21st Century Lesson Reflection

I chose to conduct a Webquest with my 6th grade students.  Polygon Webquest   I was excited to use this Webquest mostly because I rarely use the laptops in our building simply because they do not function once they get to my classroom.  So with an open mind and some "technology maintenance repair requests," I gave it a shot with my classes.  My kids LOVED it.  Students were in groups of 3-4 students but each had his/her own laptop to explore with.  The webquest fit perfectly into our introduction to polygons so for some it was a great friendly review and others it was discovery. 
The idea of the Webquest is that it provides students with a task to complete as well as a process as to how to complete the task.  The Webquest also provides links for students to click on which directs them right to appropriate websites in order to help complete their task.  Although direct links are provided to sites, students still need to explore the site to find the information he/she needs.  With this particular Webquest, students end task was to create a brochure of polygons and create a multimedia presentation to display their learning of polygons.  Some students chose to do a power point which I needed to help guide some groups.  Others decided to use the provided technology and record themselves doing a polygon rap/song.  To see my students get so into this activity allowed me to become a little more open-minded about utilizing the technology in my classroom more often.
I felt I was able to incorporate the 4 C's of 21st Century Skills by allowing my students to really be the explorers and let them discover.  Students were able to collaborate with each other in order to accomplish their task given on the Webquest.  They also needed to collaborate in order to decide what kind of multimedia project they were going to do in order to demonstrate their findings and further learning of polygons and their characteristics.  I found along with their collaboration, students needed to effectively communicate with each other in order to express their thoughts and ideas.  Not only did they need to communicate clearly with each other, but they needed to communicate with me as well so I could help facilitate learning appropriately.  This Webquest was definitely taking a "risk" for me, the teacher simply due to the fact of not using technology in the classroom nearly ever.  Students were able to demonstrate their creativity through this Webquest by either the brochure or the multimedia presentation.  By allowing creative choice, students can demonstrate their learning in a way in which is best for them.  Lastly, students needed to think critically because of the way in which to present their findings.   The brochure requires students to include polygons that can be found in our real-world and document their findings.
Overall, the Webquest was a hit amongst my students as well as myself.  I was really able to watch my students explore and discover as they navigated through this activity.  Although they are not completely finished with the quest, I can already anticipate another Webquest type of activity.  Either way, more technology for the students to utilize will be involved.