Digging Into Technology: Education & The Internet

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Gathering Your Tools and Managing The Dig

Step 1: Preparing For The Dig

Before jumping into Cyberworld with your students, take a little time to brainstorm a few ideas for your web project/lesson. From topic selection to assessment, develop an outline to guide you through the process.

What topic will you explore?
Concentrate on the curriculum rather than a cool internet site. Select a lesson, activity, or project that you would like to enhance with technology. Not every lesson is guaranteed to be a hit with the addition of technology! Technology cannot turn bad lessons into great ones; however, technology has the power to make a great lesson a gem!

What do you want to accomplish?
Establish a few key goals to focus your project/lesson. What activities or projects will help students accomplish the lesson goals? While some activities will be used to build knowledge or reinforce classroom lessons, develop activities that will be enjoyable and challenge your students to go beyond the basics. Joining a collaborative project, solving problems, and debating current issues will allow students to take the lead in their learning.

How will you use technology to meet your goals?
Depending on your experience level and that of your students, select a project idea that is within your comfort level. Start small and build!

	Do you want to find new lessons and activities for use in the classroom? Search for a few exciting lesson plans and project ideas - Lesson Plans Page Utilize real-time data for science experiments, math problems, or history projects - USGS Earthquakes Generate discussions or preface writing activities with news reports of hot topics - Discovery or CNN Do you want to integrate a few web sights into daily class activities? Keep a weather log - NWS Check national headlines for current events - USA Today Explore history - This Day In History Get stock quotes - NYSE Challenge your brain Brain Twister, or Daily Trivia Check the status of the planet - Scorecard or EPA Kids Do you want to provide online learning opportunities or reinforce classroom lessons? Build knowledge - BrainPOP or Mozart's Magical Musical Life Explore museums - Exploratorium or Rock & Roll Museum Try a few simulations - Probe The Brain or Shockwave Physics Review with interactive games - Quia! or Funbrain Interact with experts - Ask An Expert Connect with other students - ePals Do you want to engage students in their learning? Create a great research project - Search Tools for Kids Challenge your students to a web quest - Look Who's Footing The Bill or The Odyssey Join a collaborative project - Global Schoolhouse or KidProj Explore real-world problems - Real World Mathematics

How will you evaluate student learning?
Spend a few moments visualizing the lesson you are planning. How will you know that every student has met your goals? How will you evaluate learning at various times throughout the project? How will you identify areas that need additional instruction or practice? Develop activities, project guides, and checklists that will provide insights into the learning cycle.

Evaluation of web-based projects follow the same format as for other classroom lessons and activities. We use a variety of formats to gauge student learning depending on the lesson. The same is true for Internet explorations and projects. A Web Quest involving problem solving lends itself to a performance-based assessment rather than a multiple-choice test. However, the selected response format (multiple choice, true/false, and matching) allows teachers to evaluate activities that build knowledge. Select the assessment format that best fits your project.

Whether you choose ready-to-use resources or create your own web-based project, integrating the Internet into your classroom will allow your students to go beyond the walls of the classroom.

T. Trimpe 2000