EDU4405: Finding the Best Educational Resources on the Web


Catalog Description:
The World Wide Web provides rich resources for educators, but they are only useful if educators know what resources are there and how to find them.  Participants in this course will explore the range of educational material available on the Internet and learn timesaving skills to search the Web more effectively for useful curricular resources.

Participants will become familiar with popular search engines and subject directories and will learn techniques to use them appropriately and efficiently. The course will also examine the importance of critical evaluation of web resources and consider how to develop evaluation skills in the classroom. Participants will leave the course with a collection of web resources appropriate for their own classroom use.

Allow 3 - 5 hours per session for completion of all requirements.

Prerequisites:
This is an introductory course for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Goals:
This workshop will enable participants to:

  • Learn effective techniques for using popular search engines and directories to find useful educational resources
  • Critically assess the content and quality of web-based resources
  • Teach students how to evaluate content on the Web
  • Develop a collection of appropriate web-based resources for curricular use



Required Readings, Activities and Assignments:

Week One: Using the Internet in the Classroom
In this session, participants will begin to consider the many kinds of resources on the Web
that are available for educators to use for curriculum planning and work with their students.

Week Two: Search Engine Basics
In this session, you will learn about various kinds of search engines that can help you find information and resources you need on the Web. You will discover how different search engines retrieve different kinds of information.

Week Three: Effective Searching Techniques
In this session, you will explore and practice useful techniques to improve search results using search engines. In addition, you will also experiment with some of the newer search engines that display information in more visual ways.

Week Four: Evaluating Internet Resources
In this session, you will learn about the importance of critical evaluation of Internet resources. You will develop techniques to help both you and your students evaluate Internet resources effectively.

Week Five: Finding Multimedia Resources to Enhance your Lessons
In this session, you will learn about how to search for and find multimedia resources such as images, streaming video, and podcasts to enhance your curriculum.

Week Six: Internet Resources for your Curriculum
In this session, participants will create an annotated list of web-based resources using the online tool, TrackStar, for a lesson or unit they are planning.


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