Using the needle in the haystack: Creating internet projects more

Bridge in the Middle Using the Needle in the Haystack: Creating Internet Projects Suzanne Porath Twenty-five middle school students sit in a computer lab searching for information on art in the Middle Ages. Within five minutes the moaning begins, "I can't find anything on my topic!!!!" Yet the teacher puts in the search terms "Art ♦Middle Ages" and comes up with 461,000 hits. Why couldn't the students find anything? Asking students to search for information on the Internet is like asking them to find a needle in a haystack. The amount of information posted doubles or triples every year, with over 4 billion pages already in existence. It is obvious that students need to learn how to use correct search terms and strategies, however teachers also need to learn strategies to more appropriately incorporate the wonders of the Internet into classroom activities. No teacher would send a group of students to the library with the instructions, "Find something about dogs." Yet this is what many Internet projects feel like to students - no goal, structure, or specific resources identified. Background Why would any teacher wish to create an Internet project? Take a few minutes to think to yourself about how you use the Internet. Going on a trip? You can find hotels, weather information, and travel warnings. Some sites even have virtual tours of historic sites, music of the country or list- serve discussions about visiting the area. This information is available whenever you get to the computer - 24/7. These examples show the immense possibilities of Internet projects: ♦ Use of current, up-to-date information ♦ Multi-media functions ♦ Collaboration with others ♦ Individual pace ♦ Variety of sources and/or viewpoints ♦ Ability to use information in authentic ways Unfortunately, many teachers also complain about the difficulties of Internet projects: ♦ Network/computers down ♦ Sites are slow ♦ Poor sites ♦ Too much information ♦ Cut/paste - plagiarism ♦ Waste of time surfing Although a teacher can do little about the hardware or software issues of the computers provided in a school, a teacher can create projects that efficiently, effectively, and realistically incorporate the Internet. To effectively use Internet projects, there need to be both teaching and learning style changes: ♦ Based on a constuctivist model ♦ Teacher as guide/consultant ♦ Longer projects ♦ Cooperative groups ♦ Analysis and application of knowledge, not just collection For more information about the change of teaching/learning styles, there is a wonderful ar- ticle by Walter McKenzie called "Are You a Techno- Constructivist?" Creating an Effective Internet Project through Filamentality For the beginner, there is a superb site called "Filamentality." This free site, sponsored by SBC Knowledge Network Explorer, helps the teacher create an effective Internet project through a fill- in-the-blank process. At the end, the site will post the project on the Internet and students can go directly to the site to work. This eliminates the need for a school-based webserver, or having to know html coding or how to create a web page. Like any other lesson, the first question a teacher needs to ask is - What is my goal? The type of project will reflect the goal of the lesson. Filamentality lists five different types of Internet projects, each with a different goal. Then, the teacher previews and selects the best websites to achieve the goal. Finally, the instructions and websites are typed in and posted. A Bridge in the Middle ♦ Hotlist - An annotated list of teacher-selected websites. • Purpose - To decrease aimless searching. Teacher-selected websites are the best of the best. ♦ Scrapbook - Like the name implies, students create a scrapbook of text, images, and multi- media. Then, this information can be used in PowerPoint, newsletters, bulletin boards etc. • Purpose - Background building or extension of traditional resources ♦ Treasure Hunt - An essential question is asked with links to 10-15 webpages to explore to find the answer. • Purpose - To review multiple perspectives and synthesize information from a variety of resources ♦ Subject Sampler - Four to eight smaller tasks. Each task is designed around a different website and may ask for facts, but is mostly designed for student opinion, reflection, and connection to the subject. • Purpose - Introduction to a topic, building schema, and making connections to a topic ♦ Webquest - Groups of students investigate a topic with each student taking on a separate role within the group. All students read the same background material, but then each role has specific websites in addition. The final project incorporates the separate perspectives. • Purpose - Higher level thinking, collaboration, application of knowledge Going Further Although Filamentality is a great site, there are other ways of creating Internet projects. Once the key questions are answered and the best sites found, the document can be created in any word processing program. Most word processing programs allow "hypertext links" in which the typed website address contains the link to the Internet. This allows the student to just click on the link in the document, which will then open the Internet browser and the indicated page. This reduces the amount of time spent typing addresses correctly. This document can be handed out to the students or posted in a shared folder or school or teacher website. Webquests are one of the hottest Internet projects around. They are being used in schools and universities around the world, and they help eliminate the "cut and paste" projects. Bernie Dodge, from San Diego State University, is considered the father of WebQuests with his original paper, written in 1995, entitled "Some Thoughts about WebQuests." In addition, Bernie Dodge has created a site entitled The WebQuest Page that includes training materials, templates and examples of WebQuests. Through the years, the basic idea of a WebQuest has changed very little. It consists of six parts. The Introduction invites the learner into the project by giving background and an enticing situation. The Task is a real-life problem or question that requires research, synthesis, and application of information. The Process explains the steps needed to complete the task. Resources include the online websites selected by the teacher and can include print materials available to the students. The Evaluation describes the method of assessment used in the project. (See RubiStar for an easy-to-use site that creates rubrics or Project Based Learning Checklists for checklist creation.) Finally, the Conclusion summarizes the project and the learning expectations, plus leaves the student with further questions to think about or resources to explore. Most WebQuests also include group work, with individuals taking on specific roles, and a creation of an oral presentation. Into the Future "Our doctors don't treat patients using 19th- century medicines, and our teachers shouldn't educate students using 19th-century learning models...Today's students need to demonstrate knowledge of core subjects such as reading, math, and science—but they also must learn additional skills, including critical thinking, decision making, problem solving and communication, and the abil- ity to adapt to a changing world." - The Partner- ship for 21st Century Skills At the National Educational Computing Conference in June 2003, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills presented its report Learning for the 21s* Century. This group is a public-private organization whose members include the AOL Time Warner Foundation, Apple Computer, Cable in the Classroom, Cisco Systems, Dell, Microsoft, the National Education Association, and SAP. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) supports its efforts. Although the group is mainly US based, the report opens a dialogue on how best to educate students for jobs that don't exist yet. According to the report, educators should incorporate the following six key elements of a 21st-century education: • Stress core subjects; • Emphasize learning skills; • Use 21st-century tools to develop learning skills; A Bridge in the Middle • Teach in a 21st-century context; • Teach using new 21st-century content; • Use 21st-century assessments that measure core subjects and 21st-century skills. The report, and its companion, Milestones for Improving Learning and Education (MILE) Guide for 21st Century Skills, can be downloaded from the site. When you look into today's classrooms, do you see 19th century learning models? Ian Jukes, author of Windows on the Future : Education in the Age of Technology and NetSawy : Building Information Literacy in the Classroom, stresses the need to reform teaching and learning to reflect the profound changes happening in our society. In his presentation "Windows on the Future," Mr. Jukes describes seven exponential trends (Moore's Law, Photonics, the Internet, InfoWhelm, Biotechnology, Nanotechnology & Cognomics (neurobiological/brain research)) and how these trends affect culture and education. He believes that 21st century learners need to be effective problem solvers and information fluent. A successful problem solver: 1) Defines a problem 2) Designs a solution 3) Does the task with the appropriate tools 4) Debriefs to see if the solution corrected the problem. A fluent information user: 1) Asks the right questions 2) Accesses the data 3) Analyzes the information 4) Applies what has been learned 5) Assesses both the process and the product. His presentations are available from his website - InfoSawy. Click on "Handouts" and download the text of the presentation using Adobe. Conclusion "In technology we are "white water rafting." Some of us are in the raft. Others are the drift- wood that is being pulled along. Others are rocks, and are not moving at all. And then there are the boulders that hold everyone back." - David Thornburg, author and Director of the Thornburg Center What would you like to be- the rider, the drift- wood, the rock, or the boulder? Learning new technologies is time consuming and difficult, but also tremendously invigorating and enlightening. Incorporating these technologies into your class- room repertoire energizes and enhances the edu- cation of your students. It is worth getting a little wet! If you have questions about this article or the resources, please contact me at suz025@yahoo.com. Resources Dodge, Bernie. "Some Thoughts about WebQuests." The WebQuest Page. 5 May 1997. Educational Technology Department San Deigo State University. 15 Oct 2003. < http:/ /edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/abouLwebquests.html> Dodge, Bernie. The WebQuest Page. 28 Feb 1998. Educational Technology Department San Deigo State University. 15 Oct 2003. <http://webquest.sdsu.edu/> "Filamentality." SBC Knowledge Network Explorer. 25 Aug 2003. SBC Knowledge Network Explorer. 15 Oct 2003. < http:/ /www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/ > Jukes, Ian. The InfoSawy Group. 2003. The InfoSawy Group. 15 Oct 2003. < http://www.thecommittedsardine.net/ infosawy/education/ejukesbio.html > Jukes, Ian, et al. NetSawy : Building Information Literacy in the Classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, June 2000 Jukes, Ian, and McCain, Ted. Windows on the Future : Education in the Age of Technology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, October 2000. McKenzie, Walter. "Are You a Techno-constructivist?" Education World. 31 Jan 2000. Education World, Inc. 15 Oct 2003. < http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/ tech005.shtml > NECC 2004. The National Educational Computing Conference. 2003. International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). 15 Oct 2003. <http://www.neccsite.org> Partnership for 2151 Century Skills. 2003 Partnership for 21st Century Skills. 15 Oct 2003. < http:// www.21 stcenturyskills.org/default.asp > Project Based Learning Checklists. 2003. Advanced Learning Technologies University of Kansas. 15 Oct 2003. < http:// 4teachers.org/projectbased/ > RubiStar. 2003. High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium. 15 Oct 2003. < http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ index.php > Thornburg Center. Thornburg Center. 15 Oct 2003. <http:// www.tcpd.org/lndex2.html> Suzanne Porath teaches at the American Inter- national School of Vilnius, Lithuania.