UDL Poster

Project Based Learning

Three important things I learned from the reading are that PBL's came from a strong foundation of strategies and doctors, they're framed with open-ended questions, and it puts teachers in the role of facilitator rather than classroom expert but the most important thing I learned is students are challenged to solve problems or do simulations that mimic real life and this allows them to require thinking outside of the box and learning hands on. 

*open ended questions*

UDL Book

WebQuest About WebQuest

The Altitudinist-  Higher level thinking is everything to you. There's too much emphasis on factual recall in schools today. The only justification for bringing technology into schools is if it opens up the possibility that students will have to analyze information, synthesize multiple perspectives, and take a stance on the merits of something. You also value sites that allow for some creative expression on the part of the learner.

___Efficiency Expert

___Affiliator

X  Altitudinist

___Technophile

Your Impressions

WebQuest	Strengths	Weaknesses
Grow School Greens	Very thorough and explains a lot. Has 5 different jobs and requires students to work together through a long process to get the task done.	Has a lot of steps and requirements for grades K-2 to do. The kids would probably lose interest after a short period of the project.
Where is My Hero?	Good topic and allows them to interview a person and requires them to think outside the box. Steps are easy to follow and easy to understand.	Students may not take it seriously and say their  hero is themselves, animal, etc. Some students may also not have people to interview.
Underground Railroad	Allows students to think creatively and put themselves in other peoples shoes.	12 steps is a lot for elementary school students to follow, they may lose interest.
Ice Cream	Fun, easy experiment that takes a lot of thought and creativity. Making a flow chart about ice cream would be an easy way for students to practice flow charts.	It doesn't require a lot of thinking or learning. It would be a fun activity but maybe not for English class.

Our group decided anonymously that the Ice Cream WebQuest and Where is my Hero WebQuest fit elementary school students the best. They were short, creative activities that went outside of the norm and allowed students to think outside of the box and have fun while thinking creatively. The Underground Railroad WebQuest was very time consuming and was over to long of a time period, I do not believe it was elementary age appropriate.

The Power of WebQuests

Three important ideas/things from the reading today are webquests are 

1. activities that can get students interacted, 
2. there's different levels of support that can be added or removed to fit every child to help them learn, 
3. webquests inspire students to see richer thematic relationships, 

but the most important thing I learned is that when teachers facilitate well designed webquests we all benefit from them because they gain in-process professional development. 

Songs Carry Meaning

 

I Hope by Dixie Chicks.

 

This song mainly talks about peace and war and about children watching and repeating what their elders do. This is important in diversity because just like in the reading Precious Children, children not only repeat what you say and do but they feed off of it too. Being silent about diversity and encouraging kids not to talk about it just makes them think that it's unacceptable to be diverse and different, but it's not. The song is wanting better for their children, "they put their trust in us, they're gonna be like us," the lyrics say. According to the article Precious Children, "Remember what you do is as important as what you say." Adults have to show kids that diversity is a good thing and isn't a bad thing. Everyone is diverse in their own way, and without diversity the world wouldn't be the same. This is important in classrooms because as a teacher children follow your lead and do what you do. You have to be completely open to diversity and show children how to contrast the stereotypes and see diversity as creative, like it is.

Diversity In The Classroom

Diversity is a touchy subject for some people, it makes them uncomfortable and nervous just by talking about it, but we should be able to openly talk about diversity because it's a very important issue in today's world. Diversity in groups enhances creativity and performance. So therefore, it enhances creativity and performance in classrooms also. Studies prove that in large corporations and in small groups, diversity leads to greater performance. I believe diversity does the same thing in classrooms, enhances performance and creativity. It allows students to work better together and use their imagination. Diversity in classrooms is vital, for students and teachers. Teachers have to be open to diversity, just like students do because it allows for so many opportunities and rewards.