An Internet Primer for Teachers
(http://www.headbone.com/derby/polls/) |
Learning how to search the World
Wide Web effectively is an essential skill for students. The Headbone Derbies
offer a structured process for students to develop and master searching skills.
Each time you click the Search button as you play, you are directing Yahoo!, an
automated Web Search Software program (also known as a search engine), to scan
the Internet and find information you are looking for.
The pages that follow provide
information on the basics of searching. This includes strategies for better
searching and instructions on interpreting and improving the results of the
search, as well as useful techniques for refining your search.
When you go to our Search page
and type the name of something you're looking for on the Web (this is called a
search command), Yahoo! Searches all the Web sites in its database, including a
targeted search of all the high-quality sites. It also searches newsgroups
(sites on the Internet where individuals and groups focus on specific
topics/subjects).
Yahoo! Finds pages containing the
exact words you typed, but also looks for ideas closely linked to the words in
your query. For example, if you typed "the financial concerns of elderly
people," Yahoo! will find sites with those exact words, as well as those
mentioning "financial" and "elderly".
Be specific.
Bookmark your favorite sites!
Remember, the better search
skills you have, the better you can help your students navigate the research
process.
Search Engines list results in
order of relevant words that are specific to your topic. For each search you
request, Yahoo! will list the results in groups of ten in decreasing order of
importance or relevance to your topic. For instance, if you search for, say,
"Elves of the North Pole," Yahoo! may find 342 sites which have some connection
to your search.
-DNS Lookup Failed.
This means the browser could not find the Web site
address (URL) or the Web site is no longer listed. (Check the URL address to
make sure you have the correct address.)
If the result of your search does
not provide the kind of information/ documents you are looking for, you can try
a few things to improve the results:
1. Try alternate spellings of
words (e.g. CD-ROM OR CDROM)
2. Add more descriptive words if
the results are too broad.
3. Try different key words. For
example, if you tried "hobbies", you might try something different (e.g. games)
or more specific (e.g. backgammon strategies).
4. If you are looking for proper
names (e.g. John Wayne or Apple Computer), remember to capitalize the first
letter of each word. Yahoo! will find only pages that contain the proper name.
As you integrate student access
onto the World Wide Web into your classroom, you will be confronted with a
variety of issues that face all educators interested in Internet access.
Currently, there is no "v-chip" or ratings guide for the Internet (though there
may be soon), and students can access objectionable material if allowed
unsupervised or unstructured access. There are, however, lots of valuable
resources (articles, Web sites for teachers and parents, software, and Internet
service providers) that can help you to keep current on the latest news and
developments, better understand the issues, and determine the most effective
ways of dealing with them.
Your school and/or district
already may have adopted (or may be in the process of adopting) an Acceptable
Use Policy for students. We encourage you to research who is doing what with
Acceptable Use Policy and also to consider what will constitute acceptable use
in your classroom.
Here are a few considerations for
Acceptable Use Policy:
1. Technology Approach: A
number of companies have developed filtering software that can be
installed/applied on individual workstations. One such product is made by
Net Nanny. Net Nanny (http://www.netnanny.com)
has both monitoring and filtering capabilities. There are also Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) who offer filtration services. Ask your technology resource
folks about them.
2. Educational Approach: Just
as we teach our children not to take candy from stranger's, so we can guide
them with rules and boundaries for exercising good judgment and restraint when
they explore the Internet.
3. Policy Approach: There
are many examples of schools, districts, and classrooms establishing an
Acceptable Use Policy that clearly defines appropriate use of the computer and
the Internet, and spells out consequences for infractions.
Once your policy has been
established, it might be appropriate for you to send letters home with your
students providing details of student on-line access, the educational value
(learning objectives), and an explanation of your policy.
It will also be helpful if you,
your school and/or district can schedule opportunities for "tech labs." These
can provide computer orientation and training and would be a valuable library
service of benefit to students, teachers, administrators, and parents.
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