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Lesson Plan 1: Preparation

Instructional Objectives

  • To assess the educational needs of students that can be addressed by creating a school web site.
  • To set the rules of working together on this project
  • To draft a plan of activities that will guide us in making this project successful

 

Time Required

A minimum of one week (five instructional periods)

 

Advance Preparation

Students are asked to express their interest in computers and technology. There is usually a high interest and excitement around this subject, so the teacher will have little problem in motivating the students to embark on this mission. There are some prerequisite computer skills necessary for the completion of most of the assignments described here, such as knowledge of keyboard, and word processing skills. 

 

Materials Required

Notebook, construction paper, writing pads, markers. Access to the computer room with Internet connection.

 

Vocabulary

At this early stage, the teacher will introduce some technical concepts, such as: software, hardware, Internet, browser, network, operating system, programs, web site, etc.

Other concepts students should become familiarized are: group work, rules, deadline, project, performance, peer review, audience. Do not expect that students know exactly what these concepts mean in reality. Most of the students have never worked together in a web-based project and many have difficulty operating in small groups under the constraints of a performance-led activity.

 

Procedures

Brainstorming, group work, direct instruction.

 

Activities

First Day. Students will receive stimulus materials about the Internet revolution. The instruction will occur in the classroom and the teacher will use regular handouts. The students will be asked what they think about the Internet and how it affects them. They will brainstorm and map the results. The teacher will categorize the answers and use them for the first assessment of student needs and expectations. 

 

Questions: 

  • What is the Internet?

  • Who invented the Internet?

  • Who owns the Internet?

  • How does the Internet work?

 

Second Day. The teacher will lead a discussion on the subject of Internet in school and in the daily lives of the participants. Students will share the experience they have with the Internet and detail their skills on this subject.

Questions:

Are you using the Internet? What for?

Would you like to use the Internet for other purposes? Please specify.

Why do schools have Internet connection?

Can the Internet be used in education? Why? Does it help? 

 

Third Day. Students will become familiar with the rules of using the computer room and the code of conduct for navigating the Internet. The set of rules (see them on the web at http://fklane.org/labrules.htm) will be signed by the students, and the parental consent form (see: http://fklane.org/permission.htm) will be signed by an adult. For an example of a comprehensive Internet Acceptable Use Policy, check the New York City Board of Education rules at: http://nycenet.edu/internet/iaup21501.htm#rev-acc-priv

The teacher or one of the students will facilitate a discussion on the importance and consequences of each of the rules presented. Students will receive information on how the lab operates. They will have to follow a list of routines: hang your coat, place book bag in the locker but keep the notebook, go to the assigned computer station, check the status of hardware, turn the system on, report any problems immediately, etc. 

 

Questions:

  • Are the computer lab rules helpful? Why?

  • Would you add additional rules to the ones present? Which one?

Fourth Day. Students will finally go into the computer room. They will go through the routines for the first time. The first assignment is a tutorial on the Internet (see: http://fklane.org/introtointernet.htm). They will also log onto the school web page and browse at will.

Fifth Day. Students will go again to the computer room and search different school web sites. They will have an online discussion forum to present their opinions about the different school web sites seen. Examples of discussion forums: http://teachersnetwork.org/teachnet-lab/fklane/disc11_toc.htm  In their response to be posted on the web discussion forum, they will write the following: the school name, the Internet address, the aspects they liked most about that web site, and the aspects they least liked. 

 As I mentioned before, the discussion forum featured here is the writer's lab, where students post their essay drafts and/or answers to some class questions. This discussion forum shows the writing process, and by no means is a "showcase' where you can see the final product. I carefully monitored this discussion forum by responding, on line or on paper, to all submissions. 

 

Extensions or Follow-up

Some students have a computer with Internet at home. The others who don’t have can take advantage of school facilities after class or during Saturday school. Encourage the students to use the Internet more in the direction you want. Encourage students to obtain an email address if they don’t have one (students under 16 must get parental approval when applying for a free hotmail account, for instance). Create a database of student email accounts so that you can start communicating with them by email. Students who want to do extra work should be encouraged to do so by preparing additional assignments, such as searches of interesting school web pages that can be found on the Internet. Students should copy and comment on a number of school web pages found and present their findings to their colleagues next time.

Another subunit to be explored is on the topic of evaluating web sites. Please go to an efficient system of assessing web pages, assembled by U. C. Berkeley Library: http://lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/EvalQuestions.html

Students will then select a simpler system of evaluation their peers and their own work in web design. An example of student generated evaluation criteria is this: http://fklane.org/criteria.htm 

I asked my students to create web sites based on their research interests. The most important part was when students reflected upon their peers' web sites. See: http://fklane.org/webproject.htm Notice that all of these web projects are drafts and are submitted as such. 

Homework

First Day’s Homework: students will write a short response paper on the relevance of Internet in their daily life.

Second Day’s Homework: students will write a short response paper on how they want to use the Internet and what they want to learn in order to be able to do that.

Third Day’s Homework: students will select one rule from the list and write a paragraph explaining why this selected rule is important.

Fourth Day’s Homework: students will write a two or three-paragraph statement on what they want from the school web page.

Fifth Day’s Homework: students will come up with a draft plan of creating a functional school web page. This homework is the starting point of many other related assignments.

 

Evaluation

There should be an evaluation component in every lesson this week. After the first three days, the teacher will be able to see what the students know about the subject and how and why they want to get involved. A thing to always keep in mind is that every assessment is also an assessment of the youngsters’ academic and cognitive skills. The content introduced in the lesson will also help improving students’ academic and cognitive performance.

Another type of evaluation should be performed at the level of social skills necessary to work and perform well in a group environment facing challenging multiple tasks. The question here is how the students prepare for the requirements of an interconnected office setting that is task driven, fast paced, integrated, and customer and service oriented.

Any assessment that attempts to measure student performance more objectively will employ the students as active participants in the construction of the assessment instruments. The problem with regular classroom testing and more often with standardized testing is that students do not “recognize” themselves in the tests. During the course of this unit, the teacher will provide sufficient opportunities for self-analysis and the creation of quality self-check points and charts, as well as student-generated assessment plans for each task that the groups of participants will put together. 

For instance, students saw the web page assessment devised by Kathy Scrock. They came up with a simplified version of the criteria that fit the assignment they were working on: http://fklane.org/criteria.htm. 

 

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