WebQuest

I have been doing some research on how to design a webquest. There are alot of templates to use. However, I am having difficulty with finding one that fits my topic. Now, I understand what it means when all topics will not work for a webquest. I have found some lesson plans for coral reefs, but they do not exactly fit for a webquest. I will wait and see what my wiki-partner Veronica has to say about my websites. I will be spending all day tomorrow to try to set up a rough draft webquest page. I will see how that goes. I have found a lot of information for my topic and the lesson plan that looks like it works. I am frustrated though. I feel that I do not understand some of the things I am asking the students to research and learn about. The grade that I found the lesson plan for is 9-12. I am not sure if it is okay to use some of the information on this lesson plan.
On another topic I am not sure what grade I wish to teach yet. I thought about second grade. The reason for this is to catch children in need of extra help and get them that help before they are too far into the world of education. So, I guess I am leaning toward helping the exceptional child.

John Buckman-Magnitune

John Buckman created Magnitune in 2003; to create a way for musicians to get their music out. This method allowed the musicians free marketing, if they allowed others to use their music without making a profit. Most music labels would charge a musician $5-10,000 per year and would not guarantee that the Cd would even be distributed to the public. And if you could not guarantee that the Cd would sell 2000 to 7000 Cd's they would not even sign you. Buckman was considered the poster boy of music revolution. He accepts about 400 Cd's per month to look over. Out of these he usually picks only 10 to put on the Internet. He only uses classical, world, new age, thrash or speed metal for examples. He will never use any music that you can come by on the traditional FM radio station. His whole ideal is to get the musicians that would never be listened too, put out there so they can be heard. He believes that musicians should never give up their rights to their music. The major label industry makes $12 billion dollars a year from musicians; and the label owns the rights to the music. Magnitune also helps the "little guy" to make a little money. Buckman believes that the key to success is to look for the little guy and work together to make money. He believes that you will never succeed if you go up against the major labels. For example he has a license made for wedding DVDs. A wedding photographer is allowed to create Cd's with pictures from the wedding with music from Magnitune. This license allows the photographer to sell the Cd's to guests of the wedding and make a few dollars. I really like his ideals and how he is willing to stand up and defend users of his music if they are attacked by lawyers. He stated the he "likes helping sell stuff he believes in"; I think this is exactly what he does and he backs up his words.

Website, Blog, Wiki? What is the difference?

I want to thank Melissa S. for asking this question, and Lisa for answering it! This helps with defining how each works and their purpose. Again, THANKS!

Websites and webpages

I am very intimidated by this weeks assignment, however I feel that jumping in with both feet is probably to only way to learn this kind of stuff. I choose google, weebly, and yola for my three pages. Google and weebly have demo videos which I found to be extremely helpful with the novice of myself. Yola did not, yet it had the drop and drag for elements. I think weebly has a lot of add ons. I did not add any of these. I am unsure where to go from here. I titled and wrote welcome on my pages, and stopped there. Still exploring and trying to figure out where to go from here. I will get there eventually. I think that just being able to get the first page started is great progress for myself. Truthfully I can not choose a favorite. I don't feel confident in myself or the pages for that yet.

Wetpaint

I think that I may have done something wrong in posting by website on wiki. I found this need website called Eduation World Professional Development Center www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore004.shtml while doing research for another class. It helps teachers find constructive ways to handle difficult situations in the classroom. I had to look up information on how to handle a child with hygiene issues. I found a lot of supportive information. Like making hygiene a part of the cirriculum, asking a kindergarten teacher for advice (they usually have to deal with this issue alot), talk privately with the student, providing the student with a checklist, and having items handy in the classroom for children who do not have these things at home. Also having private signals for a child who has a issue (like picking her nose) to remind her that it is not appropriate; without embarrassing her.

Next 5000 days

The idea of total transparency is quite startling. But as I think about it, we really do that now as we tell others our personal information; and it travels from one person to another(gossip). With the web being like a "blackhole"; it makes me think that it is more powerful than humans, obviously is remembers more than we do. It almost makes you wonder if it can take over the world in a "scifi" kind of way. That would be really scary to be controlled by a machine that is smarter than us. It is astonishing that in 2040 the web's processing power will exceed that of the total human brains on earth!! People are becoming so co-dependent on technology (phones, ipods, palm pilots, etc.) that it probably would be great to have all of these connected to one source. But what happens if that one source does break down? Will the world stop? If the web is our only environment it seems to me that all will stop if there is a problem. I realize that it hasn't broken down in the first 5000 days, but itsn't there always that chance?
Tami

Blackboard Tutorials

Thanks, Lisa

I really liked taking the blackboard tutorials. I wish that I had taken it when I took my first online course. I had no idea what a "breadcrumb trail" was. Nor, did I know that you could click on it to take you back to your course's main page. I think that I will be visiting it from time to time to refresh on the shortcuts it provides. Tami