Anyone can create a Web site for almost any purpose, from an individual sharing family photos to a company selling computers. Few Web sites, including those containing educational material, undergo formal review or inspection. Educators using the Internet in developing curricula, therefore, must themselves determine the legitimacy of information presented.
To evaluate a Web site, ask the following questions:
- Who operates the site? Is biographical or background information provided?
- What is the purpose of the site?
- Is the presentation of the topic balanced or biased?
- Who wrote the material? What are the author’s credentials?
- Is the information up-to-date? Has it recently been revised?
- Are additional sources, bibliographical documentation, or links provided?
For more information on evaluating Internet sources, click on the following links:
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Teacher Helpers: Critical
Evaluation Information
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html
DiscoverySchool.com hosts this compendium of information on Web site evaluation
specifically for educators, including evaluation forms and a tutorial
for students (complete with Spanish translation), links to many articles,
and sites to use for demonstrating critical evaluation.
net.TUTOR: Evaluation of Web Sites
http://liblearn.osu.edu/tutor/les1/
This page offers a tutorial on evaluating Web sites.
To evaluate a Web site for classroom use, ask the following questions:
- Is it appropriate for my students?
- Will it hold their attention?
- Does it relate to curriculum standards?
- Will my students be able to navigate within it?
- Does it load quickly?
- Do the links work?
Involve your students in Web site evaluation by having them rate a site before using it. The following Web site provides evaluation forms for primary through secondary grade levels: http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/tbarcalow/490NET/EvalRubric.htm.
Integrating the Internet into Your Curriculum
The Internet, an ever expanding global resource, has vast potential for use in the classroom. Even if your school is not equipped with Internet access for students, you can integrate the Internet into your curriculum. Web sites relevant to almost any topic you teach—from broad subjects (Civil War battles) to specific details (a Confederate hospital manual)—are now accessible. The rapidly increasing number of primary materials on the Internet can be of great use in the classroom. For example, in addition to reading the text of a document, letter, or journal in a textbook, your students can see a scanned image of the original printed off the Internet. Here are several ways to expand this idea:
- Create a file in which teachers can deposit printouts from Web sites they have used. Encourage students to share their finds as well. Placing the file in a central location will encourage teachers and students to add to and use the file.
- Take your class on virtual field trips via the Web sites of historic sites, museums, and historical societies. For instance, print out the Web page from each Civil War battlefield in North Carolina to share with your students to supplement your study of battles in the state.
- Develop WebQuests—inquiry-oriented projects in which most or all of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web—to creatively lead your students to high-quality, relevant Web sites. (For more information on WebQuests, visit http://webquest.sdsu.edu/.)
The Internet offers educators a wide array of information, from lesson plans to school administrative policies to state and national curriculum standards. Establish a file for printouts of this kind that teachers can share. Start with the following Web sites:
- North Carolina Public Schools Infoweb (http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/) contains the North Carolina social studies curriculum matrix, information for teachers, recent legislative reports and assessment results, a calendar of events, and other information.
- LEARN NC (http://www.learnnc.org/), a program of UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Education, offers a wealth of lesson plans, online courses, special event Webcasts, Webquests for students, education-related articles, and much more.
- American Memory Learning Page (http://learning.loc.gov/learn/index.html) from the Library of Congress, offers lesson plans that you can adapt for use in your classroom.
- Cyberbee (http://www.cyberbee.com/intclass.html#Social Studies) provides many links to Internet lesson plans.
Networking with students and teachers is a great way of acquiring information and resources. Through chat rooms and guest books, you can correspond with other educators on a variety of education issues. The following ideas will help you incorporate networking in your classroom:
- Visit http://www.teachers.net/chatboard/, a chat room for teachers worldwide, to gain insight into issues important to you.
- Begin an e-mail pal program with a class in another state or country. Have your students create a message, then e-mail it to the class. Print the responses you receive to share with your class. This is an exciting way for your students to learn about different parts of the country and other cultures around the world.
- Contact teachers in other countries through a bulletin board or chat room for educators. Ask questions about their culture and country that are relevant to your curriculum. For instance, ask them what life was like on the homefront during World War II in their country, then use their responses in your class as a comparison to American experiences. If you receive questions from other teachers, assign your class the task of researching and formulating the responses.
If your class has access to a computer with an Internet connection, create your own Web page. The following web pages offer some suggestions on creating your own web page: http://www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/startwebsite.shtml http://www.2createawebsite.com/intro/faq.html#start
Use the site to post information about your class or school or to post papers, short stories, and artwork created by students. Assign teams or the whole class the tasks of choosing the subject of the page and creating materials for it.
For more ideas on using the Internet in your classroom, see the following sources:
Kathleen W. Craver, Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History (Greenwood Press, 1999).
This will guide teachers of grades 7-12 in creating technologically advanced, resource-based instructional units in American and World History.
Linda C. Joseph, Net Curriculum: An Educator’s Guide to Using the Internet (Medford, N.J.: CyberAge Books, 1999).
Linda C. Joseph, one of the world’s leading authorities on the use of the Internet in schools, presents dozens of online projects, Web site links, search engines, information resources, research tips, and virtual field trips. The book covers all school subjects and grade levels.
Scott M. Mandel, Social Studies in the Cyberage: Applications with Cooperative Learning (Arlington Heights, Ill.: SkyLight Training and Publishing, Inc., 1998).
Scott M. Mandel, developer of the Teachers Helping Teachers Web site, educates teachers on how to use the Internet to complement their social studies curriculum.
Scott M. Mandel, Cybertrips in Social Studies: Online Field Trips for All Ages (SkyLight Training and Publishing, Inc., 1998).
Mandel offers tips on using and creating virtual field trips in the social studies classroom, and provides twelve complete trips that cover common themes in social studies.
Dennis A. Trinkle and Scott A. Merriman, eds. The U.S. History Highway: A Guide to Internet Resources (M. E. Sharpe, 2002)
This resource, arranged both topically and chronologically, includes annotated entries about hundreds of history-related Web sites, with continuous updates available through the publisher's Web site. The book's contents are also on the CD-ROM included with the book.
Teaching the Civil War with the Internet: Internet Lesson Plans and Classroom Activities (Lancaster, Pa.: Classroom Connect, 1997).
This book features Internet lesson plans, on-line projects, and classroom activities to enhance your Civil War curriculum, all reproducible for your students. Chapters for grades 4–6, 7–9, and 9–12 are provided.
Classroom Connect
http://www.classroom.com/
Classroom Connect offers many resources, both print and online, on using
the Internet in the classrooms (many services on this site are available
through a paid subscription only).
Curriculum Ideas from CyberBee
http://www.cyberbee.com/intclass.html
This page contains examples of how the Web can be used in the classroom.
LEARN NC
http://www.learnnc.org/
A program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of
Education, this Web site offers quality resources for K-12 classroom instruction
(including lots of lesson plans) and teacher professional development
(including online courses), all tied to the North Carolina Standard Course
of Study.
Teachnet.com: Smart Tools for Busy Teachers
http://www.teachnet.com/
This site offers a little of everything for teachers of all grade levels
and subjects.