Information Overload & Techie Bugs: A Prescription for Healthy Internet Integration   By Annette Lamb Have you noticed that you can never find exactly what you need, but you can always find interesting, irrelevant websites? Do you need a personal assistant to help you wade through all the websites you've written on scraps of paper? Do you have more bookmarks than books? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you need Dr. Lamb's prescription for Information Overload. This session will help you find the "best of the net" and provide realistic strategies for integrating Internet resources into classroom activities.

Technology Overload

Have you ever tried to "answer" your remote control?

 

X-Ray Self-Check

Are you tired of all the flashy, trashy, irrelevant websites?

Let's find practical, relevant sites!

Are you already running as fast as you can?

Let's find a personal assistant!

Do you have more bookmarks than books?

Let's get organized!

Do you have more ideas than time?

Let's choose the best!

Do you get butterflies thinking about kids and Internet?

Let's get prepared!

Let's Go!

You need a prescription for Information Overload!

 

The Session

• Best of the Net
• Managing Overload
• Realistic Integration Strategies
• Finding What Works

Search Tools: Your Personal Searcher

• Tools for teens & adults, children
• Use engine starters

http://www.rcls.org/search.htm

http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/ImageFinder/

 

Teacher Resources: Your Personal Assistant

• Teacher sites
• Subject area sites
• Grade level sites
• Television sites
• Textbook sites
• Best-of link sites

http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/

http://www.lightspan.com/

http://www.gocopernicus.com/

http://www.sisweb.com/math/tables.htm

http://yorkwood.warren.k12.il.us/

http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/

http://www.scholastic.com/

http://www.eduplace.com

 

Best Of Awards Links

• Look at your favorite sites
• Check the awards on the page
• Click on the award
• Look for the links

http://www.mmhschool.com/teach/index.html

http://www.edmediausa.com/webawards2000.htm

 

Tools and Calculators: Your Personal Builder

• Puzzlemakers
• Worksheet makers
• Story Problems
• Converters

http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/

http://www.mathstories.com/

http://www.bankamerica.com/tools/auto_payment.html

HTTP://www.xe.net/currency/

http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Island/9069/ConjugationTrainer/presbasic.html

 

Learning Environments: Your Teaching Assistant

• Collaboration
• WebQuests
• Tutorials
• Case Studies
• Simulations

http://www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/schools/pcartier/owlquest.htm

http://www.hud.gov/kids/people.html

 

Managing Overload

 

Remove the Pain: Plan ahead

• get a scan converter
• preview as class
• group students
• or schedule the lab

Get organized: Bookmarks

• Search tools
• Starting points
• Professional tools
• Topical
• Find a starter site

Create pages: Work your way up

• Paper
• Bookmarks
• Word processor
• Web pages
• It's easier than it looks!

http://www.union.k12.ia.us/ukhs/WebQuest/alcoholissues.htm

http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/webcamp/final_projects/cross/INDEX.HTM

http://www.smsd.k12.ks.us/nieman/contnts.htm

 

Limit options

• Preselect 3-4 general sites
• Create worksheet: site, questions
• Print out pages

http://www.howstuffworks.com/

 

Reduce pressure

• Focus: a standard, a question, an info need
• Avoid stuff you already have!

http://wwwga.usgs.gov/edu/index.html

 

Fly away

• Connect to outside classrooms
• epals, projects, sharing

http://www.epals.com/

 

Revive Curriculum

• Draw on student interests
• Match curriculum to student interests

http://www.nj.com/yucky/

 

Handle Plug-in Pain

• Are they worth it?
• Real Audio, Real Video, Shockwave

http://www.harcourtschool.com/

 

Use Multimedia

• Provide variety
• Audio, Video, Graphics

http://www.daretodream.org/aclips.htm

 

Find a Friend

• Email friends
• Teacher chatrooms
• Lesson websites

http://www.proteacher.com/

 

Ten Techie Bug Ideas

 

• Realistic Integration Strategies
• Know your bugs!

Bug: Limited data

• Use real-world data
• Collect data
• Share it with others
• Compare data
• Draw conclusions

http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/sci/sol/invest/invind.htm

http://njnie.dl.stevens-tech.edu/curriculum/currichome.html

 

Bug: Need practice

• Give students practice
• Match to ability levels
• Create worksheet guides
• Provide a challenge
• Expect results

http://www.funbrain.com/

 

Bug: Slightly off

• Modify a website to fit your needs
• Different grade, country, emphasis

http://www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/project/acidrain/webquest.htm

 

Bug: Linkrot

• Update a broken site that's good.
• Fix linkrot
• Locate new links
• Email webmaster!

http://www2.lhric.org/kat/BLUE.HTM

http://www.eduscapes.com/42explore/birds.htm

 

Bug: Boring Reports

• Use a webquest

http://www.richmond.edu/~ed344/webquests/women/a&l2.html

 

Bug: Need review

• It's fun, but it's also a good way to review

http://www.colgate.com:80/Kids-world/goodbad.html

 

Bug: Resource limits

• Expand your curriculum
• Beyond the textbook

http://www.eduscapes.com/42explore/bufldier.htm

http://www.buffalosoldiers.net/

 

Bug: Too much info

• Start with database
• Apply the info
  • letter to protect
  • place in habitat
  • write a poem
• Compare the findings

http://www.felidae.org/

 

Bug: Keeping up

• Bookmark classic sites
• Visit regularly
• Mark specific pages
  • NASA, Smithsonian, PBS

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/index.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/

 

Bug: Maintain fun

• Incorporate themes
  • bulletin board theme
  • computer in learning center
  • handouts
  • printed web pages
• What's cool to kids?

http://www.miamisci.org/af/sln/

 

Find What Works

 

If you've been sitting in the waiting room … it's time to help yourself!

 

I'm nervous

• What if kids get into something bad?
• Use "kid sites"
• Provide a specific site and activity.

http://www.amnh.org/education/kids/kids_hope/index.html

http://www.amnh.org/education/kids/kids_hope/rocksincab.html

 

I'm hiding

• Look for sets of information that are easy to use

http://www.nhmccd.edu/contracts/lrc/kc/decades.html

 

I'm uncomfortable

• I feel like a fish out of water.
• Try a large group activity.

http://www.brainpop.com/indexgen.asp

http://www.brainpop.com/watercyc/

 

I'm not "cool"

• I feel like I'm in the wrong century.
• Combine old & new
• Books & Internet

http://www.richmond.edu/~ed344/samplers/stars.html

 

I'm a klutz

• It doesn't work for me.
• Find sites that others suggest.

http://www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/sapco/elemsci.htm

 

I feel pressured!

• Try email
• Do it regularly
• Ask an expert
• Post results

http://scorescience.humboldt.k12.ca.us/fast/ask.htm

 

Yuck!

• Just try one thing.
  • a special day
  • a contest
  • an email activity
  •  

http://www.readin.org/

 

I'm different

• There's something for everyone! 42eXplore

http://www.eduscapes.com/

 

Let's Go!

Are you ready for the piranha? … or at least a few goldfish?

Are you fired up? … at least your pilot light is lit, right?

 

For more information on Annette's books, check out Vision to Action Publishing

 

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This workshop is a companion to the book, Building Treehouses for Learning.

This workshop contains elements from the following presentation: Technology Tools in Teaching and Learning.

Developed by Annette Lamb, 2/00.