Lesson Plans: Internet Teaching

Internet Teaching: Session 1

Rationale: The purpose of this unit is to teach the students enough about the Internet so they can use the WWW as a source of information .

Objectives: The students will know the definition of the Internet and its importance.

The students will understand basic safety rules of the Net.
The students will know and use Githens's rules about the Internet.
The students will understand the use of keywords and search engines to find information.
The students will use the computers and Netscape to make searches with keywords and search engines.

Materials: Classroom Connect video - Ready, Set, Internet; overhead transparencies of diagrams, terms, keyword exercises, etc.

Evaluation: Students will be judged on their ability to work in pairs and do the Scavenger Hunt worksheet which requires using keywords and different search engines.

Overview of session 1 (Objectives)

What is the Internet? Why teach about it?
15-minute video program from Classroom Connect, Ready, Set, Internet
Discussion of school rules
World Wide Web
Keywords

Have students take out sheet of paper and clear desk.
Brainstorm the word Internet. Or discuss the what students know of Internet.
Have students write down all the ways they can think of that schools and kids can use the Internet (2 - 3 minutes).
OVERHEAD:
On a clean overhead, write down student ideas from their lists.

What is the Internet?

Internet started by military in 1960.
Early 1990s, policy change to include use by private citizens and businesses.
Because Internet is getting crowded, Internet II is being developed.
OVERHEAD:
Display overhead: WWW is only one part of the internet. graphic of user to user Internet connection.
Internet is useful for current information.
For example: to find president's latest speech.
But for information on the first president, print material is better.
Always cite sources for a bibliography, so teacher can visit your sites. Come to media center desk for help citing sources.

Videotape
Ready, Set, Internet

For experienced students, this program will be a reminder.
For inexperienced students, it will show you what to do.
Most important lesson from video: how to behave on-line.
Parents teach behavior at home. Teachers teach behavior at school. Students need to know proper behavior for the Internet.
Tell students to write down 3 rules of proper on-line behavior during video.

View videotape (15 minutes).

Ask students who has e-mail at home.
Explain there is no e-mail at school, but that rules apply anyway.
Ask students to share rules they wrote down.
Discuss rules as a class.
Tell students we do not download files at school.

AUP forms

Hold up a green AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) form.
Explain that the AUP form is the students' agreement to follow the Internet rules.
Students read and sign, and parents read and sign.
When parents sign, they acknowledge the school is not responsible for your misconduct on the Internet.
Internet is to be used only for educational projects.
No song lyrics, you mama jokes, abusive language.
School staff can monitor where you've been on the Internet, but you are still responsible for your conduct.
If students break rules:
- 1st infraction -- warning.
- 2nd infraction -- account deleted, privileges lost.

World Wide Web Terms

The only part of the Internet students use at school is the World Wide Web.
Ask students what words they are going to hear in relation to the WWW.
OVERHEAD:
Make a list of their responses on a blank overhead transparency.
A list of some terms:

web page (or web site) - A single Internet document containing information that can be accessed over the World Wide Web.
web browser - software that allows computer users to access and navigate the Internet.
home page - the first page a user sees when visiting a web site.
hyperlinks - a highlighted word in a web document that, when clicked, takes the user to another page.
URL (universal resource locator) - the address of a web page.
http - the beginning of a URL (address) for a web page.
bookmark - keeps track of a list of web pages that a user can return to.
Netscape Navigator - one of the most popular web browsers.
search engines - online computer programs that are simple to use and can track down the information you want in just a few seconds. Type in a keyword to start your search.

Ask students if they can think of any search engines.
Tell students when they use search engines, they must use key words.
OVERHEAD:
Display overhead of HotBot web page to show search engine search field box.

Key words

You use key words to tell the search engine what topic you are looking for.
Key words are important.
They are like:
the thesis sentence in a term paper.
the topic sentence in a paragraph.
the subject and verb in a sentence.
It is also similar to typing in your topic in the media center computer catalog.
Every search engine has a white dialog box where you can enter key words.
Advantages to thinking carefully about key words ahead of time:
You'll save time.
You'll avoid looking at pages you can't use.
You'll avoid a lot of useless information.
When a teacher sends you to the media center on a pass to use the Internet, you must think of your key words ahead of time and write them on the pass.

Examples of Key Word Searches:

OVERHEAD:

Display overhead with these three examples:

How many zucchini are needed in the recipe for Zucchini Burritos?
Keywords: zucchini burrito recipe
In what Utah city would you find Arches National Park?
Keywords: Arches National Park Utah
What are the predicted high and low temperatures for next Friday in Durham?
Keywords: temperature Durham weather
(discuss that students need to think beyond just words in the question)

If using only the basic key words yields too many hits, add more words to your search.

Written Exercise

Have students number their papers 1 - 10.
OVERHEAD:
Put up overhead, displaying questions one at a time.
Read #1 aloud.
For #1, have students write the key words they would use for this question.
Use as many questions as time permits, up to 10 questions.
Teachers have the option of pairing students to work together.
Discuss each question, one at a time.
Students check their papers.

Other searching tips:

OVERHEAD:

When you get to a search engine, look for "search tips," and click on it for help with that particular search engine.
Using capital letters usually forces an exact case match. For example, typing "DUrham" will find only pages where the word is spelled with a capital U. Typing "Durham" finds the word when it is capitalized. Typing "durham" will find words with both upper and lower case d's.
If you use quotation marks, the search engine will find only sites that include all the words you put in quotes. For example, if you type "Second World War" the search engine will find pages that have all three words together. If you type Second World War without the quotes, the search engine may also find pages where only one of those words occurs, like the word 'second.'
Be specific. Use as many words as possible.
When entering key words, they don't have to form a sentence that makes sense.
Example: temperature Durham weather

Closure

Review what we have covered today:

Learned what the Internet is.
Viewed a video tape.
Discussed rules of Internet use.
Discussed World Wide Web
Learned how to use key words in searching.

Tomorrow you will come to the media center and do exercises on the Internet.

Top of Page

Internet Teaching: Session 2

Students are paired up and sitting at the computers networked in the media center.
Getting started:

Turn on computer.
Newer computers: button at top of keyboard.
Older computers: two buttons on the back, right side.
Click on "Netscape" (not Githens Student) and click "start." (We use At Ease.)
Enter the password (which is the word "password")
Click on the Netscape button
Durham public schools home page appears, because the computer has been programmed to display that page when Netscape is started.
URL (address) appears near top of screen next to the word "location."

Search Engines

Search Engine: an Internet program that searches the Internet for specific information.
Use a search engine to type in key words for your Internet search.
Each search engine has its own URL (address).
(show students list of search engines on the wall next to computer #17)
The computer needs to know what web page you want to go to.
Click the "open" button near the top.
Type in the URL for the search engine HotBot, as an example (www.hotbot.com)
Press return.
Now wait. You have to wait for the page to load.
"shooting stars" on the "N" means you still have to wait.
Type your key words into the white dialog box near the middle of the screen.
Click the search button to the right of the white dialog box.
Wait again!
When the search is done, scroll down to see the list.
Click on any item on the list to go to that page.
Use the back button to return to the list.
Go back and forth until you find what you want.

Using the "net search" button to get to a menu of search engines.

Here's another way to get to search engines.
Click on the gray "net search" button.
Wait for the page to load.
What you see now is a menu of different search engines.
Each green box is a different search engine.
Click on the one you want to use.
Enter key words in the white box (same as before).

Using Bookmarks to get to SuperTom

You use a bookmark to go back to a page you saved.
Pull down the bookmark menu at the top.
Select "Searchbank Web", which is the SuperTom database.
Click "proceed" at the bottom, then click "SuperTom" in blue.
Choose "Subject Search" and enter your search terms.

Top of Page

Internet Scavenger Hunt

Name: _________________________________________

For each item, write the keywords you intend to use. After finding a page, write the URL (internet address).

1. Using Yahoo (www.yahoo.com), find a recipe for your favorite dessert.

Keywords: ___________________________________________________________