Sharks Instructional Architect Project

Shark Instructional Architect Project

Reflection:
This is pretty neat. I think it would be a very useful resource for creating lessons that require the use of the internet. You don't really want kids 'surfing the web' for fear that they'll run into some inappropriate stuff. So if you were able to have a site with links that you could direct them to, along with written instructions for what you need, that would solve that problem. Additionally, from a lesson point of view, it opens up a lot of options.

Comic Life and Geometric Terms

So, the reflection:
This program, Comic life, is fantastic! this would be really fun for all kinds of school projects. It's really easy to use, and you could get kids to create educational comics with pictures. Of course, this would be only for older grades, because younger kids couldn't do it. However; from a teaching perspective, you could always use this program to create handouts or other things for the students. They wouldn't have to use the program itself. In the upper grades, you could use their pictures from home to do a 'getting to know me' page. Or in social studies or science, they could put pictures with captions of information, and label things as part of a presentation. For english, you could use this to create real comics reflecting the plot of a book. You wouldn't even have to fill them in with pictures, just leave the squares blank to be drawn in by the kids.

Website Evaluations

so, the questions to answer regarding website evaluations:

1-forms you like/dislike:
I liked the forms that use simple yes/no evaluations, then left a space for notes. I think rating the website with a number 1-5, and then adding them up to determine how good the website is is unnecessarily complicated. People filling out the evaluations can use the questions as guidelines and things to think about when evaluating the website, rather than as cut and dry necessities.

2-were there any hidden secrets about a website that you discovered by using an evaluation?
No, not on the websites I looked at, but it did make me consider things that make a good website, like graphics and the ease of maneuvering the website.

3-What is the value of using a website evaluation process?
It makes you look at all of the facets of a website that you would normally not think about when going over a website. This way, when you are considering using a website for your class, you are able to ascertain how appropriate and helpful it would be to use.

4-Are there times when you would/would not use a formal evaluation?
As I said, you could use a formal evaluation for when considering a website for your class, but under regular research conditions, i think as long as you determine that the information comes from a reliable source, a formal evaluation is unnecessary.