Blog Post #4

SS.912.A.1.2 Utilize a variety of primary and secondary sources to identify author, historical significance, audience, and authenticity to understand a historical period.

In order to teach this standard, I will send my students to Nettrekker.com (http://www.nettrekker.com/us/ ), where they can search for information on a specific topic they chose in American History. This lesson will allow them to see a variety of sources on Nettrekker including audio, visual, graphics, and written sources, both primary and secondary in order to meet the standard. Then, students will write down the information they find on their search of Nettrekker, identifying the author and who the audience is, as well as the historical information that the source contains. Nettrekker.com is a reference software tool (Levver-Duffy 183) and a database that is safe for students and aligns with the Common Core Standards. This digital reference software tool allows students to search any appropriate topic and find information through multimedia sources rather than just print.

When I have searched for and evaluated internet sources to decide whether to use them for research or an assignment, I always looked to see who the author was, when it was published, and whether the source was reliable or not. Usually, the sources had to be scholarly, meaning they were reviewed for accuracy and reliability. The website or book, journal, or other source that I got it from also had to be reliable and usually unbiased. This varies from what was said in the podcast about evaluating internet resources, as it discussed the design of the website. I do not recall giving the design or accessibility of the website or internet source much thought. I also did not check for whether the websites were stable or not, as mentioned in the podcast. However, the podcast did discuss evaluating a source for its author, whether it held biases, and if the content was accurate, which I do when evaluating internet sources.

I think that working on this assignment better helped me evaluate a website before selecting it to get information from. If the website looked questionable, I looked for a new website. I learned how to evaluate what the thing was that I would be doing in my classroom, and decide which standard best fit it. This was sometimes hard because for some, multiple standards would have worked. I also realized that technology can be integrated into most lessons, as the tools available online are increasing to reach math, science, social studies, and language arts. Through this exercise I think that I also became more efficient at finding information online.

Web Hunt Challenges:

1.       You want to find a video that will teach your students about NASA. Find a website that has an informational video you could show your class.

2.       You want to send reminders home to your students through the internet (computer, cell phone, etc.). Find a program that you could use to do this.

3.       You want to design name plates for your students using an online program. Find one that you could use to do this.