WebQuest

Webquest was a new concept to me, and I found it to be very interesting. Although I have heard of WebQuests before, I hadn't really seen or participated in them until now. I thought it was nice that we got to look at several examples, as well as critically evaluate them. I was not expecting how open-ended they were. I'm not sure if I'll utilize this in my future classroom, I believe that Kindergarteners would have a difficult time navigating them, even with the assistance of a more skilled peer or teacher. I have a cognitive and constructivist view on how children learn and I do not this that WebQuest promotes teamwork.

Reflection on Wikis

Prior to taking this class I had no idea what a Wiki was! I had overheard my peers talking about them in my other classes, but never really understood what they were talking about. I am not the most experienced with technology and get intimidated easily, but I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this web tool! I felt that it was pretty easy to navigate myself through the website. Right away, I was able to make suggestions that improved our wikis home page!

This is a tool I will definitely use in my future classroom! There are so many was that it could be incorporated into the classroom community. It would be a great way to have open communication with my students parents, which I believe is a vital part of a students success. This would also be a great way to post websites that would be helpful for students to further explore topics we discuss in class.

Website Evaluation

I feel that the website Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning is a valuable source for a teacher in my field (PreK, Kindergarter, and SpEd). Social-emotional development is a key concept for children of this age to grasp. The website lists several books compromised of ideas and activies designed around popualr children's books such as Big Al, Hands are Not for Hitting, On Monday When it Rained and My Many Colored Days. Examples of suggested activites include using rhymes to talk about being friends, making emotion masks to help children identify and talk about different feelings, playing games around what to do with hands instead of hitting and fun misic and movement activites to express emotions.
The list of books is a great resource for a new teacher (like myself) when looking to add books to their classroom library. I will use this resource in my classroom to provide hands-on ways to embed social emotional skill building activities into everyday routines.

Website Evaluation Tool

I found this tool from the Los Angeles County Offices of Education.
This tool appears to be helpful for teachers and students as a website evaluation tool.