Week 5: Focus on inquiry and collaboration

Up to now I have carried out several different technology related projects, but it was only this week that I found out about webquests. This week was a real eye opener for me.

This week I created my first webquest ever. Developing a webquest itself isn't difficult at all, as all we need to do is follow the precise guide on Zunal, but when we want to write a webquest from scratch, it is a good idea that we already know what we want to do, how we plan to carry it out, what is expected of students, what the final product will be and how students will be evaluated. We must dedicate quite an amount of time and a lot of effort if we want to develop a well-written webquest. However, it is definitely worth it, as the possibilities are immense and I'm sure the students will find it motivating and rewarding.

I have made a decision: From now on, the projects in my class will be focussed upon inquiry-based tasks!

I also strongly support my colleagues' suggestion to connect our students. They will significantly benefit from the collaboration with students from different parts of the world, not only in language learning, but also in learning about other countries, their people and their traditions, which will lead to mutual understanding and respect. Last Septmeber I launched a project with my students, called Greetings from the world. They were supposed to create multimedia posters known as Glogsters, about different parts of their own country. We are really proud because we have been joined by 300 students and their teachers from 10 countries who shared their posters with us. My students were provided with the opportunity to learn with and from their peers and this has been a one-of-a-kind experience not only for them, but for me too.