Development Resources

Interactive Activities in a Web-Based Classroom

As a teacher that teachers a specialized curriculum called Communications, I have decided not to focus on my class itself (public speaking skills taught in conjunction with technology) but for this page have decided to focus on tools that will make it easier for me to teach my four and half week, elective, Web Page Design. Within the Media Resources section of this chapter, I have already described clipart images and sites that would be useful to my classroom. This chapter will focus on some of the on-line sites that my students can use to receive information for their web pages and about making their web pages. It is imperative that I do have pre-selected content sites for my students as I know that they could spend all hour searching the net with no tangible results.

One site that I have found to be very useful is the online tutorial to Netscape Composer found on the University of Illinois site. Every day, I start the class by teaching an element from this tutorial, and then the students are expected to go to their computers and apply the element to the web page. If they have any questions, they know to first consult the tutorial, then ask me. This is a great time management tool, as it cuts down the time I have to explain things, as the tutorial is very clear and concise.

I have found a program called Internet Detective This is a tutorial that teaches that there is an issue of information quality, practical tips for evaluation, criteria to apply to information. It is lengthy (one to two hours) however don't students love anything on the computer? At least it provides, issues and exercises to look at it when teaching about information quality on the net.

This a site that offers countless links to such topics as advanced HTML coding, graphics, counters, web hosting, web site promotion, and HTML wizards. This is an excellent site as it allows my students to connect other places than school and make their own pages and post them. Each page provides new information for a variety of levels within my classroom. My beginner students can work with templates if necessary and my advanced students can learn about frames.

This is an interactive tool that can help both the teacher the students. For the teacher, this site provides on-line quizzes already created, and the ability to make on-line quizzes and have the results sent back to you. This allows for a self-paced learning environment. For example, I may make a series of HTML quizzes, and have students complete them as they learn the new skills. For students, the site provides interactive activities for learning about the universe, culture, words, and numbers. It is a great resource to use for those students that get done with their assignments first, or as a reward tool.

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