Internet
Travel
Objective:
Students will be able to describe the most effective way to use travel
websites.
Objective:
Students will be able to create a list of efficient travel websites.
Introduction: World travel has truly found its place at the
tip of your fingertips. Your computer
has become your own personal travel agent.
Now, through the internet, one can find great deals on airfares, hotels,
and car rentals to all of your favorite destinations. Planning an entire vacation can occur without
leaving your home!
Activity: Research the travel links provided
below. Compare the airfare rates and
hotels in order to determine the sites offering the best deals. Determine which sites offer the best and most
comprehensive information in order to plan a fabulous vacation. Explore features of these sites in order to
determine the ones that are the most “user friendly.” As you explore the travel sites utilize the
following criteria to evaluate these sites.
Do these sites offer many different flight rates and airlines in order
to comparison shop to locate the best bargains?
Are there different types of hotel accommodations listed in order to
find the type of hotel the user may be seeking?
Does the site provide additional information about the travel
destinations? Does the site provide
adequate information about the different companies it displays? For each of the
sites attempt to book a flight and/or a hotel room in order to determine the
quality of the resource. Your job will
be to create a list of the best travel sites for individuals planning a
vacation.
Expedia This is a great site offering information on numerous travel
destinations. You can book flights,
hotel rooms, and cruises. Look through
the great package deals. www.expedia.com
Cheaptickets This site allows you to plan your trips far
in advance as well as make last minute arrangements. Explore international destinations and weekly
bargains. www.cheaptickets.com
Travelocity Find international destinations and
activities at your favorite travel spots.
You can utilize the travel center to check flight schedules as well as
weather conditions. www.travelocity.com
Orbitz This
site is also great to find deals on flights and accommodations. Students can find cheaper flights in order to
plan trips to
Hotels
You can find many different hotel
accommodations on this website. Find
airfare and travel specials on this site as well. Choose hotel amenities as well as different
types of hotel stays. www.hotels.com
Hotwire Create a free account and plan your dream vacation at discount
prices. You build a package including
flight, rental car, and hotel stay. Find
great bargains on cruises around the world.
www.hotwire.com
Travel Yahoo Explore
destinations all over the world and look for the best rates to these
destinations. There is tons of travel
information to use for booking your vacation. www.travel.yahoo.com
Assignment: Create a list of “Best Travel Sites.” List five websites providing three to four
sentences describing the features of the site.
What makes this site worthwhile?
Include a live link that will take the user directly to this site. Next, imagine you are planning a vacation to
a destination of your choice. Use one of
the travel sites from your list to plan your vacation. Write a 200 word essay describing your
process and findings. In your essay, you
will state where you would like to travel and what site you are
using to book your “vacation.” Explore
different flights, hotel accommodations and any other feature the site may
provide in order to make vacation planning efficient.
Submission: Post your activities as an html file to the McDaniel
Web Server, create a link to the file on your index page, and send your
instructor an email notification containing a hot link to the assignment (not
to your index page) and the assignment file's URL.
Rubric
|
|
unacceptable |
developing |
accomplished |
|
Travel
website list |
Less
than five websites are listed with little or no information describing their
features. |
Very
little information provided about each of the travel websites. |
Well-written description
of all the sites with extensive
information on the useful features of each site. |
|
Travel
Essay |
Poorly
written essay with multiple grammatical and spelling errors. Very few details are provided about the
vacation planning process. |
One
or two grammatical and spelling errors.
Vague details are provided about the process of planning a
vacation. |
Contains
complete and extensive information about the process of planning a vacation
through the specific site. |
ISTE Standards:
II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
AND EXPERIENCES
Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology.
Teachers:
C. Identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.
A complete listing of all ISTE standards can be found at:
National Educational standards for Teachers - http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html