Random ideas on the Internet in Education

FOOD

Digital Presence

Website

School Moodle site

School Podcasting site – in the iTunes store

School’s Broadband Programme

Started in 2004, when the Irish government and the Telecommunications and Internet Federation, jointly agreed to provide eighteen million euro to pay for broadband to be provided to each school in the country.

The School’s Broadband Programme is completed.

Every classroom is wired to the Internet

Data cable to PC

Wireless in the Staffroom

Filtered by the National Centre for Technology in Education – ‘less restrictive option’

Internet Safety

Telling students to check on the Internet, find an image, research a project

Have you taught that student about safety on the Internet?

No – well who has?

The SPHE teacher! But don’t presume they have – internet safety is our responsibility as a school

Using the Internet in the Classroom

Be careful with live searches in front of the students – be ready to use the back button

If using Google go to preferences and click on the button ‘use strict filtering’ and ‘save preferences’ at the bottom of the page

You don’t have to use Google in class

Child Friendly Search Engines

Yahoo for Kids

Ask Kids

Quintura Search for Kids

Google Advanced Search

Google the Titanic

Click on advanced search

Portals

Portal is a term, generally synonymous with gateway

for a World Wide Web site

that is or proposes to be a major starting site for users when they get connected to the Web

or that users tend to visit as an anchor site.

Teachnet

Skoool.ie

ScoilnetThe official DES portal for Irish Education

The National Centre for Technology in Education

NCTE

NCTE Digital Content

Evaluative Guidelines of Websites

1. Authority

2. Currency

3. Coverage

4. Objectivity

5. Accuracy

1. Authority

Who is responsible for the page?

What are their qualifications and associations, and can you verify them?

Check the footer for name of the web page author, his/her credentials and title, organizational affiliation. Is the information verifiable?

2. Currency

Are dates clear when the website was first created and last edited?

Check the footer for when the website was created, and when last edited.

Check the content for news items, indications that the site is actively maintained, acknowledgements/responses to visitors, Check validity of external links

3. Coverage

What is the focus of the site? Are there clear headings to illustrate an outline of the

content? Is the navigation within the website clear?

Check the header for a clear title and web site description

Check the content for headings and keywords

Check quantity and prominence of ads

4. Objectivity

Are biases clearly stated? Are affiliations clear?

Check the content:

for statement of purpose,

for outside links for information external to the website

for graphics and clues for affiliations

Check the URL / web address (.ie .ac.uk .gov .com .edu etc.) to determine the organizational source of website and how this reflects on content type

5. Accuracy

Are sources of information and factual data listed, and available for cross-checking

Check the content for accuracy of spelling, grammar, facts(!), and consistency within website

Check content for a bibliography:

variety of websites (external links) and for electronic media (electronic databases of references, established (print & on-line) journals

Digital Content for Teachers

Beware of Wikipedia

Be aware of the Irish Times Digital Archive

YouTube videos are easily downloaded – using KeepVid

BBC Learning is limiting some of its content outside the UK

Portmarnock’s Moodle site has examples of quality sites linked to its front page