My Contributions to the Class WebQuest Wiki

I added 3 different WebQuests that were not viewed by other practicum students yet. All the WebQuests are engaging and seemed fun and interesting as well as a great way of learning without realizing you are learning.
1) In the retelling section, I placed the story telling WebQuest. It has students looking back and realizing what a book can bring to the table. From this WebQuest, a student will read a book from the past and retell it in their own way. I found it interesting for me because I will be an English teacher in the future and want to incorporate something like this in one of my units/lessons in the future.
http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/storyteller/storyteller.htm
2) In the "well-done" introduction section, I placed the WebQuest on the Great Depression. This WebQuest posed questions right off and seemed intriguing. Would you survive without money? How would you feel if you had a dime and had to chose food, gas or a luxury item? This allows students to think about their lives in general and realize that they have all they really need. It would be great for history teacher to place their students in situations like this.
http://todaysteacher.com/TheGreatDepressionWebQuest/Introduction.htm
3) In the persuasion section, I placed the smoking WebQuest. This WebQuest would be great for a high school health teacher because it allows students to find risks, stats, and a way to persuade "Sydney" to stop smoking. I was drawn to it because of the graphics and for the fact that I don't want my students to start the horrible habit that I started years ago. Because its so hard to stop, if I knew the facts, I would have never started. This WebQuest totally hit home and I think it would be a great learning experience to indulge our students into it.
www.wsd1.org/sargentpark/webquest/third/htm

Copyright and Fair Use LR

Question 19 is interesting because it explains the difference between instructional use and “fun” use. Because a yearbook is not usually for instructional purposes, it is not a fair use option to put music in the background. On “class day” at my school we had a class video prepared and I’m pretty sure nobody in our class contacted the singers in the songs we played, and we played entire songs. So, from taking this quiz, I discovered we broke copyrights. In question 19, it further explains that a certain amount of a song could be permissible, but without permission a full song is breaking copyright laws, unless we obtain permission. I find this interesting, because there are so many people that just take stuff without knowing because they don’t ask permission. I want to emphasize to my students these laws so they don’t end up getting themselves in trouble because they simply did not know that they were in the wrong.

Copyright and Fair Use SR

Questions 4-9, 12, 14-15 and 19-20 surprised me, made me mad and forced me to read on. How can you ok something and then disapprove the same sort of question only rephrased in a different way? For instance, question 1, states burning a CD-ROM is a not violation, but in question 7 where the teacher makes copies for everyone, it is a violation…pretty interesting. Same thing for watching Disney movies, downloading music, but for some reason taking pictures as long as they are not Disney, it is acceptable. That gives us a lot to think about.

How to Help Someone Use a Computer...

I usually have to remind myself that I once had the same problem, when I was a beginner. I know have to learn how to ration with them through their problem in a criticize-free manner and use language that they can understand to the fullest without them thinking that I am undermining their capabilities. A rule that I need to learn to follow in teaching would be to not take the keyboard away because it is a crucial tool. Allowing the student to touch and see what they need to do, will make it possible for them to do it on their own without assistance.

I can use this information as a teacher, knowing that students can achieve when they are able to visualize what needs to be done and carry it out on their own. With a non-biased voice the explanation will ease tension and the learning experience will be a success, instead of a traumatizing moment.

http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html