USING THE INTERNET TO CREATE WEBBASED LESSONS

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USING THE INTERNET TO CREATE WEB-BASED LESSONS

• IASL CONFERENCE
• MALMO, SWEDEN
• August, 2000
• Dr. Sheila Offman Gersh
• City College of New York
• sogcc_at_cunyvm.cuny.edu
• http//www.schoollink.org/twin

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Schools are using the Net to...

• Post information for the world to see, including
  artwork, essays, sounds, etc.
• Take virtual tours of museums, cities, and
  foreign countries

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Schools are using the Net to...

• Give students access to the latest information
  around the planet
• Allow students to participate in global projects
  of all kinds

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Schools are using the Net to...

• Bring experts from numerous fields right into the
  classroom (Ask A Scientist)
• Interact with people from around the world, via
  live video and audio -- for free!

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That all sounds great, but...

• How do you use the Internet
• ...in existing curriculum?
• ...to excite students?
• ...for professional development?

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What students do with the Web

• 85 of K-12 schools in US have Web access
• The Web allows for an interactive learning
  experiences (GlobaLearn)
• Easy to navigate via the World Wide Webs CD
  ROM-like interface
• Quickly search for appropriate materials for
  school assignments of all kinds

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Why use the Web at school?

• Easy for students at all levels (Kindergarten and
  up) to use the Net
• The Web makes learning fun!
• Online information is moving to the Web, making
  it simple to track things down

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Why use the Web at school?

• Thousands of school Web sites are tieing the
  online world to the classroomhttp//web66.coled.um
  n.edu/
• schools.html

Netscape Olmed School
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What Are the Benefits to Using the Internet?

• Better understanding of your students world
• Access to instructional tools/ resources
• Access to curricular/research resources
• Promotes anytime, anywhere learning
• Improves communication
• Provides exposure to places, simulations, etc.
  normally unattainable
• Provides real world experiences and skills
• Provides FUN!

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What Are Some of These Offerings?

• Tutorials/Online Lessons
• Teacher resources
• Online activities
• Online projects
• WebQuests

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Whats an Internet lesson plan?

• Most Internet plans require students to do
• Do research via online sites
• Communicate with others globally (SMEs)
• Partner with classes
• Exchange information
• Synthesize and publish collected material back
  onto the Internet

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Value of Internet lessons

• Student benefits
• Do collaborative problem solving
• Learn and work in teams
• Work in student learning circles
• Exercise high-level thinking skills
• Increases information literacy

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Net lesson raw materials

• Use your current lessons
• Locate and collect traditional lesson plans via
  the Internet (ex. ERIC)
• Adapt Internet lesson plans posted online by
  other educators for your personal use
• List your favorite sites

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Internet Way

• Use these ideas to get into the Internet
  mindset before creating your own plan
• Use the Internet to reach your learning goals,
  not just as an excuse to use the Net
• Much more than just online encyclopedias and
  dictionaries

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Internet Way

• Objectives
• Access information unavailable through
  traditional sources
• Up-to-the minute news
• Collaborate with people around the world
• Exchange information with another class (or
  expert) in another country

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Internet Way

• Procedures
• Give students meaningful reasons to use the
  Internet
• Demonstrate the power of technology by requiring
  students to search for, retrieve, synthesize,
  share information

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Internet Way

• Extensions
• Stretch the limits of available technology
• Customize, localize, specialize your Internet
  lesson plan
• Build Web sites with student work
• Have students audio/videoconference
• Create Tele-field trips that go beyond your basic
  lesson objectives

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Internet Way

• Assessment
• Were your students able to find information and
  people on the Internet they couldnt access in
  any other way?
• Did they stretch their technology skills?
• Did the Internet increase their ability to sort
  out good information from the bad?
• Constructivism?--Are students creating knowledge?

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Building your own Internet Lesson

• What do you want your students to accomplish?
• Infuse traditional resources into your plan, as
  well as Internet materials
• Use printed materials and on-line search tools to
  locate relevant online sites
• Lets look at some lesson examples!

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Internet projects

• What is an Internet project?
• A structured learning activity that requires
  students to use the Internet
• Types of Internet projects
• Interpersonal exchanges
• Information gathering and sharing
• Collaborative problem solving

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Internet projects

• Interpersonal exchanges
• Keypals (online pen pals)
• Electronic appearances by experts
• Electronic mentoring

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Internet projects

• Information gathering and sharing
• Sharing data between participants
• Electronic publishing
• Database creation
• Tele-field trips
• Pooled data analysis
• Surveys

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Internet projects

• Collaborative problem solving
• Information searches - Scavenger Hunts
• Writing projects in tandem
• Contests and student Internet challenges
• Pooled data analysis to reach shared conclusions

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Existing Internet projects

• Global Grocery List
• Global data collection and sharing
• Galapagos
• Electronic appearances, keypals
• Newsday Project
• Writing project in tandem

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When seeking projects...

• Keep in mind
• When does it start? Length? Deadlines?
• Is there enough lead time to properly integrate
  it into your instructional timetable?
• Will you have the right tools to participate?
• Are your students Net-literate enough to
  participate?

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Sources of projects

• Project Proposals
• Project Center -
• Listservs
• IECC - Companies
• Globalearn -
• Fees, include professional instructional
  materials, access to special databases, direct
  student contact with project team

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Creating your own project

• Seven steps
• 1. Think about your curriculum goals and what you
  want your students to learn
• 2. Choose which kind of project youd like to
  create...
• Interpersonal exchanges
• Information gathering and sharing
• Collaborative problem solving

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Creating your own project

• 3. Choose the topic and content for the project
• 4. Design your project with specific goals,
  tasks, and outcomes in mind
• 5. Set specific beginning and ending dates for
  the project, and specific deadlines for
  participants

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Creating your own project

• 6. Use the upcoming template for designing your
  call for participation, then post your call at
  least five weeks in advance of the starting time.
  
• 7. Let your project run its course! When the
  project is over, share the results/student work
  with all participants

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Where to post your call

• IECC-Projects and HILITES mailing lists as
  mentioned earlier...
• Electronic Schoolhouse Projects
• America Online keyword ESH

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What is a WebQuest?

• A WebQuest is defined, by Bernie Dodge at San
  Diego State University, as "an inquiry-oriented
  activity in which some or all of the information
  that learners interact with comes from resources
  on the Internet."

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Why Use A WebQuest?

• Increases Student Motivation
• Provides Real World Experiences
• real resources
• real tools
• Develops Higher Level Thinking Skills
• Promotes Cooperative Learning
• For more information
• http//www.ozline.com/webquests/intro.html

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What are the components of a WebQuest?

• Inquiry-oriented
• Based on doable, engaging tasks
• Uses pre-defined resources from the Web
• Can be short or long term
• Most likely to be group activities
• Should include role playing for learners

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What are the components of a WebQuest?

• There are six building blocks to a WebQuest.
• Introduction
• Task
• Process
• Resources
• Evaluation
• Conclusion
• Web page http//edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/webq
  uest
• /buildingblocks.html

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INTRODUCTION

• Should orient the learner to what is coming
• Should raise interest in the learner through a
  variety of means

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TASK

• A description of what the learner will have done
  at the end of the exercise
• Could be a product or a verbal presentation

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DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS

• Clearly describes steps
• strategies for dividing the task into subtasks
• descriptions of roles to be played
• perspectives to be taken by each learner
• Lets the learners know the process to go through
  to accomplish the task
• Can also provide learning advice

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SET OF INFORMATION SOURCES (RESOURCES)

• A list of Web pages
• located and pre-selected by the teacher
• helps the learner accomplish the task
• Allows the learners to focus their attention on
  the topic rather than surfing
• May include resources not on the Web
• All resources may not be used by all students

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EVALUATION

• Needs to be able to measure results
• An evaluation rubric is recommended
• designed by teachers
• vary depending on the kind of task given to the
  student
• Sample rubric http//edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webq
  uestrubric.html

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ADVANTAGES OF USING RUBRICS

• Allows assessment to be more objective and
  consistent
• Shows the student how their work will be
  evaluated and what is expected
• Promotes student awareness of about the criteria
  to used in assessing peer performance
• Provides useful feedback regarding the
  effectiveness of the instruction

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CONCLUSION

• To summarize the experience
• To encourage reflection about the process
• To extend the experience into other domains
• To bring closure to the WebQuest

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Lets Look at a Sample Lesson

• Sample lesson http//edweb.sdsu.edu/EdWeb_Folder/
  courses/EDTEC596/WebQuest_Template1.html

• Become familiar with resources
• online in your content area
• Organize the resources into categories
• Identify topics that fit in with the
• curriculum!

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What are some examples of WebQuests?

• Great Immigration WebQuest
• http//students.itec.sfsu.edu/EDT628/shovanes/inde
  x.HTM
• WebQuest The 1960s Museum
• http//discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/museum/web
  quest.html
• Submarines Where Are They Now?
• http//memorial.sdcs.k12.ca.us/LESSONS/WWII/Sub/Su
  b.html
• Gold Rush Players
• http//students.itec.sfsu.edu/edt628/ouray/index.h
  tml

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Thank You!
Any Questions??