem can be solved using what you already have then go for it! I learned a lot more about the resources my school has ready and waiting for teachers to use such as Kidspiration through this project. Your school may already have what you are seeking. If not seek out a grant.

If I were to do this same project again, I would add an element in phase 2 for students to record their voices as they talk about their story in a prewriting setting. I was inspired by fellow group member Dina Matasovsky’s research and TechQuest project. She is implementing a Recording Studio into her classroom. I endeavor to do the same in my classroom through writing a grant for digital recorders as she mentions in her paper.

I would also add more mini lessons to Phase 4:Revising. There are so many different things you can do to a story to add style and voice. It would be useful for teachers to have a stock pile of revision mini lessons at hand to choose from.

In reflection, my students took writing more serious than ever before once they learned how they were going to digitally publish their stories. I saw beautiful thoughts and detailed sentences coming from my first graders. Next school year I look forward to implementing the TechQuest in its entirety and hopefully convincing my first grade team to all take part in this quest for improving our children’s writing using technology!

Implementation Plan Podcast

Click here to listen to my TechQuest Implementation Plan!

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Implementation Screenshots

The following screenshot is the 5 senses descriptive writing prompt

created in PowerPoint.

The following screenshot is an example of the student's final product of the brainstorming web made in Kidspiration.

The following is a screenshot of the template the students will use to create their brainstorming web in Kidspiration.

This is the treasure map created for the unit. Images were gathered at http://www.timtim.com/.

Internet Research for TechQuest Project

The results of my search...

My research began from watching television with my 3 year old niece. We were watching Dora the Explorer. I could see how excited she was to follow Dora's map to get to the end of the adventure. The map allowed her to see where they have been and where they are headed.

I began thinking that this may be one of the problems with the writing process. It is such a big undertaking that it is difficult to see where you have been and where you are headed... unless you have a map! This is where the analogy and treasure map idea was formed.

I took my idea and headed to the search engines to make the idea come to life. I first visited the Dora the Explorer Website. Dora is all about learning through adventure. They break the concept down into small steps that a child can wrap their head around. This was the direction I wanted to go with my TechQuest.

I then started researching how others have used technology in writing lessons. At a web page titled The Digital Camera in Education by Dr. Terence Cavanaugh & Dr. Catherine Cavanaugh I found a list of ways to use a digital camera in the classroom. One of the suggestions was to use a photo as a prompt for narrative or descriptive writing. I decided this was a great way to get students to notice their body language (face, arms, hands, legs... whole body!) and add it to their writing for style and voice.

I also found a site that explained some of the benefits of using and interactive whiteboard in the classroom titled Using Electronic Whiteboards in Your Classroom: Benefits. From that site you can link to a full text article written by Dr. Mary Ann Bell about the interactive whiteboard.

Prior to this course I didn't know much about digital storytelling. I found very useful definitions that helped spark my thinking at the Center for Digital Storytelling.

In my research on Digital Storytelling I came across the article, Introduction to Electronic Publishing: Planning Lessons: An Elementary and Secondary Teacher Share the Strategies That Work by Gayle Berthiaume and Michelle Bourgeois. They had great ideas on how to digitally publish children's stories. They suggest using KidPix as the illustration software. My school has access to KidPix so I thought that would be a great resource! I used what they suggested and tailored it to my own classroom needs. My first graders LOVE anthology books so I decided to go the route of a digital anthology containing stories from everyone in the class.

I also came across the website, Everybody has a Story to Tell: Digital Storytelling put out by Innovative Teaching Concepts. There were great examples of digital stories. The website lists applications to use and even provides downloads. After my students conquer a digital anthology with PowerPoint, I would love to introduce turning them into more movie like stories using Microsoft PhotoStory 3.

What I learned...

I learned that there are multiple search engines to use. I used Bing, Google, and Ask.com. I used many different phrases when searching. They turned up totally different results. "Writing in the first grade classroom", "Technology in the first grade classroom", "Using technology to teach writing", "digital storytelling", "digital cameras in education", "using PowerPoint with first grade".

Some of the searches turned up great results. Some of them failed to give me information that was useful to me project.

I also found that links within helpful pages proved to be helpful as well! Once I found a good page it seemed that the pages they suggested were also useful.

I learned that there are many ways to go about digital story telling. There are so many that you could have a different treasure at the end of the map each time! It keeps it new and exciting for the children and teacher.

Project Description Final

TechQuest

The Problem of Practice:

The compelling problem of practice I am addressing is student's not taking ownership of their writing and seeing a quality piece through to the end.

My first graders have a difficult time applying the skills we have been working on all year for the writing process in Writer's Workshop to their written pieces. The students typically remember part of what is learned at different times. When it all has to come together it is difficult for them to apply the writing process.

They don't understand that a good author rereads, reflects on, and edits their pieces. They often forget that writing is meant to be read, not just pushed aside after they have filled their page. I want their writing to be something they are proud of and want to showcase.

Learning how to be a good writer is an important skill. It is part of the literacy equation to build good readers and thinkers. It helps with storytelling and expression. Writing and being able to put coherent thoughts together is an important life skill that they will need all through schooling and in future professions.

Plan for Solution: The Quest For Buried Treasure

The proposed solution is to break up the writing process into a series of technology based mini-lessons to complete during a Writer's Workshop unit. Everyone has a story. The problem is they are buried deep inside us as treasures waiting to be found. These mini-lessons will see the students brainstorming, writing a rough draft, revising, editing, and publishing in the form of a Digital Anthology as they set out on their quest for buried treasure.

The students will receive a treasure map that has all of the mini lesson titles on it as stops. After successfully completing each lesson the child will receive a sticker to place on their map signifying completion of the task. The treasure map will lead the way to the final project for the unit where they will get to showcase their treasure of a story. I will also create the map in interactive Notebook Software to be displayed on the SmartBoard. An icon of a ship will travel around the map to the different mini-lessons so the students have a visual of their progress toward the completion of their project.

Phase 1: Brainstorming Ideas

• Lesson Title: Choosing Your Vessel
• The first thing needed to write a story is an idea. This idea, like the ship or vessel that takes an adventurer to their treasure, will be your vessel as you go through each step of the writing process looking for that amazing story. All of the decisions you make will depend on which idea you choose. This idea will be what you use for your travels in this unit.
• Using Kidspiration the children will record their great ideas for writing by creating an easy to read diagram.
• The student will start with their name in the center of a web diagram template. Arrows will point out from the center to create an empty web. The students will add text or clipart images of ideas they have for writing.
• Example: If the student would like to write about the time their dog jumped in the pool they may add clipart of a dog and a pool at the end of the arrow. Or they may also choose to add a text box that reads, "When my dog jumped in the pool"
• The student will fill in all of the empty arrows with small moment ideas from their own lives. They may scroll through clipart toi trigger ideas.
• When the student's web is complete it will be printed and kept in their writing folder.
• They will choose one of the topics to write about for this project.

Phase 2: Brainstorming Ideas for the Written Rough Draft

• Lesson Title: Laying Out The Plan
• An adventurer wouldn't set out for their burried treasure without a plan first! What route will they take...what should they bring along...what supplies do they need? The same is true for us as writers. We don't want to jump into writing our stories without first thinking about our idea and making a plan for what needs to be included.
• On day one, the students will draw a picture to use when writing their story. They will be instructed to both draw and label.
• On day two, the students will be instructed to add to their drawing through a simple PowerPoint slide show. The slide show will consist of slides with simple icons to prompt them to add specific information/labels to their pictures.
• Slide 1 - Eye: What did you see?
• Slide 2 -Ear: What did you hear?
• Slide 3 - Mouth: What did you or others say?
• Slide 4- Nose: What did you smell?
• Slide 5- Hand: What did you touch or feel?

**Take a photo of the child making a face they made at the time of the event depicted in their story. Encourage the child to let the emotion they felt take over their body as you snap the photo. This will be used in phase 4.

Phase 3: Writing the Rough Draft

• Lesson Title: The First Record of Our Journey
• And adventurer always takes notes and records what happens along the way. The same is true for writers! We need to begin recording our ideas in writing. This is called a rough draft.
• Model for the children how you use the ideas in your own picture to write a story. Have the children write a rough draft of their story.

Phase 4: Revising

• Lesson Title: Things Are About To Get Interesting!
• In this phase the children will revise their written piece over the course of a few days to make it more interesting. Each day will include various ways for the children to add style and voice to their writing.
• Using editing pens the children will add the following items to their story.

1. Adding Body Language and Emotion - The children will use the photograph of themselves to add emotion to their story. They will pay close attention to their body and facial expressions. (Example: My eyes opened wide. My mouth dropped open. My fingers curled up into fists.)
2. Adding Simile - Read as Quick as a Cricket. Discuss with the class what the boy means when he is comparing himself to the different animals. Show the beginning of the clip from You Tube, Rock and Learn. Challenge the kids to add a simile to their story.
3. Adding Onomatopoeia- Show the You Tube Video, Onomatopoeia Story. Discuss the effect of possibly repeating the chosen word. Example: Drip...drop...drip...drop...) Challenge the kids to add an onomatopoeia to their story. Challenge the kids to find a word or phrase that would have a good effect if repeated.
4. Adding interesting words - Show part of the Rock and Learn video where she chooses to add words with more interest. Challenge the children to find at least three places in their story where they used a boring word and change it to add interest.

Phase 5- Editing

• Lesson Title: Wrong Turn
• On an adventure it is easy to accidentally take a wrong turn. This happens to writers too! Writers get so excited about the words they have written that they forget to pay attention to conventions. That's okay. We can always go back and fix it.
• On the interactive white board choose sentences from stories the children wrote. Invite the children up to the board to fix the sentences. Focus on uppercase letters, spacing, punctuation, and spelling. With a partner, children look at their own stories and edit mistakes.

Phase 6 - (1) Publish in Writing (2) Publish as a Digital Anthology

• Lesson Title- Treasure at Last!
• It is always exciting to finally find that treasure you have been searching for! As writers you have been working hard to unbury the story deep inside you. Congratulations! You did it! Adventurers never keep the treasure hidden once they find it. The want to show it off. As a writer you should too.
• (1) Write a final copy of the story in the form of a paper book complete with a cover, dedication, and illustrations.
• (2) In PowerPoint create a Digital Anthology for the kids.
• Step 1 - Using KidPix, have the students create an illustration. This will be used in the anthology.
• Step 2- The students will each create 2 slides for this project. The first is a title and author slide with the picture of themselves they used in phase 4 inserted. The second slide is the image they created in KidPix. The students will record their voice reading their title and name on the first slide. They will read their story on the second slide.
• Teacher will format the PowerPoint with Action Buttons in a way that in the final copy of the Digital Anthology you may choose from a list which story you want to hear. This will be done from the first slide and then through action buttons the listener will be returned to the list after each story so they can choose another to hear.
• Each child will take home a burned CD of the Digital Anthology. The school library will also get a copy. Select stories may be played on the morning video announcements.

Plan for Implementation During This Course:

During this course I will be creating the treasure map, the template in Kidspiration for Phase 1, the PowerPoint Slides for Phase 2, Create template for Digital Anthology in Phase 6. I am currently teaching school in a year round program. During this course I will be implementing the digital anthology portion of the project with our end of the year writing project that we have already started. Next School year I would like to implement the TechQuest in its entirety.

Writing can be an overwhelming process for children. I am constantly looking for ways to make it an exciting and enjoyable experience for the children. I believe that looking at the writing process as an adventure will help the children keep their excitement as they stick with their writing to the end. By tackling the writing process one piece at a time the children will see it as small, fun tasks rather than a big looming cloud over them. The technology I have chosen for these tasks are things many of the children will come into class familiar with. They are also techno0logies that I already have access to in my school so cost will not be an issue.

Relevant Internet Resources:

1. Links to You Tube Videos within the Phases
2. Digital Story Teller - This website explains what a digital story teller is. This is what my students will be doing through their Digital Anthology.
3. Using digital camera's in the classroom - This teacher used a camera for writing. His project is much different from mine, but I was able to take what he used and change it to suit my needs.
4. Interactive White Board - This site tells some of the benefits of using the interactive white board with students.
5. Stories Going Digital - The Lesson laid out here is not exactly like mine. She talks about a few ways her kids make their stories into digital presentations. I wanted to have my students read their story into the computer so they could hear themselves reading it out loud. There are great ideas on this site that I would try in a different lesson, or for a different "treasure" at the end of a unit.

Someone Teaching -

• I will be teaching my first graders how to stick with a piece of writing through the writing process as they turn a piece of the writing into a piece to be proud of and showcase.

Someone Learning -

• The students will be learning how to use the writing process to produce quality writing.

Some Subject Matter -

• The Writing Process

In Some Setting -

• Elementary School Classroom

TechQuest Problem of Practice Draft #1

The Problem of Practice:

The compelling problem of practice I would like to focus on with my students is taking ownership of their own writing. (Writing a good piece that reflects the authors style/voice & reading it fluently.)

My first graders are having a hard time applying the skills that we have been working on all year in Writer's Workshop to their written pieces. The students typically remember part of what is learned at different times. When it all has to come together it is difficult for them to remember the steps to take and what to look for such as conventions, beginning/middle/end, spelling, and adding style and voice.

They don't understand that a good author rereads and edits their piece. They often forget that writing is meant to be read not just pushed aside after they have filled their page. I want their writing to be something they are proud of and want to showcase. They need to be able to read their writing fluently for understanding and content. This skill also carries over to reading other authors and texts fluently.

Learning how to be a good writer is an important skill. It is part of the literacy equation to build good readers and thinkers. It helps with storytelling and expression. Writing and being able to put coherent thoughts together is an important life skill that they will need all through schooling and in future professions.

CEP811 Reflection

Effective Teaching Strategies:

I have learned that it is very important to consider different teaching streategies when implementing technological lessons. It takes a lot of thought and polanning to create a lesson that will be successful. You don't want to be using technology just for technologies sake, but fort learning's sake. Consider cooperative learning, active learning, how to scaffold the information, how to lead the kids to discovery of information instead of telling. Being a guide on the side!

Integrating Web Based Technologies:

You cannot honestly evaluate an application or style of teaching without first trying it out yourself. Being able to integrate different web based technologies into the assignments helped me see the applications strengths and weaknesses. I often found that I was integrating it or further exploring the applications new ideas would come to me.

Meeitng My Personal Goals:

My main goal of this class was to learn about different technologies that I could use in the classroom. I also wanted to learn more about the technologies I already use.

I have used PowerPoint before, but had never created a student run lesson/game before like the StAIR. It is a great way to use powerpoint rather than just as a presentation tool.
Blogging frustrated me VERY much at the beginning of the course, but I grew to really enjoy it. I am implementing a lesson in my first grade classroom utilizing many of the technologies I have learned. I admit I am nervous about it... yet excited at the same time. It is a writing lesson where the students will use a story they have written and edited. They will publish it with parent help in a blog as an author... and then turn it into a movie using wither PowerPoint Narration or voice thread. The images will be stills (illustrations they made) as their voice reads their story over them.

New Goals:

My new goals are to start using the technologies I have learned with my students to further their learning. I learned last week that computer lab will no longer be a special offered for the first graders at my school, so it will be up to me to give the students age appropriate and content appropriate technology access during school! I feel like that is a big responsibility along with everything else teachers do... but I am excited and more comfortable with it than I would have been had I not taken these courses!

Qualifying Educational Technologies

How to use online technologies with first graders...

WebQuest is one online learning outlet I can use with my first graders. It is difficult with some of the lower level readers to find things that are appropriate, but they are out there. I also now have the knowledge to create my own. I see this helping me teach much of my sci and social studies content in exciting ways. The other options for the qualifying technologies seem to be above my first graders capabilities. At my level I want to be familiarizing them with the computer applications so they will be successful in older grades with the more advanced technologies.

The WebQuests provide opportunities for many pedegological strategies to be integrated. A feww are students collaborating with one another, active learning, cooperative learning, and integrating technology.

Other technologies I may use include online field trips and discussions with experts or students, pod or videocasts, and educational blogs.

Technologies I would not use with my students because of difficulty would be wikis, RSS feeds, LMS, online resource validation, and career planning tools.

Google Documents

I explored using Google Documents. Within this web based application you can create documents, slideshow presentation, spreadsheets, calendars, and forms all online. These creations are similar to using word applications (with some limitations). The creations are stored online and can be accessed from any computer. You can also create folders in which to organize your creations in. The "drawing" application was not supported by my browser however.

There is also a template feature where you can use premade templates so you don't have to start from scratch.

You have to be aware and saving consantly so you don't loose your work if connection fails or you accidentally closae the browser window. It doesn't give you the "save reminder" as your microsoft applications do. With a slow internet connection I imagine creating or accessing one of these documents might be frustrating.

To use Google Documents you would have to have a basic understanding of using Microsoft Word or like programs as many of the toolbar icons and functions are similar. You would also need an understanding of the internet and how your browser opens windows to navigte between applications and find the ones you have created.

To share thesew documents there is a share button. You can invite people via email, share a link, publish as a webpage, or email as an attachment. You can set notifications to changes and also decide who has access.

Using Google Documents in the classroom...

You could use these applications rather than microsoft so that the studentsa can easily access their materials and work from home or other remote locations. In older grades there are resume templates and budgeting templates, etc that can be used to learn how to do them.

I like the calendar feature. I showed it to my husband and he, as the pool manager for a local country club, was able to create his employee work schedule on it and invite them to view it. This eliominated pencil and paper schedules that he had to copy and hand out. He was also able to post when a shift was open so a user could access the calendar and pick up more shifts easily. When I get back to school I am going to start doing my parent volunteer schedule in this same way. Invite parents to view the calendar and they can sign up for days and times to visit the classroom to help out.

To help students collaborate you can create a group project in which the students create and share materials through use of this application. Each group member would have their own account and they share what they are working on as it all culminates into a final project in the end.

As a teacher you would have to make sure everyone understood how to use the applications so things run smoothly. You also need a computer for everyone to use with internet access as this application uses a seperate account for everyone.

Integrating Web 2.0

What instructional strategies would fit well with using blogs in the classroom?

Scaffolding is one strategy that would fit with using blogs in the classroom. Students write posts responding to information as requested by the teacher, answering questions as and reflecting as understanding on a concept is built.

Students also can reply to each other's posts as they begin to work collaboratively building understanding/opinions whether through agreement or disagreement on a topic.

Students can use cooperative learning... not just within their class, but across the globe through posting to other classes and working toward a common goal.

Students become the author of their thoughts in their own forum, being able to express themselves.

What instructional strategies would not fit well in using blogs in the classroom?

Hands on/using manipulatives
Science Experiments
(Students can always reflect in a blog, but actually completing these tasks here is not possible)

How could you see blogs being used in your subject matter?

The first thing that came to mind to use blogs in first grade is our poetry unit. It would be great to have children post their poetry and let others respond with positive comments either from home, with older buddies, or a parent helper.

The students could put a review up of a favorite book.

Using Web 2.0 technology...?

Students could use voice tread to make a "movie" reviewing their favorite book, explaining a math problem, publishing their writing and drawings into a movie, comparing and contrasting...

I searched for my school in Wikipedia and found my school district, Huron Valley Schools. I noticed that the elementary schools listed are now incorrect. We used to have 11 elementary schools we currently have 10. (Apollo was re purposed last year and Baker will be re purposed next year bringing our total to 9 elementary schools for next school year.)

I also noticed that there were highlights of the district listed. I added to that list our Destination Imagination (DI) team from Kurtz Elementary. Our students had a DI team last year that took 1st place in the state moving on to the global competition in Knoxville, TN. This year we had a team place 2nd at the state level. They are currently in TN getting ready to compete at the Global Competition Level!

I am also beginning a Wikkispace page to compile good SMARTBoard lesson sites and ideas for use in the Primary Grades at http://mysmartboard.wikispaces.com/

computer based instructional objects

For students to use a computer based instructional objects considerations have to be made.
~Is the program user friendly?
I have looked through numerous WebQuests and found some that are user friendly
and others where it seems information/directions are lacking. For students to be
successful they need to know what to do and what is expected of them.
~Is it visually intriguing, but not over stimulating and is it organized?
Some websites go overboard with colors, links, etc. These can be distracting at times. A
computer based instructional object should be visually pleasing, but not overdone.
~Do all of the links work?
A LOT of the WebQuests I found had outdated links and games that no longer work.
~Are the links appropriate?
I found a WebQuest that was really great... until I clicked on the link and I needed a
subscription to use the site! Also, if you are directing students to a certain page of a
website, make sure the entire website is kid friendly as they may click on another page of
the site.
~Is it at an appropriate reading level?
I did have a harder time finding appropriate WebQuests for students in K-1. The
reading material is way over the head of an average K-1 student and most of the
WebQuests I found would need significant adult direction for a K-1 student to be
successful with.


Click on this link to find examples of WebQuests that I found useful! I searched many different sites, and found that these were some of the WebQuests I would be able to use in my own first grade classroom as they go along with what we teach in our curriculum and are designed for primary grades. Still... some groups will need more adult help or buddy help than others. It would be fun to do these WebQuests with our older buddy class.

WebPages Vs. Blogs

"Blogging is a new technological experience for me. I have had web pages in the past where I posted pictures and information periodically. On the web page there wasn’t a user friendly way to get feedback on what I was posting or to have discussions. The web pages had guest books where visitors could comment, but it was very unorganized. In a blog visitors can read and post comments in an orderly fashion. As the administrator of my blog I can comment back, approve, or disapprove of what others are posting on my site. It is a very organized way to have on going discussions."