Webquest Complete (I think)

So I've added an evaluation from rubistar, and a few pics and I think it's done. I suppose I should go look up the criteria somewhere. Ah well. It'll do. And if it won't, someone let me know so that I can fix it!

Webquest mostly done

I've published my webquest!
But that doesn't necessarily mean it is complete. There isn't a single picture in the whole thing, which makes it all look rather boring. While I would definitely put some pics in before using this with students, I don't know how important this is right now, and whether or not I should spend large quantities of precious time adding some. Anyone?

The evaluation section is also causing problems, because in the context I intend to use this is, assessment and evaluation of the students is not particularly important. Students get very general reports at the end of their stay in the summer camp, but nothing specific.
I suppose I could use the rubistar template to ask students to give me an evaluation of the webquest. Ideas anyone?

Oh, and, as I've been asked a few times, Pirates of Penzance is over. The last performance was last Sunday, so I am now blissfully free to attend to the mountain of assignments currently plaguing my peace. And slightly missing the adrenaline of being on stage every night...

Photos will follow when I get the official CD of publicity shots for the show.

Pirates!

Pics of Pirates are now up on my travel blog, so go laugh at me in costume!

more blog thoughts - blogs in class

Further to my last post...
I was sitting thinking in class last wednesday (listening, of course) about using blogs to teach free writing. I'm still not sure of the best way of working it. I first thought of getting each student to start a blog, as we've done here, and write anything they felt like, perhaps I could provide some questions for inspiration sometime. They could comment on each others' blogs, correct them (although Iwould rather encourage free writing than accuracy) and I could see how they were going too. But, in my next teaching context, I have pre-teens for one or two weeks at a time. It might be a lot to get them all to start blogs. Then I thought of using the idea of a group blog. I could open it with my blogspot profile, call it something original like "Kat's Students' Blog" and then arrange one new blogspot account and give the password to all my current students (or a different one for each class or whatever) and make them able to post to the blog. They'd probably have to sign their names so I could tell who was who, but it could be an interesting way of doing it. As it's a summer camp, they could also tell their parents the url, so they can see what's going on from afar. And I could post questions sometime, rather as Debra does on our OLT site, to inspire online discussion and elicit the opinions and ideas I'm after (like "what did you think of the X activity in class this morning" and other useful topics). I can arrange some computer time during class time, and they have some access to the computers in their free time and activity time as well, so it could be nearly every day, which it would need to be to be any use in a class where few people stay more than 2 weeks. Of course, I could let them post after they've left as well, I suppose!
This should possibly have been posted to my Methodology reflection notepad, as it is as muc about teaching writing as about technology. Maybe I can just put a link there!

(Yes, I am up after 3am again - but I've now got all of the first round of assessment done except the webquest, so that is now priority no.1. That and pirates, which is taking up at least 5 hours of every single day between now and Sunday the 21st. Why do I do this again....?)

Blog Thoughts

Ok, so it's after midnight and I am again knee deep in a last minute assignment, and procrastinating. By writing blog entries. Not my travel blog, which is in desperate need of a few entries, but this one. Because I was thinking about blogs (for some reason it's hard to keep my mind on the present perfect, which is what I'm writing the assignment on...).

I'm coming to terms with having multiple blogs, with nicely defined and differentiated topics or purposes. I think at the end of this course I will attempt to keep this one occasionally updated with teaching thoughts, ideas and lessons that went well (or didn't). Of course, even with best intentions, I might not ever actually update it, but you never know. I'm getting so reflective lately with all this reflections I have to write as part of all my courses, that I might get reflection withdrawal if I stop suddenly in June. Probably safest to keep writing!

I've also been thinking of starting a 3rd blog. Which is probably excessive. But I occasionally feel the need for a blog no one knows about. When I worked out that was what my third blog would be for, I started thinking about how strange that is. Why write a public, published (albeit web-published) blog, if no one is ever going to read it? Why not just keep a word document on your own computer? I think it has something to do with exhibitionism and the possibility of others reading it. It seems my writing is like my cooking - I'll only do it for others to appreciate, and never just for me. I have started the odd journal before, but it never lasts more than about 2 entries, often months apart. But I will write a blog (as evidenced here!) that has a chance (however small) of being read by someone other than me. And I wouldn't tell anyone I actually knew about it, because then I wouldn't be free to write anything I wanted! I already feel that restriction with my travel blog - while it is my personal blog, it is also read by a wide range of family, friends and acquaintances, and the link is in my email sig line, so anyone I email can find it. This means I have to be a little circumspect sometimes, and edit!

So a secret blog seems like a good idea. If nothing else, it will give me yet another something to write when procrastinating from assignments, thereby saving midnight venting in less appropriate forums like this one! I just have to get over the first hurdle - a catchy title! hmmm....

Workshop 3

Survived the 3rd workshop - even got some useful stuff done! I've started my webquest on questgarden now, having abandoned dreamweaver for now. QuestGarden certainly makes it all much easier, and I'm well on the way to entering all the info and whatnot now. It's on pause again however, until I get through the other two pieces of assessment for other subjects due monday and tuesday. I had a few moe ideas about it though, so I'll have plenty to work on when I get the time.
I also got time to tweak this blog a bit diring the workshop - finally managed to get rid of the horrible green post headlines that have been driving me mad since I started it, which is good.
The e-portfolio Debra showed us looked interesting. The QUT one didn't really seem worth it, as I probably won't be at QUT again after mid 2007, but a permanent one could be useful, and it seemed to have lots of useful sections already set up.
The discussions on self-directed learning were also interesting, even though they seemed a little pointed! The nudge towards getting things organised was probably a good one though. I have to set myelf some deadlines to get the assignments done in moments when I'm not meeting deadlines for other subjects. Or performing every night.
Back to my study of the present perfect for my grammar presentation tomorrow evening. Yay!

I'll get there, really I will

Webquest continues to go backwards. Not through lack of good intentions, though. I have just been away for a few days in central queensland (not my choice of timing, but a nice break, anyway -I'll Travel-Blog it when the fun stops) and came back to real life just in time for the most stressful week yet in this semester. I arrived back at midday today, and gave a presentation at 4.30. The matching assignment is due friday, the reflection on the presentation next week. I should probably write it sometime soon. I have another presentation tomorrow morning, and yet another Monday (which probably also needs to be followed by a reflection), and now this all day workshop on Saturday. The fun just never stops (which doesn't bode well for thos travel blogs...).
All this means the webquest is going to be a little delayed. But it's in my planner for the end of next week. Really.