Using the virtual QAR
From WolfWikis
These instructional sketches were developed by students in ECI 430/435 Fall 2008
Following the bloody trail: Using historical documents to track down Blackbeard
In this activity students will read historical documents that provide evidence of Blackbeard pirating activities. For this activity, we would need selected documents to be embedded or made available in the virtual world. Students might play the role of a detective or a investigator who is seeking information about Blackbeard.
In this activity students will search the web to research the history of Blackbeard and Queen Anne's Revenge. They will also investigate the area where Queen Anne sunk and artifacts from the shipwreck. Then the students will create an online newspaper and write articles about Blackbeard and Queen Anne's Revenge to submit to the newspaper. This online newspaper will be available to students or anyone else who is interested in learning about Blackbeard.
A Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Learning Stations
In this activity students will learn about Blackbeard and his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, by visiting a variety of learning stations designed to address specific topics of inquiry. For this activity, we would need to establish a series of designated learning centers throughout the virtual world for students to visit and acquire information from. Students will use the virtual world in conjunction with a worksheet designed to help them organize their findings.
A Pirate's Life for Me- Passport Activity
In this activity, students create a variety of mini-activities to all be compiled into a "passport" like book. ( I am envisioning something similar to that of the CCMS project, where the students moved from country to country. They must have their "passport" at all times because random passport checks will occur within the classroom. At the end of the project parents will be invited to attend the showcase of all of the student's work.
In this activity, students will create a news broadcast that is dedicated to Blackbeard, the Queen Anne's Revenge, artifacts, and the virtual world. Students will be placed into groups that focus on the specific topics mentioned above. These groups will write the news stories for our program. The group that presents the best story will have the honor of being the "TOP STORY." When filing begins, each student will have a different role that adds to the production of the broadcast. For example, someone will be Blackbeard, a news anchor, an interviewer, an archeologist, a Virtual World specialist, director, videographer, etc. After the script has been written and students have done their research, we will begin filming. The broadcast will be added to the class blog where students can share with friends and families and then comment on the process and final product. We will have a "Series Premiere" party at the end of the production. The entire 8th grade will be invited to watch the show and share in the masterpiece that students have created!
Searching for Blackbeard-A Scavenger Hunt
For this activity students will work together in teams (either against classmates or against different schools) to compete for the answer of what really happened to Blackbeard. They will use the virtual world and it's artifacts to reach their conclusion.
Choose Your Own Pirate Adventure Storybook
In this activity, students will create their own storybooks on the life of Blackbeard. They will be able to choose the perspective they want to tell the story from (historian, Blackbeard himself, other pirates, etc.) and create their own ending as to what happened to Blackbeard.
"A Pirate's Life" Game (Melissa Zerbs)
This educational game, set in the virtual world, would allow students to choose an avatar (male or female) and give it a name. Then, the player would join a ship and work his/her way up from cabin boy/girl to captain. Along the way, the player would complete a series of challenges, deal with setbacks, and earn gold coins. The object of the game is to become captain of your own ship. The challenges are educational activities (incorporating fun activities from social studies, math, language arts, and possibly science) that the player completes to move up the ranks.
The idea behind this game is to get kids to learn about the life of Blackbeard while engaging in this virtual world. The students will create an avatar. The avatar is a historian (much like Indiana Jones). The student is given a treasure map with clues leading to the treasure at the end of the game. The students will have to use their avatar to maneuver through the virtual world to find the treasure. Each clue is some sort of significant event in Blackbeard's life.
In this part of the game the students would be put in charge of outfitting their ship. This means that they would be responsible for stocking the ship with different supplies, ammunition, and crewmembers. This would make students really think about what is truly needed to command an efficient ship.
-Myth Busters: Pirate Style
Break down the common stereotypes surrounding the Golden Age of Piracy in this activity while interacting with other students as well as conducting self-led inquiry on the web.
With this activity, students will have the opportunity to become of the time. They will take on the role of common people (merchants, teachers, blacksmiths, seamstresses, etc.), pirates, Blackbeard himself or Queen Anne herself, and create a piece of work (paintings, sculptures, clothing, etc.) from the perspective of their chosen person that represents the time period. Extensive research will be conducted by the students so that they will become more knowledgeable and at the end of the project, students will hold a gallery opening, portraying their work for other students (or even the entire 8th grade and school) to see.
This activity would follow lessons about the early colonial period in North Carolina. Students would explore QAR Online to find out about Blackbeard, Queen Anne’s Revenge, and maritime life. With this information and virtual experience students would then write about or create visual representations of what could have happened to the other pirates aboard Queen Anne’s Revenge that were likely marooned on the coast of North Carolina.
This activity would allow students to see how daily life would have been for Blackbeard and his crew.
Students will use an exploration of the history of Queen Anne's Revenge, as well the history of Blackbeard, the composition of the ship itself, etc. in order to gain an extensive understanding of different information source types (articles, books, videos, audios, web-based, etc.) and reflect on the effectiveness of these with respect to their topics of study.