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There will nearly always be
a wider context for Web searching, unless your aim is simply to teach
Internet skills.
Why is the information needed and how will it be used?
What are the teaching objectives - in History and ICT?
Do the pupils
understand the aims?
Have they had an opportunity to review what they
need to know, and suggest questions?
Before you start, consider TEEM's advice
on 'Getting the best out of the Internet':
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If you want children to find information on
the Internet, make sure they have been trained to conduct a detailed
search.
If they are too young to search, give them the sites you want
them to use.
Know your web sites as well as you know a book or video. Check
they link only to relevant sites.
Keep in touch with your favourite sites - they can change or disappear
altogether!
Direct your children to specific activities. Monitor them and
make sure they are on task!
TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational
Multimedia): www.teem.org.uk |
In this example, the task is to find
out about the achievements of George Stephenson. Rather than letting
pupils loose on the Web, with the vague instruction "Find out about
.", the teacher prepares starting points.
Using a search engine: Google
(Tip: make sure the Safe Search option is ON.)
Narrowing-down is essential. Do some preliminary research in books,
looking for keywords - railways, Locomotion, Rocket, Stockton and Darlington.
Using an education portal: Becta
Think of a portal as a gateway to a large database of resources, with
powerful search tools. Other sites may be included, and their resources
indexed.
Using a specific site:
Spartacus
Educational
Many major sites now have their own search tools. Pupils may experience
Internet enquiry without the risks of searching the unfenced Web. Try
searching the site itself. Google's local search tool has been added
to this site.
BBC
History
This has its own search engine (you are actually searching the entire
BBC site). To refine the search, add more words to narrow down. Use
quotes to search for phrases.
Britain
Express
A useful site for British history, with fairly straightforward language,
which can also be searched. However, there are no cross-references within
the text. The Spartacus site has the advantage of being a true 'ICT
text', with hyperlinks.
More about
Google: site search
It's possible to search a specific site, or type of domain. For example,
you may search all sites ending kent.sch.uk or even sch.uk
School sites may serve as an excellent
source of information presented in a simple style, by pupils for pupils
- but quality can vary.
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Use Google's advanced search,
or type: George Stephenson site:sch.uk
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Using a leading school site: Ambleside
Click the E-learning tab. Curriculum work is presented as a series of
'modules'. Web links are presented within a clear framework, providing
guidance for the learner. Look in Key Stage 2 History for Robert Stephenson.
What will pupils do with the information? There are alternatives to worksheets! The teacher's plan may even be
to develop a scenario, possibly using elements of role play, to engage
pupils in purposeful research.
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What was the public response
to the new railway? Awe and wonder - or fear? Follow this link
to see what the Durham County Advertiser (1825) had to say: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RAstockton.htm
Look for other evidence - what
were the hazards on the first trip, and what actually happened?
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What would you have felt, standing
next to the Steam Horse? Search BBC
History to find how the Rocket worked. Look for the interactive
animation.
Imagine that you drove the Rocket
at Rainhill. Describe to a terrified passenger how the engine
works!
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Where is Darlington? How far
is it from our town? How long should it take to get there by train
today? How long would it have taken in 1825 (had the line stretched
that far)?
Use these sites to help:
Multimap
AA
Journey Planner
Railtrack (for passenger
timetable information)
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Virtual museums
How may pupils present their work? One possibility
is to create a 'virtual museum'.
Looking at a real museum's on-line
exhibits may help pupils decide how to organise and present their collection.
Try the National
Railway Museum's 'exhiblets'.
http://www.nrm.org.uk/HTML/coll_pb/exhiblet.asp
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