Formative Assessment

For a formative assessment for my WebQuest, I liked the concept mapping website bubbl.us. Since my subject area is web design and all the students have access to computers, I think this site would be an excellent place for them to start the process of developing their Internet Safety website.

Anchor Video

This is the anchor video I chose for my WebQuest.

Webquest - Driving Question

I found an interesting webquest on Internet Safety. With the ever-expanding growth of the social networking and the Internet, I feel that it is important that students recognize how to navigate the web safely. The webquest I found gave the scenario that fearing for their safety, parents and school administrators banned the use of the Internet. Students must provide that they understand how to use the Internet safely and teach others to do the same.

A simple driving question for this quest would be:
How can students practice Internet Safety?

Power Standards

Since Business Education is not considered a core subject (which is a shame), I had a tough time finding a Power Standard I thought would relate. However, I chose Power Standard 5 in Reading and Language Arts. View it by click here.

Since this Power Standard states that:
Using a specified format (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago), students will create an argumentative/persuasive or informative research project using a variety of electronic and non-electronic resources and then plan, create, organize and present a unique and properly documented media product to a specific audience.

I thought this fit with Business Education because it requires electronic resources and the creation of some sort of document. Additionally, I thought my struggling student may find it interesting because it is an argumentative or persuasive presentation. High school students feel passionately about things, whether it be fashion, music or politics. I thought a project like this would give a student an opportunity to express themselves and their interests.

Currently, I am doing my clinicals in a Web Publishing class. For that purpose, I picked a WV CSO for Web Publishing. Since they are saved as Word documents, I could not link directly to the document. However, here are some CSOs I felt related:
BE.O.WPP.6.1 utilize a variety of technical sources (e.g., Internet, manuals, journals, directions, reports, etc.) to complete career/technical assignments and projects.
BE.O.WPP.6.2 demonstrate writing skills required to complete career/technical assignments and projects.
BE.O.WPP.7.1 search online using a range of technology tools and media to access relevant information needed for problem solving.
BE.O.WPP.7.2 create information for oral, written, and multimedia communications, adhering to copyright laws.

Learning Style

When I took the multiple intelligence survey, I scored close to the middle on most things. My highest was:
3.57 Self: You have a very good sense of self. You like to spend time by yourself and think things over. You will often take in information from another person, mull it over by yourself, and come back to that person later to discuss it. You like working on projects on your own. You often prefer to learn by trial and error. Effective techniques to enhance your learning include keeping a journal and giving yourself time to reflect on new ideas and information. More ideas:

My lowest was Logic/Math. I could have told you that without the survey.

Top Ten Wiki Reflection

Rebecca Pilver's lesson on the Top Ten Most Awesome and Dangerous Sea Animals created an exciting learning opportunity for not only her students, but additionally for her as a teacher. The project offered a wide variety of learning experiences from information about sea life to the use of technology and the Internet. The students' creation of a wiki met WV Standards of Learning as outlined below:

Standard One:
"Experiences are created to advance student learning and systems thinking through processes such as critical thinking, collaboration and problem solving and that encourage creativity, innovation and self‐direction."

Students worked in groups to collect information on several sea animals. This collaboration encouraged students to work together to complete the assignment. Students were required to complete different tasks and display creativity through projects such as the myanimalshape.com profiles.

Standard Two:
"Students’ misconceptions and misunderstanding of concepts are addressed in the lesson design to assure that the appropriate next steps in learning are taken."

Students learned that Top Ten websites reflect only the opinions of whoever is doing the site. Students viewed and critiqued videos while gathering information on their animals. From this information, they formed their own opinions on which animals were the most amazing and dangerous.

Standard Three:
"The teacher extracts data from ongoing formative/classroom assessments to inform and adjust instruction for intervention, enrichment or the next acquisition lesson."

Once the students completed their group's wikis, they viewed those of their classmates. Once all the animals were compared, students were ask to name the most dangerous and amazing animals. Mrs. Pilver believed that the groups would look at each project and judge from that information. However, all the students picked the animal their group worked on as their favorite. Mrs. Pilver had to re-evaluate the lesson. Presented with the problem, Mrs. Pilver approached the class for a solution. The students offered the solution of doing more work so all the projects would have the same types of information and then they could rerank the animals.

Student Observation

Having been in the classroom every afternoon for the last couple weeks, I knew exactly which student I wanted to "observe" when given the task. "Bobby" is a sophomore. He's very unique with bright clothes and piercings. Having talked to him on a few occasions, he seems like a decently intelligent student. While entering grades, I noticed that his average for the 6 weeks is really low (below 30%). So, I started watching more closely. "Bobby" rarely stays on task. He often tries to sneak and listen to music. Additionally, I've noticed that he is often absent.

Next week is the end of the grading period. My host teacher gave all the students copies of their missing assignments and a second chance to turn things in. "Bobby" doesn't seem interested and spent at least 30 minutes staring at a blank computer screen.