Linda J. Burkhart
The Potential:
As a critical component of contemporary education, elementary students
need access to the vast resources of Information and communication potential
of the World Wide Web. Traditional libraries and text books can no longer
provide all of the information and resources needed for effective instruction.
The Internet allows access to current information, and serves as a vehicle
for interactive learning through authentic experiences with peers and experts
around the world.
The Problem:
The powerful appropriate information for students on the web is not neatly
segregated from the useless, questionable and sometimes inappropriate information.
Educators are faced with the dilemma of how to make on-line experience
for students safe, productive and time efficient. In addition, students
will need to learn a whole new set of skills for dealing with vast quantities
of information from a wide range of sources.
One Solution:
Preselected web sites related to a particular topic can give students a
reasonably safe experience while still providing them the opportunity to
practice new skills. Teachers can design lessons that establish the purpose
for the Internet use and guide students trough new learning experiences.
One of the simplest ways to guide students is by providing them with
a Òstart pageÓ that will link to preselected web sites. These
start pages may be annotated with specific directions or objectives for
use. These pages could be constructed through special software designed
for web page construction, through html codes or they can be made directly
from bookmark files in Netscape. Bookmark files are easy for teachers to
collect, sort, annotate and store and do not require learning a new software
package or codes. They may be saved on disk or on the school server and
then used as a local web page for students. Students access these start
pages under adult supervision with the understanding of the schoolÕs
acceptable use policy in which they have agreed to appropriate standards
for Internet use.
Creating Bookmark Start Pages:
The basic procedure involves:
1. Creating a list of bookmarks on a particular subject.
2. Organizing them and adding annotations
3. Saving the list of bookmarks
4. Opening them as a web page.
1. Create a list of Bookmarks:
Note: If you already have a list of bookmarks that you want to keep,
but donÕt necessarily want students to access, you will need to
save them so that you can import them for later use. Go to step 3 and save
your current list of bookmarks before doing this step.
With a topic in mind, launch Netscape and begin searching the Internet
for appropriate web pages. You might start with web sites that have already
done searches on curriculum related topics such as the Carroll County Public
Schools Homework Helper or any of the good educational sites. When you
find an appropriate site, Select Add Bookmark from the Bookmark
menu. Continue adding bookmarks until you have a comfortable amount for
your purpose. This may be done over a series of days and added to later,
since bookmarks may be saved and imported at any time.
2. Organize Bookmarks and Add Annotations
Select Bookmarks from under the Window menu to open the bookmark
window. (In Netscape 4, it is under the farthest right icon of the Netscape
menu bar.) This will display your bookmarks in a list that may easily be
modified and saved. A new set of menu items will appear across the top
of the screen to allow you to work with your list of bookmarks.
To delete a bookmark: Select the bookmark by clicking on it
one time with the mouse. Select Delete Bookmark under Edit.
To Change the name of a bookmark: Select the bookmark by clicking
on it one time with the mouse. Select Edit Bookmark under the Item
menu. (In Netscape 4.0, select Get Info under the edit menu.) Now
you can retype the name to make it more descriptive or clear for students.
To Annotate or add a description to a bookmark: Select the bookmark
by clicking on it one time with the mouse. Select Edit Bookmark
under the Item menu as above. Type a description of the site in
the box labeled Description . For example: Use this Rhyming Dictionary
to create a list of rhyming words for a poem you are writing. If you like,
you can type specific directions to the student such as: On this web site,
look for three probable causes for the Civil War. (Note: If you paste the
address into this box in addition to the location box, it will be displayed
on the final web page and then be able to be printed to send home with
students.)
To Create a new folder: You can Insert folders to organize your
bookmarks into topics. Select a bookmark by clicking on it one time with
the mouse. Select Insert Folder from the Item menu. You will
see a dialog box that lets you type a name for the folder click OK and
a folder will be added below the bookmark that you had selected. When the
bookmark file is opened like a web page, these folder names will be shown
as topic headings with bookmarks under them.
To Move a bookmark to a different location in the list: Select
the bookmark by clicking on it one time with the mouse. Drag the bookmark
to a new location in the list. Note: As you drag the bookmark, a line will
appear where the bookmark will be placed. When the line appears where you
want it, release the mouse button. When you drag it onto a folder, the
folder turns dark. When you release the mouse, the bookmark will be placed
in that folder. You may select a series of bookmarks and then choose sort
under the Item menu to arrange them in alphabetical order.
3. Save the List of Bookmarks:
Saving bookmarks must be done when the bookmark window is open. Select
bookmarks under the Window menu if it is not already open.
Under the File menu, select Save as or Save Bookmark File
as, depending on which version of Netscape you are using. Select the
location where you want to save your file, (Global Shared / Web Sites for
Students or your disk) type a name.htm and click save .
IMPORTANT: Name your bookmark file anything you want, but end
it with .htm . Names work best if they are not very long. If you
will be using the bookmarks on a PC as well as a Mac you should only use
8 characters with no spaces before the .htm and save onto a PC formatted
disk.
4. Open a Bookmark File as a Local Web Page.
Launch Netscape (if it isnÕt already open). Then, under the File
menu, select Open File , or Open File in Browser , or Open
Page , depending on which version of Netscape you are running. Locate
the Web Sites for Students folder in the Global Shared Folder on the server,
or locate your bookmark file on your disk and Click Open . Your
local web page is now ready to use.
5. Open or Import bookmark files as regular bookmarks:
Under the Window menu select Bookmarks. Under File select Import bookmarks
or open bookmarks depending on which version of Netscape is on the computer.
Bookmarks will be added to the existing list and may be rearranged as described
above.
Click here to view some Student Start Pages
For Educational Use Only
All Rights Reserved, Linda J. Burkhart
email: linda@Lburkhart.com
Web site: http://www.Lburkhart.com
Updated: March 1998
