Sign Posts on
the Information Highway
A WebQuest
for
Posting Information
on the Internet
Designed
by Helen Der
Media
Specialist
Baltimore
Polytechnic Institute
Introduction
|
Task | Resources
|
Process
| Evaluation
|
Conclusion
Introduction
Attendance for the Day
Johnny -present
Jane - present
Richard - absent
Fred - had
a game
Pat - called
out of class to the office
Albert - bored
again...
Johnny and Jane will take their notes,
collect their handouts and copy their homework. Of course, you are
also teaching Richard, Fred, Pat and Albert - even though they may not
be there, literally or figuratively. But they don't have to be left
behind.
You can use the information highway
as a road to improve instruction. The information highway is not
a runway designed for highly trained Internet pilots. It is accessible
to all. And technology is your vehicle.
Beginning with a basic e-mail account,
you will learn how to access online educational tools and learn how to
construct a web site for your very own class. And you might even
get Albert involved, because you might need his help for a change.
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The
Task
-
You will use the Internet to send and receive e-mail and
post information on a homework online site, listing assignments for your
classes.
-
You will search various Internet sites and construct a simple
web page listing Internet sites or links appropriate for your students.
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Resources
Part I. Posting E-Mail and Information
Sites for Posting E-Mail
and Homework
Part II. Searching the Internet
Sites to Evaluate for
Information on Your Subject Area
Some
Sites of Interest : Click on the name to go
to the site.
-
Awesome Library:
organizes exploration of the web with 14,000 carefully reviewed sources
-
Classroom Connect:
seeks to empower teachers in "bringing excitement and immediacy to the
classroom learning experience" by providing education-related resources
, products, information and support.
-
Marco Polo: professionally
selected sites in math, science, economics and humanities
-
Pratt Library: the
Enoch Pratt Library site for research and reference
-
Quiz Star :
offfers students challenging quizzes in math, science, art and
-
Studyweb: collection
of over 97,000 education related web sites
-
ZapMe :
go to view contents to use selected educational sites and do web searches.
Search
Engines that Search: Click the name of the
engine to go to the site.
Search Engines : General Sites
Search Engines : Meta-Sites
-
Ask Jeeves: search
the web in plain English. The fastest and easiest place to find answers.
-
Dogpile: search up to
25 search engines
-
Infind: a fast parallel
web search. Use of a different algorithm and search technique gives interesting
and sometimes very different results.
-
Profusion: can select
the best and fastest search engine for your current search or you can choose
your own
Search Engines : Mega-Sites
-
All-in-One Search Page:
provides simple search form for most of the hundreds of engines it lists.
You are transported to actual search sites.
-
Search.com: provides a directory
of specialized search engines and links to more than 100 individual sites.
Tutorials
A Powerpoint presentation on How to Make the Internet
a Part of Teaching
The Internet
in the Classroom
Some References for Teachers 
-
Jasmine, Grace and Julia Jasmine. Internet
Directory for Teachers. Indianapolis: IDG Books Worldwide Inc.,
1997.
-
Kennedy, Angus J. The Internet:
the Rough Guide 1999. New York: Rough Guides, 1998.
-
Robinson, Cheri, Earl Jackson Jr.,
and Scott Davis. Offical Excite Internet Yellow Pages.
Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, 1999.
-
Wolff, Michael. Your Personal
Net Guide. New York: Wolff New Media, 1996.
-
World Wide Web Yellow Pages: 1998
AOL Members' Edition. Indianapolis: New Riders Publishing,
1997.
Part III: Creating a Simple Web
Page
Netscape
Site Central - Site for constructing a web page.
-
http://home.netscape.com/sitecentral/index.html?cp=home08psit
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The
Process
Part I Posting
E-Mail and Information
You will
select a computer to work with.
-
You will perform the steps for getting on the Internet.
-
You will go to the URL address and change the default address
to the hotmail address.
-
You will register for your hotmail account.
-
You will post your e-mail address on the blackboard.
-
You will be taught how to send and receive e-mail.
-
You will send and receive e-mail from other people in the
class.
-
You will organize an address book.
-
You will add the names and addresses of others in the class
in your address book.
-
You will switch the URL for hotmail to homework online.
-
You will register to use homework online.
-
You will list your teaching schedule on the site.
-
You will post homework assignments for the classes you teach.
Part II Searching the Internet
You
will be working with 3-4 people from your department.
-
You will view the Internet
Tutorial.
-
You will review criteria for evaluating
an Internet site from the handout 1.1- Evaluation
of Information.
-
You will do a search in your curricular
area using at least three different search engines.
-
You will select a topic from your subject
area.
-
You will begin to search for information
on your subject using at least two search engines.
-
You will copy the URLs for 5-10 sites
-
You will evaluate each site using the
evaluation handout
1.2 "Evaluation of an Internet Source" and "Website
Assessment." Use one evaluation per site visited.
Part III. Creating a Web Page
You will return to your computer
and begin constructing your web page.
-
You will switch the URL in the address
box to the URL for Netscape.
-
You will go to Netscape
Site Central to register for a free web page.
http://home.netscape.com/sitecentral/index.html?cp=home08psit
-
You will create a simple web page incorporating the following:
Your Name
Title of Page
The URLs for the Internet sites found in class
.
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Evaluation
-
You will send e-mail to the instructor via hotmail, discussing
your impressions of the class and any needs that you feel should be addressed.
-
You will post homework information for your classes using
the homework online site.
-
You will be evaluated using "Rubrics
for E-mail."
-
You will evaluate five websites for their value to your subject
using the Evaluation Handout 1.2.
-
You will create a simple web page listing at least five sites
or links that you think are appropriate for your classes.
-
You will be evaluated using the rubric "Posting on the Internet."
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Conclusion
The Internet is the learning
highway to diversify instructional strategies. It allows students who are
not in class for one reason or another to access the homework online site
to discover what assignments they missed by checking homework postings.
Students, parents and teachers can confer with each other via e-mail.
Teachers can find additional sources of information for their classes through
web searches, and this information can be used to enhance the learning
of all students. The activities that can be done on the Internet
are endless--it all depends on your drive.
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Send questions or comments to
Helen Der
