'netQuest!

Introduction	The Task	The Process	Conclusion

Introduction

The Internet is one of the most important information and communication resources in history. It has been compared to the printing press in its ability to make virtually all information available to all  people.

The Internet is not without its problems, however. There is a segment of the population who look upon the Internet and its vast quantity of information as a dark place filled to a large degree with material and information that is unsuitable for children and others.  The disorganized nature of the Internet is also cause for concern. The amount of information and the opportunities for communication is seen as an overload.

 With more and more schools becoming 'wired' to this new 'information superhighway', it is important that teachers learn to use this resource efficiently and properly.

The Task

Your School Board has begun to look into providing Internet Access to your school.  Before it can make its decision it must hear from all sides about all aspects of this resource.
 
Your task is to gather information about the Internet and present your findings to the School Board in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. To give the School Board the most complete information possible, the presentation should include information on the following topics:

Acceptable Use  - What are the issues concerning privacy, ethics, and acceptable use of the Internet?

Searching - What are Search Engines?  How are they used?  How can you find what you need?

Site Evaluation - How can one evaluate the information found on the Internet?

A bibliography of web sites appropriate to your subject area or interest. - How will the Internet be used in your class?

 
 

 

The Process

- Use the resources listed below to complete your task.

Acceptable Use

  - Visit the sites below and review the information regarding Acceptable Use, Child Safety, and Copyright law.

Create a list of guidelines for student use of the Internet in your classroom.

http://www.aupaction.com/aupsonweb.html - A great starting place to find AUPs
http://www.pbs.org/learn/als/programs/live/crook/mcdonald.htm - information on copyright law and the Internet
http://www.safekids.com/child_safety.htm - Tips for child safety on-line
 
 

Searching

- One of the major difficulties in using the Internet is FINDING the information that you need.
- Visit the sites below and compare the searching techniques used by each.
- Be sure to read the "Help" or "Search Tips" pages to find out how to search on each site.

 Create  a list of 5-10 tips on how to use search engines to include in your presentation.

 

Search Sites
Hotbot - http://www.hotbot.com
Excite - http://www.excite.com/
AltaVista - http://www.AltaVista.digital.com
WebCrawler - http://www.WebCrawler.com
 
Directory Sites
Yahoo -http://www.yahoo.com
Lycos - http://www.lycos.com/
Infoseek - http://www.infoseek.com/

Search Site for Kids
Yahooligans - http://www.yahooligans.com/

Site Evaluation

- The sites listed below offer information on evaluating web sites. Visit them and collect information on how to evaluate Web pages.
 

Include in your presentation a rubric for evaluating web pages.
 

http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/Eval.html
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/Curriculum/Validate/valid.html
http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/inform.htm
http://www.cyberbee.com/guides.html
http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/eval.htm
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/instruct/instwww.htm
 

Create a bibliography of web sites appropriate to your subject area or interest.

- The links below will take you to 'starting points' for teachers, pages that contain links to web pages in various subject areas. Use these links to find pages that relate to your subject and/or grade level.

Create a bibliography of at least ten sites.

(The bibliography should include the URL, a brief description of the site and the title of the page.)

http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/

http://www.classroom.net/grades/

http://www.stcath.vic.edu.au/edsites.html

 

Conclusion

With the information that you have gathered about the Internet,  you will now create a 10 to 15 minute PowerPoint presentation for the School Board.  Be sure your presentation covers all of the topics listed above. You may include text and/or graphics downloaded from the Web.

The future of the Internet in your school rests on your shoulders!

Designed and Created by:

Bill Warrick   wwarrick@osf1.gmu.edu

Ed Tola  etola@osf1.gmu.edu