Integrating the Internet into the
Classroom
Facilitator: Michael
Krauss, Lewis
& Clark College
I don't
understand some of the computer terminology. Is there a glossary?
Yes, here is a very good glossary,
also available from a link on the WHP. If you don't find what you
need, just email
me or ed648@lclark.edu
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How do I know what
my assignment is each day?
Every assignment can be easily accessed from the Workshop
Home Page (WHP). Just click on the
Syllabus
or the Daily
Assignment link.
Do
I have to complete each assignment on the day it is due?
No, you don't. One of the advantages to taking this online course
is you have maximum flexibility as to when you work. If you have no
time to work one day, you can double up the next, or even save work
for the weekend. You should not, however, get too far behind because
if you post your assignments too late, you are not likely to get as
much feedback from the other participants.
How can I know
the time zones of the teacher and my classmates?
Most of the tasks in the course are *not* done in "real time"
with everyone needing to be online together. Rather, the work is
turned in and commented upon asynchronously (at different times).
However, there will be the opportunity to participate in "real time"
chats and time *does* become a critical factor. The instructor lives
in the Pacific Time Zone in the U.S. Times and days are referred to
in Pacific Time and also in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for those
living overseas. Click here for the World
Time Clock. You will be able to see
your local time, the equivalent time in Portland, Oregon and also
GMT, so it will be easy to calculate time differences. Pacific
Standard Time = -8:00 GMT (from the last Sunday in October through
the first Sunday in April). Pacific Daylight Time = -7:00 GMT (from
the first Sunday in April through the last Sunday in October).
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Can I send email
attachments to ed648@lclark.edu (the class email list)?
No, email attachments sent to ed648@lclark.edu will "bounce" back to
the sender. There is a limit to file size for our mailing list and
attachments are not accepted. This is also a good protection against
the spread of viruses, which are often carried in the form of email
attachments.
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How
can I find out my progress during the course?
You can check the Grading Grid link on the Workshop
Home Page (WHP). The Grading Grid is
updated once per week during the course. You will each be given a
"participant number" when the course begins; the grades will be
posted by your participant number to ensure privacy.
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How do I "Bookmark"
or make a "Favorite" to keep track of Web sites?
"Similar to a real-life bookmark, an Internet bookmark acts as a
marker for a Web site. (In Internet Explorer, they're called
"Favorites.") When using a Web browser, you can simply select a
bookmark from the browser's Bookmarks menu to go to a certain site.
This way, you don't have to go through the redundant process of
typing in the Internet address each time you visit one of your
favorite sites. Also, who remembers those 200-character addresses
anyway? In most browsers, to create a bookmark, you simply choose
"Add Bookmark" from the Bookmarks menu when you're at a page that
you'd like to bookmark. Woah, four "bookmarks" in one sentence.
That's what happens with words that serve as both nouns and verbs."
(from http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/definition.php?bookmark )
Need
more information?
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How
can I organize my Bookmarks (or Favorites) and how can I access them
when I'm away from my "home" computer?
In Internet Explorer, choose "Organize Favorites" from the
"Favorites" menu. You can create folders and you can drag your
Favorites into them. Then when you pull down the Favorites or
Bookmarks menu, everything will be organized where you put it.
Maybe you want to have your Favorites or Bookmarks available to you or your students when you are away from your "home" computer. There are a couple of options. If you want to organize Favorites or Bookmarks and copy them to a disk, CD, key flash memory drive or any other type of storage device, you can do the following:
A second option is to make your Favorites or
Bookmarks available to you on the Internet. When you or your students
need them, they can access them on the Web. One such online bookmark
manager is http://ikeepbookmarks.com/.
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What if I can't
finish all the work during the three weeks?
Although the course officially runs for three weeks, a fourth week is
available for those who need it to wrap up unfinished assignments.
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I
see lots of topics on the Workshop Discussion Page (WDP). How do I
know which topic to post to?
Remember that you should always go to the Workshop
Home Page (WHP) and click the
Syllabus or Daily Activities link to see your tasks to be completed
for each day. There you will find specific instructions explaining
which WDP topics to post to and when to do so. Don't try to complete
topics on the WDP until the Syllabus directs you to do so. You will
be confused if you jump ahead to future topics on the WDP.
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How
can I avoid mistakes when I type long Web addresses?
If possible, never type Web addresses (URL's). No matter how
careful you are, you are likely to make a mistake (even a tiny one!).
Always copy and paste URL's if possible. Follow these steps:
Presto, your URL has been copied and there
will be *no* errors! You can use this "copy-paste" process in your
browser, word processor, and many other software applications.
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There are many postings on the Workshop Discussion Page (WDP). What
is the most efficient way to see and reply to them?
General directions for using the WDP can be found
here.
When you log in to the WDP, click on "Conferencing" on the left side
of the screen. All the topics on the WDP will become visible. From
the pull-down menu in the middle of the screen, choose "Topics
Updated Since Last Login." Now you will only see those topics that
have had new postings since you last logged in. Choose a topic to
view. From the pulldown menu in the middle of the screen, choose
"Messages Posted Since Last Login." By following this process, you
will only see topics and messages that have been added since your
last login.
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How
do I participate in a chat session with the class?
First you should check to be sure that you know what time the
Chat will be held in your local time zone. (See
Times Zones FAQ). Then, you should
read
this article on using Chat in the
classroom. Our chats are held at Tapped
In. When you are ready to go to
Tapped In to chat, follow these steps:
Here are the instructions for chatting with me at Tapped In:
NOTE: These instructions are only for
times when I am logged into Tapped In. When there is no Chat
scheduled, I won't be logged in. You won't find "MichaelDK" under the
"Online" tab.
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What
are some ideas for classroom use of all the Web sites I'm
finding?
Web resources you find can be used to build Hotlists,
Treasure Hunts, Subject Samplers, WebQuests
and Scenarios.
There are also many other types of classroom activities that can be
designed around Web sites. Here are 170
ideas and resources for teachers.
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How
do I download an image from the Internet to my computer?
NOTE: Remember that you should request
permission to use image files unless images are copyright - free.
Here is a collection of copyright-free
images.
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How
do I open more than one window in my Web browser? How can I make a
new window open when I click on a Web link?
You can open as many windows as you like while in your Web
browser. Choose "New Window" from the "File" menu in Explorer. In
Netscape, depending on your version, you would choose "New Navigator"
from the "File" menu.
Most of the time when you click a link, a new window does not open. If you want a new window to open when you click a link, on a two button mouse, right click and choose "open link in new window." Or if you're on a Mac, you can hold down the "Apple" key while clicking.
To navigate between multiple open windows,
just click on a window to bring it to the front. Or you can choose
among open windows under the "Window" menu in Internet Explorer (or
"Communicator" menu in Netscape, depending on the version you are
using).
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How
do I build Web pages using a Web editor?
Many of you will want to expand your ability to create Web pages
after this course is over. You may want more flexibility than is
provided through "click 'n build" sites. If you have your own server
space for posting Web pages, then all you need is a Web editor. Web
editors are the tools that make creating your own Web pages almost as
easy as creating a document in a word processing program. There are
toolbar buttons to help you create the formatting, tables, Web links,
everything you associate with Web pages on the Internet. When you
finish a page, you must upload it to a Web server. If you don't have
access to server space via your school or your Internet service
provider, you can sign up for one of the many free services you'll
find on the Web (search Google for "free web server
space").
A great free Web editor (and browser and email client) is Mozilla, which runs on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms. You can check out the system requirements for using Mozilla.
Here is a tutorial
for making a Web page using the Mozilla Composer Web editor. Download
Mozilla and try the Web editor out!
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How
can I download Web pages to my computer to use offline?
Some of you may have very slow Internet connections where you
work. Others of you may find the content of many Web pages you have
seen to be very interesting, but a little too difficult to use with
your students. Saving Web pages (and editing them) for use offline or
in printed form can help solve both of these problems.
Many of you use Netscape, so I'll give directions for that browser. However, Explorer is very similar. If you want to save a Web page, you have two choices. When viewing the Web page in Netscape, go to "File" and "Save as". You will then have the choice of designating a format. You can choose "Text" or "Source". If you choose "Text" then the page you are looking at will be downloaded to your computer. Open your word processor (don't just double click on the document icon--), then go to the "File" menu and choose "Open. . .". Locate the file you downloaded and open it. As you will see, you will have all the text of the Web page. So--if the material is too hard for your students, you could modify it, gloss some of the vocabulary, delete part, or whatever you would like to do. Then you can print it out and use it as a paper-based resource. (Yes, you should attribute the source of the page--and you should get the author's permission to modify his/her work).
If you have a Web page that you want to use
with students, but you have a very slow Internet connection, you can
follow the steps above, but use the "Source" format option. Then, in
Netscape, from the "File" menu, choose "Open Page in Navigator." The
Web page you downloaded will come up in Netscape, but you *won't* be
on the Internet (images may also be missing, depending on how old
your version of Netscape is). Note: In Internet Explorer, when you
save, you can designate "Web Archive" as the format option and all
the images will be saved as well as the text. Of course, only the
page you download in this manner will be available offline, not the
entire Web site. If you are interested in downloading entire sites
for use offline, it is better to get special software for that
purpose, such as WebWhacker.
Again, permission from the copyright holder is needed.
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What
are the best steps to follow when designing and collecting sites for
my Filamentality assignment?
Here is an excellent suggestion made by Tom Johnson, a former
participant in the course. Thanks Tom!
"For workload reasons I propose 3 stages for beginners and 2 for more
experienced users.
1] Write possible topic areas and questions on a piece of paper to focus your search, i.e. to avoid spending too much time searching the net for topics.
2] Don't start Filamentality yet. Go directly to a search engine to find good sites. Copy and past the URLs of chosen sites into a Word document or bookmark them.
3] Now open Filamentality; if you're a beginner have a look around first to familiarize yourself with the program. Paste your chosen links and write the questions you prepared and complete your Treasure Hunt, Subject Sampler etc. More advanced users can merge stages 2] and 3].
*We learnt the hard way that trying to find
websites, formulate targeted questions and learning to navigate
around an unfamiliar program is just too much to do at once. These
instructions obviously apply more to Treasure Hunt, Subject Sampler
and WebQuest than to Hotlist or Scrapbook.
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How
can I edit my Filamentality page? How long will my Filamentality page
last?
All Filamentality pages will disappear after one year unless you
edit, but just logging into the page will update it for another year
even if you don't make any changes. Click here
to edit your Filamentality page. You'll just need your username and
password for the page so don't lose that info! Also, every page in
Filamentality has a link at the bottom for "Return to existing topic"
and will take you to the the "Edit"
page.
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Other
than Filamentality, what are some additional "click 'n build" Web
sites?
There are many great online teacher tools, some free, others
requiring a modest fee. Here
is a listing from a page of mine that I use for teacher training. Or
try another
that was put together by Isabel Perez for a TESOL online
workshop.
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What
is the best way to find Keypals for my students?
Although last updated in 2001, see Keypal
Opportunities for Students by Kenji
and Kathleen Kitao for many good resources for students and teachers.
My favorite source for finding Keypals is IECC
(Intercultural Email Classroom Connections). EPals
Classroom Exchange is another very
popular resource. If you would like your students to participate in
Email discussions groups on a variety of topics, try the
Student
List Project.
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How
can I make links in Web pages I create open into a new browser
window?
Here's some sample html code to do what you want.
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8420/gallery.html" TARGET="_blank"> The Japanese American Internment</A>
The resulting link would look like this: The Japanese American Internment
The addition of the TARGET="_blank" at the end of the typical hyperlink html code will cause a new page to be opened.
As you may already know, for pages that are
not set up with links to open in a new window, you can make new
windows open when links are clicked: Have students hold down the
"apple" key when clicking a link on a Mac (single button mouse). On a
Windows computer (or Mac with a two button mouse), do a "right-click"
on the link and choose "Open link in new window."
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Return to
top.
Return to Workshop
Home Page.
Return to
Workshop Discussion Page.
Return to
Syllabus-at-a-Glance.
Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 2/5/08