Web Tools for Science Teachers Stage 4

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Web Tools for Science TeachersStage 4 5

• Teaching Science for Deeper Understanding
• Kaye Placing, UniServe Science
• kplacing_at_mail.usyd.edu.au

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Tools that allow teachers to

• Produce teaching materials that access
  information from/through the Web
• Produce teaching materials that can be delivered
  via the Web

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Production of materials that facilitate accessing
information from the Web

• WebQuests
• Indigenous Garden WebQuest
• EarthQuests/Virtual Field Trips
• Australian Landscapes EarthQuest

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What are WebQuests?

• Teaching and learning activity that draws all or
  most of its information from the Web
• Developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March, San
  Diego State University
• Address the higher order learning (Blooms
  Taxonomy)
• Role play/Occupations/Varying Points of View

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Why WebQuests?

• Gather information from secondary sources
• Assess the reliability secondary information
  and data
• Assess the accuracy of scientific information
  presented in the mass media
• BOS (Stage 6 Syllabuses)

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Why WebQuests?

• Time
• Keep students focussed
• But it is necessary to allow for some free
  exploration of the web to develop skills
• Searching
• Refining searches
• Assessing reliability and validity

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How do I create a WebQuest?

• Check there is not one already that suit your
  needs
• http//www.webquest.org/index.php
• http//bestwebquests.com/
• http//www.webquestdirect.com.au/
• http//science.uniserve.edu.au/school/quests/index
  .html
• Filamentality
• Treasure hunts
• WebQuests
• http//www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/

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Example

• Our Indigenous Garden
• http//science.uniserve.edu.au/school/quests/nativ
  eplants.html
• Managing Australia's Biodiversity
• http//science.uniserve.edu.au/school/sciweek/2001
  /biodiv.html
• Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy
• http//science.uniserve.edu.au/school/sheets/const
  ellations.html

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Virtual Field Trips/EarthQuests

• Google Earth
• http//earth.google.com/
• http//www.webkwestie.nl/earthquest/
• Microsoft Virtual Earth
• http//www.backofmyhand.com/

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Production of teaching materials that can be
delivered via the Web

• Crosswords
• Multiple choice questions
• Cloze
• Scrambled sentences
• Fill missing gap
• Label diagrams
• Etc

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What is available?

• http//science.uniserve.edu.au/school/profdev/tute
  s/webtools/
• Hot Potatoes
• http//hotpot.uvic.ca/
• http//science.uniserve.edu.au/school/curric/stage
  6/verbs/
• Question Tools
• http//www.questiontools.com/
• http//science.uniserve.edu.au/school/profdev/tute
  s/webtools/PlateTectonicsres/frame.htm
• Quia
• http//www.quia.com/
• http//www.quia.com/pages/uniservescience.html

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What else?

• The Timeline Tool
• http//www.learningtools.arts.ubc.ca/timeline.htm
• Timeline Creator
• http//timeline.cer.jhu.edu/
• Climate Change Timeline
• Quandary
• http//www.halfbakedsoftware.com/quandary.php

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Created using Excel
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Created using Excel
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Tools for Teachers

• Any questions
• Any discussion
• http//science.uniserve.edu.au/school/profdev/tute
  s/EdFac2008.html