Wednesday, November 16, 2011

WebQuest!!!!

Our top WebQuest was the Egyptian one, because it showed great usage of technology.

The WebQuest we thought was the worst was the Landfill one, simply because it was badly structured and seemed the least helpful. It seemed whoever created it was either in a hurry or didn't care.

Monday, November 14, 2011

WEB QUEST

Poetry of War :
               -Strengths :
                           - Had a good example of a poem about conflict.
                           - The images changed when the mouse was scrolled over them.
                           - Listed links to other helpful websites.
                           - As depressing as the color choice was, it certainly fit the topic.
                           - Included contacts for any additional questions.
               - Weaknesses :
                           - The main page was boring and had minimal links.
                           - Directory was not clearly listed.


Creative Encounters :
               - Strengths :
                            - Links to explore website were clearly listed on the left hand side of the page.
                            - Animated gifs were used to spark students interest.
                            - Included a rubric.
                            - Included contacts for additional questions.
               - Weaknesses :
                            - none :)


Ancient Egypt :
               - Strengths :
                           - Included animated gifs, eye-catching images, clear directory, links to videos, links to other links, and a rubric!

              - Weaknesses :
                          - none :)


The Problem With Landfills :
             - Strengths :
                         - The directory was clearly listed.
             -Weaknesses :
                         - The information was displayed in an unclear fashion.
                         - part of the rubric was cut off


The Diary of John Wilkes Booth :
             - Strengths :
                         - Links to information about the topic.
                         - Rubric was clearly listed.
                         - Some images were used as links to additional information.
             - Weaknesses :
                         - none :)


Group Thoughts :
Everyone agreed the top 2 were the Ancient Egyptian website and the War Poetry website. We all agreed that they both showed a good use of the internet and technology in clear and concise ways.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia run by a nonprofit organization. Wikipedia has also been translated into many different languages, including English. Although Wikipedia can be a bit warped by online users, the Wikipedia staff believe it can be "weeded out sooner rather than later". When it comes to eliminating the errors made to Wikipedia, a tool known as the Wikiscanner is used. The Wikiscanner is a tool that allows the IP address of any anonymous "editor" to be checked. Also, by using the Wikiscanner, you can see what changes have been made and research a bit more one different websites to validate the facts.

Since Wikipedia is mainly controlled and operated by volunteers, Larry Sanger (a former founder of Wikipedia.), left because he believed it should "give more authority to experts". 

The statistics shown in the article show how popular Wikipedia is for such an "unreliable source". I believe Wikipedia is so successful because people have constantly relied on the information of others for centuries. 

I'm not sure why Wikipedia wouldn't want to advertise their website. maybe because 90% of the world's population has already used/heard of it already.