Web-Based Learning

URLs: What do URLs tell you/students about web sites?

URLs often have the name or initials of the website or group in the name as a hint at what the content will be as well as a domain designator that will give you information like whether it’s a business or government organization.  Roblyer and Doering (2013) list some domain designators in Figure 7.3 such as aus for Australia (p. 217).  I know another one I commonly run into is .uk which is a designator for the United Kingdom.  For example beware of buying DVDs from Amazon.co.uk; they probably won’t be zoned for our players. 

Search Engines: How can learning to use search engines help you/students find better information?

It seems that even people who have grown up using computers can have issues with doing effective searches on Search Engines.  Many people have trouble balancing putting enough keywords in a search to eliminate things they don’t want while avoiding putting in words that may eliminate things that may be worded differently but would still be valuable.  Plus it’s good to learn short cuts to find legitimate information when doing research.  For example on Google you can do an Advanced Search to find a website from a University or you could just use “site:.edu” as part of your keyword search. 

*Did anyone else notice Roblyer and Doering (2013) said they were going to list the top five Metacrawlers and only listed four (p. 219)?

Internet Tool: Choose one Internet Tool (in the section beginning on p. 223) and discuss how you might use it in a classroom.

I think an e-portfolio would be a great internet tool for students.  There are lots of options online some require a paid membership while some are free like at Elgg. Creating a portfolio could be a good way to encourage students to create for a wider audience and to “organize, revise, and store digital assets they have created inside and outside of the classroom” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 224).  However I would think it’d be important for younger kids to get some feedback from a teacher and a chance to improve their work before having to post it for other people to see.  I would worry that they would be too nervous about what other people would think if they had to just post it without a trusted adult seeing it first.

Web-Based Lesson: Discuss and link to a web site where students could access or you could create a web-based lesson. (discussed in Chapter 8)

I like the Teaching with Historic Places as a web-based lesson.  As they are, I don’t think they would be age appropriate for any level that I will most likely end up teaching but I think I could adapt them in some cases.  I appreciated getting to see the lesson on the Selma-Montgomery March because I grew up in Selma.  They even have copies of those ridiculous “literacy tests” for voter registration so you can see what kind of questions they asked. My favorite is the one about being a dope addict or a drunkard.

Favorite Web Sites: Finally, pick two web sites that you feel are your favorite. Post the web sites and talk about why they will be beneficial to teachers and/or students. Use at least two references to chapter 7 and 8 content (for each) that makes these web sites effective resources.

It’s hard to pick favorites but one that I’ve found very useful and helpful lately is Wikimedia Commons.  All the pictures are free to use and if you click on the “Use this file on the web” button next to the picture they have everything you need including how the photographer wants their attribution.  This would also be a great one to have students use.  “The Internet is such a rich and easy-to-access source of documents, images, and other resources that it is sometimes easy to forget that many of these resources are copyrighted and protected by U.S. copyright laws” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 216). Giving students access to Wikimedia Commons could be a good stepping stone into learning to properly attribute resources.  And another new favorite is one that will probably be one I use more in the future.  A person I know who is already a teacher recommended Lesson Planet and let me use her password to check it out.  There are tons of prepared lessons plans and even if you don’t use them exactly as they come, they are great for inspiration.  I even got to practice my evaluating content skills as I found a few lessons plans posted with errors. “An essential skill for the Information Age is being able to evaluate information critically and to look for indications that content is accurate and reliable” (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 255). Luckily on Lesson Plant you can write reviews of lesson plans to let the creator and others know what you think.

References

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013).  Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.