Session 3 -  Education Portals & Search Strategies

	Let's begin by signing on to My UEN ......

Roll Today:  Please send me the URL from your My UEN page. (I'd like to incorporate your URL's into our class syllabus web site).

Directions: 

• Sign into "My UEN." http://my.uen.org/myuen/servlet/MyUen
• From your "private page" select "See my Public Page" near the top right corner
• From your "public page" copy and paste your "My UEN" URL into an email and send it to me.  Example of my public page:  http://my.uen.org/myuen/servlet/MyUen%3fservice=process_public&teacher_id=57308 showing my URL as:  http://my.uen.org/57308

Activity 1 - Rubric Maker (1/2 hour) 

• Form a small group with others in your row and  begin by familiarizing yourself with rubrics http://www.uen.org/rubric/html/tutorial/ (from that link select "What is," then select "Browse).  The object is to understand or review what rubrics are and how they are being used in your specialty area.
• Examine the Rubric Tool http://www.uen.org/rubric/html/tutorial/ (select tutorial and click through how to construct one by selecting the words or the arrow)
• From the Rubric Tool page http://www.uen.org/rubric/ select "Create" and experiment with the tool by editing a rubric of your choice.
• Discuss with others in your group and select individuals to respond to our large group discussion:
  • What types of rubrics are available in your teaching specialty?
  • What are the features of this tool, including: print, share, edit, and delete?
  • What is the intended use of this tool?
  • How do you link rubrics you have developed or edited to a Lesson Plan you have created?
  • How could teachers use this tool creatively in their classrooms?

Activity 2 - Search Engines for Teachers and Students (1 hour)

With others in your small group, you will explore a variety of sites that deal with searching the WWW. Each group should choose a facilitator, a reporter (or reporter for specific questions), and everyone should serve as a researcher. Each member of the group should participate in answering questions in Set 1, Set 2, and Set 3.

Questions:

I.  Set 1 - What are search engines and how do they work?  When would you use different types of search engines?  What are some effective search strategies?

• How do search engines work? 

• http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/SearchEngines.html#How

• http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/bones.html

• What's the difference between a search engine and a meta search engine?  When would you use each?
  • http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/lesson2.html
  • http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/bones.html

   

• What's a subject directory?  When would you use one?
  • http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/SearchEngines.html#How
  • http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/bones.html

   

• What are library gateways/specialized databases?  When would you use them?
  • http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/lesson4.html

   

• How do you plan an effective search?  What are some valuable search tips to keep in mind?
  • http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/lesson6.html
  • http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/ThingsToKnow.html
  • http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Strategies.html
  • http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/specialized.html
  • http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm

II.  Set 2 - What's the buzz about search engines?  Are all search engines created equal? 

• From this list of links, your group should be prepared to share one interesting fact about search engines.
  • http://searchengineshowdown.com/reviews/
  • http://searchengineshowdown.com/features/
  • http://searchengineshowdown.com/stats/

III.  Set 3 - What are some appropriate search engines for students?  What are some resources for teaching searching to students? 

• From this list of links, your group should be prepared to share an important tip you've learned about search engines for students or helping them to search effectively.
  • http://www.kclibrary.org/resources/search/
  • http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm
  • http://searchenginewatch.com/links/kids.html
  • http://www.electricteacher.com/search.htm
  • http://www.cord.edu/dept/curric/searchengines.html
  • http://web1.caryacademy.org/safety/searching.htm

Activity 3 - The Best of the Web for Teachers (1 hour)

Strategies for locating web sites in your teaching specialty include searching:

• Books listing web sites by specialty area (examples)
• Journals
• Professional organization's web sites (NCTM, NCTE, ASCD, etc.)
• Search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.)
• Education Portals

With others in your small group, you will explore a variety of education portals.  Each group should choose a facilitator, a reporter (or reporter for specific questions), and everyone should serve as a researcher. From this list of links, your group should be prepared to discuss: a) types of resources available on education portals, b) how portals differ and types of features that you found to be useful, c) your picks for "best portal" overall and in your various teaching specialties.

• Directories of education portals: http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic21.htm
• Rating the portals:  http://www.learnnc.org/index.nsf/doc/portal1
• Popular education portals:

• Scholastic - http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/

• Blue Web'N - http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/

• The Gateway - http://www.thegateway.org/

• Education Index - http://www.educationindex.com/lifestage.html

• UEN's Curriculum Search - http://www.uen.org/curriculumsearch/

• Education World - http://www.education-world.com/

Discussion of Projects -- I have been responding to your emails re: your individual projects and your professional development activity.  You will receive feedback within the next few days.

Discussion Forum Questions -- I will be reading and responding to your answers on the Discussion Forum on CourseCompass within the next few days.  Please check the Discussion Forum for feedback on your responses.

Review of Assignments for Next Session