Webquest design and implementation

¶ … Webquest

In a comparison of the Yahoo! search engine (http://www.yahoo.com) and the Google search engine (http://www.google.com),there are some very interesting similarities, but also some blatant differences. Yahoo! provides the options of searching on the web, in images, in yellow pages, and in products. Google provides the options of searching the web, images, groups, directory, and news. Both engines provide suggestions if there is a chance one misspelled a common word in your search terms. When performing any kind of general search on Yahoo!, for example searching for the terms TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION, the first several "search results" are actually paid ads in disguise. On Google, however, the ads are clearly marked as such, and all results are not paid. Beyond the paid ads, the different engines provided different but equally relevant results. Other differences are that Yahoo! offers a separate link to open the result in a new window, which is nice but actually unnecessary since anyone can open a new window from a link. However, if one is searching for something less broad, Google is far superior. If one searches for CRUXSHADOWS SCHOLARLY on Yahoo!, one is barraged with one Yahoo! fangroup posting, and 20 websites that sell term papers. (These are not good search results for this topic.) On Google, one is given links to actual scholarly sources, websites, and essays on The Cruxshadows. Interestingly, about one year ago I took a survey at Yahoo! about how they could improve their search engine. I told them to make it more like Google, and now it is attempting to be a clone.

Every school system should be implementing technology into the learning process. Providing access to technology in the classroom will make for a more techno-savvy class of students, better able to function in the "real world" where technology is vital for success. Also, technology is a priceless tool for teaching children a variety of subjects in a fun, exciting, and interactive setting. The most important thing to teach is technology tolerance. Many teachers will not accept Internet or electronic sources in research papers, and others will not accept a typed report because the student might have "cheated" and used spelling or grammar checks. Even schools that can only afford a limited number of computers should stress the importance of them to the teachers and students and demand that teachers create a technology friendly classroom environment.

It is vital that teachers be knowledgeable regarding computers and technology so that this knowledge can be utilized and passed on to the students. Having positive guidelines for teachers to follow regarding their knowledge, implementation, and productivity regarding technology is a charming idea. Colleges preparing current students to be the teachers of the future may not have a feasible plan for preparing teachers to deal with the rapidly developing and evolving technology of today and tomorrow, so it is wise to have guidelines that can be adapted to best suit each educational program so that students and educators will have some idea of whether or not they are successful incorporating technology into teachers preparation.

In the classroom setting, computers are being used as a learning tool, which is good. However, there is a trend for teachers and administrators to misrepresent this tool when sharing it with students. Believing that the students are not capable of fully understanding the complexity of the technology as it stands, teachers will simplify it in their lessons and explanations. For example, teachers may use a "child-friendly" interface (even for students in Middle School or High School) instead of a normal operating system interface or the actual Internet. This kind of simplified presentation may at first appear to be an easier way for the students to be introduced to computers, however it actually causes problems for them in the long run. The "child-friendly" versions will have limited options and often bizarre and outdated commands, and the ability to use this will not always translate into an ability to handle normal computers, but actually hinder the child's ability to learn the real thing because their instincts will tell them that operating systems such as Windows, MacOS, or Linux should behave in a certain set of ways which are completely unfounded. Also, false "Internet" interfaces, such as a network comprised of a set number of specific websites, will give the children a false sense of there being an "end" to the Internet which can be reached, and also limits their ability to locate valuable educational material. Parents and teachers may also provide children with mock computers that are similar in appearance to a desktop or laptop computer, but in reality are nothing more than a low-functioning electronic toy that is far removed from an actual personal computer. Children that are old enough to read are capable of learning to work with "real life" computers, and the earlier children begin to work with computers, the better equipped they will be to utilize them and use them to the fullest potential. Computers may strike adults who did not grow up with them to be terribly complicated and dangerous things which must be controlled and introduced slowly because they are so shocking, but it is important to remember that the generations who are growing up with this technology already available will not be so strangely affected as those who were introduced to personal desktop and laptop computers as a full-grown adult already set in their ways.