Neil Fisher’s

SLM 521 Index Page

Search Engines – this is a link to several search engines on the Internet that I’ve found to be most useful in my everyday use and work as a student. General information and teacher/student resource search engines are listed among others.

Web Link Bibliography – this link provides access to several sites that have to do with the European Union. Sites concerning its organization, membership, activities, and dealings with other nations can be found here. Also included are several governmental sites concerning foreign affairs around the world. News sites from many different nations can be found here as well.

Search Tips – this link provides access to range of tips and tricks that can make your “surfing” experience on the Internet less turbulent.

Evaluating Websites – so, you have to find some information on the Internet concerning the Civil War. You find hundreds of sites on the topic, but don’t know which sites will give you the reliable information that you need. By using the checklist here, your search for accurate data will be a lot easier.

Safety on the Web – the Internet can be a perilous place to travel, especially for students. Here is a checklist of precautions that a school can go over with the students before they go online. The more the students know, the safer they will be.

Letter to the Parents – this is an example of a letter which school districts can send to the parents of students who are about to go online. It can be accompanied by the checklist above to inform parents of the safety precautions that will be made in order to ensure a safe online experience for their children.

Citing Internet Sources – online resources may be found very easily for your research project, however, the question remains how are you supposed to document the online article correctly. This link can give you some helpful hints to remedy that problem.

Publications – this link takes you to a short bibliography of some online journal publications that cover the many issues concerning educational technology and instruction. All of them provide excellent coverage of the expansion of technology into the classroom and how it will affect our schools.

Translation – often, as teachers or students, we may come across a resource that may be useful to us, but it is written in a language other than our own. Sometimes, we may want to translate a passage in English to a foreign language for someone else to understand us. This link gives an example of how a passage in English can easily be translated into French and Spanish using Babelfish at Altavista.

Teacher Made Websites – due to the increased use of the Internet in our schools today, many teachers have chosen to create their own web pages as an online resource which their students may use. This link takes a look at two such teacher constructed sites.

Social Studies Lesson Plans – if you are a Social Studies teacher or need to teach a history or geography lesson and don’t have a good idea of where to start, this link will hook you up with several web sites that can provide you lesson plans on all manner of Social Studies topics.

Article Critique #1 – this page details my foray into reading about “the perils of E-mail” and how this technology, while useful, can prove to be a costly venture when educators don’t realize all its legal ramifications.

Article Critique #2 – this page looks at the observation of the Ameritech Electronic University Classroom project in Ohio. It describes what may come to be the technologically advanced classroom of the future and how it may make teachers’ lives easier.

Teacher Worksheets – this page is a list of sites that provide a variety of worksheets and activity suggestions that may be very helpful for Social Studies teachers at the middle and high school level. They are listed from most helpful to least helpful.

Web Drop-In #1 – this drop-in activity consists of a simple assignment whereby students can search two websites for basic membership information on the European Union (EU) as well as answer a few questions about the EU.

Web Drop-In #2 – this drop-in activity consists of an assignment which will familiarize students with the “Big Three” of the European Union. These three nations include France, Germany, and United Kingdom. The activity can search the home sites of their governments as well as search some news sites to discover how they stand on the U.S. war in Iraq.

Web Drop-In #3 - this drop-in activity takes a look at immigration to the U.S. throughout the nation’s history. Since immigrants essentially came and built America, this activity will take a look at some of the reasons they wanted to come to the U.S. and how they have impacted the population statistics.

Web Drop-In #4 - this drop-in activity deals with the controversy surrounding the U.S. invasion of Iraq. After looking at two points of view on the subject, you can then decide: Should we or shouldn’t we?

Web Drop-In #5 – this drop-in activity takes a look at what differences there exist in the governmental structures of some of the world’s largest democracies such as the U.S., France, and the United Kingdom.

Web Quest List – this is a list of a few web quests that can be used by Social Studies teachers from the elementary school level to the high school level. They include everything from a trip around the world to the perspectives of people during wartime.

Web Quest – this quest allows students to learn about four of America’s most famous and influential presidents. They also get to choose which one they believe deserves to be the “Fifth Face” on Mount Rushmore.

Online Teacher Services and Resources Module – this is an activity that allows you to investigate two of the most prominent online teacher services on the Internet, Quia and My School Online. Then you can decide which service you feel is best suited to help teachers in the classroom.

Copyright Situations – this link provides access to an evaluation of two situations many teachers may face with regards to the use of documents and images in the classroom and if their usage violates Copyright Law. However, these are just an introduction to the issue and not an exhaustive list of what situations may arise.

Silicon Snake Oil – The Internet is not all it is cracked up to be and computer expert Clifford Stoll gives a few reasons why in his book. This link takes a look at five of his reasons why he believes this.