Webquests & collaborative, problem-based pedagogy for hybrid/online courses

1. Webquests & collaborative, problem-based pedagogy for hybrid/online courses Dr. James P. Frazee, Director Instructional Technology Services SDSU Course Design Institute May 27, 2009

2. “One of the most pressing challenges is encouraging educators to use technology-enhanced active learning strategies to facilitate learning.” -- James L. Morrison Professor Emeritus, UNC Why?

3. Enter….The WebQuest! • What is a WebQuest? • Student-centered, inquiry-based tool • Hand-picked resources uses students’ time wisely • Professor provides scaffolding with: • Introduction • Task/question • Process/Roles • Resources • Evaluation criteria • Conclusion

4. WebQuests

5. Goals for Today: • After our session, you will: • Have an increased understanding of what a WebQuest is and why it is useful. • Know where to go for free WebQuest resources to use in your own courses • Be more likely to explore and pursue the use of WebQuests and online resources to promote inquiry in your own teaching.

6. Digital Natives • “Youth, Technology, and Learning: Opportunities for Educators and Future Employers” • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGhhETB9RNg ~ 2:42

7. Are you ready for... The World’s Quickest WebQuest?

8. The Martian HaikuQuest

9. Introduction • Japan is preparing the technologies that will enable the settling of Mars before the year 2100. • To help establish a link in the public mind between Japan and Mars, Sony is sponsoring a worldwide contest for the best Haiku written about the Red Planet.

10. The Task • To win the contest, write a haiku that successfully captures the rugged beauty of Mars while staying within the spirit of the haiku form. • Do it well, and the 1 Million Yen prize is yours! • You will write a haiku in pairs (this also explains the evaluation criteria)

11. The Process First, learn about the haiku form: • 3 short lines • 5-7-5 syllables • some flexibility, but less is more • Often alludes to a season or nature • Captures the essence of a particular moment, with a surprising twist

12. The Process • Some example haiku As the wind does blow Across the trees, I can see Buds blooming in May.    From http://www.international.ucla.edu/shenzhen/2002ncta/cunningham/Webpage-HaikuPoems.htm

13. The Process • Some example haiku I like spring waterIt makes me feel good insideIt takes my breath away.-LaQuita, age 10, Georgia From http://www.international.ucla.edu/shenzhen/2002ncta/cunningham/Webpage-HaikuPoems.htm

14. The Process • Some example haiku If you are tender to them, The young sparrows Will poop on you From A Few Fireflies and I: Haiku by Issa

15. The Process The other person will look at factual, scientific information about Mars and think of how these might be used in a poem. You will focus on the RIGHT side of the screen. One person will study graphic images of Mars and think of metaphors for the features they see. You will focus on the LEFT side of the screen. Now, find a partner…

16. Are you ready to explore?!? Images Text • One person look only at the left side.. • One person look only at the right side You won’t have time to study both sides of the screen, so focus on your own task! You may want to jot down ideas as you view the slides.

17. Like Mercury, Venus and Earth, Mars is mostly rock and metal. Mountains and craters scar the rugged terrain. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

18. The dust, an iron oxide, gives the planet its reddish cast.

19. Thin atmosphere and an elliptical orbit combine to create temperature fluctuations ranging from -140 degrees Celsius to a comfortable +20 degrees Celsius on summer days at the equator.

20. Mars was warm and wet about 3.7 billion years ago. But as the planet cooled, the water froze. Remnants exist as ice caps at the poles. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

21. Mars is about half the size of earth. Its atmosphere is composed mostly of carbon dioxide and is very thin, exerting about 1/100 the surface pressure that the earth's atmosphere exerts. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

22. The Process • Share your impressions with your partner. • Draft your Haiku, tying together both the facts and visual impressions. • Keep in mind the Haiku form.

23. Conclusions:Issues experienced in this simulation • Authentic, hands-on task • Interdependence • More resources brought into the discussion by working in parallel • Scaffolding…No room for surfing • Transformation of information, not simply retelling • Taking advantage of the web’s timeliness and richness • Provides opportunities to explore, act, think, and be producers not just consumers

24. Why teach this way? Because tomorrow’s adults will need to… • think together • think for themselves • know how to teach themselves new tricks • make sense of information they’ve never seen before • generate their own questions and know how to find the answers

26. Closing Haiku About Student-Centered Inquiry-Based Learning Students together, Generating new knowledge, Internet as tool. – Rebecca Frazee Questions shimmer   Like circled waves in ponds.   I toss the rock. – Bernie Dodge

27. Resources • Resources • Webquests • http://webquest.org/ - Bernie Dodge’s page, co-creator of WQ • http://webquest.ning.com/ (online community around WQs) • http://bestwebquests.com/- Tom March, co-creator of WQ • Web inquiry projects • http://webinquiry.org/

28. Thank You! World’s Quickest WQ material in this presentation from Dr. Bernie Dodge, adapted by Dr. James Frazee for the 2009 Course Design Institute at SDSU