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CHAPTER
3:Below are many examples of curriculum-based teleresearch activities.
The Web sites mentioned in Judi Harris's Virtual
Architecture are marked with a book icon: 
.
Please note that the sites are listed in alphabetical order within each section.
Teleresearch Purpose 1: Practice Information-Seeking Skills
Teleresearch Purpose 2: Explore a Topic/Answer a Question
Teleresearch Purpose 3: Review Multiple Perspectives
Teleresearch Purpose 4: Generate Data
Teleresearch Purpose 5: Do Authentic Problem-Solving
Teleresearch Purpose 6: Telepublish/Teleplant Information Resources
Managing Miscellany: When It Isn't an Issue of Quality
Teleresearch Purposes
Purpose 1: To practice information-seeking skills
Celebrate the Century: 1900s, 1910s, 1920sGrades: 4-8
Any stamp collectors in your class? Old U.S. stamps provide the inspiration for qu! estions, which students answer after exploring suggested Web sites.
MathForum -
Internet Math Hunt
Page 68 of Virtual
Architecture
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? No
This site provides an archive of math scavenger hunts with which
students competed to answer advanced mathematical problems such as:
What mathematical relationship did Stradivari use to place the f-holes
on his violins? and What is Cartesian geometry and for whom is it named?
ML King Scavenger Hunt
Grades: 3-8
This site is a biography of sorts about Martin Luther King. It is
an Internet scavenger hunt that asks questions about him throughout his
lifetime and provides links to pages where the answers can be
found. In some instances, clever hints are provided. The
last two questions of the scavenger hunt are more involved, asking
students to write poems, songs, or essays to be published online or
asking them to attend a Martin Luther King celebration and submit an
online review. There is also a teacher’s section with a
PowerPoint presentation and paraphernalia for creating bulletin boards
and other displays about Martin Luther King.
Scholastic's
Math Hunt
Grades: 5-8
A kid-friendly interface and a wide selection of topics make this
activity appealing. Students select a topic (such as "human
body"),then are presented mathematical multiple choice questions using
the selected topic as a context (e.g., How much time does a kidney
patient spend on dialysis weekly?). Students peruse pre-selected
websites to find the answer to the question, select their choice, and
are given feedback on their correct or incorrect response.
Besides reinforcing mathematic principles,this is a good way to
introduce students to the art of online navigation.
Purpose 2: To become
informed about a topic and/or answer a question
All About FrogsGrades: 2-6
Part of kiddyhouse.com, All About Frogs is an informational site written in language that is understandable for elementary aged kids. The site features diagrams of various frogs plus information on types, sizes, habitats, and the characteristics/behaviors of this variety. Basically—it’s everything there is to know about frogs! Some of the creative elements of the site include lyrics to frog songs sung to the tunes of popular children’s songs, frog poetry, frog crafts (such as an origami jumping frog), frog stories, frog clipart, frog animation, and frog graphics. The teacher page contains many frog lesson plans and activities that have been submitted by a variety of teachers and other sources.
All About Snow
Grades: 5-12
This site contains just about everything you could ever want to learn about snow! It has a question and answer section with answers to questions received about snow; a facts section with interesting tidbits about snow; a glossary full of terms related to snow in its various manifestations; a gallery of historical snow pictures as well as pictures from the National Weather Service; a section on snow removal including the history of how people, particularly those in the snowbelt from Minnesota to Maine, have dealt with snow; links to many other sites about snow; and a link to snow in recent news. There are also two sections for scientists and researchers on snow data and snow science that older students could navigate during a real-world, problem-based learning activity in which they are assigned to role of scientist of researcher.
Banned Books and American Culture
Grades: 9-12
Banned Books and American Culture is a teleresearch site devoted to Mark Twain. Its contents include: books by Twain that have been banned; links to many Mark Twain Associations; criticisms of Twain; essays by Twain and about him; a guide to Huckleberry Finn; Mark Twain’s letters; photos; links to other online collections of Mark Twain’s work; Twain quotations and speeches; study guides; and a link to a site devoted to teaching Twain. A biography of Mark Twain is also included as well as links to extensive bibliographies. Basically, everything you ever wanted to know about Twain can be found through this site!
Black History Month: The Development of Jazz
Grades: 3-12
Students study Jazz by reading (and hearing!) about it in differentwebsites. An accompanying worksheet asks short answer, matching, and essay-type questions.
DoHistory
Grades: 8-12
Even if you've never heard of Martha Ballard, this site will draw you
into the fascinating tale of this eighteenth century midwife's
life. This site is filled with a rich assortment of primary
documents; most impressive is her 10,000-entry diary spanning 27
years. Use it to help yourstudents learn how to piece together
the past with primary documents andunderstand what life was like in a
post-Revolutionary household on the Mainefrontier. This is an
award-winning site that deserves every bit ofrecognition its
gotten. Added bonus: A teacher's
guide!
How
Do We Inherit Marfan Syndrome?
Pages 69-70 of Virtual
Architecture
Grades: 8-12
Given a family's case history, students diagnose, predict the
occurrence of, and discuss the social/moral implications of Marfan
syndrome, froma geneticist's point of view.
In the Time of the Old Ones
Page 68 of Virtual
Architecture
Grades: 3-5
Using a pre-selected set of websites, students research Navajo legends
and folk art. This WebQuest integrates math, language arts, science,
and social studies.
Kids Health
Grades: K-12
Maintained by the Nemours Foundation Center for Children’s Health
Media, this site offers options for parents, kids, and teens. The
parent section offers information on all stages of childhood from
pregnancy to adolescents. The kids link features a monthly focus
on various health issues of concern and/or interest to kids, Daily
Brain Questions, and a Health Hunt game. The teen portion of Kids
Health addresses Hot Topics—health issues of particular interest to
teens—and also features daily facts and quizzes similar to the kids
section but dealing with more mature issues. All the information
found at Kids Health is reviewed by medical experts, is presented in
layman’s terms, and offers practical advice as well as objective
information. Careful supervision is highly recommended while
students are using this site as the parents' and teens' sections may
not be appropriate for younger children.
Literature
Alive
Grades: 4-12
Activities, maps, teachers guides, and links to external Web sites
enrich the study of Lois Lowry's Holocaust-themed novel, Number the
Stars.
MathMol K-12
Activity Page
Grades: K-12
Hypermedia
textbooks and digital libraries are packed with interactive
activities, gorgeous graphics, readable text, and online quizzes to
guide studentson their exploration of molecular modeling and its
application to mathematics.
The Sea Project
Grades: K-1
A great cross-curricular unit on the sea and its creatures. The
site includes curriculum information and project ideas in science,
math, social studies, language arts, fine arts, and even physical
education. Students in the early primary grades spent weeks
studying the sea and their teachers incorporated this theme throughout
the different curricular areas. The site offers almost 100
different sea-related project ideas that participating teachers and
students completed, and provides instructions for and student work
examples of each. Be sure to check out the Brainstorming
Webs and the Pacific
Portholes.
Snow
Crystals
Grades: 7-12
This site is amazingly cool and comprehensive! The home page
opens with the Thoreau quotation, “How full of creative genius is the
air in which these are generated! I should hardly admire them more if
real stars fell and lodged on my coat.” Snow Crystals then
details the many facets of snow crystals and the many attempts to
understand their formation. There are incredible pictures of real
snowflakes taken with a photomiscroscopy apparatus as well as pictures
taken by many snow researchers in the past. Included with the
photo gallery is a bibliography of books of snowflake photographs and
details regarding how pictures of snowflakes are taken. Another
section provides information on the classification of snowflakes; there
is also information about unusual snowflakes that defy classification
and about snow crystal halos. A third section gives students the
procedures for making their own snow crystal fossils. The site
also discusses the difference between natural snowflakes and designer
snowflakes, which are made in laboratories for scientists to conduct
controlled studies. Finally, there is a section on snowflake
physics and links to many more sites devoted to snow and snow
crystals. This is truly an incredible site
Teaching with
Historic Places
Grades: 5-12
Maintained by the National Park Service’s National Registry, this site
is relevant for history, social studies, geography, and civics
classes. Lesson plans are organized by theme, location, time
period, or the National Standards for History. Each lesson makes
the past real; uses primary sources, photographs, and maps with related
questions; provides students with a sense of discovery; asks students
to research historical places within their own communities; and
promotes an appreciation for cultural resources. The site
provides specific guidelines for the strategy of teaching with historic
places with additional resources listed such as professional
development opportunities, workshops, publications, and a comprehensive
bibliography. Teachers also have the option of creating their own
lessons using a format designed specifically for the Teaching with
Historic Places website.
The
Underground Railroad
Grades: 7-12
Students research selected websites an! d answer open-ended and
short-answer questions about the Underground Railroad. Primary sources
such as census records and personal narratives give students a
first-hand look at theimpact of the Underground Railroad.
Weather
Watch: Winter Storms
Grades: 1-8
One of the subprojects on Scholastic’s Weather Watch site, Winter
Storms deals specifically with snow, sleet, and heavy winds. On
the site, students can explore what components are necessary and in
which combinations for a winter storm to occur. Students have the
opportunity to use the Weather Maker to create their own virtual winter
storms. All the major components of a unit—lesson plans,
objectives, assessment tools/strategies, extensions, alignment with
national curriculum standards, and resources—are provided.
The WebQuest Page
Page 68 of Virtual
Architecture
Grades: K-12
Teachers will find examples, templates, evaluation rubrics, and
research articles to help them develop WebQuests, which are focused,
task-oriented Internet scavenger hunts that require students to apply
the knowledge they find.
Winter
Light
Grades: 6-12
“Winter Light” is the title of the feature article found at this
URL. The Web site details the history of light according to the
Bible, the Greeks, Celtic myth, and other ancient societies as well as
the more modern explanations. There is also a description of each
of the many holidays with light as a central them. The site
provided a collection of five lesson plans, a glossary, and links to
helpful sites for teaching about light in your classroom. Winter
Light is part of a larger Web site from Riverdeep, Inc. that has links
to general academic resources for students, teachers, and
parents. The sidebar provides links to other thematic units in
each of the listed content areas.
Purpose 3: To review multiple perspectives on an issue
BioDesigns, IncorporatedGrades: 10-12
Students work collaboratively to invent a genetically engineered product and evaluate it from scientific, business, and ethical perspectives. This project has a comprehensive list of links to relevant resources, aswell as guiding questions for students.
Global
Perspectives: Quality of Life
Grades: 10-12
Using the United Nations' definition and criteria of the quality oflife
as a starting point, students from around the world post their
ownthoughts on this topic via essays and a message board. Get a glimpse
ofthe ideals, dreams, and expectations that are percolating inside
youngminds.
Hello Dolly: A
WebQuest
Page 71 of Virtual
Architecture
Grades: 9-12
Students take the roles of politicians, scientists, industry
executives, and ethicists to find answers to the question: What
government policy should be established to regulate
cloning? The site contains a wealth of resources, a
discussion board, and note-taking templates for students.
The
Long Walk of Nelson Mandela: Interviews with Colleagues
Grades: 10-12
Interviews with twenty-three of Nelson Mandela's friends and colleagues
provide striking insight and multiple perspectives on the South
Africanleader and the abolition of apartheid.
Middle
Eastern/American: An Interactive Video Tapestry
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
To help students better understand global relations and perceptions
after September 11, this site provides the interview transcripts of
many US adolescents, ages 16-24, of a variety of religious, ethnic, and
cultural backgrounds. The interviews asked students to respond to
questions about the impact of the events of September 11 on their
attitudes toward America and the perceptions of other countries toward
America. Currently, only interviews with American adolescents are
available. However, the second phase of the project plans to
interview young people from Egypt and Israel.
Searching
for China
Grades: 9-12
Students study China from business, cultural, religious, human rights,
environmental, and political perspectives to answer the question: What
actions should the U.S. take in its policy towards China? The
technologically sophisticated (and easy to use) dossiers generate
reports based on student input.
Purpose 4: To generate data needed to explore a topic
EarthCam for Kids!Grades: K-12
Whether you're seeking some innocuous voyeurism or a little scholarly observation, you'll be pleased with this portal. For starters, you and your students can find links to realtime webcams of zoo animals, tourist attractions, weather phenomenon, traffic, and the world famous Chia PetCow! Talk about bringing the real world into the classroom!
Gallery of
Interactive Geometry
Grades: 9-12
By manipulating variables and graphics, visitors to this interactive
gallery will have hands-on learning of calculus and trigonometry
phenomena. For example, the Projective Conics exhibit "includes an
interactive application that lets you specify points on a conic" that
all! ows students to apply Pascal's theorem in terms of projective
geometry.
The GraveNet
Project
Grades: 4 - 12
Ongoing? Yes
GraveNet “gives students an opportunity to investigate the rich
historical value of their community within their local cemeteries. [It]
also provides activities that encourages students to study the art,
language, and symbolism that is found on older tombstones.” Clear links
to the Massachussetts state curriculum standards are provided.
Live From the
Hubble Space Telescope
Grades: 4-12
Ongoing? No
See how students e-mailed experts, designed experiments, and used
images from the Hubble Space Telescope to generate data about
astronomical phenomena.
Telescopes in
Education
Grades: K-12
By using a special software, a computer, and an Internet connection,
students can remotely operate a telescope located in high on a mountain
in Southern California. This project, which is supported by NASA
andother respected institutions, has helped students observe galaxies
andmake real contributions to science.
UM
WeatherCams
Grades: 1-12
Weather buffs will love the dozens of real-time outdoor images fromall
over the U.S. This is a great way to collect real data and
observations, from the comfort of your classroom or home.
Purpose 5: To solve
authentic problems
Blizzard
Attack!Grades: 7-12
Ongoing? Yes
This site provides a problem-based learning opportunity in which students are engaged in open-ended, real world problems. Blizzard Attack! establishes a scenario for students in which they are coming face to face with a major winter storm! With the goal of staying safe and arriving at the destination, students will embark on a trip through the storm. Once they have safely arrived, students are asked to write an essay defending the choices they made along their journey. A little twist: students are assigned a new identity and must in “in character” while making the travel decisions, and they have state-of-the-art weather computers called WeatherPads that will provide weather information and updates throughout the trip.
Bullying.org: WhereYou Are NOT Alone!
Grades: K-12
Do you have a bully in your class? Or perhaps a student who gets picked on incessantly? Take him to this website, where he will be greeted with touching essays, music, pictures, and poems from both bullies and the bullied. This grassroots site provides children with wonderful opportunities to try resolving this pervasive evil in their own ways.
CancerQuest: A Search for Answers
Grades: 8-12
Ongoing? No
CancerQuest is a project supported by the John Hopkins Medical School that leads students through a step-by-step information gathering process on the background of cancer and the possible carcinogenic nature of the herbicide atrazine. The ultimate goal of the project is for pairs of students to gather data on the question “Is the herbicide atrazine a chemical carcinogen in the environment?” and to determine the validity of the data they collect. The culminating activity of the project is a written position paper presenting the students’ view on the issue. A possible extension project is the CancerQuest Video Conference which can be found at http://www.fastol.com/~renkwitz/cancer_quest_video_confere.htm or via a link on the CancerQuest page. The video conference allows students to join in a consortium with other students around the world who have completed the same CancerQuest project.
Interactive Weather Maker
Grades: 7-12
The Weather Maker is a simple, flash plug-in interactive tool that helps students see their newfound knowledge about weather in action. There are two weather absolutes to be adhered to at all times, but beyond these two rules the rest is left to the students’ imaginations. (Flash download provided if necessary.) Additional weather-related online learning activities are also provided by Scholastic, Inc.
International Symposium on Environmental Issues (WebQuest)
Pages 73-75 of Virtual
Architecture
Grades: 8-9
Taking the role of a life, physical, or earth scientist, every student
works in teams to study the relationship between depleted ozone and the
decline of the penguin population in Antarctica. Student teams then
research and present initiatives to help ameliorate the situation.
Look
Who's Footing the Bill!
Grades: 7-12
In this "Introductory WebQuest on Democracy and the National
Debt,"students assume the roles of number cruncher, fact checker, and
budgetdirector to research solutions to the national debt. The
site includeslinks to the National Debt Clock, point of view articles,
and e-mail addresses to senators so that! students can let their
well-researched opinions be known.
Math
Careers Projects
Grades: 9-12
Students assume the role of employment agency workers who are
developing a portfolio of careers that use mathematics. The site
contains links to various colleges, career information, salary charts,
and other resources that help students research their topic.
The
Real Scoop on Tobacco
Grades: 5-9
In this WebQuest, students work collaboratively to design a campaign to
keep a fictional peer from smoking cigarettes.
6 Billion Human
Beings
Grades: 9-12
This site is sponsored by two museums in Paris and is available in
English or French. 6 Billion Human Beings is an interactive site
where students can access quick facts about the world population and
its growth rate, or discover personalized information based on input
from students such as gender and nationality. The site asks for a
student’s age and then calculates the population when he/she was born
as well as how much it has grown in his/her lifetime. The site
then asks a variety of questions regarding lifestyle, personal desires
such as career and family, and cultural beliefs. The site also
contains questions for the future, resources about the world’s
population, and a discussion on the likelihood of population
stabilization occurring. It is advisable to review the site
before sharing it with your students to ensure it is appropriate for
the climate in which you teach and the maturity levels of your students.
Trees and
Forests Internet Project
Grades: 3-6
This site guides students through an investigation of
deforestation. Students are expected to read an article on the
topic, research pertinent websites, and use multimedia in a variety of
ways to further explore and publish their findings.
We the
Children
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
Based on the 1984 Action Plan for Children, the site sets up a scenario
placing students as one of four chosen to join the Executive Direction
of the United Nation’s Children’s Fund in New York to evaluate its
success. Students are charged with researching the plan,
evaluating its success, and making recommendations. The
assignment page breaks the project into seven manageable chunks and
provides links to helpful pages. There are also suggestions for
places the students may post their writing online.
Purpose 6: To publish information overviews for other students to use
Best Books: Our ChoicesGrade: 6-9
A group of Alberta students have published reviews of their favorite fiction and non-fiction books.
Just
Ducky 2001
Grade: K-5
Students in Canada, the United States, and Australia participated
in real and virtual duck raising in their schools. This site
contains photos, journal entries, reports, and drawings that students
published to celebrate the lifecycle of their feathered friends.
The Human Body
Grade: 2
Ongoing: No
This teacher-created site electronically publishes students' human
anatomy research work. An extensive science unit on the human
body, the site includes student drawings as they relate to professional
anatomical charts, photos of students at work, summaries of visits to
the classroom by medical doctors, and a set of student-created games
related to anatomy. The site also includes links to
otherelementary science resources.
SchoolNet
News Network
Page 37 of Virtual
Architecture
Grades: 4-12
Ongoing? Yes
This professional-looking website features monthly e-zines filled with
articles written by kids for kids. Sample topics include
school violence, summer jobs, and hockey. A special
bonus: The site is in both French and English.
Visual
Treasures: Saving Our Townscapes
Grades: 6-12
The Web site for this project focuses on one town: Clinton,
Massachusetts. The middle and high school students of Clinton
learned about their heritage, the architecture of their city, and the
origins of their hometown and then shared their newfound knowledge on
the Web through message boards and pictures. Completing this
integrated curriculum project (Language Arts, Social Studies, Fine
Arts) helped these students gain a greater appreciation for where they
live. Such a project could be duplicated in any town or city;
some really excellent ideas can be gleaned from the Saving our
Townscapes Web site.
Managing Miscellany
Dogpile Page 59 of Virtual Architecture
Grades: K-12
This meta-searching tool will access a number of search engines, including LookSmart, GoTo.com, Thunderstone, Yahoo!, Dogpile Open Directory, About.com, Lycos' Top 5%, InfoSeek, Direct Hit, Lycos and AltaVista.
When It Isn't an Issue of Quality
Black-footed
Ferret Fact Sheet Page 62 of Virtual Architecture
Grades: 3-12
Here's a fact sheet on the endangered black-footed ferret.
Saving the Black-Footed Ferret
Pages 62-63 of Virtual
Architecture
Grades: 8-12
This Thoreau Institute research article documents the plight of
theferret and critiques the governmental policies surrounding it.
Arthur C. Clarke quote:
Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is notforesight. Each grows out of the other and we need them all.
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