Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it
2.6 Information and Communication Technology
Within contemporary education settings, information and communications technology (ICT) and the internet in general have the potential to be enriching and beneficial to students’ learning. Such benefits are discussed by Livingstone (2011), as online activities and ICTs can be used as tools for student connection, collaboration and gateways to relevant and enriching material (Livingstone, 2011).
One such way to effectively integrate ICTs into learning for primary students is through the creation of inquiry-based WebQuests as they are motivational for students to access content relating to the topic (Chatel, 2003). WebQuests are a teacher-made web-based inquiry tool through which students can access content relating to a particular topic in a web-based environment. (Ikpeze & Boyd, 2007). Ikpeze and Boyd (2007) posit that children’s learning can be enhanced through the use of WebQuests as they can be an engaging means of accessing thought-provoking material, as well as providing multiple representations of meaningful information for children’s inquiries and investigations (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014). WebQuests are said to be particularly fruitful when used as an integrated tool with science, humanities and social sciences and the arts.
This is the introduction page to the website content and aimed to explain some of the reasons people migrate. Credit: Author
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This is a screen shot of one of the key pages on the website which explored the diverse backgrounds of people within our community. This one was used as an example for the class world map we made. Image credit: Author
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This page prompted students to access links to other websites for more information about the origins of people within Australian society. Image credit: Author
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This webpage is a mind map which helps the students explore some of the challenges faced by migrants and refugees during the relocation process. This page became the stimulus for a very rich class discussion. Image Credit: Author
Go to linkWithin the Year 6 National and Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS), students are required to explore Australia as a nation and some of the migrant groups which have settled in Australia. The description from the Scope and Sequence is as follows: Stories of groups of people who migrated to Australia since Federation (including from one country of the Asia region) and reasons they migrated (ACHASSK136). Within the topic of migration, students can also explore the contribution of individuals and groups to the development of Australian society since Federation (ACHASSK137) (ACARA, 2016).
During my recent practicum in a Year 6 classroom, I taught an integrated literacy and HASS unit on migration as per the Humanities and Social Sciences Australian Curriculum topic. I decided to teach the unit in the context of a WebQuest by creating a class website through Wix which I named Leaving Home: Migrant Stories. This site became the main teaching tool for the unit and significantly guided the teaching and learning of the content within the unit.
Below: WebQuest planning document. Image credit: Author.
Throughout teaching the unit -from initial diagnostic assessments and exploration through to the students’ final assessment- the website supported my delivery of the key concepts and guided the students’ research into the inquiry topic of migration. Most of the content that the children accessed throughout the unit was web-based and accessed through the class website in the form of links and excerpts which I collated and made available on the site. In addition to the presence of embedded website links on the class website, I also included interactive tools and online discussions which provided a forum for students to access and discuss the information online. My website certainly fostered the students’ engagement with the content as it was full of information and contained many useful, age-appropriate web links for the students to access throughout the inquiry unit.
Students were able to access the information at any time that suited them, without the issue of some students missing out on receiving access to finite material, and as such a benefit of using the website was that material could be accessed by all at any time, at home or at school.
Below: Pages and links of the WebQuest. Image credit: Author.
Additionally, students used the website as a learning tool to achieve different aims as it was often used a whole-class reference text during guided learning experiences, or as a tool for extending individual students who wished to delve deeper into the unit content. Other weaker students, however, used the website to revisit the material covered in class to consolidate their learning, and benefited from doing this at their own pace.
To further integrate the class WebQuest with the students’ learning, an assessment example of an illustrated oral history was made available on the website and acted as a sample piece for the students’ own written assessments. Within my sample were many annotations to help guide the students in the creation of their own illustrated oral histories, and based on the students’ discussion and response to the sample on the website, the annotations were helpful in guiding their work. Making this assessment example available to the students during the learning process resulted in them exceeding the expectations when producing their own illustrated oral histories of a migrant community member.
This document outlined all of the activities which were to occur throughout the unit.Many of the activities related with the website very well and were adapted to further integrate with the website. Image credit: Author
This page acted as both an another example of a migrant community member's story and the example assessment for the students.
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This page acted as both an another example of a migrant community member's story and the example assessment for the students.
Go to linkThe overall result of using a class website to supplement and guide the learning in this history unit was highly successful due to its unlimited student accessibility and wealth of engaging resources contained within it. Overall, the creation of my website resource is strong evidence of my ability to implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students, consistent with those skills stated in AITSL standard 2.6 for graduates.
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2016, August 15). Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/curriculum/f-10?layout=1#yl-6.
Chatel, R. (2003). Developing literacy in the technological age: Expanding the boundaries of reader-text interactions. New England Reading Association Journal, 2, 67-73.
Fellowes, J., & Oakley, G. (2014). Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Ikpeze, C., & Boyd, F. (2007). Web-based inquiry learning: facilitating thoughtful literacy with WebQuests. The Reading Teacher, 60(7), 644-654.
Assessment models for students on the WebQuest. Image Credit: Author.