Digital Blog Post #K

Chapter 6: Fostering Online Learning with Educational Websites and Apps

There was many points of interest in this chapter for me as I was reading it. To begin with, the first part that grabbed my attention was Using Social Bookmarking. The reason this grabbed my attention is because I didn't know what social bookmarking was or is. Social bookmarking is a way to manage information throughout groups of people with their web links in an open public Web space. This is a good tool of information if you want students to collaborate on assignments together. Students the ability to add information on this type of website. That's if it's public, if it's private you can say who can view what. If you are social bookmarking, you have the ability to add a tag to resources that are similar of interest. Tagging helps sort the information that is being used. 

Another thing that interested me was the section Webquests, Virtual Field Trips, and Videoconferencing. The reason this caught my attention was because we have a project on a webquest. Webquests are "online inquiries that are designed and guided by teachers." Students are able to follow electronic maps of resources to find information that is needed for a particular assignment. Some use it as resources for a paper that may be due. All the information the student needs is digital. Since the websites are preselected by the teacher, the teacher will know that the resources the student is using are credible. 

Lastly, I wanted to bring attention to videoconferencing. Videoconferencing gives students the ability to gain access to people and different places that they would not normally have access to. Sometimes students are able to speak with scientists, historians, writers, and other experts that live in different parts of the nation. I  think that is the coolest thing because I never had access to those types of things when I was a student! Being involved in a video conference helps to make both participants feel very confident, involved, and invested. Students will often want to learn more about each topic. 

More on videoconferencing here!



APA Citations

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Video Conferencing Transforms Classrooms and Inspire Students. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ArMsLxG01A 

WebQuest 101 Part 1 -- What is a WebQuest? (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4rel5qOPvU