Using Computers in the Classroom
Anyone can use the Internet at the any of the branches of the public library. There are many web sites worth visiting. We suggest you keep a journal or note pad with you to learn what area(s) of each site hold items of interest to you and your student. Frequently there are dozens, hundreds, or over a 1000 pages on a site, and it could be very overwhelming to try to visit very many of them. If you have access to the Internet at home, or can take time in advance, you will greatly improve the experience for you and your learner (as well as make the best use of your time) by recording the path to certain points on a site for your lesson.
Internet usage guidelines:
1) Plan your Internet trips
The Internet is a vast area, and it is easy to spend many minutes trying to get
to a useful place. Plan your Internet
trips in advance, determining how they fit into your lesson(s). A good resource available on the Internet for
planning such is at URL http://www.lacnyc.org/publications/guides.htm.
Choose the “Surfing for Substance” link.
This is an on-line edition of a free, 76 page document you can order
from the
2) Apply K-W-L principles to your Internet
trips
When you and your learner visit locations on the Internet, do so using
K-W-L principles.
a) Discuss what you will be doing when you go out on the Internet and get feedback from your learner on what interests her/him about taking the trip.
b) While taking your Internet trip, discuss the route your are taking and the activities as you do them.
c) At
the conclusion of an activity, review it with your learner. Determine if it met expectations and,
together, decide if you will want to come back to this site
3) Record your favorite Internet locations
Some places you visit on the Internet will be worth return visits, and some
will not. Keep a record of the
worthwhile sites, and the ones that you found are not worthwhile (at least to
you and your learner at the time). Share
your findings with CLC and other tutors.
4) Don’t hog the driver’s seat…unless it’s
best for you and your learner
Be sensitive to the feelings and capabilities of your learner. If (s)he is a beginner, or has computer-phobia,
it may be best for you to do most of the driving on the Internet highway. However, encourage your student to take some
risks. Provide guided opportunities to press
keys and get the thrill of positive responses.
Provide positive feedback for all efforts. For more advanced learners, you may have them
take the “wheel” (keyboard and mouse) while you guide their actions.
5) Be a good role model for Internet use
There are many pitfalls on the Internet, especially for beginning
readers. There are ways you can help
them.
a) Avoid random surfing. Besides the possibility of running into costly or offensive sites, such activity can be a tremendous time sink.
b) Point out ads. Help your learner distinguish valuable content from advertising. Point out the risks of clicking on ads:
i) they can lead you to sites that entice you to spend money
ii) they can distract you and waste a lot of time
iii) they can prevent you from getting to the site you originally set out to reach
c) Watch the clock. If it is taking too long to get where you want to go, tell your learner (as best you can) what (you believe) is keeping you from getting to the desired Internet site, and that you will try again later (that lesson, or in another lesson).
Listed below are a few Internet sites to check out for use in your lessons.
http://www.manythings.org, Good for students who can already spell a little. There are quizzes (esp. “Easy Vocabulary Quizzes”), puzzles, grammar exercises, pronunciation exercises (requires sound card), and vocabulary exercises. This site has interactive activities.
http://www.english-zone.com, not for absolute beginners. Good for students who know a little already. It has grammar, spelling, and numbers for beginners through advanced students. This site has interactive activities and pages you can print and study off-line. Some require access to a color printer (e.g., a page containing color words on correspondingly colored rectangles).
http://www.selfstudybooks.com/ This site is run by a Swiss company, which is interested in selling its products. There are some fun activities on the site. Good for intermediate students or higher.
http://a4esl.org This site is ESOL oriented and filled with grammar, vocabulary, and verb quizzes. There pages are interactive Java and HTML.
http://www.esl-lab.com It’s a listening lab with exercises for beginners through advanced. Of course, using this site requires a sound card, so don’t plan to use it at the library. It could be used from CLC.
http://www.puzzlemaker.com A site where you can make mazes, word searches, criss-crosses, math squares, cryptograms, and other fun puzzles. As compared with other sites that are primarily, or exclusively, interactive, this one creates puzzles for you to print and work on off-line.
http://www.puzzles.com A site sponsored by Binary Arts where you can do puzzles interactively. Some of the puzzles can be printed and done off-line.
http://members.aol.com/Jakajk/Oneworld.html This is a site maintained by John Korber. He has put together a collection of ESOL lessons, activities, and games. This site would fall in the category of a resource to ESOL tutors for materials and activities to incorporate in their lessons.
http://www.literacyvolunteer.com This is another site that is a resource to tutors, ESOL and Basic literacy. It has links to pages that have activities that can be done on-line or downloaded and printed.
http://www.thinks.com In their words, “What will you find at
Thinks.com? anagram crosswords, anagram puzzles, bozzles, braingames bazaar,
brainteasers, checkers, chess problems, chinese checkers, clerihews, comic
verse, computer art, connect 4, conundrums, crossfigure puzzles, cryptic
crosswords, doublets, family fun, fractal art, fractal music, games software,
humor, java games, java puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, kali, literary trivia, logic problems,
mastermind, mathematical recreations, mazes, nim, nonsense, number puzzles,
paradoxes, picture puzzles, puns, puzzle software, quizzes, rebuses, reversi,
riddles, software guides, stereograms, tetris, tom swifties, trivia, visual
illusions, web guides, wordplay, word puzzles, wordsearches... and more”. While it is less commercial than some sites,
this does have distracting (blinking) ads.
The puzzles are designed to be done on-line, though some can be printed
and done off-line.
http://www.brainbashers.com
This is a site maintained by a Mensa
member in
Several of the web sites mentioned above came from issues of LitScape, published by Laubach. This is an excellent, quarterly publication (so you’re not inundated with data) that is one reason to pursue certification by that organization.
Getting FREE e-mail accounts for you and your learner can be motivating. Encourage your student to write a congressperson, you, or friends. The student could send a free e-mail card at http://free.bluemountain.com/.
http://www.house.gov is the address for finding members of the House of Representatives.
http://www.senate.gov is the address for finding members of the Senate.
The following Internet sites are resources for foreign language newspapers.
http://alb.albaniannews.com – Albanian
http://home.achilles.net/~sal/arabnews.html – Arabic
http://Alquds.com – Somali
http://www.elmundo.es – Spanish
The following Internet sites are resources for language translations
http://www.hickorytech.net/~cdn/somali.htm – Somali
http://babelfish.altavista.com – Various languages
http://bbc.com – listen to news in foreign languages
www.typingmaster.com/index.asp?go=itutor – typing
www.jegsworks.com/lessons – general computer tutorial
www.northernwebs.com/bc – Internet skills tutorial
www.baygroup.com/wlesson0.htm – Microsoft Word tutorial
http://literacy.kent.edu/salt_fork – Microsoft skills
www.workingsimulations.com/theoffice.html – Work simulation