Integrating Technology Across the Curriculum: Internet/Computer Writing Resources for a Content-Based Curriculum, Michael Krauss, ISALC, Lewis & Clark College
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A Sampling of Web-Based Resources for Content Instruction

Integrating technology into a curriculum requires that teachers and students have access to sufficient software and Internet resources which fit course and curriculum objectives. The Internet is a terrific source for materials which can be used in content-based courses. However, there are three major challenges in using the Internet as a source for classroom instruction: 1) finding (and culling) appropriate sites 2) developing classroom activities which effectively utilize the sites (for content and language instruction) and 3) providing students (and other teachers) dependable and easy access to the sites and the accompanying teaching materials. The following resources provide some help in meeting these challenges.

Sources for Internet Sites

With the explosion in popularity of the Internet in general, and the World Wide Web in particular, one is bombarded by URL's at every turn. Sources for Websites include television, radio, newspapers, magazines, colleagues, friends, and family. Any or all of these can provide sites which can be useful in the classroom. Some sources which I have found particularly useful include:

An excellent place to start when looking for resources is Vance Stevens' Literature on CALL and Language Learning Online page. From there, you will find links to Conference Websites, Online Journals for ESL and Language Learning, and as Vance calls it, his "imperfect bibliography of print media on technology in education," which itself contains links to very extensive bibliographies, such as Michael Barlow's CALL Bibliography, containing 1300 entries.

  • Books - There are many; I just mention two that I have found very helpful:

    • The Internet Guide for English Language Teachers by Dave Sperling, 1997, Prentice-Hall Regents. (1998 edition also available). Great for the teacher who wants to have both a conceptual knowledge of the Internet as well as hands-on skills to bring the Internet into the ESL classroom. Dave has a new ESL Internet activity book for students: Dave Sperling's Internet Activity Workbook, published by Prentice Hall Regents ISBN 0-13-010325-X, 1999.
    • New Ways of Using Computers in Language Teaching, Tim Boswood, Editor, TESOL, 1997. This is a book of computer-based activities, (not limited to Web-based) contributed by ESL teachers, in the categories of Word Processing and Desktop Publishing; Getting Connected: Email and MOOs; Working with the Web, The Multimedia Machine, Concordancing, and Other Applications. The lesson plans include procedures, caveats and options, as well as references and further reading. The lessons are creative, clear and, for the most part, don't require sophisticated hardware or software.

    • CALL Environments: Research, Practice, and Critical Issues, Joy Egbert and Elizabeth Hanson-Smith, Editors, TESOL, 1999. This volume describes theory-based practice for contexts ranging from the one-computer classroom to the fully wired, turbo-charged, Internet-based learning center. It offers a theoretical framework based on ESL and SLA research.

    • Internet for English Teaching, Mark Warschauer, Heidi Shetzer, and Christine Meloni, TESOL, 2000. Authored by three international experts in on-line language learning, this indispensable resource shows you how to use the Internet in your classroom successfully.

  • Journals (paper and electronic). Journals often contain information on excellent websites. A paper-based journal, Learning and Leading with Technology , an ISTE publication is my personal favorite. TESOL Matters has an index online for its "Wandering the Web" feature which focuses on sites for classroom use. Electronic Journals such as The Internet TESL Journal's Links (close to 2,000 links-browsed by category or searched) at http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/ESL3.html , Language Learning and Technology at http://llt.msu.edu/, and the TESL-EJ at http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ are all potential sources for web sites. The Internet TESL Journal website contains a page for almost all TESL related paper-based journals and electronic journals http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/links/TESL/Journals_on_Paper/

  • Discussion Lists such as Neteach and TESLCA-L (the technology sub-branch of TESL-L). If you are not a member of TESL-L, send an Email message to listserv@cunyvm.cuny.edu with the following commands in the body of the message:
    • SUB TESL-L <first name last name>
      SUB TESLCA-L <first name last name>

    If you are already a member of TESL-L, but want to join TESLCA-L, you only need send

  • TESOL Internet Fairs (Formerly "Web Faire") - These events are intended for demonstrations by teachers or teacher/developers who have actually used the Internet with students in the classroom. You have access to a list of presenters as well as the URL's of the sites they presented. An excellent way to find out what teachers are actually doing in their classes with the Web and to get in touch with them if you'd like.
    • TESOL 2000 at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~call/2000internetfair.html
    • TESOL 99 at http://www.ilc.cuhk.edu.hk/english/TESOL99/presenters.html
    • TESOL 98 at http://www.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/wf98presenters.html

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Searching the Internet:

Teachers (and students) must be able to navigate the Internet to find appropriate materials. These resources should prove helpful in that endeavor.

  • Finding Information on the Internet: A TUTORIAL, University of California, Berkeley's Teaching Library Internet Workshops, The creators of this site state, ". . . the investment of time to learn to effectively and efficiently find information on the Internet using complex search strategies is worthwhile, and simple searching is usually not. . . The Tutorial Outline . . . offers a progression from beginning information to advanced searching and beyond. You may pursue the tutorial linearly following the outline. Or you may skip sections you feel you already know, and start anywhere in the outline by clicking on that section. There is also a section on the invisible Web, that portion of the Web that does not show up in standard search engine results at http://www.lib.berkeley .edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html

  • Information Tools, A great page from Ohio University. Includes links to Internet Directories, Search Engines, Electronic Libraries (which maintain links to important on-line research sources); News links for print and electronic media as well as search tools for the News, Reference resources, How to Cite electronic resources, and more at http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/info-tools.html

  • Bernie Dodge's "Four Nets for Better Searching" recognizes that the best search engine currently out there is Google. By narrowing your search using Google's Advanced Search page, you'll be more likely to come up with results you like at http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm

  • A Sampling of Internet Search Engines and Directories
    • Google at http://www.google.com/ (my current favorite--fast and provides *very* relevant hits due to posting results based on number of links to the target site).
    • Alta Vista at http://www.altavista.com/
    • Brainboost at http://www.brainboost.com/
    • Yahoo at http://www.yahoo.com/ and Yahooligans (for kids) at http://www.yahooligans.com
    • Google Groups- search engine for Newsgroups at http://www.dejanews.com/ http://www.dejanews.com

  • A Sampling of MetaSearch Engines
    • Dogpile at http://www.dogpile.com
    • Northern Light at http://www.northernlight.com/ - Includes full text of on-line journal articles (for a fee) as well as websites (for free).
    • AskJeeves and AskJeeves for Kids- Allow the user to enter plain-English questions to this innovative metasearch engine at http://www.ask.com and http://www.ajkids.com/

  • Searching Tips - How to Find Something on the Internet -Linda Thalman's' site devoted to articles, reviews, and other resources on effective Internet searching at http://www.wfi.fr/volterre/searchtips.html And a related page with a truly comprehensive Internet search engine or subject guide at http://www.wfi.fr/volterre/search.html

  • 10 Netsurfing Tips-How to Save Time and Avoid Frustration - Charles Kelly's page describes tips which can save you a lot of time, especially if you are surfing from a less than speedy Internet connection. Tips include making use of multiple browser windows, turning off auto load for images, and other interesting suggestions at http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~ckelly/midi/help/surftips.html

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A Sampling of Websites for Content-Based Instruction - Because the Internet contains such a vast wealth of information with such a variety of media (text, graphics, audio, video), it is becoming an ever more important source for content-based instruction. The sites listed below should be useful for the classroom teacher who wants to collect materials for use in content-based teaching.

  • A comprehensive resource has been developed by the Oregon Public Education Network (OPEN) in partnership with the Oregon Association of Education Service Districts to bring Web-based instructional support to Oregon educators. According to OPEN, their goal is "to minimize the difficulties that teachers face when using the Internet and World Wide Web and give them the information they need to excel in a changing environment." These resources are applicable to ESL and content area teachers both in and beyond Oregon. at http://www.open.k12.or.us./index.html

Non-ESL Sites

A major challenge to the classroom teacher is making sense of the resources which exist on the Internet. In other words, what types of resources are there and, even more importantly, what pedagogically sound frameworks exist for integrating these materials in a way which enhances existing curricula. The following sites deal specifically with these issues.
  • San Diego State University Pacific Bell Fellows- 4 Sites to Develop Skills to Find and Integrate Internet Resources Effectively into the Classroom. These four related sites were created by San Diego State University Pacific Bell Fellows, part of the Pacific Bell Education First Initiative. They provide a good introduction to integrating Web resources into classroom teaching by providing interactive, fill-in-the-blank type Web pages which guide you through the process of creating a variety of Web-based classroom activities.
    • What's on the Web, Sorting Strands of the World Wide Web for Educators, by Tom March is a hypertext article which provides a framework which classifies the Internet into seven categories familiar to classroom teachers and provides links which serve as examples of effective Web-based activities. This is a good starting place for those new to using Internet resources who want to develop Web-based assignments/projects. http://edweb.sdsu. edu/edfirst/courses/webcue.html

    • Integrating the Internet into the Curriculum - Using WebQuests in Your Classroom -This tutorial, published by the Link to Learn project, is an excellent introduction to the "WebQuest," developed by Bernie Dodge. a WebQuest is an innovative approach to using the Internet as an integral part of teaching any subject at any grade level. http://l2lpd.arin.k12.pa.us/linktuts/inteweb.htm
      • The Web Quest Page is an excellent resource page which covers the theoretical basis, courses and training materials, as well as sample lesson plans and Web Quest sites at http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html

    • Filamentality (Pacific Bell Education) is a fill-in-the-blank interactive Web site that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet sites, and turning Web resources into activities appropriate for learners (hot lists, treasure hunts, webquests). Support is built in through "Mentality Tips", to guide you as you go. You end up with a Web-based activity, posted to the Internet, which you can share with others even if you don't know anything about HTML, Web servers, or all that www-dot stuff. (I tried this and it actually works. If you are reticent about creating your own Web pages, use this site to do it for you.) http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/
    • Blue Web'n is a searchable database of outstanding Internet learning sites categorized by subject area, audience, and type (contains lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, & tools). Blue Web'n does not attempt to catalog all educational sites, but only the most useful sites -- especially online activities targeted at learners. You can subscribe to the Blue Web'n Update listserv and receive weekly notification of sites added to the Blue Web'n Database. Well worth it! To subscribe, use the online form at http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/ OR send an e-mail message to listserver@pacbell.com with "subscribe bluewebn" in the body of the message.

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  • Examples of "content-rich" directories and individual sites:

    The following list is composed of high quality directories and individual Web sites, rich in content. If you have a favorite which is not included, please email me and I'll happily add it to this ever-growing list.

    • About.com (formerly "The Mining Company") - A directory which utilizes "guides," who are employed to assemble websites covering a myriad of content areas. Each "guide" is responsible for collecting and maintaining sites in her specific area. About.com can be used as a directory by going through prearranged categories or utilized as a search engine by entering keywords at http://home.about.com/

    • American Memory - The online resource compiled by the Library of Congress National Digital Library Program. The program provides a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. Over one million items from our historical collections are currently available online. Of special interest is the Learning Page, which includes excellent lesson plans and activities. For younger children, don't miss the America's Story from America's Library. This component of the Library of Congress focuses on primary materials in the categories of Meet Amazing Americans, Jump Back in Time, Explore the States, Join America at Play, and See, Hear and Sing. at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html

    • Ben's Guides (as in Ben Franklin) - This site works both for native speakers and for ESL students who need to learn how the U.S. Government works. It's a civics course at your fingertips. You pick the grade level: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 and the same topics are covered, just at different levels of complexity. Topics include: Our Nation, Historical Documents, Branches of Government, How Laws are Made, National v. State Government, Election Process, Citizenship, Symbols of U.S. Government, Games and Activities, and Glossary. There is also a U.S. Government Web Site for Kids, organized by subject, agency or alphabet, which includes U.S. Agency websites with sections especially appropriate for kids. The resource is at http://bensguide.gpo.gov/index.html

    • CNN - Great source of current, authentic reading materials. In addition to current news stories,there are interactive news quizzes at http://www.cnn.com/

    • CNN S.F.News Stories - put together by the California Distance Learning Project. This very useful site provides the text from a CNN broadcast (full or simplified version) as well as an outline and an audio file. They also have six exercises that go along with each story: Vocabulary, Select a Word, Multiple Choice, Sequencing, Conclusions, and Show and Tell. A search engine also lets you look for articles that fit the content focus of your class at http://www.cnnsf.com/education/education.html

    • Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC) - A searchable database of over 10,000 math and science resources, including Web pages. Searchable by subject, grade range, type of material and cost at http://www.enc.org
      The Digital Dozen - Twelve outstanding lessons from the ENC collection are highlighted each month.

    • Eric (Education Resource Information Center - The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, produces the world's premier database of journal and non-journal education literature. The new ERIC online system, released September 2004, provides the public with a centralized ERIC Web site for searching the ERIC bibliographic database of more than 1.1 million citations going back to 1966. More than 107,000 full-text non-journal documents (issued 1993-2004), previously available through fee-based services only, are now available for free at http://www.eric.ed.gov/

    • FREE (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence) - More than 30 federal agencies worked together to form this resource. It includes current materials from agencies as varied as the Department of Defense, CIA, Peace Corp, National Endowment for the Arts, EPA, etc. This is a great resource for students working on real-world issues who need access to up-to-date, accurate information. Another link on FREE's homepage is "More for Students," which connects to fifty, student oriented contemporary issues sites. All of this at http://www.ed.gov/free

    • History/Social Studies for K-12 Teachers - Dennis Boals has a huge collection on resources including categories such as Diversity, Geography, Economics, Government and more at http://home.comcast.net/~dboals1/boals.html

    • How Stuff Works - This fascinating site authored by a former university computer science prof. consists of straightforward, fairly short, illustrated articles explaining "how stuff works." For example, surely you (or your students) have, at some point in your life, wondered, "How does the air get cold in a refrigerator?" or "Why does a toilet flush?" or "What makes a Web page work?", etc., etc. An article a week is added to this site; each article includes links to information to extend research on the topic, and the site includes full text search capability. Categories covered include: Engines and Motors, Around the House, Electronics, Things You See in Public, Basic Technologies, Computers and the Internet, Understanding Digital Technology, Automotive, In the News, Food, Your Body, The Inside Series (inside household devices), Miscellaneous, and Question of the Day. Lends itself very well to students choosing an article, then presenting it in her own words with visual aids downloaded from the site. See http://www.howstuffworks.com

    • HyperHistory Online - Recommended to me by a colleague from Hungary who describes it in this way: "It is a timeline with an enormous number of links. You can see the famous people (politicians, musicians, painters, clergymen, etc.) who lived in the same period of time on the line and follow the links connected to them. You can also see interactive maps, with links again. I think it is a great tool for educators. You can use it for project work, where students work on a short period of time including events, politics, arts, religion, etc." at http://www.hyperhistory. com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html

    • Internet Based Projects For Business, Networking by Leslie Opp-Beckman and Kay Westerfield. An extensive resource of business projects with Internet support + terrific bibliography (all hypertext links!) at http://aei.uoregon.edu/esp/index.html

    • Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Continually updated sites categorized by topic, e.g. arts/lit., business, education, health, history, holidays, humor, math, news, etc. Aimed at K-12 but lots of excellent resources useful for ESL/EFL. Pay special attention to Schrock's "Content-rich sites." You can also sign up to receive Kathy's Site of the School Days (S.O.S) in which she highlights a site in a weekly email.
      http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/

    • Kid's Click: Web Search for Kids by Librarians - Created by a group of librarians, Kid's Click was seen as a better alternative to filtering software. Rather than screen out "bad" sites, the librarians wanted to provide kids with "good" sites. Kid's Click is a searchable directory divided into 15 categories. Every entry is rated for reading level and amount of illustration, which is *very* useful for determining use with ESL students with varying language ability. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/
    • Kiosk-Journal of Geopolitics - This is one-stop shopping-for "country" research projects. Click on the name of a country; you'll get a map and basic background information (like in an encyclopedia). However, there is much more. You'll find links organized into groupings such as: News and Current Events, History and Culture, Government and Politics, Economics and Development, In-Country Information, and Travel and Tour. Even if you are not doing a research project, this makes for fascinating and educational reading!
      http://www.bay.k12.fl.us/pdk/kiosk/index.html

    • Marco Polo by WorldCom, Inc. - This is a shining example of an Internet resource that will enhance teaching and learning. A comprehensive site, Marco Polo is multidimensional. There are Web resources and lesson plans, based on national content standards, in the areas of economics, geography, humanities, mathematics, science and the arts (links on right side of page). There is also a flexible search engine (Marco Polo Search) at the top of the page, allowing searches by content and grade level. Marco Polo offers training to teachers on incorporating the Internet into teaching, with extensive materials available for download. All this is provided free of charge at
      http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/index.shtml

    • Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR., Selected Web Sites - A well-chosen selection of sites including categories such as Arts, Business, Government, Health/Medicine, History, Law, Music, Religion, Relocation, Science, and more. Of special interest is a Kids Page which includes the Homework Center with an excellent variety of research materials for K-12 at http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/homework/

    • NASA- National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Content-rich and chock full of multimedia resources. Don't miss the "Popular Topics" and "Multimedia" sections (great great gallery of images there) at http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

    • National Geographic Online - Contains NGS online Atlas (excellent maps and map activities), lesson plans (some linked to articles) and a site search engine at http://www. nationalgeographic.com.

    • National Public Radio - Read the news and listen to audio files of the broadcasts at http://www.npr.org/

    • New York Times Learning Network Daily Lesson Plan - Provides an online article along with a full, very detailed lesson plan and a description of the content goals to be achieved. The materials are designed for native speakers grades 6-12, so would be appropriate only for intermediate or advanced ESL classes. The times allotted to complete the plans are overly conservative. Ancillary websites are often provided as well as ideas for follow-up activities. There is also an archive of past lesson plans arranged by topic. This page is one component of the New York Times Learning Network at http://www.nytimes.com/learning/index.html

    • Nova Online - Not only excellent content, but also a "Teacher's Guide" section which includes lesson plans and pre/post activity sheets which can be downloaded. Search tool for the site also available at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/nova/.

    • PBS Online - Contains the high-quality resources you would expect from the Public Broadcasting System. Several useful features. Link to Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer which has both the daily NewsHour stories as well as a subject matter index to past shows. For many features, you will find both RealAudio accompanied by text, which makes this accessible to many ESL learners. Use the TeacherSource to search by subject and grade level for lesson plans linked to PBS materials. For the very young, there is PBS Kids with materials linked to kids' favorite PBS shows plus a variety of learning activities. http://www.pbs.org/

    • Project Gutenberg - Provides free, reproducible electronic texts for downloading. There are three portions of the Project Gutenberg Library, which can basically be described as: Light Literature; such as Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, Peter Pan, Aesop's Fables, etc. Heavy Literature; such as the Bible or other religious documents, Shakespeare, Moby Dick, Paradise Lost, etc. References; such as Roget's Thesaurus, almanacs, and a set of encyclopedia, dictionaries, etc. You won't find any recent texts here, as only those texts which have passed into the public domain (now at 50 years after the death of the author!) are available. Still, there is an incredible selection at http://promo.net/pg/pgframed_index.html

    • Science Gems - Created by Frank Potter at the UC Irvine, this site has lesson plans (all incorporating Web Resources which range K-16. According to the author, " Total selected resources number about 3100 out of more than 65,000 science-related resources on the 'Net." This site gets you quickly into plans you can use and is updated frequently at http://www.sciencegems.com

    • Science Learning Network - Perhaps the most powerful science resource on the Net. The Science Learning Network (SLN) is an online community of educators, students, schools, science museums and other institutions demonstrating a new model for inquiry science education. SLN originated as a three-year, $6.5M project funded by the National Science Foundation and Unisys Corporation. The project incorporates inquiry-based teaching approaches, telecomputing, collaboration among geographically dispersed teachers and classrooms, and Internet/World Wide Web content resources. The main parts of the site include: check our news and links, explore our resources, visit our museums, and connect with schools and educators at http://www.sln.org/

    • Scientific American Ask the Experts - This is one portion of the site from the well known science publication Scientific American. Questions submitted by readers have been answered with very well illustrated and well documented web pages. In addition to current questions, there are extensive archives separated into content areas of Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computers, Environment, Geology, Mathematics, Medicine, and Physics. Sure to pique student interest at http://www.sciam.com/askexpert/

    • (SCORE) Schools of California On-Line Resources for Education - SCORE History-Social Science is part of an exciting new network of Online Resource Centers in California linking quality resources from the World Wide Web to the California curriculum. All these resources have been chosen and graded by California educators. This link is to the tutorial which guides the user in choosing material either by grade level or by subject area at http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/

    • Smithsonian's Ocean Planet - Send groups of students to explore different rooms in this on-line exhibition. http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ocean_planet.html

    • SparkNotes - A free electronic version comparable to Cliffs Notes, these summaries of literary works have been written by Harvard University students. They cover an extensive list of literature (over 100 books) which you might use in ESL classes. Have a look and decide whether you would use them directly with students, or as an effective way to select literature (with which you might not be familiar) for inclusion into your curriculum. The site is searchable by title, author and keyword at http://www.sparknotes.com/

    • Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) This site "uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects . . .TwHP has created a variety of products and activities that show teachers how to bring historic places into their classrooms, including ready-to-use lesson plans, multifaceted education kits, and professional development materials and workshops." at http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/

    • The Tech Museum of Innovation Online Exhibits - Shockwave enhanced exhibits on satellites, robotics, DNA, Mt. Everest, Medal of Technology, color, earthquakes, Hubble Telescope, and lasers. Very high quality, interactive, educational experiences. at http://www.thetech.org/exhibits_events/online/

    • The WebMuseum Network to view famous art collections on-line. Extremely popular site. Link to a mirror near you from the website at http://sunsite.unc.edu/louvre/

    • The Why Files -National Science Foundation - The articles are classified into categories: biology, health and science, social science and so forth. Biology, for example, includes Forensic Science for the 21st Century. Articles are appropriately linked to further information at http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/index.html

    • Virtual Smithsonian - The granddaddy of all museums has some of its best exhibits online. Many are viewable in 3-D and can be manipulated. Only folks with *very* fast connections should choose the "broadband" option at http://2k.si.edu/

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  • ESL Sites Suited to Content-Based Instruction
    • John McVicker's "Topics" pages - Over 60 "pages" organized around themes from "Abortion" to "Weather Science". All pages have relevant links and can serve as starters for student research or to help teachers prepare content-based courses/units. Pages designated "Our page" have a format that includes hypertext links to definitions, background links, pro and con links, newsgroup links, internet searches, electronic discussion links and more. A terrific resource at http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/project/index.html

    • Teaching with the Web maintained by Lauren Rosen, this site contains a compilation of ideas for using WWW resources as a language teaching tool. It also offers links to sites that have pedagogical information. If you would like to contribute your ideas or have any comments please email them to: Lauren Rosen http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/lss/lang/teach.html

    • Neteach Cool Sites Page - The site's organizer, Kristina Pfaff-Harris says, "In addition to pages of Neteach members (which are obviously cool by definition), this page includes links to sites mentioned by list members as having been useful, helpful, interesting, or just plain fun. I've split sites up into many different categories. You can try the categories, or try looking through sites by the month."

    • Linda Thalman's Volterre-Fr site at http://www.wfi.fr/volterre/ provides a wealth of Web links of interest to ESL/EFL teachers worldwide. Check out her "English Resources for Learners", "English Resources for Teachers", and "Projects for Learners and Teachers of English" links.

    • Dave's ESL Cafe Web Guide
      Almost 2000 links covering a wide range of topics. This site also allows the user to add links, modify links and search for specific topics at http://www.eslcafe.com/search/index.html

    • Instant Lessons - These free, printable, weekly lessons produced by English To Go™ Ltd. are based on news articles by Reuters News Service. They include a short article (appropriate for intermediate level ESL students) and a range of activities such as dictation, discussion, cloze, etc.) The lessons are very well designed pedagogically and the readings are based on high interest and/or current events. A very practical resource at http://www.English-To-Go.com/

    • Springboard - Developed for Oxford University Press by Tom Robb, this site has ready-made lesson plans organized by content area to accompany public web sites. The materials are organized according to the content areas in the Springboard text, but the text isn't needed to make use of the site. Each lesson plan describes how to take part of the site and develop it into a printable handout to use in a non-computer classroom at http://www1.oup.co.uk/elt/springboard/

       

       

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Collecting, Organizing and Making Sites Available to Teacher and Students

There are several issues to consider in deciding how to collect and provide access to Web resources.
  • Collection and Organization: Often, in the course of searching the Web for a particular purpose, teachers come across sites which may be useful to other instructors in their particular courses. Ideally, all members of the teaching staff should have a way to collect Websites which are appropriate for either their courses or for others'. When teachers write materials/instructions to go with Web resources, these should be available as well.

  • Access: Both teachers and students need to be able to access the body of Web resources and teaching materials quickly and easily. They need to do this from various locations on (and perhaps off of) campus.

  • Updating: - There is a continuing need to update/monitor Web resources as class offerings change. Also, Web links need to be checked to adjust/delete outdated bad links.

    Some Mechanisms for Collecting/Accessing Web Resources

    Each of these has its advantages and disadvantages:

  • Lists of sites - Very low-tech. No HTML knowledge required. Printed lists can be generated and shared among teachers/students. A central notebook can be organized with multiple categories. URL's are hard to type accurately and photocopying of lists is required. An alternative would be to distribute the list as an electronic file, allowing for easy modification. The electronic documents containing URL's could be kept in a shared folder on a local hard drive so that teacher's could access and modify them. URL's could be copied and pasted into browser's location window to avoid mistyping.

  • Clickable bookmarks available on a server - This has the advantage of being fairly "low-tech" with teachers not needing to deal with HTML. It also allows equal participation by all teachers in the creation/organization of the Web resources for the program. Teachers can bookmark sites and copy them to a set of master bookmark folders which are available via a campus- wide file server. (unlike the standard bookmark files/folders that live on the hard drive of each individual computer). Any number of folders can be organized in any categories desired. Using the "Get Info" command (on a Mac), teachers can annotate the bookmarks. Teachers can access the bookmarks in their offices and students can do the same from on-campus computer labs (not available from off campus). Bookmarks are clickable so no typing of URL's is required. Sample of bookmark resource on a server (Lewis & Clark College)

    • A related option is to turn bookmark folders/files (within Netscape or other browsers) into Web pages by saving them as HTML documents. No HTML knowledge is required. Comments on the Web sites and/or instructions to students can be typed in when the bookmark is created and will be displayed on the Web page. Bookmarks organized into folders retain their organization when converted to a Web page. See Deborah Healey's Technology Tip from February, 1997: Sharing Bookmarks: A Guide for the Teacher Who Doesn't Do HTML at http://osu.orst.edu/Dept/eli/ feb1997.html

  • Program or class web pages - A program may have Web pages created by individual instructors for their courses, a Website containing resources for the program as a whole, or both. Unlike bookmarks on a local network, the Web pages can be accessed from on or off campus by anyone on the Internet. In the case of a program-wide Website, it is likely that staff resources will have to be set aside for upkeep of the site. Teachers will need to know HTML or how to use a Web Editor and the process for uploading sites to the Internet. Students will need to be given the URL's for the pages (or given clickable bookmarks files as mentioned above). Example of a Class Web Page (Lewis & Clark College). Example of a program-wide Website (Ohio U.)

Creating Web Pages - If you decide that Class Web Pages or a program-wide Website is the most effective means of providing access to Internet resources, you can look at these resources for designing and building class Web pages.

 

  • Use the Web to Create Materials and Publish Work - If you don't have a server available to you, take advantage of the many "click 'n build" Web sites. These are often free; the user enters data into a Web form and Web pages are generated that are stored on the host site's server.

  • Tech-niques by Leslie Opp-Beckman and Deborah Healey provide templates and instructions which provide creative ideas for teachers who want to create Web pages. There are currently nine different templates, some of which have working links incorporated into them. These creative idea starters are graded for language and technology level. Check them out at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/tech-niques.html

  • Charles Kelly's How to Make a Successful ESL/EFL Teacher's Web Page - design your page for fast downloading, learn common mistakes to avoid and find ideas on what makes a successful page. Includes page templates, style guides and more at http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/Articles/Kelly-MakePage/

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Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 10/5/04