A chocolate webquest? I'm listening.

"Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get."

--Forest Gump (Tom Hanks)

When I saw there was a webquest done on chocolate, I was sold. What is a webquest? It is a lesson format in which the students inquire information that is all found on the web. The lesson format is the key word here. There are five elements to a webquest: the Introduction, the Task, the Process, the Evaluation, and the Conclusion. It is the Introduction that draws you in. Then once you're hooked, the Task explains the adventure; it gives the directions. The Process is the fun part. This is where you'll do all the research from the given websites. The Evaluation makes sure that you completed the Task correctly. And if you did, then the conclusion should be a happy one!

Webquests are a fun way to gets kids to take an active part in their learning. You as the teacher may create a webquest as an assignment. Or better yet, let the kids create a webquest for their fellow classmates. Whether they're creating or completing it, learning is taking place for both sides.

If you're not familiar with a webquest, and you're looking for an innovative way to find and capture your students' ambition to learn, you should really check out this link: http://www.teachersfirst.com/summer/webquest/quest-b.shtml. And there is so much more out there on the web. Just like I said: When I found a webquest for chocolate, I was sold!

(http://mws.mcallen.isd.tenet.edu/tiftech/ci/projects/radame/aajWebquest.html)

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions."

--Albert Einstein

This last assignment for my class was one on Glogster. Of all the new technology that I've been learning, I think this has to be my favorite so far. A glog is an online collage. I don't know if you know much about collages, but they spark creativity. And they're fun to make. But, making a collage requires a lot of various resources from which you cut, glue and arrange in a unique way that will capture attention and tell a story. The story can be for pure entertainment or it can be educational. On Glogster (http://www.glogster.com/) or Glogster EDU, which is for teachers and students (http://www.glogster.com/search/), you can tell your story, and let it be heard on the internet--if you choose, or you can keep it private. But making the glog is so much fun, and all your cutting and pasting is done online--so you can pull from all of the resources that are available to you on the internet. We all know that this is infinite! What I liked best about using Glogster EDU, was the thought of the endless possibilites of how this tool can be used in the classroom. It can be used with every subject! It's a great way to present a report, an essay with illustrations, math terminolgy, a history project, a science experiment. This tool allows the students to take and active part in their education--and I'm all about hands-on. All it takes is a little work and a lot of imagination!

Mickey Is My Inspiration

"Mickey Mouse is, to me, a symbol of independence. He was a means to an end."

--Walt Disney

I do love Mickey Mouse..in fact, we'll be taking the kids to Disney World for the first time! But, Mickey Mouse is only one of the reasons that Mickey Jobst is an inspiration to me. Who is Mickey Jobst? Well, she may not be as popular as Mickey Mouse, not outside of my son's school, anyway; but in her Pre-K classroom she's everyone's favorite. As a teacher, she has a knack for understanding the young mind of a child. She has a way of opening their minds to think outside the box. She teaches them to think independently. She allows the kids to be actively engaged in their own education. They're learning and they don't even know it! All these things are awesome traits, but there's something else that is admirable about Mickey Jobst--through all of her hard work and dedication to her classroom, she's also battling cancer. She's been through chemotherapy twice. She's lost her hair twice. And even on her worst day, you'd never know it. She never misses a day of work. And when she shows up, she's always smiling. She has an inner strength that comes from her faith. So, when I was asked to make a Moviemaker about a teacher who has inspired me, the answer was a no-brainer--Mickey Jobst, of course.