Student interest level should be the primary concern when using computer-based instruction objects, since all other concerns stem from the degree of their interest. If students are motivated by the material being worked with, then they will be more likely to interact with the object on a meaningful level. As long as they are highly interested in the topic at hand they will be on-task while in front of the computer. Teachers need to consider the many temptations for students to be off-task when placed in front of an internet-connected computer in relation to the instructional object they have designed. The teacher’s challenge is to create or find an instructional object that is as or more interesting then the latest video on youtube, as 100% monitoring or control of what students do on the computer during class time is impossible. I am not trying to suggest that student online multi-tasking is bad, but it is a consideration that ought to motivate teachers to find and create high-interest instructional objects for which students will feel a motivation and excitement to engage with the object to a more than cursory degree.
In thinking about two instructional objects I am currently involved in, it’s a no-brainer for me to guess which object students would rather engage with: a past-tense grammar lesson StAIR or a Day of the Dead Web quest that has them create an altar to honor another’s life. My challenge is to make the StAIR more interesting, and I am guessing that I am going to have to incorporate a lot of humor in the example sentences and questions to keep my students invested.
For Spanish teachers, I would like to suggest the following high-interest web quests made public from QuestGarden.
Let’s go on vacation. A cooperative learning web quest that requires students to work collaboratively to research a trip to a Spanish-speaking country that their school might travel to. Students go through the actual steps of planning and proposing a trip for approval. While it is true that all students might not participate in a Spanish club trip, this web quest invests the students in the trip creation process in a meaningful way.
Another travel-related web quest that asks students to dive into Spain’s culture on a vicarious level. As a travel agent, the student is to research and plan a trip for a hypothetical client.
Students research a latin dance of their choice and argue how it fits their personality. While the project is of high-interest, the author’s research links are to wikipedia only and the student’s final product is unclear.
A great cross-curricular web quest that has students research famous Spanish painters and then create their own artistic masterpiece. This web quest offers a decent amount of scaffolding while students discover Spanish art history in preparation for their own project, which may be created through a variety of mediums.
I bet your students love you! Taking into consideration their interests and needs before you design something is critical to its success! I agree that we "compete" for their atttention just be careful you can't do handstands on the chalkboard every day! That advice came from a very wise teacher that I once worked with:)
ReplyDeleteGreat points=8-) Here is something else to consider, at least for the WebQuest, is the availability of classroom materials. Since they take a while to build, it is best to focus on a topic that has a lot of Internet resouces, are a skill set that's difficult for students to grasp, and one that you have limited materials to use in the classroom for instruction. I enjoyed visiting your "top 4." It was great to see that you were able to find several that you can use with your students ~ Sue
ReplyDeleteI was really intrigued by the Spanish centered webquests you found. They are so neat! I am not a spanish major myself, but have tried to pick-up the language over the years. It was a fun challenge to see how much I could remember off of the top of my head.
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