Category: General

eSchool News reports that Texas is cutting its educational technology division. State officials say the move is about integration and others contend it is simply a way to cut expenses.

A recent New York Times piece asks the question are we becoming a Nation of Copiers. Interesting concept – swapping music files, integrating info copied from the net into papers, and perhaps even copying ideas from other Internet sources for blogs. I guess the fundamental question has to be when is this laziness and when is there any value added.

I have been on a video game kick lately. It has been more reading about games and gaming culture than playing myself. I am fascinated by the fascination that others have for games.

Many are concerned that violent games lead to violent behavior. A recent survey by the Gallup organization has investigated those who play the game Grand Theft Auto. Supposedly those who play this game were more likely to report being in a fight during the past year than others who were not involved with the game.

From time to time concerns are raised that Internet access, bandwidth, etc. would be subjected to taxes (federal, local). I guess it would be like a tax on ticket prices for ball games or some form of entertainment tax. The House has now passed a ban on such taxes – House Bill.

Here is another educational site. BrainPop consists of a large number of Flash animation movies on a large number of educational topics. You can subscribe for unlimited access or watch 2 per day for free.

The National Science Teachers are sponsoring a web site (WebWatchers) focused on the identification of quality web resources (you can receive WebWatcher training) and the use of the Internet in instruction. The magic word (standards) is mentioned.

The “WebQuest” has become so popularized that the term is used to describe nearly any Internet exploration project that includes a goal, a product, and list of online resources. This in no way is the fault of Dr. Dodge or anyone working closely to clearly define and refine WebQuests.

I know the webquest was not the first proposal of this type. Apple Computer distributed at least one book of similar projects that were called Online Adventures and I see the phrase still generates hits in an Internet search. Now, I also know other variants are still emerging.

Tech Forum has a a model called “The Project Page” (see
Presentation – Jakes “Creating Virtual Workspaces”). The structure for a project page consists of a scenario, task, resources, product, and assessment. I must say that my definition of a WebQuest may be inaccurate because this is pretty close to what I would list. There must be some details that I am overlooking.

To some it may not matter what such projects are called. The general concept is certainly practical and useful. However, the new WebQuest Portal has taken the position that now all web explorations qualify as WebQuests and the discussions that should follow concerning design features and issues of quality should prove interesting.