Internet Learning Tools

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Internet Learning Tools
August 2004
Andrew Barr Ruth Geer Alan Barnes
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Digital Transport-Global, Open Instant(almost)

• The Internet transports digital information
  encoded as TCP/IP(Transport Control
  Protocol/Internet Protocol)
• Each computer has an internet address(IP number)
• IP packages can be sent by a variety of Internet
  routes
• IP number is the address sent on on each package
• no central control

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IP addressing-the three layers

• Every network card has an individual unique code
  eg. my laptop network card has a network id of
  000393598626
• When a network card communicates on the Internet
  it is assigned an IP number eg. 130.220.134.234
• University of South Australia has been allocated
  a set of IP addresses to assign to its computers
  start with "130.220."
• It also has been allocated use of the domain
  "unisa .edu au

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What are Internet tools?

• Email
• Discussion Lists
• Chat
• Video Conferencing
• FTP and Peer to Peer File Transfer
• Newsgroups
• Web

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Activity

• Find the network card address and the Internet
  protocol address of the computer that you are
  currently using. What domain does it sit in?
• Type ipconfig /all into the DOS Window or use
  your TCP/IP/network control panels on a Mac

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Email in the classroom

• New text genre informal brief
• Formation of a learning community time and
  place independent
• How can email be used in classroom practice?
• Epals http//www.epals.com/
• Book raps http//rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet
  /projects/book-rap/
• Travel buddies http//rite.ed.qut.edu.au/Oz-Teach
  ernet/projects/travel-buddies/index.html
• Global Quests http//quest.classroom.com/
• Ask an Expert http//www.askanexpert.com/
• LOTE http//www.epals.com/translation/translation
  .e
• Jason Project http//www.edna.edu.au/go/browse/0
  schooledresourcesictonprojectsresulttab

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Discussion Forums

• Asynchronous form of communication
• Facilitates group discussion
• Members have common interest
• 1 many distribution
• Messages come to your accounts
• May generate an enormous amount of email

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How can discussion forums support learning?

• Students can share experiences
• Opportunity for students to discuss topics of
  interest
• Can be used for collaborative tasks
• Teachers can share ideas with peers
• http//tile.net/lists/
• http//www.liszt.com
• http//rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/

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Newsgroups

• Asynchronous form of communication
• Public forum for discussion
• Can subscribe to many newsgroups
• Require a newsreader (Internet Explorer -Tools
  Read News)
• Many educational groups
• Stimulate thoughts and promote dialogue

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Activity

• Subscribe to the discussion group ozclipart by
  putting join-ozclipart_at_www.education.unisa.edu.au
• Provide your own opinion on whether Australia
  should embark on major Australia clip art
  building initiative for schools and the design
  industry.
• Reply(briefly and thoughtfully) to the all others
  and their responses to you.

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Internet Chat

• Synchronous communication
• Provides a service for many users to communicate
  about a given topic using a keyboard
• User joins a channel and enters a nickname
• Exchange takes place in real time
• http//www.teachers.net/

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Activity

• Is there more to interaction than communication?
• Proximity in Cyberspace
• Join the cyber meeting place in the pools and
  interact with others.

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Issues around Chat for Schools

• Useful for fostering social interaction within
  the school
• Useful for brainstorming
• Comments seen by everyone
• Issues of privacy and access (intranet)
• Keyboarding and literacy may be issues

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• Net meeting
• SOUND
• LIVE VIDEO
• IP address
• Whiteboard
• Chat

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Activity

• Run Netmeeting and muckaround.
• Your school has been asked to describe the sort
  of clip art that would make a difference. All
  your school colleagues happen to be on chat for
  the moment so quickly suggest your ideas and
  comment on others.
• Choose a colleague, share a whiteboard and
  describe oz-categories in the proposed oz-clipart.

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Video conferencing

• Two or more people at different locations can see
  and hear each other
• Uses
• formal instruction
• connection with guest speakers, experts
• multi-school projects
• professional activities
• community events

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Benefits of video conferencing

• Heightens motivation
• Improves communication presentation skills
• Increases connection with outside world
• Increases depth of learning
• students ask better questions
• learning from primary source
• requires planning leading to better experiences

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Internet Phone
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Virtual reality

• Students interact in a virtual world
• http//www.media.unisa.edu.au/ccs/
• Active world
• Http//www.activeworld.com
• Simulations

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What is the World Wide Web?

• "The power of the Web is in its universality.
  Access by everyone regardless of disability is an
  essential aspect." -- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C
  Director and inventor of the World Wide Web
• A distributed collection of information,
  multimedia, functionality and
• A universal publishing medium
• A host environment for communications technologies

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Activity

• Build your own profile of favourite web based
  sources
• What is your favourite encyclopedia
  http//edis.win.tue.nl/encyclop.html
• What would be your choice of dictionary
  http//dir.yahoo.com/Reference/Dictionaries/
• What atlas would you choose? First look at
  http//www.atlas.sa.gov.au/ then do a search on
  www.google.com

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Strategies for locating information on the Web

• Web addresses
• Surfing
• Subject Directories
• Search engines
• Google
• Kids search engines http//searchenginewatch.inte
  rnet.com/links/Kids_Search_Engines/
• http//www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm
• Meta search engines

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Activity

• Go to the advanced Google search web page
• Construct a search string that looks for units of
  work for primary school students on insects
• Carry out this search specifically for recent
  Australian sites

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Kids Search Tools
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Subject Directories
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Search engines (advanced)
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Evaluating the information

• Audience
• Source
• Authority of authors
• Content
• Accuracy
• Currency
• Comprehensiveness

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What is resourced-based learning?

• It is a methodology that assumes students learn
  from assigned activities through direct
  confrontation with a variety of resources
• It is an approach that helps prepare students for
  our information-dependent society by giving them
  the skills that equip them for lifelong learning

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Information sources

• Library
• The Web
• Internet services eg email, newsgroups,
  discussion lists
• Bibliographic databases
• Museums, knowledge centres
• Community resources
• Multimedia products eg encyclopaedias, software
• Media eg TV, cassettes, videos
• Oral traditions

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Potential of information and communication
technologies

• Provide flexibility in meeting individual needs
  and abilities
• Motivate and stimulate learning
• Immediate access to richer resources
• Present information in new ways
• Enhance learning for students with special needs
• Encourage analytical and divergent thinking
• Reduce failure at school

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Key concepts for RBL

• Develop independent learning skills
• Acquisition of basic body of knowledge
• Skills for lifelong learning

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Characteristics of resource-based learning

• Students are active in their learning
• Inquiry approach to learning is used
• A wide variety of resources are used
• Teachers act as facilitators, guiding, monitoring
  and evaluating student progress
• Teachers employ different instructional
  strategies catering for different learning styles
• Skills and strategies need to be identified and
  taught where necessary

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Implications of resource-based learning

• Need to teach children skills of using
  information
• Teachers become managers of learning
• Teachers need to consider physical organisation
• Teachers and librarians work together
• More critical and authentic assessment
• Greater strain on school resources

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Benefits of RBL

• Learning is more self directed and therefore more
  meaningful
• Promotes deep thinking problem solving,
  reasoning and critical thinking through
  independent research
• Caters for various learning styles
• Elevates nature of research process
• Students learn about the content while learning
  to use information more effectively

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Information literacy through RBL

• Acquisition of information literacy is critical.
  It involves the ability to
• Know when information is needed
• Select appropriate information needed to address
  problem
• Locate needed information
• Evaluate information
• Organise the information
• Communicate the information

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Examples of resource-based learning units

• Web quests
• Enquiry-oriented activities where information
  mainly comes from the Web
• Contain a clear structure http//edweb.sdsu.edu/c
  ourses/edtec596/about_webquests.html
• Web quests use several strategies to increase
  motivation
• Presents a problem that needs an answer
• Students are given real resources to work with
• Solutions or answers can be published

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The Fate of the Rainforests
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Attributes of Webquests

• Introduction
• Task
• Information sources
• Process
• Guidance
• Evaluation (conclusion)

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Key components

• Curricular content relevance
• Use of technologies
• Student-directed
• Collaborative
• Real world context
• Extended time frame
• assessment

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Activity

• Examine the web quests on through edna
  www.edna.edu.au.
• Play a webquesteg. http//www.webquestdirect.com.
  au/goldforce/

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References

• The Web Quest Page developed by Bernie Dodge (San
  Diego State University)http//edweb.sdsu.edu/webq
  uest/webquest.html
• Kathy Schrock's education resourceshttp//school.
  discovery.com/schrockguide/edres.html
• Learning with the Worldhttp//www.ozline.com/lear
  ning/workshop.html
• Kids Search Engines
• http//www.uetigers.stier.org/library/ghn/kids'_se
  arch_engines.htm

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References cont.

• Project-based learning
• http//www.rcs.k12.tn.us/project-based20learning.
  htm