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Introduction

What does it mean to harness the power of the Web to improve teaching and learning? Follow the steps listed below to publish your own Web page that will demonstrate your attempt to answer this essential question. Your assignment is to put together a collection of 5-10 Websites. Your Websites will allow students to research information around a specific topic.

You will have two objectives in creating your "hotlist" of Websites. The first will be to gather websites that take advantage of the uniqueness of the World Wide Web. The second will be to base your research topic on an essential question. Each Website in your list should give the title of the site and a 2-5 sentence description of the contents.

FYI: Some of the links below might not work today. Please let the instructor know so that they can be replaced. Thank you!
 
 

Step One: How do I take advantage of the Web? (20-30 minutes)

Spend some time viewing these web sites to see samples of how you might take advantage of the Web for your students.

• Blue Web'N - An online library of 2163 outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format. You can also browse by broad subject area (Content Areas) or specific sub-categories (Subject Areas). Try a couple of searches in your subject area.
  
  
• Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - The Discovery Channel and Kathy Schrock have teamed up to create a vast source of information for teachers. If you don't find it here it might not be on the Web!
  
  
• The American Memory Collection - The American Memory Collection is part of the Library of Congress. It contains over 7 million primary source documents and photographs related to American History. One section is dedicated to tips for teaching and learning using the collection.
  
  
• EarthCam/WebCam Network - Don't rely on words alone. Send your students to where the action is. You can find live cameras located all over the world.
  
  
• United States Naval Observatory - You can find many sites with "real time" information. At the United States Naval Observatory you can find an array of data related to the movement of the Earth , Sun, and Moon.
  
  
• Project Interactivate - There are over 60 java applets and scripts that will perform a variety of mathematical functions. Each activity is cross-referenced to the NCTM Standards as well as several math textbooks.
   

   

Step Two: How do I ask a good question? (25 minutes)

You have to ask good questions if you want to challenge your students. An essential question will lead your students to make decisions and craft a response that involves knowledge construction.

• Writing Essential Questions - A guide to how to write a thoughtful essential question.
  
  
• The Questioning Toolkit - From Now On is an Educational Technology Journal. The Questioning Toolkit article goes into great detail on the different types of questions. Concentrate on the section about Essential Questions but make note of the variety of questions in the toolkit.
   

   

Step Three: How do I choose a worthwhile task? (20-30 minutes)

Now that you have a good question for the students to explore, what is it that you really want the students to do. Check out the Taskonomy of Tasks for some ideas on the types of activities you may want your students to do as a result of their research.

• Taskonomy of Tasks - A variety of tasks for students are outlined. Pick one of the types listed or use one of your own. it is important that students have a purpose for what they are doing.

   

Step Four: How do I find what I want to find? (75-90 minutes)

Once your search skills are up to par, you can start searching for the Websites that you want to include in your "Hotlist." There are many search engines to choose from depending on the type of information you are looking for. Use the Bookmarks or Favorites feature of your browser or bookmark the sites on your iGoogle page to "remember" the sites you want to use. You are trying to find sites that you feel take advantage of what the Web has to offer. As you are searching you should write down the title of the page and 2-5 sentences about the content.

• What to Do Before You Search - "How to Search" tips for better results.
  
  
• Seven Steps Toward Better Searching - More tips on how to get the search results you are looking for.
  
  
• Use Google's Advance Search
  
  
• Specialized Search Engines and Directories - This is another great list of search engines for education. Find out what the best tool is for the task.

  
    

Step Five: How do I publish my page? (45-60 minutes)

Congratulations, you are ready to create your own web-based lesson. Follow the steps for spinning a page using Filamentality, which is a free online application that provides a template for you in order to easily publish a Web page.

IMPORTANT:
For Full Credit: Your page will include the 5-10 Websites with each having 2-5 sentences about the content as well as an introduction that includes your essential question.

In addition, you can always edit an existing page at any time. Be sure to remember your user name and password when you log-in.

• Spinning a Page- Create your Hotlist using Filamentality. This is where you begin!
  
  
• Other Uses for Filamentality
  
  
• Return to an Existing Filamentality Topic - Follow this link to edit a Hotlist topic that you have already created.