From chapters 7 and 8, these are some resources and
discussion about specific media.
Uniform Resource
Locators (URLS): Students can tell a lot about a website they are about to
look up before the page even loads if they are familiar with the characteristics
of URLS (Roblyer & Doering, 2012, p. 216). The most important part of a
website URL in terms of credibility of information is the domain designator.
(Examples: .com, .gov, .edu) Knowing that “.gov” means the website will have
content posted by the government obviously adds to the credibility of the
information found there. (in theory)
Search Engines: In
order to access a variety of information, students need to learn the basics of
search engines. There are two types: major search engines and metacrawlers.
Major search engines such as Google perform
keyword searches on their own with their own information. Metacrawlers such as Dog Pile search the net using more than
one search engine (Robyler and Doering, 2012, p. 219). Knowing the basics of each
can help students find what they need faster and know how to filter information
more effectively.
Internet Tool
(e-Portfolios): Students could be encouraged to develop e-Portfolios. As
Roblyer and Doering (2012) discuss, these “showcase their work and…organize,
revise, and store digital assets” (p. 224). These could be invaluable in terms
of being able have previous, solid, completed work on hand for future examples
and knowledge-base. It could also be a future resume material for them.
Web-based Lessons: One
of the most popular forms of web-based activities is online lesson
enhancements. Roblyer and Doering (2012) describe these as “online enhancement
that augments their curricular goals and use it to extend and deepen their
students’ understanding” (p.238). This resource found here http://www.mnh.si.edu/education/studentactivities.html
links to a Smithsonian website which provides a variety of these enhancements
that are great!
Favorite Web Sites:
1)
This site here, http://www.pbs.org/teachers, is a great
resource for educators. It breaks content down by grade level as well as
subject. The site is a “.org” which is a non-commercial organization (Roblyer
and Doering, 2012, p. 216). This suggests the site material is reliable. Also,
this page includes web-based activities including individual lesson plans.
Roblyer and Doering (2012) suggest these are useful when teachers “download and
integrate within their classroom, often without adaptation” (p.238).
2)
Specifically for History, this site here, http://www.historyguide.org/resources.htm,
links to websites that contain primary documents and a plethora of resources.
It even includes its own disclaimer that online resources should be scrutinized
before use! This site answers the question proposed by Roblyer and Doering
(2012), “How will the students use online resources (as opposed to just locating
them)” (p.238)? It is also similar to the idea of a Wiki in that it is a
collections of sources that allows for group use (Roblyer and Doering, 2012, p.
223).
