The Final Task: Using WebQuest in Class

Among the many new media based methods and activities that we have learned about in this seminar I liked WebQuests the most. Therefore, a new media based project that I would like to try out involves a teaching unit that employs a WebQuest. For my term paper I have created a WebQuest on the death penalty. You are welcome to check out the Quest. In my term paper I have argued at length why WebQuests are particularly appropriate to promote the learning objectives as postulated, for instance, in the Hessian curriculum. Since I am done with the entire project I will confine myself to informing you a little bit about how I chose the topic for my Quest. Also, I will argue in favor of this method, much the same as I did in my paper, hoping that it might inspire you if you still havn’t made up your mind about what to do as a project. 

In order to find the right topic for my WebQuest I had a closer look at the Hessian curriculum for secondary schools. I picked the English advanced course, grade 12. Under the heading ‘The Challenge of Individualism‘ I found various topics listed, all of which are embedded into a bigger context of the individual and society in the US. I decided to focus on the political life, political issues in the US and to work out a teaching unit incorporating a WebQuest that deals with the death penalty. Ideally, the teaching unit comprises six to seven double-sessions, i.e. 90 minutes for each double-session and two single-sessions, 45 minutes each. I figured that the students would need this time to work through the Quest since the resources they are supposed to deal with are rather demanding.  

There are many good reasons why to use a WebQuest: First of all, if you compare the key qualifications and abilities as defined in the Hessian curriculum for a gymnasiale Oberstufe with the ones a WebQuest seeks to promote you will find that many of them are congruent.  Moreover, this method incorporates the Internet as the world’s largest database for knowledge and information into the classroom. WQs are planed with a focus on the utilization and processing of information. Researching, analyzing and evaluating information are the most eminent skills they seek to improve. Thus, they cultivate critical thinking and nurture the student’s ability to think independently. At the same time the students are not plunged into the chaos of enormous amounts of unstructured information on the Web. The guided or half-guided character of a WebQuest makes sure that these gigantic resources are being filtered and thus made productive. 

Those of you who consider creating a WebQuest yourself should defintely check out the ‘mother resource’ on Webquests @ www.webquest.org and Heinz Moser’s book on WebQuest titled Abenteuer Internet which can be found in the Handapparat. There you’ll find many more good reasons why WebQuest are worth a try as well as lots and lots of examples and tips on how to make one. 

So much for the theory. I know that this little blog entry on my project is very one-sided, elaborating only on the bright side of this method. But then again I wouldn’t write a paper on WebQuests and create one myself if I wasn’t convinced of the method. OK then, the one thing left to do now is to realize it. Can’t wait to have the opportunity to do so.

Our field-trip to the ‘Steinmühle’

Our field-trip was very enlightening in many ways. Prior to the trip I had a glance at the school’s webpage. I was very disappointed because I couldn’t find anything specific about the use of the new media in school, a concept or anything like that. However, I found out that they have some sort of PC-training/ exercises in grade 7, although I couldn’t find any details about that. Also, in grade 12 and 13 the students have the option to do computer science. Again, that was not explained any further. During our visit I found out that the school is indeed very well equipped in terms of PCs and new media based learning methods, but, unlike other schools, they simply don’t brag about it on their Website. Obviously they just ‘do it’ which shows that the use of Information Technologies in their school has become something very natural, something that is part of their agenda.

For our field-trip I thought about a few things and came up with some questions that could be interesting to learn about. Since we were visiting a private school I thought it would be appealing to find out, on a more general basis, how they use their financial resources to integrate the new media into the curriculum. What kind of equipment do they have? Is there a special emphasize on the use of the new media? If yes, how does it become noticeable? Apart from that I wanted to see how they use the new media concretely, i.e. do they have blended courses? Do they use learning-software? Do they use the Internet in-class? Finally, do they have special courses that focus on computing skillz or on how to handle the new media? … Questions upon questions upon questions…

Most, if not all of my questions were answered. The school has a special computer room with a laptop for every student, Internet access everywhere, LCD projectors decorating the ceilings and even two trolleys stuffed with plenty of laptops in case the computer room is already occupied. But the school’s true gem is a special room equipped with laptops that the teachers can retreat to and prepare their lessons, do reasearch or just kill some time on the Internet. The teachers are encouraged to use this room, to incorporate the new media into their lesson planing… And who pays for all this? The equipment is financed in parts through the school’s ‘Society of Friends’, by the government or through donations.

During our field-trip we had a chance to talk to two teachers, one being an English teacher, the other a computer science teacher. We learned that computer science is mendatory for grades 6 and 7. At this early stage the students learn to handle the basic computing tools but more importantly they learn about safety aspects, the do’s and don’ts of using the Internet. In grade 9 the students learn to use PowerPoint and Excel. Also, they learn about Java Script and how to create Websites with it. Later, through grades 11 to 13 computer science is optional while the difficulty level is increased with every year. By the end of grade 13 the students have learned programming languages such as Java Script, they know various presentation techniques, they have learned about the Internet, how to use it and how it functions, etc. All in all they have plenty of opportunities to learn lots and lots of computing skillz.

As for other subjects like biology, maths, physics and chemistry the use of IT and learner-software is compulsive. The school offers special learner-software for each of these classes. Apart from that the new media are integrated in pretty much all other subjects. In English for instance the teachers work with learner-sofware and E-workbooks to teach grammar and vocabulary. That way the students are supported individually and thus can learn according to their needs. Using the Internet to do research or using the computer to do presentations is nothing unusual at the Steinmühle.

OK, and how do the students feel about the use of the new media in their school?…? Unfortunately we didn’t have the chance to talk to some of the students and ask them personally. But we have been told that their feedback is very positive. They regard it as a welcome change. As long as they feel that way I can only assume that they are not being tortured with an overly use of the new media in school.

There are a few other aspects that I won’t mention here but this ought to do it for now. I think it got clear that this school emphazises the use of the new media and sees the potential they have to improve and advance the learning process. Unlike many other schools this one is very lucky to have the financial means needed to realize all this. This was a very positive experience, but what can you really tell from one visit?

New Media in my old grammar school??!? – Flashback

Oh dear Lord! How am I supposed to write about the use of New Media in my old school, when I can’t remberber a darn thing? – What? – You don’t believe me? Well, I’m deeply sorry but it’s true. Especially the last three years before graduation are deeply burried somewhere beneath an impermeabley thick cloud of purple haze. Don’t ask me why. I won’t tell you.

All jokes aside, as far as I do recall, my teachers didn’t use the new media in class, except of course to show a movie or listen to some song. But we never did online research or used any learner-software and our classrooms were not equipped with a LCD projector. If I’m not mistaken we had only a few (4-5) computers in our library with Internet access but I’ve never used them anyway. However, we had “EDV-Unterricht” but that was not as exciting as it sounds. It was terribly boring since the computers there were not connected to the WWW. We had to learn all sorts of programming languages like Pascal and learn how to use Exel (wenn-dann-Bedingungen) and stuff like that. I forgot anything about it anyway.

So I had a look at my old school’s homepage and found out to my surprise, that a lot of things changed since my graduation. Obviously my old school has won a price for its media integrated concept and is now one of the top ten media schools in…. (well, it doesn’t say where). They use E-Learning in the SLA and Blended-Learning and have a whole lot computers with Internet access more than back then. In addition, they use computer-based management games like Ecopolicy, Planspiel Börse, Planspiel Geldpolitik and special application software like Derive, GrafStat, Lexware Financial Office, Phase 5 Joomla, Typo 3 and DBDESIGNER. They also have a moodle-based platform which I couldn’t access though. So I missed out on a lot of things. Tough luck! Anyway ,if you want to have a look at all that and learn more about my old school’s media concept just klick here.

And how do I like all that? I think it’s great that they use the potential of the new media to improve the learning process, the school in general. I think we’ve all learned in the last couple of weeks what potential the new media have and why it makes sence to employ them in the FU. I’m just not sure how much of their media-concept is real, or indeed contributing to an improvement because it’s hard to imagine that my old school has changed so drastically in the past 6 years.

So long

Comments on Internet Communication

Communication is probably the most popular use of the Internet and therefore worth dealing with and learning about. I’m not going to summarize each and every aspect of this unit on Internet communication. I think the message is clear: there are different communication tools that can be categorized as synchronous and asynchronous. All of these communication tools have advantages and disadvantages and since most of these tools rely on text-based communication, language skillz play an important role. In addition, communication rules are necessary in order to avoid communication breakdown or legal issues. So far so good.

There are a few aspects or problems that I think are crucial when it comes to Internet communication that weren’t dealt with sufficiently in the unit (Of course these problems do not count as a generality. They affect only a certain group of people that use certain communication tools in a certain way): first of all the aspect of anonymity. When it comes to chatting, for instance, communicating with complete strangers, with people you’ll probably never meet bares a lot of risks. Anonymity might tempt people to lie, to fool you or to misbehave in any conceivable way. People will say things they’d normally never say (during face to face communication), because they are invisible. So, there is an elevated risk that all these wonderful maximes a certain Mr. Paul Grice determined to be inherent and important to a healthy communication process (especially with regard to quality, manner and relevance) are being neglected, to say the least, due to anonymity.

Apart from that, as also mentioned in the unit, some (or many?) communication technologies require rules (netiquette) in order to make a meaningful discussion possible or in order to avoid chaos. That means that someone has to make sure that people abide by the rules (otherwise what’s the point in rules?). Thus, someone that is equipped with the necessary means has to monitor the communication process. This in turn may cause privacy violation, legal issues and problems of the like. Also, since you never know who you are really dealing with and who else might ’sneak a peek’, giving away personal information can have fatal consequences.

Again, these problems are no generalities when it comes to Internet communication. These two aspects where just the first things that hit me as I was working through the unit. Anyway, given the disatvanteges as well as many other problems that affect the use of language, communication in general and authenticity it wouldn’t hurt to teach young learners about functionality and netiquette, the do’s and don’ts and so on. Sure, Internet communication can be fun and very useful or even necessary. It can promote their discussion and dialogue skillz. But more importantly, they should learn to appreciate a ‘real’ conversation and face to face communication since that is a lot more rewarding in a sense that true education and personal growth comes from social interaction: as Martin Buber said: “Alles Leben ist Begegnung”. Now that is something Internet communication can’t really provide, I daresay.

On Internet Research

For me personally, the first thing I do when I’m preparing a presentation or gather information for a term paper is to consult the Internet. I can do that at any time, and what is even more convenient, I can do it at home. The Internet allows me to get easy and instant access to a global range of information while I’m sipping coffee in the warmth of my home. So, for me, clearly the advanteges of doing internet research stand out. I seldom if ever ‘get lost’ online or loose track of what I originally was looking for. And yet, I have a few problems with doing Internet research: no matter how much information you find online (sometimes, depending on what you are looking for, you don’t find anything useful at all), you still can’t do without the books and the ‘good ol’ library. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing. However, with respect to academic writing and research for academic purposes, one can’t solely rely on the Internet since the information you get there is often questionable. The content on many pages out there is biased or erroneous and checking and evaluating each online source is not as simple as it sounds. Scrutinizing online sources is a very time consuming process. So, more often than not, if you want the ‘good stuff’ you still need to do book research. Besides, many professors and university teachers are skeptical when you refer to online information or quote from the Internet. You often have to justify yourself for using online sources. Of course, everything I’ve just said is based on personal experience. I bet many of my fellow students have made very different experiences. And maybe it’s just my fault. Maybe I do not know how to access the more reliable sources. Maybe there is something wrong about the way that I ask the Internet for information. Be that as it may, I still believe that the Internet is the best starting point when doing research. As I said before, for me personally, the advantages outbalance the disadvanteges. Not least because the Internet is our gateway into the future.

As for the part on methodology, I think we all agree that Internet research will play a more important role in every school in the future. Students, I’m sure, are using the internet to do their homework and to conduct research today and they will do so even more tomorrow. So, our task as prospective teachers, will be to know how to do Internet research and to know about all these possibilities you have in order to obtain information as well as to guide our ‘future students’ and show them how to use the Internet more efficiently with regard to the evaluation of online sources. That of course implies that we learn about these things up to the point where we can teach them.

Having said that, I’m looking forward to our next in-class seminar, hoping that we will learn a little more on how to implement Internet research and how to filter out research findings. Maybe I can learn something on Wednesday that will help me with the research for my up-coming term papers.

Computer Skillz & Media Technology Vs. The Rest

It doesn’t really suprise me that American teachers of all people consider computer skillz & media technology to be more essential than any other subjects taught in school (European history, chemistry, physics, etc.) or even more important than learning about how to solve social problems. This ranking just mirrors the status quo of the educational landscape/ system in the US. It shows that a majority of these teachers obviously didn’t learn much about European history, literature, social education, etc. in school or at college, preparing for the teacher profession. If they did, I am sure, the outcome of such a poll would have been a different one. Those of us who are trying to understand the US or have spent some time there know that the result of this survey has a lot to do with this huge gap between a minority that is truely educated and a majority that does not know much at all. As to the question why that is… well, we could probably write entire books answering this question…. It doesn’t matter at this point.

We have talked about the importance of new media & technology in school as well as the potential these things have with regard to an increasing of the effectivity of the learning process and so on. I believe that computer skillz and new media are indeed necessary to learn more effectively and that they enhance our possibilities of doing so, especially since we have all that technology and live in this so-called digital age. But that doesn’t mean that we should subordinate the traditional contents such as cultural studies, history, literature or natural sciences as well as social competences to the knowledge about new media or computer skillz. Of course we need to adjust to the 21st century requirements and the challange that comes with developement and progress, that is we need to integrate new technology into our schools and also focus a littele more on computer skillz and such matters. But as far as I understand it, new media and computer skillz are just a means to an end, a means to achieve better education, a means to improve the learning process. And as such they should never be No. 1 or the ‘most essential’.

True knowledge does not just come from learning books and knowing facts, I know. It comes from social interaction, companionship, exploring the unfamiliar, experiencing things, thinking and meditating about problems, sharing thoughts and so on. In my oppinion, that’s what school should be about (as far as doable).

So if computer skillz and new media were the most important things to learn in school and not just a means to an end, we would neglect the contents that really broaden one’s horizon and that shape us as human beings. Our children would grow up with less knowledge (knowledge that helps to cope with life), less social interaction and less soft skillz. That, however, is not progress but rather, it is a huge step backwards.

Comments on ‘Learning Theories & Principles’

The process of learning has occupied scientists, philosophers and the like for centuries. Considering the three main theories on learning (behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism) the insight of how people learn more effectively has changed with every theory. From behaviorism, that understands learning as the acquisition of new behavior, to cognitivism, that stresses the importance of ‘learning by doing’, to constructivism, a theory which argues that the human brain constructs knowledge by assimilating and accomodating experiences. Thanks to all these theories we know today that effective learning depends on the different roles both, teacher and learner occupy. For instance, we know that learning is more effective and lasting if all of the learner’s senses are stimulated and if the learner is less passive and takes an active part in the learning process.

A lot of the school books and teaching methods we have today make use of these learning theories in one way or another. Thus, I think it is necessary to deal with these theories, to know them and to know how they aim at improving the learning process.

But then again I don’t think that a single unit that deals with learning theories is sufficient to understand and to learn how the human brain processes information and how students learn best. Those of us who plan to become a teacher should spent more time learning about learning within the scope of their studies. In my oppinion we should have more seminars that focus on such matters. If we understand how students learn effectively, we can become better teachers.

Well, what did I learn from this unit? First of all I think it is a great idea to conclude this unit with a practicle part. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really open any of the ‘topic & link’ files. The only things I could open were the wiki-articles on ’scanner’. Did I miss anything or was it simply a technical error?

As for the theory part… I do know now what the three main theories on learning are ( especially important since those terms (behaviorism, etc.) come up in other contexts every now and then). I find it interesting to see how the focus shifted with each theory and how the roles of learner and teacher changed: from behaviorism, that focuses on the teacher, with an almost disregard for the learner, to cognitivism and constructivism, theories that both focus on the learner and the processes that are involved in the learner’s brain while the teacher plays a more passive role. I guess, this shift of focus has a lot to do with the possibilities of analysing human brain activities we have today. So the knowledge about learning processes is, I guess again, the merit of progress and developement within the neuro-sciences.

As for the principles, I don’t think that distance education, lifelong learning, media competence or self-instructed learning are really learning principles. I’d rather say that given the conditions and the developement of our 21st century society, these entities are basic necessities. They are, amongst others, mandatory prerequisites that we need in order to cope with an overwhelming amount of information as well as with the challange of effective learning in today’s time (too wordy, I know). Take for instance lifelong learning. Today, the individual is required to constantly upgrade his knowledge if he wants to compete. So lifelong learning is just something that comes natural. But I get off track here….

So let me finish my blog entry for today by saying that it is very important to me to know more about how learning works. It is very unfortunate that our fine university does not offer me, a prospective teacher, more opportunities to learn about such matters. I guess I have to do some more self-instructed learning here.

Comments on ‘The Dumbest Generation’

In our first session last week we watched an interview with Mark Bauerlein, author of the book ‘The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30)‘. In this interview Bauerlein expresses his displeasure about teenagers who spend way too much time socializing over the internet which distracts them from studying and ultimately leads to ignorance and stupidity. After watching the clip we went on discussing it in-class. Here are some thoughts and comments on my part:

I guess Bauerlein has a point there. But I wouldn’t say that there’s anything unnatural about teenager’s behavior today. Ten years ago when I was sixteen we didn’t care about school or books or culture. We just did what we had to do in order to pass class. Of course we didn’t have all those internet-socialnetworking-online-chatting-and what not-possibilies… we did other things to distract ourselves or to waste some time. I guess to some extent it is just natural that teenagers feel urged to not care about anything relevant or educating at a time in their life when friends are more important than anything else. After all it took me quite some time to realize myself that I learn to have more options in life, I learn for myself and not because anybody else forces me to. But that was later, when I had already graduated from high-school.

So the problem is basically the same, I would say. I think the only thing that changed is that the question of how to motivate young learners has become a greater challange these days due to all those online possibilities we have now. And maybe the older generation, those ”in charge” can’t keep up with the exuberant changes nowadays.

I think Bauerlein has a good point when he says that it’s not the friends who help you educate yourself. But try and tell that to a teenager….

As for the mentoring-thing Bauerlein mentions, I think he is right. A good teacher is of course also a mentor, a role-model, someone who leaves good impressions on a student and influences his students in a positive way. But than again, can you really accuse the teachers and professors for having failed mentoring? I don’t know about the situation at American universities or in American schools. But as for Germany, or the Philipps-Universität…. how the hell are these people supposed to mentor or take care of the individual given the terrible circumstances and conditions at our schools and universities?!? If they are lucky they may know the names of all their students at the end of a semester.

So much to say…

As for a course such as ‘Neue Medien im FU’, I’m not sure yet but I guess that we could learn something about how to use new media in-class within the scope of the course. Given the status quo (digital age, advanced communication technology and internet for everybody) it is absolutely necessary for a prospective teacher to learn how to teach his future students that their most favorite medium, the internet, can also be a powerful tool not only for socialnetworking but also when it comes to education and studying.

So much for now,

peace

p.s. check out Bauerlein’s interview for yourselves:

Hi there!

A shout-out to my fellow students at Philipps-Universität Marburg!

So this is it – my very first blog. I guess I’m going to use it to post some thoughts and comments about whatever it is that we discuss in our sminar ‘Neue Medien im FU’ this winter term – at least for now…. If you have any comments on your part, feel free to comment.