Teaching S.M.A.R.T. with the Web
http://tinyurl.com/7u2bp


Michael Krauss
(krauss@lclark.edu)

I. Why should I incorporate the Internet into my teaching?
II. What does it mean to teach S.M.A.R.T. with the Web?
III. Where can I find Web resources I can use to make S.M.A.R.T. lessons?
IV. Can I look at sample Web sites in different content areas to apply the S.M.A.R.T. criteria?
V. Can discrete-skill Web sites be used to create S.M.A.R.T. lessons?
VI. What are some techniques and tools for making S.M.A.R.T Web-based materials?
VII. Can I try a variety of hands-on activities to practice what I've seen?
VIII. Can we share the results of our hands-on session?
IX. May I evaluate this workshop?
X. Are there additional resources you would suggest?

I. Why should I incorporate the Internet into my teaching?

Use of the Internet helps the classroom come ALIVE:

  • Authenticity (unlimited access to authentic materials, communication and publishing)
  • Literacy (read, write, communicate, research & publish on Internet = 21st century literacy)
  • Interaction (key to acquiring fluency; Internet provides stimulus and opportunity)
  • Vitality (flexible, modern medium; provides opportunity for meaningful, relevant work)
  • Empowerment (mastery allows teachers and students to become lifelong learners).

    Internet for English Teaching, Warschauer, Shetzer & Meloni, TESOL, 2000.

"The need for technologically literate citizens and workers increases every year. Skilled people in the 21st century need to understand how to use technology tools. . . These tools enable people to perform effectively at work and in their daily lives. . . "

Learning for the 21st Century, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2003, p.10-11
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II. What does it mean to teach S.M.A.R.T. with the Web?

Looking for Web resources (and creating supporting materials) to insure that lessons include as many of the following characteristics as possible:

Synthesis of language and thinking skills
Motivating content and meaningful communication
Appropriate for culture, age and language ability of students
Relevant to curriculum and students' lives
Tangible product with evaluation and feedback

Use this S.M.A.R.T. Web Inventory Form to evaluate Web sites and help plan lessons.

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III. Where can I find Web resources I can use to make S.M.A.R.T. lessons?

A good place to start is the ESL Independent Study Lab (ESL-ISL). The ESL-ISL contains over 250 annotated Web resources, organized by skill and English language ability. A recent addition to the ESL-ISL is the Content-Rich Collection of sites that can be used for content-based instruction.
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IV. Can I look at sample Web sites in different content areas to apply the S.M.A.R.T. criteria?

Here is a sampling of stimulating, interactive sites in a variety of subject areas. Let's look at one or two and apply the S.M.A.R.T. criteria as we work together in groups. Note: Most of these sites are found in the ESL-ISL.

  1. Imagination Voyages - Groups of students plan a trip to the Grand Canyon. They will need to budget their money as they make choices of transportation, accommodations, and activities.
  2. Flash Mind Reader - the computer reads your mind! (or does it?). Math based puzzler that can be used to stimulate students discussion and exploration for a solution!
  3. Moon Phases - Do you really understand why the moon's phases occur? You will after viewing this animated model.
  4. Favorite Poem Project - Listen to both celebrities and "regular" folks read their favorite poems and explain why the poems are meaningful in their lives.
  5. Changing Illusions - Do you really believe what you see? These optical illusions might spur you to find out more about the topic.
  6. Columbia River in Danger - Learn about the problems affecting this unique ecosystem via an informative, interactive Web site.
  7. Who's Who and What's What NY Times Daily Quiz - An engaging daily puzzle + links to articles from different sections of the NY Times. Just might hook students into keeping up with the news.
  8. Froguts - Want to dissect a frog without the hassles of setting everything up (let alone finding the frogs!). Bring a bottle of formaldehyde along if the simulation is not real enough for you!
  9. Culture Profiles Project - For students with adequate English skills, a "one stop shopping" source for research on any of 75 countries of the world!
  10. Quia Shared Activities - Use others teachers' games, puzzles, and quizzes to supplement your materials; create your own online activities and challenge students to do likewise!
  11. SFS (San Francisco Symphony) Kids Fun with Music - This website provides a great way for people of all ages to hear, learn, and have fun with music. See, hear and listen to the instruments of the symphony. Create your own music and more!

--Click here to learn how to author Quia activities (or see activities authored by my ELL students).

--Some of these sites require free browser plugins. If you don't already have them, you can download them here: RealAudio®, QuickTime®, Shockwave®, Flash®.
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V. Can discrete-skill Web sites be used to create S.M.A.R.T. lessons?

Let's take a look at one or two and see what you think. Could teachers bolster these resources to make them S.M.A.R.T.ER? Note: Most of these sites are found in the ESL-ISL.

  1. English Language Listening Lab Online (Todd Beuckens) - There is an interview for every day of the year, accompanied by photos, a guided quiz, a transcript and an interactive speaking section. Try the Mixer, News Center, Songs and Listening Games too. Don't miss the Tasks page!
  2. Randall's Cyber Listening Lab (Randall Davis) - Well over 100 complete listening lessons using audio and video, with lessons designed for ELL's.
  3. Breaking-News English (Sean Banville) - Ready-to-use EFL / ESL lesson plans based on current affairs. All of these current events lesson plans contain a news article, listening (MP3 file), communication activities, pair work, discussion, reading and vocabulary exercises. Classroom handouts are reproducible in Word and PDF. Updated daily.
  4. Phonetics (The Sounds of American English) - Students can see animated articulation models plus see and hear native speaker pronunciation.
  5. Kindersite - Collection of links to games, songs and stories for little ones: most activities are for K-6. (Explore sites linked to in Kindersite).
  6. Learning Resources (Western Pacific Literacy Network) - Simple news stories with accompanying audio and video plus self-correcting online exercises to assist in comprehension.
  7. ESL Blues - Creative online grammar activities, including diagnostic quizzes to point students to exercises, specific to their needs.
  8. Interesting Things for ESL Students (Charles Kelly) - A variety of intriguing activities using very current technology.
  9. Miniature Earth - Thought provoking stimuli help to promote meaningful writing. Students (and teachers) will learn important facts about our world. Classroom discussion of this site should naturally lead to a relevant writing task.
  10. Gamequarium.com - A comprehensive, fun, free site that includes not only learning games, but tutorials, online tools, printables and more. A directory designed for the Internet-connected teacher and primary/elementary learner.
  11. ELC Study Zone - Small selection of readings with accompanying activities that teach as well as test. Choose from Beginning, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, Advanced 1 or Advanced 2.
  12. Make-Believe Comix - This "way cool" Web site will be a student favorite. Create your own comics with pre-created characters and 'talk bubbles'. It's a powerful tool and comics can be printed out or emailed to others. Creative teachers will be able to think of myriad ways to use this free site.

--Some of these sites require free browser plugins. If you don't already have them, you can download them here: RealAudio®, QuickTime®, Shockwave®, Flash®.
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VI. What are some techniques and tools for making S.M.A.R.T Web-based materials?

Here are samples focused around a single theme. You'll have to guess the theme during the first activity!

  1. Use multimedia prompts:
    1. Use single image (http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/CU0306/S00020.htm)
    2. Use audio clip (http://www.wavsource.com/movies/jaws.htm)
    3. Use video clip. (http://www.sharkproject.org/html/hailights.htm)
    4. Find multimedia resources with Altavista

  2. Find supplementary content to integrate language/thinking skills
    1. From the ESL-ISL Content-Rich Collection:
      1. KidsClick (Sample), Enchanted Learning (Sample), Thinkfinity (Sample)
    2. From Google search (esl sharks): ESL Blues

  3. Facilitate written interaction and feedback
    1. Nicenet - Michael's classes as samples
    2. Blogs - LiveJournal.com (Michael's sample); Blogger.com (Michael's sample)

  4. Provide content and language support to aid understanding
    1. Determine Reading Level with Word (Tools-->Grammar and Spelling-->Options-->Show Readability Statistics) - Sample
    2. Translations - English sample page; Spanish translation of same page with Google "Language Tools"
    3. Vocabulary work
      1. Puzzlemaker - Sample
      2. Quia - Sample

  5. Publish student and teacher work to the Internet
    1. Web Poster Wizard - Sample page (Dolphins) (103318); Sample page (Diamond Poem after Roots Video) (56768)

  6. Create evaluation rubrics
    1. PBL checklists; PBL checklists in Spanish (Also see Rubistar: more flexibility in creating your own evaluation criteria).

  7. Create Integrated Web-based Activities
    1. Scenarios - Teacher poses a challenge to be met/problem to be solved and gives students a relevant Web site and guided questions to explore. Student reports orally or in writing on actions suggested/solutions found - Sample Scenarios (variety of content areas)
    2. Web-based Activity Formats using Filamentality: Subject Sampler, Treasure Hunt, WebQuest (Each targets different learning objectives)
      1. Search Filamentality to find existing Samplers, Treasure Hunts, WebQuests

  8. Teach S.M.A.R.T., but with low-tech delivery (MS Word)
    1. Subject Sampler created with Word
    2. Sample S.M.A.R.T lesson on food using Word
    3. Sample S.M.A.R.T template using Word.

Learn more about:
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VII. Can I try a variety of hands-on activities to practice what I've seen?

Sure! Before we start: Those interested in Nicenet can register and get hands-on practice by posting your ideas about this workshop.

  1. Click here to go to Nicenet (http://www.nicenet.org/)
  2. Your class key is .ZZ0979S26 (Don't forget the "dot"! Also, third digit = zero, not the letter "o")
  3. After registering and logging in: Click "Conferencing" link. Click "Workshop Participants Post Your Comments!" Post whatever you like!

Hands-on Activities

Scan the list. Some activities are quick and easy, others more involved. Choose what interests you! Remember, you will have access to this Web page and can come back to complete more activities whenever you like. When you do, you can post your progress at Nicenet.
NOTE: Activities with a * = quick to complete!

  1. Choose one of the Web sites in Part IV or V above OR another Web site from the ESL Independent Study Lab (ESL-ISL) that you would like to evaluate. Complete the "S.M.A.R.T. WEB INVENTORY FORM" printed in your handout as you review the Web site.

  2. *Click here to view an image. Click on the image, holding the mouse button down (or right-click on the image if you have a two-button mouse). Choose "copy image." Open M.S. Word. Choose "paste" from the "edit" menu. Make some notes on how you might use the image with your students.

  3. Search for an image, video, or audio clip at Altavista.com. (Can't think of a topic? Try Martin Luther King). When you find a Web page containing an interesting resource: Highlight the Web address with your mouse. Choose "copy" from the "edit" menu. Open M.S. Word. Choose "paste" from the "edit" menu. The URL (http://etc.) will appear. Is it a link? Click it (CTRL+click in Windows) to go to the Web page you found. Word documents are a low-tech way to write lessons that include Web links for students to explore.

  4. Check out LiveJournal.com, a very popular site for creating blogs. Check out the "Feature Overview. If you register, you can create your own blog if you like. Here's my blog if you want to get an idea of what one looks like. If you want to easily add links to your blog and do special formatting, I suggest downloading a "client" to help create your blog entries. Or use Blogger.com and see my blog there.

  5. *Using Google (click on "Language Tools" next to the Google search box): 1) Translate the phrase "I have a dream" into Spanish. 2) Here's a Web page on Martin Luther King. Translate the page into Spanish. 3) Now search for a site on Martin Luther King that was originally written in Spanish.

  6. *Go to Google. In the search box, type: "michael krauss portland oregon". You'll find my name, address, and telephone number plus a map to my house. Try the same with your name and city. Or a business (try tower records portland oregon). If you like, copy/paste the map into a Word document. You're well on your way to creating an invitation for a party at your house! Or a S.M.A.R.T lesson with students! Have ideas?

  7. *Create a "class" in Nicenet. You'll be ready to use it with your students when you return to school. Log in to Nicenet using the login and password you created today. In the left sidebar of Nicenet, under "Classes," click "Create." Just follow the steps from there and you're all set!

  8. *Click here to open a Word document. Do a readability check. (Tools menu-->Grammar and Spelling-->Options-->Show Readability Statistics) What grade level (1-12) is the reading according to the Flesch-Kincaid scale?

  9. *Create a puzzle on a topic of your choice using Puzzlemaker. Click on "Select a puzzle from the pulldown menu." Try "criss-cross." If there is a printer available you can print it out. (you won't be able to save your puzzle online today).

  10. *Go to Quia. Under "Shared Activities" click on "Enter." Click on "Popular Categories." Choose a category from the pull down menu and find an activity that would work with your students.

  11. Go to Quia. Click on "Get a free 30 day trial." Sign up and create an online activity and/or a class page. Here's a sample class page of mine. (click links on that page to see sample Quia-created activities). Here's a guide to help you use Quia if you need it.

  12. *Create a worksheet on a topic of your choice using The Worksheet Generator. If there is a printer available you can print it out. If you want to take the time to create a custom account, you can save your worksheet online.

  13. Using Web Poster Wizard - Reproduce a short essay and post it to the Internet with an image and three Web links. Here's the sample that you'll reproduce. Here is the short text you can use (copy/paste it from an M.S. Word document that will open). Here's the image you can use ((Download it to your computer: Click on the image, holding the mouse button down (or right-click on the image if you have a two-button mouse). Choose "Download image to disk" (on Windows) or "Save images as. . ." (on Mac) and save the image to "desktop.")). Here are the Web links to add to the reproduced essay: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin
    http://www.dolphins.org/
    http://animal.discovery.com/features/dolphins/dolphins.html

    Now, you've got everything you need. Put your report together using     Web Poster Wizard. Compare it to the sample to see if you've been successful!

  14. *Create an evaluation rubric for a project using Project Based Learning Checklists. Create a checklist in Spanish too if useful for your teaching. You can print it out if a printer is available.

  15. *Find a Hotlist, Sampler, Treasure Hunt and/or WebQuest on a topic of your choice using the Filamentality Search Page. Just type your topic into the "Search Filamentality Here" box.

  16. *Complete this scenario - You are a middle schooler whose classmates have just watched the movie "Jaws". They are now convinced that sharks present an extreme danger and most swear they will never swim in the ocean again. You, being the coolest, most radical thinker in the class, believe that this is just Hollywood make-believe and that the risk of shark attacks is very exaggerated. You plan to do some research and share it with your classmates so they can do a "reality check." (Now, teachers-- explore this Web site and brainstorm 4-5 "guiding" questions to accompany the scenario plus suggest an effective way for the student to present her findings).

  17. Develop a scenario from scratch - Go to the ESL-ISL Content-Rich Collection. Find a Web site on a topic to be covered in your curriculum. Explore the Web site and create a Scenario based on that Web site. Here are sample Scenarios to give you ideas. Write up the Scenario in M.S. Word. Include the address for the Web site the scenario is based on, the guided questions for students to answer, and ideas for a written or oral report as a final product. Post your Scenario to Nicenet if you wish (see VIII below).

  18. Take a look at the Sample S.M.A.R.T lesson on food using M.S. Word. Now have a look at the S.M.A.R.T template using M.S. Word. Think of a topic you could teach using this template. What Web resources would you use?
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VIII. Can we share the results of our hands-on session?

If you have time now (and if not, please do so later), log in to Nicenet using the login name and password you created at the beginning of the hands-on session. Click on the "Conferencing" link in the left sidebar at Nicenet. Click on the name of the training session. You will see the topic called: "Post the results of your hands-on session." Click the link and follow the directions you find there. This will allow all of you to share the fruits of the hands-on portion of the workshop.

When you want to access Nicenet after this workshop is over, complete instructions are here.
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IX. May I evaluate this workshop?

Please take a moment to complete this short online evaluation (5 minutes). Your feedback is essential to help improve workshops like these. Thanks for your excellent participation!
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X. Are there additional resources you would suggest?

Check below to broaden your knowledge in areas related to this workshop.

  1. Integrating the Internet into the Classroom
  2. Basic Computer Skills Curriculum (Adult Ed. - SPCLC)
  3. Online English Language Center (Opp-Beckman)
  4. Information and Communications Technology for Language Teachers
  5. Internet Projects Registry (Global Schoolnet Foundation)
  6. Five Types of Slam Dunk Lessons (McKenzie)
  7. The Internet TESL Journal
  8. The Educator's Reference Desk (Integrating Technology Section)
  9. Online Tools for Classroom Use (Kathy Schrock)
  10. English Communication for Professional Purposes (Cutting edge listening/speaking resources - George Chinnery)
  11. TIPS - Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork
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Return to Michael Krauss Home Page.

This presentation has been modified from the original prepared for the annual ORTESOL Conference
held November 5-6, 2004 in Portland, Oregon
Images on this page used with the permission of
Discoveryschool.com from their ClipArt Gallery.

©2009 Michael Krauss
All Rights Reserved

Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 4/11/09