Internet-Based Learning Environments

“Every Michigan student will have meaningful technology-enabled learning opportunities based on research and best practice that include virtual learning experiences.”


Students in grades 6 - 12 need to have 20 hours of online experience before they graduate. It states that the students will, "become familiar with a key means of increasing their own learning skills and knowledge. It will also prepare them for the demands that they will encounter in higher education, the workplace, and in personal life-long learning. While students informally develop technology skills and gain experience through their media-rich lives, an online learning experience will require them to complete assignments, meet deadlines, learn appropriate online behavior, and effectively collaborate with others in an instructional setting." Basically: they need to get ready for the real world with ever-changing demands and new technologies. 


Recently, I was discussing with my world language colleague how we could create and utilize one of these technologies in the classroom that qualify as an online experience: The Electronic Portfolio. 


In the state of Michigan, they recently decided that students have to have 2 years (or the equilvalent) of a World Language. However, they absolutely have no idea what this entails, such as one state exam to pass out of this, or will the district decide how to prove that they've had this experience? We want to be prepared and expect the unexpected. 


We are planning to create an online portfolio for the students that we would maintain from grades K-2 and then would begin updating with their own work at the 3rd grade level. They would maintain this until their last language class. We are still working out the details and are having an issue with how we would house each student's work and progress. Technology is evolving so quickly that we are afraid they would create a portfolio in Kindergarten (well, we would) and then by 3rd grade we'd have to switch programs. 


To create these projects that would be available on their electronic portfolios, we would use different types of strategies. We could teach so many different topics and benchmarks, such as using simulation and problem solving to teach weather in Latin America and create a vlog to post on their portfolio to showcase their progress. Through scaffolding, we could create Wikis to teach about culture and have students in other countries contribute to the learning experience by using the Wiki as well. We could discuss things like food, music, hobbies, and past times and we could break down negative attitudes from the get-go! It would cover an entire Michigan World Language Standard (Culture). 


Many Web 2.0 technologies would be simple to integrate meaningfully. I think it would be easy to integrate a lot of the things that they recommend in the Michigan Companion Document, however, as I've read amongst my peers, WebQuests would be difficult to integrate simply because they take a lot of time to make quality Quests and there aren't many out there that are worthy. 

Computer-Based Instructional Objects

There are a lot of different considerations that have to be made when computer-based instructional objects are used in and out of the classroom.


For example if the lesson is on the internet, like a WebQuest, there is the consideration that the technology needed to complete the lesson is not available. It also needs to have clear-cut expectations and directions for the students to be able to use independently. Also, the information needs to be presented in a way that is at the cognitive level of the students. Also, students must be able to easily navigate the lesson, or in other words, make it look appealing and "easy on the eye".


I researched a few different WebQuests and unfortunately I did not find many quality Quests. 


I did find La Aventura, a WebQuest revolving around traveling to another country and learning to budget. It allowed students to work in pairs, which I think is great given the opportunity to discuss different cultural activities while in the country as they navigated their way around. It also has a very clear-cut objective as well as evaluation with a rubric. On top of that, it gives the students an opportunity to learn about activities that are available in other countries - and to personalize this to what interests them. If one student enjoys sports and another student enjoys art, they both can find different activities that are relevant.


Another WebQuest I found was Viva Espana!  This was really great and began with this introduction: "While walking along the street on Saturday, you and your three friends look down and see a black wallet lying in the gutter. After opening the wallet, you see that it belongs to the famous Spaniard Antonio Banderas! A phone call to Antonio reveals that he is ecstatic that you found his wallet and is offering you and your friends a huge reward. The reward is based on one condition!"


Who wouldn't want complete this WebQuest - it has Antonio Banderas! This catches my attention right away and also has a great collaboration opportunity with four different roles - each learning about a different aspect of Spain. It also gives the students A LOT of options to pick from, from how long they are staying in the country to what cities they visit. They then complete both individual and group assignments, which I also feel is a good measure of participation and personal learning. It has a clear evaluation for both the personal and group assignments, as well as for the role of each student.