Scenario

After exploring a number of activity structures, you are excited about the possibilities of using them in college courses. A number of questions come to mind. Where should one begin? How does one determine which structure is most appropriate? How does one go about collecting materials? What kind of help is available for actually creating an activity? Finally, how does one assess student learning when using one of these structures?

Explore solutions to each of the questions raised above. As you find answers, think about how you could present this material to colleagues.

1. How does one determine which structure is most appropriate?

• Activity Formats: Beginning with a Goal <http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/formats.html>
• Grow What You Know: An Evloving Process for Curriculum Design <http://www.web-and-flow.com/articles/grow.asp>
• The WebQuest Design Process: Exploring the Possibilities <http://www.ozline.com/webquests/design1.html> This article was written for specifically for WebQuests, but much of the material applies to MiniQuests and Project Pages as well.
• Using the Internet to Promote Inquiry-based Learning <http://www.biopoint.com/ibr/startup.html> Contains a table with links to pages on the following topics:
  • Asking Essential Questions
  • Asking Foundation Questions

2. Searching for Internet resources can be extremely time consuming. How can one collect appropriate sites in the most efficient manner?

• Wouldn't You Rather Gather? Skip Search Engines and Find Sites Faster <http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/nov99/march.htm>
• Link Like You Mean It! <http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/mar00/march.htm>
• Web Searching: Finding and Evaluating Web Resources <http://www.biopoint.com/WebQuests/search.html>
• Using the Internet to Promote Inquiry-based Learning <http://www.biopoint.com/ibr/startup.html> Contains a table with links to pages on the following topics:
  • Developing a Search Strategy
  • Search Tool Resources
  • Specialty Searching
  • Search Resources
• Use Backflip <http://www.backflip.com>, a bookmark server, to collect and organize great sites. One can access Backflip from any machine with an Internet connection.

3.What kind of help is available for actually creating an activity?

• Filimentality <http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/>
• WebQuest Templates <http://webquest.sdsu.edu/LessonTemplate.html>
• Building Project Pages <http://www.biopoint.com/ibr/projectpage.html>
• Biopoint.com  launched a new web site, myprojectpages.com, designed to help faculty build inquiry-based learning Web documents.

4. Assessment is extremely important. How can one assess, and then assign a grade for student work on Internet based activities?

• Rubrics for web lessons <http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/weblessons.htm> This page provides an overview of using rubrics as an assessment tool. The page contains links to other articles on authentic assessment, examples of rubrics, guidelines for creating a rubric, and links to other web resources on rubrics.
• Creating Rubrics: Inspire your students and foster critical thinking. <http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4521.html> This page has links to a  five-part series that explores how one teacher designs, refines, and implements rubrics in a variety of subject areas.

Use the knowledge you gained by completing the MiniQuests, Exploring Web-based Activities and Developing Web-based Activities, to write a web-based activity that you can use in one of your courses. Try your completed activity with students the next time you teach your course.