Still fiddling around with my Bamboo digital drawing tablet. This is sort of a fantasy-ish self portrait. I guess I still don't really know how to use it. This is my second drawing. Still need to improve, but consider this a doodle. I tried to go for a stylish sort of thing. Oh, and done with no reference, completely from my head. I have done self-portraits so many times that I can remember my features decently.

New Drawing Tablet

I am using a drawing tablet for the first time. It is so cool, but I have so much to figure out. I am using Gimp for the first time too. I found out that I love the airbrushing and soft lighten options. Using a tablet to draw is so much easier than using a mouse and my computer seems to put up with these programs a lot more easily.
P.S. Here is my first tablet drawing ever and it is a very very creepy green eye.

Are Interactive Whiteboards Worth It?

                                                                             

The use of smart boards depends on the type of subject since you would not need a smartboard to make pottery or demonstrate oil painting. I do think the interactive whiteboard would be a good addition to subjects like math, science, or history. At the same time I think that being able to use a smartboard will not be a major technology skill for a students since the smartboard is often just used in education. I suppose it would be wise to have one around to do a couple of activities with and show videos, though it would not be worth it if you were teaching a hands on course. The problem is that the majority of educators do not know how to use them properly or just forget about them. I think the education department should concentrate more on the use of computers first, depending on the type of classroom.

Critical friend rubric

Criteria	Accomplished (3)	Developing (2)	Beginning (1)	Score & Comments
Introduction Scores have stars!	**Engagingly describes a compelling question or problem.	A question or problem is described.	The purpose of the WebQuest is unclear.	Yes, their intro does compel me to read it. Very personal.
Task	**Task is doable and engaging, and is connected to learning in the real world. It elicits thinking that goes beyond rote comprehension.	The task is doable and elicits higher order thinking but is not relevant to students lives.	Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions.	Creative and fun personal activity using technology needed in the real world.
Process Checklist	**Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.	Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused.	Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.	Every step is clearly stated and interestingly so.
Resources	**There is a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task.	There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new.	Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task.	Clear resources for the task.
Evaluation	**Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors.	Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors.	Criteria for success are not described.	Yes to all of those questions, but I hope the teachers using her webquest will allow the students some freedom while completing the name portrait collage.
Visual Appeal	**Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships.	Graphic elements sometimes, but not always, contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships.	Color is garish and/or typographic variations are overused and legibility suffers. Background interferes with the readability.	Appropriate
Navigation	**Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them.	There are a few places where the learner can get lost and not know where to go next.	There are more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	Navigation was quick and easy. *Definitely an A project. : ) *

Webquest Blog Link

Webquest link

Webquest final evaluation

Best Webquests: World of Shakespeare and Anti-Earthquake (click on links)
Best means having thought put into work, being creative and having comprehension with good cohesion. Organization of the material is also very important so students do not have to go on a treasure hunt.
Worst Webquests: Foreign Country Presentation and Waves and Sound
Worst means confusing examples or no examples at all. No collaboration and teamwork are used and the task and benefits from the activity are unclear in some instances.

Webquest evaluation as the efficiency expert

"Saving the Gorillas": Good links, presentation, and clear and concise project, but the relevancy to education is lacking since most students will not decide to be zoologists or have a job working with exotic animals.
"World of Shakespeare": Strong in relevancy to education and college material. The links are to good informational sites and the project is multimedia. The problems I see arising come from the performance or skit due to lack of enthusiasm or trouble with Shakespearean language.
"Anti-Earthquake Designer": has good use of groupwork and collaborative learning. This is very much a field specific project though. To make the project shown in the example would take a lot of time, valuable time for education.
"Foreign Country Presentation": This project has the least examples and even the Teacher Process page is blank. The idea of introducing students to different countries is a good learning experience, but the organization is a bit too concise.
"Waves and Sound": The strength of this project is that the process is detailed with specific questions to answer, but the links were a bit confusing. The standards are not related to teacher education standards and the introduction and task are abrupt. What the teacher wants the students to learn from this is unclear. This is a worksheet in webquest format.