Learning Project One



Exploring the World Wide Web

In this chapter, students will explore the World Wide Web. In the first chapter, they were introduced to the subject of networks. In this chapter, they begin to see the practical use of what is now the most popular and largest computer network, the Internet.

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Chapter Overview

This chapter gives students a chance to begin using the most accessible and popular network, the Internet. Because the World Wide Web is the most popular part of the Internet, this chapter focuses on the Web.

Student Prerequisites

▪ Complete Chapter 1 prior to beginning this chapter so students understand the basic concept of networks.

Classroom Technology Resources

▪ Students must have computers with Internet access to complete all portions of the chapter.

▪ Each computer must be equipped with an Internet browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. This course uses the latest version of the browser as an example.

Materials for Instructors

▪ A teacher machine with Internet access is suggested. If you have the ability to display your screen to students, it could be helpful as they work through the chapter.

Suggested Web Sites

▪ Copyright Web site:

▪ Macromedia:

▪ MusicMatch:

▪ US Copyright Office:

▪ Yahoo Games:

▪ Favorite Poem Project:

▪ National Digital Library Site:

Additional Materials and Resources

For Students

▪ For definitions and any unfamiliar phrases, refer students to Webopedia at

▪ Throughout the course, you will see references to . There are numerous videos on that site that help explain Internet basics.

For Teachers

▪ Refer to for interactive videos.

▪ Information about validating online information is available at

▪ Whitepaper on Cyberethics:

▪ Intel Cyberethics:

▪ Cybersmart Cyberethics:

▪ MLA Standard:

▪ APA Standard:

▪ Chicago Manual of Style:

▪ APA Style Guide:

Topic-by-Topic Overview

The section below follows the student textbook and offers additional comments and exercises you will find useful as you teach this course.

Before you start this chapter, if possible, have students watch the Internet Basics video on the Kidz Online Web site. It is approximately six minutes long. You can find the video at , then click on the Internet Basics video.

What is a Web Browser?

Remind students that the World Wide Web features a variety of ways to view documents, including with graphics, sound, and video. Emphasize that a browser is simply another program on each computer that enables the computer user to view Web pages on the Internet.

How do I use a Web browser?

Have students open browsers on their own computers and follow along as you point out the different items in a browser.

Explain that there are other browsers on the market, but they all have about the same features, even if they use different terms for the features.

How do I get to other sites?

One way to help students understand the use of domain names is to collect a list of the favorite sites from the students. Write those on the board and have each student explain the components of the URL to the rest of the class.

How are Web sites organized?

The example of a linear Web page is the FDA Web site for kids, which you can find online at . If you have a classroom computer you can use to illustrate sites for the kids, you should navigate to the Web site and click the links to show students how the Web site looks.

The example of the tree Web page uses the JES & Co site (). You can refer kids to an actual tree Web page by viewing the PBS Kids Web site, available online at . Once again, navigate to the Web site online and illustrate for students how they can navigate through the site.

The example of the random Web site is the Microsoft site at . Illustrate the site for students as you discuss random sites.

Explain to students the use of the term home page. Explain that the main page on a Web site is called a home page. Others, however, use that term to define the page that automatically opens when you launch the browser.

Before moving on to the next topic, have students watch the Browser Basics video on the Kidz Online Web site. You can find the video at , then click on the Browser Basics video. The video is just over four minutes long.

How Do I Find Things on the Web?

You know how to enter a Web address in the address box, you can click on hyperlinks to move between pages and sites, but what if you want to do more than surf the Web? If you need to find some specific information, the best place to start is with one of the many search engines on the Web.

What is a search engine?

When you discuss the types of search engines, it might help to have students navigate to a few of the search engines as you discuss them. For example, you might select for the Meta Search Engine and for the General Purpose search engine.

If you can do so on your school's network, you might want to download the free copy of Copernic before the class, so you can demonstrate how to use one of these third-party search agents. You can find Copernic online at .

Discuss reasons with students why you might find different numbers of results on one search engine versus another.

Reinforce the Tips for Searching and the Things To Avoid in Online Searches sidebars.

Have students watch the video on Kidz Online about search engines. You can find it online at , then click on the Search Engines video. The video is approximately six minutes long.

Search Engine Exercise

Complete this exercise after discussing search engines in class. You might have students work together in small groups and then report their findings back to the class.

1. Assign each group of students a topic and have them use one Meta Search Engine and one General Purpose Search Engine. It might be helpful if you give each group a task. For example, assign one group the pet care topic and tell them they have been assigned the task of updating a Web site for a veterinarian clinic and need to provide good, useful tips for the public. Or, assign another team the recycling topic and tell them they have been assigned the task of setting up a community-wide recycling project or changing an existing recycling project and need to provide the town's leaders with accurate information. Suggested scenarios are included in parentheses below.

Suggested Meta Search Engines include:

MSN Search:

Ask Jeeves:

Dog Pile:

Yahoo!:

Alta Vista:

Excite:

Suggested General Purpose Search Engines include:

Google:

Teoma:

Webmyway:

Suggested topics include:

Pet care (updating a veterinarian's Web site or attempting to purchase a new pet)

Recycling (creating a recycling plan for the local town)

Pollution (assisting the local government in setting up alternatives to sources of pollution, such as burning trash and pollution from driving.)

Music (the group is trying to form a new band and wants to find the type of music most popular with a specific age group or they are trying to put together a fan magazine for a favorite musician or band)

Rocks and Minerals (they are a local rockhounding group and are putting together a guide for new members on the best places to rock hound, the types of rocks and minerals found locally, even exciting trips for rock collectors)

Astronomy (they are a group of astronomers presenting findings to the government on the possibility of a large meteor crashing to earth)

Jewelry Making (the group of students plans to open their own jewelry store, selling the products they create; they need information on the best materials, the easiest ways to create the jewelry, where to find supplies, and how to price items)

Babysitting (the group is organizing a babysitting club in school and will provide training and certification to the members to help ensure parents that the kids will be safe and to help garner higher pay for certified babysitters)

Sports (the group has been assigned the task of adding one additional sport to the school's lineup; they need to research to see which sport would be the most likely candidate)

2. Each group of students needs to fill out the Search Engine Exercise worksheet and keep it to refer back to it during the next exercise.

3. Have students share their findings with the rest of the class.

4. After students share their findings in class, discuss with them what they have discovered. Why is it important to search in different search engines? Why is there a difference? Have them think about the findings they made and discuss ways they could use the materials.

NOTE: Students will use this information again in the next hands-on exercise below to do more in-depth, critical thinking type studies on these same sites they located in this first exercise.

After students complete the exercise, you might want to encourage them to read the help files for the selected search engines. Explain that all search engines are different and the help files will explain specific tools they can use to get the most out of a specific search engine.

If time permits, you might want to have students watch the other video on Kidz Online about searching. You can find it online at , then click on the Search Power video. This is covers more advanced topics about searching and runs about five and a half minutes.

What do I do with all this information and how did it all get on the Web?

Encourage students not to feel overwhelmed by the massive amount of information they can find online. Explain that you will give them some hints on how to narrow down their searches and eliminate some Web sites up front.

Encourage them to keep the idea in mind that just because something is on the Internet, it does not mean it's true. They must consider many factors, such as the type of Web site and the source of the information.

Types of Web sites

As you review the types of Web sites in the text, encourage students to navigate to the Web site. When you view each Web site, ask the students the following questions, even before you cover the section on accuracy. These questions correspond to the points you will cover when you get to the section on accuracy and they will already understand a bit about evaulating the sites. The questions to ask include:

▪ Who is the source?

▪ What type of information am I getting from this site?

▪ When was the site created?

▪ Where am I?

▪ Why am I here?

▪ How can I tell if this is quality information or junk?

Students should determine the above information about each site indicated:

▪ Advocacy site:

▪ Commercial site:

▪ Informational site:

▪ Entertainment site:

▪ Educational site: or your own school site

▪ News site:

▪ Personal site: this changes frequently. Find out if one of the students in class has a personal site you can use to illustrate this concept.

Web site accuracy

Refer students back to the sites you covered in the section on types of Web sties as you talk about accuracy. Explain to them that they have already examined each site and, based on answering the questions, they should understand the accuracy and possible biases behind each site.

Have the students watch the video on the Kidz Online Web site about online credibility. You can find it online at , then click on the Online Credibility video. This video runs a little over five minutes.

Web Site Types and Accuracy Exercise

Complete this exercise after discussing Web site accuracy and the ways students can evaluate Web sites. Assign students to several small groups and then have them report their findings back to the class. Hand out the Web Site Types and Accuracy Worksheet to each group.

1. Have each group find the listed Web sites and answer the questions for each site. The students will locate the following Web sites:























2. After completing the exercise, have the students share their findings with the class. Did they see any common items among the Web sites? What did they find about navigating the sites? Have them discuss their favorite sites among those visited and explain why. Have them discuss their least favorite sites among those visited and explain why.

How can I use this information? Is it protected? Is using something from the internet the same as plagiarism?

There are many Web sites online that talk about Cyber Ethics, both for teachers and students. Before you teach this section of this chapter, you might want to review the information so you can answer any questions that arise.

Suggested Web sites for teachers include:







You might also want to review information about copyright laws on the US Copyright Office's Web site, at .

Understanding plagiarism and copyright laws

Ask students if they are aware of fellow students, without naming names, who have plagiarized someone else's work? Have a discussion about plagiarism. Why is it morally wrong to plagiarize? How do they think teachers can detect plagiarism?

Copyright myth busters

Review the three rules for using something on the the Internet. Review the common myths and discuss how many of the students believed these. Discuss ways students have used the information online in their past research projects. After going through this chapter, what things would they do differently?

Cyberethics Exercise

Have students review the sites listed below. Each one discusses cyberethics.

1. Review each site and encourage students to ask the same questions they asked in the previous exercise to help evaluate the accuracy of the site.













2. After reviewing the sites, have students work together to brainstorm class rules for cyberspace. Have someone write them on the board as you brainstorm. You might want to transfer those to another poster that you can hang up in the room.

3. Have students discuss whether these sites could be helpful for parents and teachers as well as students.

Referencing Information

You might want to review the University of Alberta's site on citations before you teach this section. It offers some further examples and a long list of additional sources. You can find it online at .

Explain to students that there are several different ways for citing references, and that it can vary. The common methods are MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual of Style. The examples in the textbook are MLA styles. Discuss the preferred method for citing references at your school.

What Fun Things Are on the World Wide Web?

Emphasize to students that, while the Internet and particularly the Web are important tools in work and school, they are also an important and growing part of the entertainment world.

Can I listen to music in my browser?

Discuss the issue of copyright law and cyber ethics in relation to downloading MP3 files.

Have students visit and play one of the sample clips. Have them play it from the site through Media Player simply by clicking on the play link.

Can I see videos in the browser?

Remind students about the videos they have seen throughout the course so far. Navigate to Kidz Online and view the additional video on Digital Video. The link is at , then let students select one of the videos they would like to watch.

You might also encourage them to look up a recent or current movie and view the movie trailer online. For example, the trailer for King Arthur can be found online at . Then, click on View Trailers and select the appropriate resolution (High, Medium or Low) under the Windows Media column.

Discuss the uses of videos over the Internet.

Can I play games in the browser?

Explain that not all games are free.

Discuss the difference between single player games and multi-player games over the Internet.

Introduce students to a few of the online games available at MSN. The link is . Explain that students are given the option to play the game online by clicking on the Play Now button, or they can download the software to their computers. You want the students to play the games online.

When the games are starting, point out to students that advertisements are likely to pop up. Explain that these are advertisements for other Web sites and it is not necessary to click on the ads to play the games.

Can I buy things on the World Wide Web?

Visit a few shopping sites and discuss the difference between shopping and auction sites. You might visit and show students what is available for auction. Explain that they are not allowed to bid on something unless they have a credit card and parental permission to purchase something online.

You can also visit a major catalog site, such as Spiegel's site at or the United Airlines site at .

What You've Learned about the World Wide Web

In this lesson, students examined the most popular part of the Internet: the World Wide Web. The Web contains music, video, sound, graphics, and other multimedia options that make this an enormous collection of information for business, education, and pleasure.

Review the key concepts covered in this chapter, including:

▪ Web browsers

▪ search engines

▪ the validity of information

▪ plagiarism and copyright laws

▪ listening to music through the browser

▪ watching videos through the browser

▪ playing games in the browser

▪ buying things online

What's Next?

Explain to students that there are a variety of other things they can do over the Internet, such as send electronic messages. They will look at those other features in the next chapter.

Enrichment Activities

The following sections test the students' knowledge of what they have learned in the classroom. In addition, there are a few out of class activities that you may choose to assign that will help students relate the topic to real life.

Terms to Know

Use the handout for the end-of-chapter exerciss, including the terms for review. After students find the definition for each term, you should review the terms in class.

Review the following terms:

Bot: also known as a spider. See the definition of spider below.

Domain name: the name of the server that holds all the Web site information, such as .

General Purpose Search Engine: a broad search engine that is ideal for common searches.

Home page: the top page on the Web site.

Hypertext: links on a Web site that let you jump between pages. Hypertext is usually shown as an underlined word, often in blue text.

Hypertext markup language (HTML): the programming language used to create Web pages.

Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP): the set of rules used to send and receive information over the World Wide Web.

Index program: a program that organizes all the information saved for a Web site so you can find the information; the index program is hidden from the user.

Interface: the window you see on the Web page.

Java applet: a small program that opens inside the browser and executes Java files.

Linear Web site: organized like a novel in which you move from page one to page two, and so on.

Meta Search Engine: explores numerous search engine sites and combines the results for you.

Plagiarism: using something you did not create and letting someone else think you created it.

Public domain: information that is available to use free of charge.

Random Web site: appears to have little organization, it is a massive collection of information, connected through various hyperlinks.

Search engine: Web sites where you can go to find specific information using a set of keywords.

Search engine database: the collection of all information so you can access it; the database is hidden from the user, but it is what the computer searches when you put in your search request.

Spider: an automated program that travels the Internet locating Web sites and specific Web pages, then adding everything to a master list. Also known as a bot.

Streaming audio: audio files start playing in a program through the browser before the entire file has been received and continue sending to your computer as the audio file plays.

Streaming video: lets you play videos on the Internet without waiting to download the entire video to your computer.

Surfing the net: browsing between pages on the World Wide Web.

Top-level domain (TLD): the suffix in a domain name that indicates the type of server holding a Web site, such as .com or .edu.

Tree Web site: organized like your family tree with a variety of options for viewing the information on the site.

Uniform resource locator (URL): a Web site's address on the World Wide Web, such as .

Web browser: the program used to view Web pages.

Web page: the individual pages that make up an entire Web site. Each page contains the information.

Web site: a grouping of related information on the World Wide Web, consisting of individual Web pages.

Suggested Web Sites

Copyright Web site:

Macromedia:

MusicMatch:

US Copyright Office:

Favorite Poem Project:

National Digital Library:

As students examine these Web sites, have them answer questions about the Web sites as they critically examine the information found online.

Answers to Questions for Review

1. Explain the relationship of the World Wide Web to the Internet.

The Internet is the world's largest computer network. It is a network of networks. The World Wide Web is one part of the Internet. You view pages, which consist of text, graphics, and multimedia content, in a browser.

2. In the following domain name, identify each of the components.



http: hypertext transfer protocol; the type of resource

www: type of page on the Internet; World Wide Web

: domain name; the name of the server

thevideos: the folder on the server that holds the Web pages

index.html: the filename

3. Outline the steps you would take if you wanted to search the Internet for information about Mount Vernon.

Answers may vary. Ensure that students include information about the Search Engine, the keywords, and how they select and evaluate the sites they use.

4. Describe the difference between an advocacy site, a commercial site, and an educational site. If you found information about the same topic on all three types of sites, how might it be different? Would it make a difference in the way you use the information?

An advocacy site is used to change public opinion or to solicit contributions; a commercial site includes advertisements and/or information about products or services for sale; educational sites promote specific educational institutions or provide information about schools. Other answers will vary.

5. Describe the importance of cyber ethics. Why should it matter that you get permission before using information on Web sites?

Answers will vary. Ensure that students cover issues that concern both the moral and legal implications of plagiarism and other cyber ethics violations, such as the illegal use of graphics and audio files.

Real Life Learning

As an extended learning exercise, have students look through magazines they have at home and complete the following exercises, to help them examine how the Web is part of our everyday life and to evaluate the information they find in advertisements:

▪ List places that include a Web address in their advertisements

▪ Examine a few of the sites

▪ Evaluate the Web sites using the guidelines for evaluating Web sites they learned earlier in this chapter

▪ Have students share their findings with the class

▪ Question students about the prevalence of Web sites in society and the impact it has on their own lives

▪ Discuss ways they can use the Internet and the use of Web site URLs in advertising to their advantage

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Chapter

2

Handout

Give students the Web Site Types and Accuracy worksheet when they begin this exercise.

In this chapter, students will answer these questions:

▪ How do I use a Web browser?

▪ What's in a browser?

▪ How are Web sites organized?

▪ How do I get to other sites?

▪ What is a search engine?

▪ What do I do with all the information I find and how did it all get on the Web?

▪ How do I use the information?

▪ Can I listen to music, see videos, and play games in the browser?

▪ Can I buy things on the Web?

▪

▪

Chapter Duration

200 minutes including hands-on exercises

In-Class Exercise

50 minutes

In-Class Exercise

50 minutes

Handout

Give students the Search Engine Exercise worksheet when they begin this exercise.

In-Class Exercise

50 minutes

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