Download Searching For Lesson Plans

Internet for Teaching
*Internet Basics
*Searching the Internet
*Modifying Plans to Needs
What is the Internet?
• When many things are connected—by
roads, cables or anything they share in
common—this forms a network.
• Networks allow a computer to share
information between the other computers
that are part of the same Network.
• The Internet is formed of many group of
networks connected together.
• Internet or World Wide Web is a series of
computers connected together to share
information.
– A “URL” or “Web Address” is where a page
is located.
– A browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape) is
a software program that allows easy use of
the web.
– “Home Page” is a start page or 1st page.
Browser Basics
– Title bar
• Very top of the webpage – title the webpage, buttons to
minimize, maxims and close the webpage
– Menu bars
• Each one of these titles have information behind it. Watch as
the arrow scrolls over the words. The icons are short cuts to
some of the command on the menu bar. We will come back
to the icons
– Address bar
• This is where a web address is typed Status bar This shows
what is loaded onto the computer or what is loading on the
computer.
Browser Basics
• Menu Bar
– Back
• Click on this to take you back one webpage
– Forward
• Click on this take you forward one webpage
– Stop
• If you wish to stop the loading of webpage click on this key
– Refresh
• Updates information on the current webpage – this is a great
button to use when checking a live event on a website.
Browser Basics
– Home
• Clicking on this icon will take you to the first webpage you
see when you get on the Internet.
– Search
• Click on this icon to go to a search engine. Not all search
engines are the same – you may use the same term on one
search engine and find information you want and on another
not.
– Favorites
• Click on this icon to pull up lists of websites. On your own
computer you may create your own lists of favorites. History
Lists of website you have visited.
How to Identify A Website
• URL
– stands for Uniform Resource Locator or unique
address (http://www.google.com)
• http://
– stand for hypertext transfer protocol or a method of
writing content for the Internet.
• www
– indicates site is on the World Wide Web.
• .google
– is the host or domain name.
• Last three letters shows the type of websites available
– .com commercial
– .edu education
– .gov government
– .org organization
Be careful when you enter web addresses manually; Web addresses never contain
spaces and are sensitive to punctuation and case.
Who do you trust
on the Internet?
• The WWW includes information on
hundreds of thousands of computers
around the world.
• Examples of what the web is used for:
Email, geneology, commerce etc.
• Searching can be like finding a needle in a
haystack. (Some good mixed in with lots
of garbage.)
First Mistake to Avoid
• Mistakes when typing a web address is like
dialing a wrong number so when you get
an error screen you must figure out where
your mistake is.
What an Error Message
Looks Like…
Second Mistake to Avoid
• Typing the information in the wrong box…
– The Address box is not the same as the Search
box
Address Box
• Http://en.wikipedia.org
• www.google.com
• http://yahoo.com
Search Box
• High blood pressure
• bulldogs football
• Vegetarian Restaurants in Fresno
Hyperlinks
When a picture or set of words links to
another site it is called a hyperlink.
The mouse arrow will look like this:
Choosing a Search Method
• Internet Directories
– Well organized indexes that allow you to
browse through lists of sites by topic.
– Created by people (not always updated)
– Fewer websites in their databases
• Example: Librarians Internet Index
(http://lii.org)
Librarians’ Internet Index
Choosing a Search Method
• Search Engines
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Developed after Internet Directories
Allow you to use keywords to search millions of pages.
Allow both simple and advanced (“Boolean”) search techniques
Are indexed electronically by spiders or web crawlers.
Example: Google (www.google.com)
Google www.google.com
Yahoo www.yahoo.com
Netscape http://search.netscape.com
MSN www.msn.com
Alta Vista www.altavista.com
Meta Search Engines
 Submit your queries to multiple search engines
simultaneously:
 Dogpile www.dogpile.com
 Metacrawler www.metacrawler.com
 Search.com www.search.com
Important Reminders
• Become familiar with a couple of web directories
and search engines.
• Be careful what information you trust -- consider
who created a specific website.
• Learn search strategies.
• Make your searches specific.
• DON’T GIVE UP
Search Tips
• Use Quotes for Phrases
– This works in almost every search engine and
directory.
• “high blood pressure”
• “hibbing public library”
• “Minnesota Historical Society”
Search Tips
• Use the + Sign To Require
– Google uses the + sign
• +dogs +cats
• +twins +baseball
– Other Search Engines use AND
• dogs AND cats
• twins AND baseball
Search Tips
• Use the – Sign to Exclude
– Google uses the - sign
• dolphins –football
• twins –baseball
• dogs -cats
– Other Search Engines use NOT
• dolphins NOT football
• twins NOT baseball
• dogs NOT cats
Search Tips
• Use OR to Broaden
– men OR boys OR males
– children OR adolescents
– “high blood pressure” OR hypertension
– dogs OR cats
• Searching Tips Summary
– Don’t let frustration stall your search.
– Use phrases
• “twins baseball”.
– Use AND (+)
• +twins +baseball.
• twins AND baseball
– Use OR
• children OR adolescents.
– Use NOT (-)
• twins –baseball
• twins NOT baseball
Tips for Finding
Lesson Plans
on the Internet
Search Queries
Enter the name of the topic you are
teaching followed by the words “lesson
plans”
Example: Electricity lesson plans
Narrow the search by adding the grade
level to the search string
Example: Electricity lesson plans high
school
There are also many resources on the Internet for lesson plans and curriculum
ideas and activities. Some of these include:
Lesson Plan Websites
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The Educator's Reference Desk: Lesson Plans http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/index.shtml
– You can browse the collection by subject, or search using keywords. The search also lets you limit by
grade level.
Lesson Plans Library http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/
– The Lesson Plans Library site contains lessons for grades K-12 in common and not so common
subjects. In addition to providing a plethora of lesson plans, this site is also linked to several other
"teaching tools" from The Discovery Channel.
Lesson Plans Page http://www.lessonplanspage.com
– This page allows for easy searching for specific lesson plans by subject, grade level, and area within
the subject searched. LessonPlansPage.com has an extensive selection of lesson plans for math,
science, language arts, and art.
Sites for Teachers http://www.sitesforteachers.com
– This site has links to educational resources for teachers, students and parents. It contains information
for all grade levels including lesson plans, activities, reproducibles and much more!
Teacher.Net Lesson Bank http://teachers.net/lessons/
– This lesson bank is interactive and allows for both retrieval and submission of lesson plans by
teachers. The site allows several searching strategies for locating lessons on various subjects and in
various grade levels. One can search by subject area or education level, or one can search or browse
the lesson bank by keyword.
GEM - The Gateway to Educational Materials http://www.thegateway.org/
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Sponsored by the National Library of Education of the U.S. Department of Education, this is a one-stop educational
resource which provides information, lesson plans, and activities pertaining to all K-12 subjects. Users can browse sites
by subject or keyword, or they can search by subject, keyword, title, or full-text of the site description.
Education World Teacher Lesson Plans http://www.education-world.com/a_tsl/index.shtml
Know the Following Terms
• Bulletin Boards
– On web pages where people write messages on specific topics.
For example: finance.yahoo.com posts messages about stocks.
• Chat room
– Real time typed conversations. Also called IRC or Internet relay
chat.
• Commercial web sites:
– Enables people to buy goods and services from a wide variety of
vendors from name-brands, such as Marshal Fields, to local
retailers, such as Sunrise Bakery.
• E-mail
– Correspond with your friends and relatives over the Internet.
• Encryption
– Codes used to conceal credit card numbers from thieves.
• FAQS
– Frequently asked questions. Always read first when using a new
web site.