Web quest 1: Evolution Web quest
www.biologycorner.com/quests/evolquest/index.html
Brittany Rumphol
Annotated Websites
This web quest could be useful for students to use the ideas and concepts they
learned about evolution in class and apply them to the questions, games, etc. within
the web quest. The web quest allows students to access several web resources to
increase their knowledge on the topic followed by a web page creation assignment
to show what they have learned along with using technology to peak their interest.
There is also a quiz located within the quest for students to self assess. At the end of
the quest, there is a clearly labeled rubric with the expectations and point values for
each grade. Rather than lecturing my students and having them write a research
paper on what they wrote, they can research on their own with the guidance of this
quest and build a tool, the website, to show what they have learned in a fun and
creative way.
Video 1: PBS: Evolution of the Eye
http://pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/1/quicktime
PBS has a great variety of educational videos related to scientific topics. This video
is a brief 5-minute clip demonstrating the evolution of the eye. This tool will be
great for students to watch during class or on their own time. It is a good video to
show with my lesson because eye evolution is a more recent topic within evolution.
It will help show how the process of evolution occurs and how we’ve evolved
overtime.
Video 2: PBS: Evolution of Camouflage
http://pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/1/1_011_03.html
Again, this is another great clip from PBS. The reason why I picked two from the
same source is because of their accreditation to produce accurate information. Also,
this clip was another short yet interesting and straight to the point video. The ideas
were centered on the adaptations of camouflage and how that was an evolutionary
mechanism. Not only is it interesting to watch and examine the various animals and
insects that utilize camouflage, but also it will solidify the concepts taught about
evolution within this topic.
Website 1: Where did life come from?
http://everystudent.com/wires/aboutevolution.html
This website is very simplistic but informational. It gives the basics behind both
ideas of creationism and evolution. The reason why I liked this site and would use it
for my teachings would be because it does offer an explanation of both sides of the
argument and would allow students to understand and evaluate based off their own
opinion. The pictures were basic and not necessary but the site overall would give
students the chance to research more than just one view of how life formed. It
should be noted that although I would not use this site in my classroom, it would be
recommended for those who were curious to visit outside of class.
Website 2: Intelligent Design: An Ambiguous Assault on Evolution
http://www.livescience.com/health/050922_ID_main.html
There were a number of things that I enjoyed about this site. First of all, it was a
journal published on the Internet of the Life Science Journal. Secondly, there is a
message board right under the article that displayed the views of many interested
scientist or just ordinary people. This would give students a chance to respond and
interact with others that are interested in this topic. The other aspect I enjoyed
about this site was the videos that were sporadically placed within the site. This
would allow students to view visual accounts of this scientific idea.
Website 3: Darwin’s Finches
http://biology-online.org/2111_natural_selection.htm
This website was very complex with the level of scientific images throughout it. I
think it would be a great place for students to go and see actual photos of fossil
records and evolutionary photos of Darwin’s well-known finches. Not only was the
site full of information and links to other specific areas within this topic but there
were periodic quiz questions throughout the text. It would be a great tool for my
students to quiz their knowledge on the topic discussed.
Website 4: Evolution & Natural Selection
http://globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange/current/lectures/selection.html
This site would be visually appealing to my students. I enjoyed the site because an
entry-level university professor wrote the information. This would ensure that my
students would be learning on a level comfortable to them. Not only was the site
highly organized and had great images for students to follow; the information was
thorough and accurately described natural selection with examples for them to
follow.
Website 5: Darwin and Natural Selection
http://anthro.palomar.edu/evolve/evolve_2.htm
This site was one of my absolute favorites. The information was clearly presented
with headings and labels and it would be easy enough for high school students to
follow. Accompanied by great images, the information on Charles Darwin,
adaptations such as camouflage, and natural selection were always easily described
by the author. I also liked the video selection provided with a brief summary about
what it was about and how long the video would be. Not only was this appealing to
myself in many ways, I could see my students getting the most out of this site
between the accurate information, photographs, and videos.
Website 6: Evolution
http://www.paly.net/~brimhall/evolutionindex.hmtl
This was a simplistic yet interactive website. Although it may not be the most eye
catching for my students, it has easy navigation from page to page and every portion
of information is clearly labeled. I also could test the credibility of the site because
there was a direct link to the author’s webpage. This could be a great tool for first
year biology students to learn more about Charles Darwin and his evolutionary
theories. The site had a number of interactive questions and quizzes that could keep
the interest of the students while assessing their knowledge in this subject area.
Website 7: Evolution Lab
http://biologyinmotion.com/evol.index/html
This site also would be one of my top favorites. It was very visually pleasing with
the interactive videos and images that would help students see what Natural
Selection was and how it acts on a particular species versus simply being told the
information. The site was not only easy to use but very technologically advanced
which again would appeal to my students. Directly linked to this site was a web
quest that tied in with the information presented within the website. Overall this
website would be a great tool for my students to use.