Description and evaluation of one or more inquiry-based lessons (WebQuest or other):

Well, since I created one, I’ll use that. http://mrsdmsrowe.tripod.com/index.htm is where you can find the first page. I believe I created this for TIE 542 with Randy Hansen. I was trying to create a real-world problem that integrated the capability of learning a new skill without the direct input of a teacher – a lesson that could be completed by a distance learner. The baseball teams that are represented incorporate both Chicago teams, although other teams could be substituted. It teaches the basics of Excel spreadsheets, and the reference page includes Web 2.0 options to learn from, like YouTube videos.

Students are supposed to pick a team and eight players on that team, choose one of the three boroughs of New York, and create an itinerary of places they will eat for three days on a tight budget. Then they create two spreadsheets, meant to be introductory to spreadsheets and Excel functions. And although this was to be done alone and online by a student, I created it so I could use it in my classroom. However, I found that it was not as basic and simple as I had hoped. I really couldn’t force my class to do this online since I can’t give homework, and there really wasn’t enough class time I could devote to them viewing all the references or trying to learn on their own, so I had to build up to this. Most were able to complete their first spreadsheet roster okay, but seriously needed a lot of one-on-one help to complete the second, more complicated spreadsheet. They also thought the cell addresses of where items were supposed to go was confusing. So I have used this lesson with modifications since. I haven’t bothered to change it for two reasons: up to now, I haven’t owned Dreamweaver to make the changes, and I’m not well-versed in Dreamweaver to make the changes, and two, I’m not using it as designed. I’m also not sure if I could upload to this site again or if I would have to get a new one from tripod.

I included a teacher page with the reasoning behind the creation of the site, something that might be helpful to someone who stumbles across the page and wants to try it in a class setting. Also an annotated bibliography of sources I used. I don’t normally find this on webquest sites I visit, and I think it’s a good idea to know the intent behind the creation of a site. Normally it’s for commercial purposes, and not usually solely for education.