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Create Your Own

Online Puzzles and Computer Games

Today in class we each explored sites that had puzzle generators that we could use in our classrooms. Several puzzles were available for us to choose from, and we could also modify them to tie into lessons being taught in the classroom which makes it more meaningful because it reinforces what is already being taught. Puzzles such as word searches, crosswords, mazes, falling words, etc . . . were available for us to choose between. I like these sites because they offered set puzzles already made as well as puzzles that we could modify and change to our liking. As a future teacher, I don't want to give my students just any puzzle all the time, I want them to be able to enjoy learning about what is already being taught in class, and use puzzles as a fun activity for them to better apply what they learned in class. Online puzzles help children to learn because they reinforce what is being learned in class. It helps students refresh their memory and assesses them without the tension and anxiety that tests bring to some students.



We also read an article entitled "Video games have role in school." It explained some evidence and surveys that were conducted on 1,000 teacher and more than 2,300 students in the UK. It was a very interesting article because it brought up some interesting issues on computer games and the use of them in the classroom, as well as at home. After reading the article we summarized and relfected on the article through the use our online forums. It was nice to read the thoughts and concerns of others because it brings out different sides of what we think.

WebQuest

A WebQuest is an online learning tool that teachers can use to create lessons online. Assignments that are given to the students has asks them to use the internet to research and learn about the given topics assigned to them. When using WebQuest, parents can now be more involved in their child's learning and assignments can be easily accessed any time of the day where internet access is available. Our assignment was to get into partners or groups and create a lesson using WebQuest. In my group there were three (3) of us: me, Rita Mae, and Livia. After several minutes of brainstorming several possible subjects to use in our WebQuest, we decided to create a lesson on world religions. We went to the online site given to us (www.zunal.com) and signed in. There was a sample WebQuest shown by Mr. J on PI Day. This helped us to get a feel on how our WebQuest might look. In our WebQuest we made several pages: title, introduction, task, process, evaluation, conclusion, and teacher page. I liked this assignment because it introduced us to the world of lessons online. I think WebQuest is something that every teacher should be exposed to so that they know what kind of learning tools are available online. The world today continues to bring in new types of technology everyday and we as teachers need to know of the many advantages there are of using online tools in our classrooms. I liked using this site because it wasn't so difficult to use. There wasn't anything I disliked about this assignment except that it may be difficult for lower grade students to use. As a teacher, I would implement WebQuest as a way for students to become familiar with the world wide web. Students should become aware that information is at their fingertips today, and learning or researching about anything is not so hard with the use of the internet. I would create lessons and activities for students to get online and use. And I could also use WebQuest as an online site for group projects. This way, parents can be more involved in the assignments that their children are being given. Overall, this is a great tool for all teachers to use.

Timeline

In class today, we each created a timeline from the site: www.teach-nology.com. For my timeline, I did used several significant events in my life that has happened. I placed the dates that I remembered, along with a description of the significance of each of the dates on my timeline. I liked that this online software was really simple and easy to use. The site was easy to navigate through, which made creating the timeline a breeze. What I disliked about the timeline was that it had limited settings and designs. All timelines created would look almost exactly the same, except for the few selections provided for borders, and the information that was inputted. I could definately use timelines online for lessons in my classroom because it is a fun way to introduce timelines in the classroom for Social Studies lessons as well as a way for students to get to know each other. The students could each create their own timeline and then share with a partner or group. Then when they have become familiar with timelines, it will be easier for them to understand historic timelines without becoming confused. I would really like to use timelines in my classroom because it can always be modified to fit several different subjects, and I think its a great activity that the students will enjoy. When comparing the first timeline generator at www.teach-nology.com to www.xtimeline.com, I think that they both have their qualities and down sides. The first site was simple and easy to navigate through while the second site was more complicated and took longer to complete. Also, the first site was limited with designs and other features, but the seond site has several designs and other features such as picture adding. I would prefer the first site with lower grade students and the second site with more advance students. The first site is good as an introduction because its simple and not so complicated especially for first time users. The second site is more advanced and takes more more work. So overall I liked the second site because of the additional features but it really depends on who is going to be generating the timeline, whether it be lower grade or upper grade students.