Webquest- History Webquest- Gabrielle Ambrose

Since I absolutely love history, I decided to search the numerous history webquests online. I finally found a webquest that was credible and extremely creative. When I clicked on the webquest, "Journey Back in Time to Colonial Days" I was very impressed. Colonial music started playing when the webquest was fully loaded, which I thought was a very nice touch. The webquest also included beautiful colors and graphics/pictures that caught your eye. The webquest also gave valuable information such as the grade level the webquest is intended for and the email address of the creator of the webquest.
In the introduction, the author says that her class is going to travel back to colonial days to see what living in that time period was like. Each student will possess a certain role such as: slave, baker, cabinetmaker, apprentice, manor lady, miller, etc. and will assume that role during class time and for the assignments to be completed for this unit.
The students will use internet resources to gather information about their role. The roles are then listed on the webquest and are actually links to websites the students can use to gather this information. The teacher then tells the students they will be creating a tri-fold brochure, which is similar to a travel brochure. The rest of the assignments are given and other web sources (links) are listed to assist students in gather information for their assignments for this project.
Overall, the webquest was very well put together. The expectations for the assignments were very clear and plenty of resources were available for students to successfully complete the assignments. The webquest was also very appealing and is sure to peak students' interest when picking a role to assume for the project. I actually would not mind playing off of the webquest when gaining my own classroom in the future.

Below is the link for the webquest: Journey Back in Time to Colonial Days
http://www.bristolvaschools.org/mwarren/JourneytoColonialTimes.htm

Websites- Google Sites

Websites sometimes get a bad reputation in the world of education, but there are many advantages for teachers and also for students through the use of websites. For instance, Google sites are perfect for teachers and students. First of all, teachers can use Google sites to create a classroom website that can get students more involved in their classroom and also with technology. Teachers can also use the classroom website to communicate the lessons he or she will be teaching and what content the students are learning. Lastly, a class website is very insightful to parents because it tells everything the parents need to know about the classroom and the teacher. This is a great way to start a healthy relationship between the teacher and the parents. Teachers can also put their email address' on the class website so that parents can contact their child's teacher and do not want to call the school to talk to their child's teacher.
Google sites is one of the best places to start a class website. First of all, Google sites is very secure and Google sites is always coming up with new ways to keep the information on the sites private and secure. Many things that could be included on the websites, such as emails, documents, calendars can be accessed anywhere and anytime on many devices.
Google Sites also has an app that allows students to study on the computer in real time and across distance. This could be helpful if the teacher is sick or if a student is sick and needs to catch up on learning information present in the class that they missed. In Google Docs, students can work together to complete assignments and can get them done quickly.
Lastly, Google sites is a great way for students, teachers, parents and school staff to stay connected and build relationships.

Gabrielle Ambrose- Reflection on Website Evaluaiton

The website evaluation was such a great activity! I have never evaluated a website before, therefore, I was really interested to see if the website I picked was considered a reliable or unreliable site. I never knew that websites could be so helpful for teachers when planning their lessons and also for students to practice the content they have learned. There are so many websites available for teachers to gather templates, lesson plans with state and national standards and activities for their classrooms. However, teachers need to be sure that the websites they use are reliable and full of valuable and trusted sources and information.
After evaluating the website, I browsed through some of the websites that were listed to evaluate. After knowing the characteristics of a reliable and unreliable website, it became easier to see which websites were reliable and unreliable because of the advertisements that popped up on the website, or the fact that many advertisements were present on the website.
Overall, the website evaluation has taught me that I need to be wary of the websites I use for planning my lessons and for using in my classroom for activities and games. Not knowing what makes a website unreliable would be a huge downfall for me in my future classroom(s) having not completed and has practice with a website evaluation. This activity was interesting and fun, all it taught me a lot about the internet and websites in general.

Course Expectations

Expectations for TPTE and for the general fall semester at UTK. 
 1. Try to get all A's (preferably, without fainting, freaking out, or having a heart attack because of the work load)

2. Attempt to work out more so that my brain can process the information from all of my different courses this semester.

3.  Ensure that I do my personal best in all of my classes (despite the fact that I will be running on low energy, low sleep, and little to no money)

4. Learn as much as I can this semester, because I want to be the kind of teacher that inspires many different types of students to become something great (like teachers =))