Reflection on Readings
Today, the academic world is witnessing the creation of new learning environments. One thing is clear: technology will continue to be a single most important determinant of delivering teaching and learning processes and activities. These processes and activities make important both the roles of teachers and students but the weight is given for the teachers to integrate technological know-how in curriculum and instructions. WebQuest is one among such activities which aimed at tapping both short term and long term learning benefits for teachers. In this reflection teachers are considered as the learner.
WebQuest is basically inquiry-driven where informations are readily available on the Internet and which is optionally supplemented by videoconferencing. Although WebQuest was designed for learners to acquire knowledge, integrate and apply this knowledge on real life situations and analyze the wealth of information through sense-making, WebQuest, from a personal standpoint, has a weak foundation. I say this because the information sources are already there hence it is like a spoon-feeding whereby teachers as learners are not given the opportunity to broaden their horizon. As such, WebQuest makes student teachers analyze but it does not pushing them toward critical thinking. With this, I say that it is really important to utilize questions that requires critical thinking such as why, how and which to complement the basic questions of what, where, when and who.
It is also commendable that WebQuest presented both the critical and non-critical attributes. Personally, I believed that it should be the other way around. Group activities, motivational elements and interdisciplinary approach should be the critical attributes due to the fact that it develops all learning domains such as acquisition, transmission, accretion and emergence. Brown (2005) the emphasis must be on aligning the teaching profession in the way it will stick with the real goals of education. To wit, what teachers will be learning from this site will be trickled down onto their students. Learning evident in WebQuest is continual, an embedded process, self-selected and needs-based. Learning is also obviously learner constructed, personal and subjective.
However, reflection is not much considered thus deeper learning is not achieved that much. As learner-driven as it is, should WebQuest treat the part/part as critical attribute because it tends to be procedural rather than contributing to effective e-learning. Using Ertmer’s (2005) work it is possible to show that curriculum-based technological integration follows a transformative, processual path wherein teachers could be technologically empowered through small-scale applications.
Paradoxically, thinking skills that WebQuest claimed to be developing may include that of comparing, classifying, inducing, deducing, analyzing errors, constructing support, abstraction and analyzing perspectives. With this point, I opined that there are at least three skills that should be included and these are reflection, problem solving and critical thinking. Reflection provides a structured opportunity for learners to consider ramifications of their WebQuest experiences and better understand their roles prior, during and after activities. Problem-solving aims to develop logical thinking of learners as well as creative thinking. Such skills also develop their capability to arrive at corrective actions when something went wrong. Critical thinking skills provide learners the ability to build upon knowledge minus incremental guidance. Teachers are well aware that knowledge is fluid and builds upon itself.
Brown (2005) echoed this idea by stating that the blind faith on the potential of technology should be abandoned and profession should be engaged in the technology debate from a critical context. There will be the perennial question whether technology-based teaching and learning is helping to create students whom are critically informed. In simpler terms, dependence on technology by either teachers or students should cultivate critical, functional citizens in the long run.
WebQuest is navigate-difficult considering its design steps but the other reading suggest that a better way to do is through adhering into the research cycle. Such a cycle could guide teachers in properly navigating in WebQuest specifically for first-time users. Ertmer (2005) stressed that the pedagogical beliefs of academic professionals were viewed to be one of the barriers in the successful integration of computers into the educational system. It is important for the teachers to be expert and competent on the field of technological learning integration to support their aims inside the classroom.
Nevertheless, there is yet another praiseworthy feature of WebQuest is that it is feedback-oriented. Although there is limitations on the style of interface as comments are generated from distant audience, critiquing is an important endeavor for teachers because they could also learn deeper from this process. Through this, teachers are enabled to focus on intended meanings and discussing alternative views while also further developing new ideas. As opposed to Ertmer’s (2005) suppositions, WebQuest is an example where teachers are not resisting the change instead they are supporting it.
Further, WebQuest and The Question is the Answer supports the ideals of connectivism learning. Connectivism learning includes meaningful insights such as learning and knowledge is embedded on diversity of opinions as well as a process of connection which is apparent in WebQuest through videoconferencing and feedbacking. It would be also important to note that connections should be important in facilitator of continual learning.
For connectivism to be effective capacity to know more should be treated critical rather than what is already known should be the aim. Although there are not much enabler to develop creativity among learners in the WebQuest other than the creativity of designing, for me, The Question is the Answer has more powerful ways of developing creative skills. This is because these questions and the research cycle require patience and in-depth thinking compared to the critical attributes of WebQuest.
In making both as effective cognitive tools, various simulations that involve all the eight thinking skills as well as reflection, problem solving and critical thinking skills should be all integrated. Other cognitive skills that could be integrated are reasoning, perceptions and concentration. Such skills are so powerful that they will impact performance and success within and outside classrooms or on-line or off.
References
Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs: The Final Frontier in Our Quest for Technology Integration. Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4): 25-39.
Brown, M. (2005). The Growth of Enterprise Pedagogy: How ICT Policy is Infected by Neo-Liberalism. Australian Educational Computing, 20(2): 16-22.
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