Introduction to the Internet HEPP533 Summer, 1999

Daily Schedule:     1 .. 2 .. 3 .. 4 .. 5 .. 6 .. 7 .. 8 .. 9 .. 10

Description:

Provides the conceptual background and the online skills needed for educators to become Internet literate. Includes various uses of the Internet, such as email, the WWW, and the usenet. Also includes practical educational applications of these skills, such as using search engines to conduct research and finding lesson plans and other useful curricular materials on the Web.  Reflects on the impact of emerging technologies on the future of schooling and communications.

Prerequisites:

In order to complete the exercises and tutorials in this course, the student will need to have access to a Windows PC or a Macintosh running either Netscape Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. The student will also need an Internet account that provides the basic Internet services of e-mail and the World Wide Web. This account must include at least four megabytes of Web space in which students will create their Web pages.

Texts:

• Internet Literacy, Fred T. Hofstetter, 1998. The web site to support this book is available at http://www.udel.edu/interlit

Requirements:

The course is a compendium of mostly hands-on activities, exploring the different skills needed to become competent and literate in the use of the Internet.  Many of the tasks will require that you work in small groups and help each other to further your skills in cooperative learning and peer tutoring within this new technology.

There are assignments that will require you to use email, a listserv, and a newsgroup.  These assignments will be graded according to your instructor's observation of you performance.

There are also several written assignments that you will submit to your instructor.  These assignments will be submitted electronically in the Serf environment.

On the last day of class, students will present a project of useful websites.  Details will be explained in class.

Course Format:

• Lecture/demonstration on topics of the day
• Lab work on current day's topic concluding with a brief recap of the day in each lab. Participants should take opportunity to make sure any questions are cleared up for the day and the expectations for the next day are clear.

Participants should expect to spend additional time in the lab or on home computers completing each day's activities.

Sites you will use daily:  (Remember to bookmark them.)

URL for On-line syllabus
 http://www.udel.edu/edst/daniel/interlit.htm
URL for Interlit site
 http://www.udel.edu/sine/interlit/
URL for Serf course
http://udserf

1. Topics
1. Overview of the Class
2. Intro to Serf
3. Intro logins and passwords
4. Intro to e-mail
5. Intro to WWW
6. Intro to Internet
7. IMAP vs. POP
2. In-Class Activities
1. Set up logins and passwords
2. Create username
3. Start browser
4. Get into Serf
5. Link to Chapter 2 & 3

http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter2.html
http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter3.html
6. Send email to self and another

1. Topics
1. Advanced Web Browsing
• Web concepts
• Using the toolbar
• What is a URL?
• Creating bookmarks/favorites
• Visiting selected states
2. Educational Web sites
3. Exploring evaluation forms for Web sites
2. In-Class Activities
0. Link to Chapter 4

http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter4.html
1. Overview of Web Site evaluations forms
• Content Evaluation

http://www.cyberbee.com/guide1.html
• Web Design

http://www.cyberbee.com/guide2.html
• Checklist for an Informational Web Page

http://www.science.widener.edu/~withers/inform.htm
2. Exploring educational sites
3. http://www.udel.edu/sine/patsite/

1. Topics
1. Advanced E-mail
• Netiquette
• Dealing with unwanted mail, flames, and spam
• Emoticons, acronyms, jargon
• Replying, forwarding
• Filing email messages
• Signature files
• Address books
• Sending to groups of people
• Showing headers
2. In-Class Activities
1. Link to Chapters 5, 6, & 10

http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter5.html
http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter6.html
http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter10.html
2. Explore: Pat Sine's list of educational web sites

http://www.udel.edu/sine/patsite/

1. Topics
1. WWW searches
• hierarchical, categorical engines vs. search engines (compare and contrast)

tips on how and when to use each
2. Tips on how to conduct a productive search
• choose the right words
• using quotes
• Boolean searches
1. + or -, etc.
2. wild cards
• How to get 'help' using a specific search tool
2. In-Class Activities
1. Link to Chapter 11

http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter11.html
2. Subject-oriented searching
3. Explore
• Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com/)
• Magellan (http://www.magellan.com/)
• Excite (http://www.excite.com/)
• AltaVista (http://www.altavista.digital.com/ )
• Yahooligans (for kids) (http://www.yahooligans.com/ )
• Welcome to Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com/)

1. Topics
1. Intro to Listservs
2. Introduction to WebQuest

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html>
3. Real-Time Communication
2. In-Class Activities
1. Search for appropriate listservs
2. Subscribe to at least 1 listserv
3. Link to Chapter 7

http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter7.html
4. Scavenger Hunt
• finding answers to 8 questions by using search engines and directories

1. Topics
1. Intro to Newsgroups
• How to choose
• How to subscribe through your browser
• Managing: threads
• Using search engines to search for information on the Usenet

http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/usenet/
2. WebQuests: the why and how

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/webquest/buildingblocks.html
3. Skills

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/active/ActiveLearningk-12.html
2. In-Class Activities
1. Link to Chapter 8

http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter8.html
2. Look for appropriate newsgroups
3. Subscribe to a newsgroup
• Including class newsgroup, udel.bull, and udel.general
4. Evaluate WebQuests in small groups
(with each member taking a role)
5. Report to the whole group on the 3 best and 3 worst WebQuests
(give reasons for your decisions)

1. Topics
1. Common Internet File Types
2. Helper Applications and Plugins
3. Downloading Files
4. Attachments
2. In-Class Activities
1. Link to Chapters 12 and 13

http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter12.html
http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter13.html
2. FTP: software, shareware, freeware, and data from the Net
3. Copy an image from the Web and mail it to yourself as an attachment.
4. Lesson plans using the Internet

http://www.udel.edu/feurer/edst567/lessonplans.html
http://www.voicenet.com/~reevesk
5. Download and install Adobe Acrobat

1. Topics
1. Bibliographies
2. Fair Use
3. Creating curricula using the Net as a tool
(a means, not an end)
4. On-line Projects CCCNet

http://www.cccnet.com/
2. In-Class Activities
1. Explore CCCNet
2. Characteristics of Effective Web Page

http://www.gsn.org/web/tutorial/charact/index.htm#begin
3. Introduction to CNET, TUCOWS, TUDOGS
4. Exploring Virtual Museums and Field Trips
• Exploratorium:ExploraNet

http://www.exploratorium.edu/
• Science Museum of Minnesota

http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/
• The Computer Museum

http://www.tcm.org/gateway/gateway.html
• The Grand List of School Virtual Museums

http://fromnowon.org/museum/list.html
• The Franklin Institute

http://sln.fi.edu/

1. Topics
1. HTML Code
2. Types of Editors
3. Publishing
2. In-Class Activities
1. Select favorite websites and include them in a simple webpage to present on the final day.
2. Publish the webpage to the copland.udel.edu server.

1. Topics
1. Societal Issues
• Discussions of issues of privacy, free speech, protection of children, blocking software, fair use and copyright
2. In-Class Activities
1. Link to Chapter 25

http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter25.html
2. Search on the WWW for pages that deal with the issues
3. Present two favorite sites and webpage project.