Being a "digital immigrant", I guess I have been stuck in a rut for a very long time using the old familiar search tools made known to me when I first started using computers a mere 12 years ago. I decided to type in "search tools" and came up with a wonderful site called "Infopeople - moving libraries forward" on this site was a table entitled "Best search tools chart"http://www.infopeople.org/search/chart.html which lists the search engine, the data base, advanced/Boolean, as well as other search options - I thought I had hit a gold mine and proceeded to have a play.
Using the search engine Yippy I did indeed say "yippee" as I came across a site called "iBreadcrumbs - The first way to save and share online research" http://www.ibreadcrumbs.com/user/cathyinoz/Inquiry-based_learning/ The first topic was Inquiry Based Learning. There, I read about an interesting man, John Barrell who is an author and an expert on inquiry-based learning. Now that in itself does not sound like anything mind shattering, but clicking the link at the bottom of the page : http://www.morecuriousminds.com/ I discovered that he had developed so many questions about heros of the South Pole, that he decided to sail to Antarctica to satisfy his cuiriosites. It did not end there, he subsequently "...became an educator attempting to explore the many possibilities for educating young people in non-traditional settings..." His writings reflect an attempt to challenge students and their teachers to take risks by adventuring into complex situations to inquire, solve problems and think critically. Although we are unable to take our students on real wild adventures, the implications are that we should take them on these adventures using all the tools available to us as educators. He suggests the use of literature, objects, films, and other representations of experience, which correlates well with the GeSt Windows of information. He outlines Inquiry-Based instruction in an article "Why are School Buses Always Yellow?" (2007)and "Developing More Curious Minds (Barrell,2003)
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