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The Web is an extremely rich and powerful classroom resource that,
when used properly, can enhance your curriculum, motivate students
and address many different learning styles. Resources available
on the Web range from extensive access to texts, such as the complete
works of Shakespeare, to rich interactive multimedia and online
activities, such as the Virtual Flylab. The Web can enhance almost
any curriculum topic, provided that the time is taken to find precisely
those Web sites that match the lesson goals, learning objectives
and curriculum standards.
The Web is a vast resource of relevant educational materials in
many media, including images, text, interactive activities and collaborative
projects.
The Web provides:
- Text resources: a veritable "library of Alexandria"
at your fingertips: from the complete works of Shakespeare to
the entire Buddhist Pali canon available online, the Web is a
vast repository of text archives free and accessible to all.
- Virtual fieldtrips with walk-throughs, fly-bys and virtual
reality tours through all kinds of places: deep inside a cell,
a simulation of a black hole in deep space or "visits"
to faraway locales and cultures.
- Up-to-the-minute information (real-time data) with stock
prices, webcams, earthquake data and satellite images.
- The ability for instant communication with other students
and experts-in-the-field.
- Collaborative projects that are easily implemented.
- A place to showcase student work online.
I. Prior to the Media-Rich Lesson
Teacher Preparation
- Begin with the learning objectives and goals of the lesson;
this is a good place to formulate some of the search terms to
use in search engines. Careful listing of specific search terms
can avoid irrelevant search query results.
- While doing an initial search for Web resources, bookmark relevant
sites. Make notes about what to look for on each of the sites;
simply cutting and pasting text and images from a Web site into
a word processing document can start the process of creating student
handouts.
- Evaluate what you have found for accuracy, age appropriateness
and relevance to the lesson.
- Look for connections among the sites that you have found; the
careful selection of several complementary sites can suggest student
activities such as comparisons and contrasts between two sets
of data or two opposing viewpoints.
- Preview all sites again with a critical and discerning eye.
How can these Web resources be used in a lesson? Edit the list
of Web sites collected into two groups: 1) those essential to
the lesson and 2) those that are "filler" and may be
relegated to a list of related sites for students to explore outside
of class.
- If possible, "beta test" some of the Web sites with
selected students to gauge their reactions and gain insight into
how well the Web sites match the learning objectives.
Student Preparation
- Ask students thought-provoking questions. Poll the students
to assess their current knowledge; begin with the big ideas in
an effort to dispel misconceptions in their understanding of the
topic.
- Explain why the Internet is being used.
- Prepare students for significant and pertinent media, and alert
them to what kinds of media they will be accessing: video, audio,
photographs, illustrations, charts or text.
- Discuss major components of the Internet resources.
- Provide focus activities tied to the Web sites that can include
worksheets, handouts and scavenger hunts which can guide them
in viewing the online resources.
- Present new vocabulary and/or review material necessary for
understanding relevant content that will be accessed on the Web.
- Chart a pathway for students to follow in one of the following
ways:
- Create a word-processed document that students can access
on their computers to click through embedded Web links.
- Bookmark all Web sites on their computers.
- Use a resource like http://www.portaportal.com
to share your links with your students.
- Create a Web page with all lesson resources, questions,
vocabulary and background information available to the students.
II. Focus for Media Interaction: "Surfing the Web"
- Provide the students with a "context for the content"
by having them watch for specific information. Provide a set of
guidelines for collating data, saving images or evaluating information
found on the Web.
- Give students a set of assigned tasks on which to focus their
attention while surfing through the Web sites. A student worksheet
or checklist with questions and lists of things to see and explore
on the Web will help keep the students "on task."
- Monitor and assist the students while they are on the Web.
Check to see if they can complete the assigned tasks in the time
allotted.
III. Surfing Activities
- Supervise the students while they are on the Web. Encourage
the students to look for related links if they have extra time.
- Occasionally direct the entire group's attention to a particularly
important Web site (a large monitor or projector can be used)
and engage the students in on-the-spot discussions to promote
critical thinking.
- Ask students to describe what they find and how they might
verify the authenticity and accuracy of the information found
on the selected Web sites.
IV. Post-Surfing Activities
- Create opportunities for the students to use the information
they find in meaningful and educationally viable ways. Creating
multimedia presentations, charting data and contributing to collaborative
projects are all ways to involve the students in going beyond
"information retrieval."
- Help students interpret and analyze what they have found, making
connections to other curricular topics that they have worked on
or will be involved with in the future.
- Introduce curriculum extensions that demonstrate connections
of the material to other disciplines. Science, math, art, music,
social studies, language arts and other interdisciplinary approaches
to the topic can be supported with related Web sites.
- Devise an Action Plan that involves an activity connected to
the world outside of the classroom: a field trip, a visit to the
school by an expert, or email exchange or campaign reinforce the
lesson and add another dimension.
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