2-Standards+and+Goals

This is a study on the effects of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. I want to focus on the benefits of bringing technology and various genres into the research process. Too often, teachers dread grading and students dread writing a multi-page paper. Also, students plagarize too easy and much which teaches them nothing but how to copy and paste material. It's time to teach how to think critically and use the various sources of media to enhance a chosen topic.

Web 2.0 tools are vital in today's classrooms. They can only benefit the learning process. Using these will allow the teacher to work together with students and allow immediate feedback using an open community of learners. As a teacher, information could be easily organized and can be readily available. Finally, these tools will help to provide greater diversity and enhance learning strategies and experiences for all.
 * Rationale **

There are many goals of this Web 2.0 inquiry. One goal is for students to understand how to properly research and become exposed to reliable resources located on the Internet. Also, students should use critical thinking skills to apply knowledge to and find threaded themes in other genres. Students should become proficient with Web 2.0 tools (primarily Wikis) to enhance the learning and research process. Finally, the inquiry should teach students to use 21st century skills to become more educated about the world around them.
 * Goals **

// Using the new Ohio Common Core Standards, this inquiry will meet the following standards: //
 * Standards **
 * Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
 * Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
 * Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
 * Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject under investigation.
 * Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
 * Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
 * Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision making, clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.
 * Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
 * Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
 * Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
 * Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, the organization, development, substance, style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
 * Make strategic use of digital media in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
 * Conventions of Standard English
 * Knowledge of Language

To reach these goals and standards, students will work on an I-Search project using Web 2.0 tools to showcase the results. Students will be presented a Wiki to follow the research process, and finally, produce a Wiki of their own. They will be exposed to a variety of media and reliable sources to enhance the process and use critical thinking to apply to their final products.
 * Steps **

This inquiry will allow students to explore the Internet and learn to use the research process correctly. They will locate reliable resources and critically think about an intangible word and how it's found in the world around them. Finally, students will be able to appreciate research and Web 2.0 tools, especially a Wiki.
 * Impact **