Unit+11

=ED 585 | Integrating Technology into the Curriculum =

Overview
There are a wide variety of teacher home page hosting sites available and educators are often challenged to find the site that best suits their particular needs. This unit will explore a number of web page hosting opportunities available to teachers and compare the features each site offers. There is also another option to build a web page for teachers. Look at this site: @http://teacherweb.com/ or try this Google Sites page @http://www.google.com/sites/overview.html

After reviewing the options, you will create your own teacher web page.

In this unit, you will create a curriculum page, download graphics from the World Wide Web, select a background image, create a title, insert and format text and headings, insert a horizontal line graphic and other graphics, use tables to organize assignment information, create links to teacher selected Web sites, and save your curriculum page.

You can use Microsoft Word or you can also try to create a teacher web page using @http://education.weebly.com/ or http://www.wix.com/ or, if your school already has a web creation platform, make use of that. If you already do use it, then make it better. Just tell me what was there to begin with and how you plan to make it better.

You will see that it is to create a site that could prove very useful to you for the classroom. Check it out and give it a try if you dare
 * Carefully review the goals and outcomes of this unit.
 * Read the course topics and assignment pages.
 * Complete the assignments listed and submit them as directed.

Objectives
Upon completion of the unit, students will be able to:
 * Compare options for teachers in creating a teacher web page
 * produce a teacher web page
 * learn how to create a hyperlink using html
 * produce a curriculum page using backgrounds, tables, graphics, and hyperlinks
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">find Web sites which will enhance a lesson
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">identify some basic searching techniques used in search engines
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">identify and utilize several search tools to find information

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Topic 1: Options for Building a Web Page
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">You can learn a little about some web sites available for teachers below: A favorite of teachers @http://education.weebly.com/ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Others that are free: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.wix.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">eBoard eBoard is an easy to use web page that allows educators to quickly post information online for parents and students. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">eBoard provides:
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Ability to keep students and parents up to date and involved by posting homework, projects,events,schedules
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Collaboration online using safe and secure discussions for book talks,homework help,blogs,etc. You can moderate the discussions or permit participants to immediately post their contributions to the discussion board.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Ability to archive and store digital content to access from home or school
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Ability to communicate with committees and other educators using private eBoards
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Ability to customize passwords

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Quia <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Quia is an online tool made available to teachers that features a variety of curriculum activities and classroom management tools. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Quia's tools allow you to create a web site that features the following: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Activities, including Battleship, Cloze, Challenge Board, Concentration, Columns, Flashcards, Hangman, Jumbled Words, Matching, Ordered Lists, Patterns, Picture Perfect, Pop-ups, Rags to Riches, Scavenger Hunt, Word Search, Graded Quizzes, Class Management, Class Pages, Online Surveys, Online Calendar. Pages can contain text, graphics, audio files. Direct email link to the teacher is available. There is a library of activities built by Quia or by other teachers available. Assessment and analysis tools and classroom management tools are available.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Scholastic <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">With the free Scholastic Homepage Builder you can: Keep parents in the loop. Put printable parent forms online. Post answers to common questions. Make sure students have the reading and spelling lists. Celebrate student achievements. Let parents e-mail you from your Homepage and cut the number of calls you need to return!

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">SchoolNotes <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">SchoolNotes.com is a free service provided by EdGate. On this site, teachers can create Notes for homework and class information and post them on the web. Parents and Students can view notes by entering the School ZIP Code or by going directly to the web site when the URL is provided by the teacher who created the site. Parents or students do not need a password to get to the site.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The site provides:
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Area for text on Home Page,
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Direct email link to teacher,
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Ability to notify student when page is updated,
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Built in Flash Card Maker,
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">An area to easily display up to 20 URLs,
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Ability to change text or background color.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">TeacherWeb <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The fee for a TeacherWeb® site is $39 per year. TeacherWeb allows you to create a website to use as a bulletin board in your classroom. You can post assignments, announcements, and other educational material on your classroom's bulletin board. With TeacherWeb you can type in homework assignments and special announcements.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Topic 2. Creating a Hyperlink Using HTML
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">How to create a link to another page in HTML. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The example below will create a link to the Wilkes University home page. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;"><A HREF="http://www.wilkes.edu"> Wilkes University </A> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">A stands for Anchor. It begins the link to another page. HREF stands for Hypertext REFerence. This is where the link is going to go. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">http://www.wilkes.edu is the Full Address of the link.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Also, notice that the address has an equals sign in front of it and is enclosed in quotes. Where it reads, Wilkes University, is where you type the text you want to appear on the page. What is in that space will appear on the page for the viewer to follow the link. So, write something that denotes the link. /A ends the entire link command. Without clicking, simply lay your pointer on the Wilkes University words. You'll see the address of the link you created come up along the bottom of the browser window.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Topic 3. Curriculum Page
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">A curriculum page is a teacher-created document or Web page that contains hyperlinks to teacher-selected and evaluated sites that assist in teaching content-specific curriculum objectives.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">As an educator you need to be concerned that your students use appropriate and effective websites when doing research on the Internet. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Using a curriculum page offers several advantages. Students quickly link to excellent sites that you have reviewed beforehand to match your objectives. A curriculum page will reduce the chance that students access an inappropriate site. A curriculum page, especially in the lower grades, eliminates the need for students to type a URL, which in addition to wasting time, often leads students to inappropriate sites. There is another sample curriculum page in your textbook on page 376-378.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Creating a Curriculum Page
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">If you use Microsoft Word for this assignment, there is a Step-by-Step Tutorial on page 405-406. Complete directions are located by going to the website companion and choose Chapter 7 / In The Lab section and download the interactive Word file.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Creating Curriculum Pages
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[]

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Curriculum Webs
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.elmiracityschools.com/curriculum3.cfm

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Topic 4. Searching the Web
//<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Using a search engine //
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Search many Web sites for information you are seeking
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Carefully craft your keywords to limit the search

//<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Limiting the Search //
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Operators
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">AND (+)
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">OR
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">AND NOT (-)
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">“ ”
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">*

//<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Guidelines to successful searching //
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Use nouns as keywords, and put the most important terms first in your keyword
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Use the asterisk (*) to find plurals of words
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Type keywords in lowercase to find both lowercase and uppercase variations
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Use quotation marks to create phrases so the search engine finds the exact sequence of words
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Use a hyphen alternative
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Limit the search by language
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Use uppercase characters for Boolean operators
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Before you use a search engine, read its Help
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The Internet contains many search engines. If your search is unsuccessful with one search engine, try another

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Be sure to read Chapter 2, Page 73. Also, at the companion website, choose Chapter 2/Web Info link and download the interactive Word file.

[[image:SearchEngines.jpg width="540" height="540" align="right"]]
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">AltaVista <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.altavista.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Bing <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|http://www.bing.com]

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Excite <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.excite.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">GO <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.go.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Google <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.google.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">HotBot <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.hotbot.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">LookSmart <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.looksmart.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">WolframAlpha <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Yahoo! <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.yahoo.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Popular education search tools:
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Ask Jeeves for Kids (Shelley) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.ajkids.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Awesome Library (Christina) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.awesomelibrary.org/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Busy Teacher's Web Site ( Megan)

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[]

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Great Websites for Kids (Katie) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[]

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Education Index (Traci) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.educationindex.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Education World (Betsy) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.education-world.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">EduHound (Kurt) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.eduhound.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">emTech (Shannon) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.emtech.net/index.shtml

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">KidsClick! (Jennifer) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|http://www.kidsclick.org]

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Literacy and Technology:
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Sites for Teachers <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.sitesforteachers.com/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">@http://www.thegateway.org/

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Yahoo! Kids <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[]

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Assignments
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The assignments for this unit are adapted for the unique nature of the topic - one where shared experience is the best teacher. The readings, discussions, and exercises are intertwined.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Creating a Teacher's Web Page, pages 405-406 in your textbook and Creating a Teacher's Curriculum. There are some excellent examples of curriculum pages on page 376-378 in your textbook. You can use other web creation software if you do not want to use Word. In fact, I would encourage you try some free web creation tools like @http://education.weebly.com/ or @http://www.wix.com/ If you already have a teacher website, please send me an email with what is currently on that web page and what you intend to do to enhance the page.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Readings **

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Take a look at this link: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[]
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Discussions **

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Comment on this site and also list any experiences you have had with special education students using technology? Post your answer by clicking on the discussion bubble at the top of this page of the wiki.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The assignment for this lesson is to use one of the teacher web page creation sites discussed in this chapter (@http://education.weebly.com/), Microsoft Word, or go to [] and create a one-page webpage for your classroom and a one-page curriculum page for your classroom.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Assignments **
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">You can now choose to create your own template or use one that is already made.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Once you choose "classroom site" you must now name your site.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The URL will be created as you name your site. -- Write the URL somewhere that you will remember it or bookmark it as a favorite.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Next choose your theme. There are some other options that you will need to complete. The site description is useful if you are creating a variety of sites for different reasons.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">If you want your site to be public you can share it with anyone or you can choose to specify only certain people to view the site.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">When you submit your site URL, please make sure that I have the ability to view it.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">If you already have a webpage, (such as a school website) upload and submit the link to your website in a word processing document, along with your name. If you already do use it, then make it better. Just tell me what was there to begin with and how you plan to make it better. Please be sure you have all of the requirements listed in the rubric below. If you use Microsoft Word to create the pages, submit the Word document via the Assignment page. Please check that all of your hyperlinks work before submitting the document.You do not have to post the webpage online if you use Microsoft Word and please submit the .doc or .docx document. Please check that all of your hyperlinks work before submitting the document.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">__Suggested items on your page__: Name (displayed prominently); picture of you - your classroom - your hallway - your bulletin board (should be a quality photo); grade levels or courses teaching; email address; phone contact; Welcome; link to school site (if not on the school's site); expectations for the class; supply list for the fall; link to school calendar or your own monthly calendar; links to AR, Study Island, Compass Learning, etc. that you use regularly in your classroom; homework page link;

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">[|Sample Teacher Pages from TeacherWeb]
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">__**Description of Assessed Items**__:
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">There should be a minimum of two individual pages which are linked
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">One of the pages should have your picture or a picture of something relevant to the website/curriculum page and please have it strategically placed on the page
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">There should be at least 4 hyperlinks to web resources
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Hyperlink your e-mail address on your page
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">There should be 4 additional graphics (//cite sources if the pictures are taken from copyrighted source//)
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">You should have at least one table
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">There should be a navigation tool to move within the webpage
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">All links MUST work

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">When submitting file(s), ensure the identity of the submission by putting the Unit # and your first or last name and upload it to the wiki page "Projects". Since you will have two pages with this assignment, use Unit #11 Dowd Teacher and Unit #11 Dowd Curriculum. Using your name in place of mine.
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">File Submission **