Triton/Patterns Reunion
Yesterday was terrific. Twenty-four of the teachers I worked with in WebQuest's Jurassic Era came back together to learn about QuestGarden. They were part of the Triton and Patterns Projects, two Challenge Grants that stretched from 1995 to 2001, years packed with workshops, showcases, and a whole lot of evolution of the WebQuest model. Marcie Bober, the project evaluator, counted up the impact that projects made in the final report and I believe the numbers were close to 300 teachers and, indirectly, 30,000 kids.Alas, the grant money ran out, San Diego Unified hired a very top-down non-educator as superintendent, suddenly literacy was the only game in town and there was almost no support or time for technology. The amazing cadre of high-tech educators built up during those years fell apart and had no center of gravity pulling it together to do new things.
There were lots of hugs and catching up. Many had moved on to other schools or upwards(?) into administration. What brought them back together was the idea that we could move their great old WebQuests into QuestGarden, bring them up to date, and give them back to the world in better shape. There were many great lessons created in that project. At the risk of disappointing those whose lessons I leave out, I'll mention Anthem, Return of the Great Game, and The Children's Pool. Some of these, I hope, will soon see the light of day again with fresh links and new ideas.
