Webquest Link

http://prezi.com/hiwnd1jv0wzk/edit/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=email#25_3326935

Webquest development

We are planning to split the web into 2 main categories, environmental and social. The paths will go on tangents where kids can choose more specific routes based on the choices they make and their interests, but the paths will intersect back to the main topics, which will also intersect each other. We will use resources that we have compiled on Pinterest to talk about different facets of issues surrounding water, which kids will view through their journey through the web. This journey will then culminate in a project. We are thinking about letting the students choose a project, but it may make more sense to have them do the same one for the sake of time. We have two main proposals for projects: design a poster to raise awareness of water issues, or create a sculpture using plastic bottles and found resources (i.e. pollution).

Webquest Concepts: Sources and Sketches

We are starting to develop ideas for our Webquest. We have decided to use Prezi (http://prezi.com/your/) to create a click-and-drag format to allow students to choose their own path in a narrative. This format is loosely based on worlds like the one on this website: 

http://xkcd.com/1110/ 

and chose-your-own-story formats like this: 

https://writer.inklestudios.com/stories/qfn5

http://www.inklestudios.com/inklewriter/

We are using ideation techniques like mind maps...

and are collecting ideas on a visual pin board to keep track of things we come across. 

http://www.pinterest.com/mcf77/water/

This is a concept sketch for a format that we care considering for the webquest.

Webquest

I think that I want to do my webquest on water. This is a subject that can be taken in many directions. there are many social issues that surround water, both internationally and domestically. the kids could explore concepts that surround the subject. These could include access to clean water, water waste, personal water use, water in personal health, oceans, lakes, watersheds, rivers,  pollution, aquatic life, boats, boathouses, bayous, scientific properties of water, legends surrounding water, water cycles, bottled water/waste, and many more. They could look at art and design that focuses on issues of water, and then generate their own. They could choose the direction that they want to go in based on their personal interests.

Educational Technology

            Technology is any advancement that has been invented by humans to make our lives easier. Though many of the things around us are technology of some kind, when we are talking about the application of technology in pedagogy we are usually focusing on the use of digital and new media that we could potentially integrate in to the classroom and will facilitate and enhance learning.            

            Technology can be a powerful tool for an art educator. Art and visual culture are inherently interdisciplinary, and technology can help to bring different facets of various disciplines together. It can be used to create new media artworks, where the technology is the medium for student to engage in artmaking. That being said, it is also the platform by which students view such artwork made by others. They can also use it to see the work of other artists who work in more traditional mediums. This also means that students can share their own artwork with others and connect with other artists through social media. This allows for the spreading of ideas.

            I think that Deviant Art was an interesting way to exhibit art and see the work of others. It also allows for an online critique and gives people an opportunity to buy and commission art. Etsy is cool for the same reason. This allows artists to get exposure for their work and to be able to sell work on an international scale.

Prezi

http://prezi.com/3rdf56phkjfd/edit/#1_58299455