Building a WebQuest with Moodle and Google
By Mike Souden
Cloud computing is an environment in which all or most of the technologies used are located centrally and the computers are primarily devices that are used to access the technologies. Because the technologies are accessed through the Internet they are available anywhere with Internet access.
If you are an educator interested in having a learning environment in which students construct their own knowledge, cloud computing can be an exceptionally good thing. Students who construct their own knowledge answer questions like, “How did the bubonic plague contribute to the rise of the middle class?” Historically, the problem in making this happen in a classroom has been making resources available that are random, and flexible enough to foster collaboration yet keep the learning process going in spite of student absences, etc.
Moodle, with other technologies in “the Cloud” affords a stage in which the teacher empowers students by making available ready access to tools and information. Google, a “Cloud” technology, provides a:
• Word processor • Spreadsheet • Survey tool • Presentation tool • Movie storage spot • Drawing tool • Vibrant globe
and other resources which can be used collaboratively both synchronous and asynchronously.
It is oſten mentioned that the teacher’s role in the classroom is to be the “Te Guide on the Side”. While that sounds simple, it isn’t. Tough the teacher is not out there answering every question the students ask, the teacher still needs to create a resource rich learning environment with guidance for the students that is not overwhelming. Let’s say the students are asked to support or refute, with evidence, the statement “Te bubonic plague lead to the rise of the middle class.” Students need to be able to research
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the topic and produce a persuasive argument demonstrating an understanding of the economic and social conditions before, during and aſter the occurrence of the bubonic plague.
Te teacher using a WebQuest Model would organize the Moodle in topics:
• An Introduction outlining a scenario or describing the situation
• A Task describing what is to happen; the goals, and the product
• The Process that walks the students through a series of steps to complete the task. This would be the “meat” of the webquest.
• The Evaluation that describes how the student will be assessed. This would be in the form of a rubric and always available for the students.
• Finally a Conclusion, that can be hidden until the end and describes what the student should have learned or may provide an opportunity, possibly through a Forum, for the students to reflect on what they learned.
Te Process portion of the Moodle would contain a series of information management activities and repositories for the information that students collect or create. Te teacher creates scaffolds that help students work in groups and learn to use the Google tools and process information.
Moodle web pages organized for collaborative work can serve as information repositories that hold data or notes developed in Google. Te Moodle web pages can hold several Google tool based student research collections that can be viewed at one time. Te Moodle web pages containing the information make it readily available as students complete other work in a Moodle Wiki or the Online text tool, or the final product can be developed in Google and then viewed in Moodle; possibly by having the students embed the Google based product in a Moodle Glossary. Although this project will need updating, it will not need to be recreated every year.
Mike Souden is a retired Oakland Schools Educational Technology Consultant and REMC Director.
Fall 2011 | 17
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