Chapter 4
The World Wide Web:
Bringing the World into the Classroom
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Welcome to the student resources for Chapter 4.These materials will be updated periodically, so come back often.Last updated
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Overview Objectives Live Links Hot Spots Bibliography Themes of the (NY) Times
Chapter 4 Overview
This chapter treats the Web as the most widely known manifestation of the Internet. First it is important to understand the Web, its origins in Switzerland, common but often misused Web terminology, and basic navigation techniques, some of which seem little known, e.g., the "history" of your browsing.
Since the Web has become a major resource for information on just about everything, the chapter next offers important guidance for finding and evaluating Web resources. Included are professional publications; indexes, directories, and portals; and web search tools. Effective search techniques and evaluation of sites are also covered, the latter being particular critical as students do more and more online research without assurance of finding valid data. Specific resources of great value to educators are treated individually: lesson plan repositories, sites of schools, and sources of free teaching materials.
The next theme is Internet and Web curriculum applications. This section begins by illustrating the Web as providing all students access to primary sources, something often reserved for advanced graduate students before the Web. Other sections detail curriculum applications of email and electronic publications (journals, magazines, news resources) as well as some successful past online collaborative projects including MayaQuest and its successors, which now appear to have ended, unfortunately. Because of the rapid changes in curriculum related sites, only the most enduring are given in the chapter. This resources web site contains links to additional current resources.
One curriculum application is so ubiquitous as to warrant a complete section of its own, namely, WebQuests. Within the section you will learn the basic structure of a WebQuest, specific WebQuest resource sites, and the basics of WebQuest creation, both as developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March and as adapted by Filamentality.
By now, you will probably be anxious to create your own Web pages, and that is the next topic in the chapter. In this section you will learn how to plan a website and how to develop the site from your plan (both very basic HTML and Web page editors are covered). The importance of testing a Web page, including for Section 508 accessibility, is stressed. The final section deals with publishing Web pages, whether on a server or for local use without a server (no, you don't have to have server access to use web pages.)
The Web has raised many concerns in schools everywhere because of its seamier elements. We conclude this chapter with discussion of key issues related to implementation of networks, the Internet, and the Web in our schools. Topics covered are benefits of computer-based communication, planning successful Internet projects, the critical issues of Web-based research integrity and how to cite online resources, overcoming obstacles to implementation, personal safety online, and finally inappropriate online materials and the essential Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) that every wired school must have.
Overview Objectives Live Links Hot Spots Bibliography Themes of the (NY) Times
Chapter 4 Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to: