Inquiry Project 1: Evaluating Websites Jennifer Blacker CEP 806 Fall 2012

 Our group discussions focused on finding and using Internet sources, such as Wikipedia to complete school assignments yielded interesting results. All members of our group echoed a need for explicit instruction for students before expecting them to effectively search the Internet for information. Ideas

 I predicted my fourth grade students would approach web evaluation from a very visual perspective, and focus on the appearance of the websites.  I expected students to identify large text, images, photographs, games, and sounds as helpful characteristics.  This inquiry is meaningful and significant to my students because I want to establish a strong set of foundational skills. Students will be expected to independently locate and utilize information from the Internet for projects in middle and high school. Predictions & Explanations

 The data to inform my inquiry will be systematically collected by using student surveys, asking questions, and class discussions  Students will complete a chart after visiting 3 websites to identify what characteristics of the websites were helpful and unhelpful in learning more about the topic. Description of Project 1

 We are currently studying habitats as part of our 4 th grade science curriculum, so I selected 3 websites for students to explore and learn more information about habitats.  As they were indepedently exploring the websites they were recording on their survey helpful and unhelpful characteristics. Description of Project 2

 Every student in my class was given this survey to complete and time to explore the three websites. I circulated around the room asking questions while students were working. Student Survey Used

 Here are the links to the three websites I asked my fourth grade students to evaluate:  1. Habitat FactsHabitat Facts  2. Happenin’ Habitats. Happenin’ Habitats  3. Biomes of the WorldBiomes of the World Websites for Evaluation

 I discovered through tallying their survey rankings that the 3 rd website listed on the survey was the favorite (most helpful website) for 14 of my 26 students.  8 of my 26 students identified the first website listed on the survey as the most helpful website.  Only 4 of my students listed the second website on the survey page as the most helpful.  The tallies for 2 nd and 3 rd most helpful website had the greatest variety of responses and no clearly, observable pattern. Interesting Patterns 1

 According to my student surveys students identified the following characteristics of each website as helpful when determining if it was useful for learning information:  Colorful maps  Videos/movies  Photos  Captions for images  One world map showing all biomes  Lots of writing Interesting Patterns 2

 Each student took a slightly different approach to completing the survey. My struggling readers also struggled to complete this assignment because some of the vocabulary used on the survey was unfamiliar to them. With guidance and providing definitions they were able to complete the assignment.  All students took longer than I anticipated to complete the survey. In total we spent 3 class periods (35 minutes) in the computer lab to complete the survey when I had originally thought we could complete it in one period. Interesting Patterns 3

 The data I collected fit my original hypothesis that students would be drawn to the visual aspects of websites.  While the data I collected was very interesting, in reviewing it I have discovered more modeling and scaffolding is needed to really help students identify HOW to evaluate a website. Many students simply wrote down that they liked everything about a particular website instead of identifying specific characteristics or they said that they liked it because I selected it for them to look at. Interesting Patterns 4

 I feel my initial project plan was too ambitious for my students to fully comprehend and complete this early in the school year.  I was excited to get students thinking about why a website may or may not be helpful for them to use.  More scaffolding and direct instruction should have been provided to my students before giving them the survey to complete independently.  I feel providing a word bank with suggestions or examples of characteristics would have been more beneficial for students than just discussing examples orally. Emergent Ideas

 How will my students’ thinking about website evaluation change as the year progresses?  Will the results of my survey be different when repeated AFTER direct instruction and more time to practice as a whole group?  How would this inquiry have unfolded differently if I had asked students to find their own website about habitats to evaluate? Questions

 Establish a more realistic timeline.  Provide scaffolding to build background knowledge before independent practice.  Continue implementation of website evaluation throughout the school year to gather more valuable data on student growth and changing of ideas over time.  Continue to reinforce vocabulary for website evaluation so it becomes more natural for students to use these terms when viewing a website for the first time. Lessons from Inquiry 1