Online Experiences: WebQuests

One online experience I would use with students in a math classroom are WebQuests.  A previous textbook used by the district I taught in provided WebQuests related to unit content.   The WebQuests were not so much created to teach content but provided an opportunity for students to apply content from the course.  More specifically, the WebQuests worked for students to apply and demonstrate an understanding of algebra content. 

McGraw Hill WebQuest Projects 


WebQuests for a math classroom serve as a summative assessment at the end of a unit.  Depending on the WebQuest, such a task could be used as a quarterly project or assessment to evaluate student understanding of the implications of the content. 


WebQuests offer opportunities for students to work collaboratively in small groups as well as individually.  The WebQuest itself provides scaffolding for students walking them through the process and detailing specific information and tasks to complete.  Simulations could be incorporated into the WebQuest that students complete to demonstrate knowledge and apply the information from class.  Additionally, WebQuests could be extended to include individual or group presentations of the found information.  The WebQuests linked above could also be used as an exam review and in turn as a study tool for students.


For a mathematics class, I think online field trips would be more challenging with students.  The technology itself wouldn't be the challenge, ensuring that it was used effectively presents the greater challenge.  Objectives would need to be carefully crafted and the final product reviewed to make sure the objectives were met by the activity.  RSS feeds represent another online experience I think would be difficult for a mathematics classroom.  The reasoning here is similar, the technology itself not being the difficulty but finding ways to effectively incorporate the use of the technology might take more thought.

Wikis and Wikipedia

Here is a link to the wiki page I recently created for the sixth grade students on my case load.  The welcome page links to a content page for each of their four core academic classes.  Content pages link to individual teacher wikis or blogs with course-specific information.  The intent is to also add helpful links and resources for students.


Valleywood Middle School does not currently have a page on wikipedia.  Kentwood Public Schools does however have a wikipedia page.  One thing that caught my attention on Kentwood's page is the list of all the schools within the district.

 As I looked at the list of schools, I noticed that East Kentwood High School was linked to the high school's website.  None of the other schools were linked to their respective websites.  I decided to edit the page and link all of the listed schools directly to the school's website.

 As you can see from the image above, each of the listed schools links directly to the school's website.

Universal Design for Learning-Educator Checklist

UDL Educator Checklist


The checklist linked above considers the lesson Multiplying and Dividing Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers.  Each of the nine guidelines was considered with the corresponding checkpoints.  With the lesson plan in mind, I read through each set of checkpoints and the provided examples.  After thinking about the provided examples and searching for evidence in support of the UDL guidelines and checkpoints within the lesson, I made note of things that emerged as features and barriers.  I color-coded the features in green and the barriers in red.  In one case I noted both a related feature and barrier for a particular checkpoint.  The list is not exhaustive of all features and barriers within the lesson; the noted features and barriers were the initial ideas that came to mind while considering the guidelines and checkpoints provided.