PROBLEM- SOLVING STEPS

Transcription

1 PROBLEM- SOLVING STEPS 1. Understand the Problem 2. Decide on a Plan 3. Carry out the Plan 4. Look Back and Review

2 Background Information on the Internet and Search Engines

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4 These pages were developed and presented using PowerPoint software. If a multimedia presentation system is available, you may want to develop something similar for the Overview and Introduction section of the lesson. The visual appeal of this presentation draws the learner in to what is being discussed and allows the teacher to introduce key elements before beginning the hands-on activities of modeling and practice.

5 Developed by Kristy Rousseau, Beacon Learning Center, Spring 1999, Bay District Schools, Panama City, FL

6 Opening the Browsers from the Desktop Information from the Internet can be read using a browser. A browser is an application used to view and travel the World Wide Web. Two browsers available on the computer desktop shown above are Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator. Although the desktop on your monitor may look different, search for one of these icons now. Other browsers may also be used; check with the instructor if you can not find the icons shown above. Double click the icon to launch the browser and begin your search.

7 Bay District Schools Homepage In the location field, type the Universal Resource Locator (URL) for the web site you would like to visit. URL Scroll Bar The Educational Resources page provides hyperlinks to several popular search engines. Use the scroll bar to access these engines.

8 URL Yahoo! and Alta Vista are two search engines available from the Educational Resources Page. Ask Jeeves is also a popular choice. Let s enter the URL address in the location field and check it out! Type your question here. Then click Ask!

9 Jeeves Search Results Ask Jeeves produces a list of web sites available on tessellations. Notice that Ask Jeeves searched other engines for its information. Click on the down arrows for additional web sites. Let s check out the site, Totally Tessellated. (It was produced by high school students for the ThinkQuest competition.)

10 Let s look at another site. Click the Home button on the top of your screen to return to Bay District s Homepage. Select Educational Resources and use the scroll bar to find Search Engines. When you click on Search Engines the following page should appear: The Yahoo! Homepage should look similar to the one below. Yahoo! locates web sites that contain information about your topic. Enter in a keyword such as tessellations and click Search! (The underlined blue words are links to other categories or topics.)

11 Yahoo! Search Result #1 Yahoo! found lots of sites on tessellations. When I clicked on Tessellations Project to learn what other fifth grade classes were doing, I was presented with the information shown below. While reading, I found a lead to trace. I learned that a famous tessellation artist Yahoo! was M.C.Escher. Search I Result wonder what #2 I would find if I entered his name in the Yahoo! search? Let s try it!

12 Yahoo! Search Result #2 Yahoo! found 12 site matches. None of them caught my eye, so I clicked on Go To Web Page Matches at the bottom of the page. Wow! There were 17,976 web pages on Escher! Let s check out The World of Escher page. The description sounds interesting.

13 Click the Home button to return to Bay District s Homepage. Select Educational Resources and use the scroll bar to find Search Engines. Click on Search Engines and scroll until you see Alta Vista. Although Alta Vista looks a little different, it works just like Yahoo! Type in the keyword tessellations and click on the Search button.

14 Alta Vista Search Results Alta Vista provides links to related searches. Often they can help narrow the focus of your research. (We ll look at how to make tessellations in just a minute.) Alta Vista also lists specific categories to search under. These tabs, as well as the 6,710 pages listed below, offer information on tessellations. Let s check it out!

15 Alta Vista Search Results--page 2 Each new click helps me dig further and further through the research. However, sometimes I get bogged down in all the information and want to start fresh. When this happens, I use the Back button on the top of my screen to move back to the previous page, or I click on Home.

16 Let s Practice! Choose one of the search engines below. Enter the Internet address in the URL location field, or use the links provided on the Internet Search Engines page available from Bay District Schools Homepage < Use the outline below to record the questions and/or keywords that can be used to start the search engine. Keep accurate records of helpful sites that you find during your search. Remember: If you get lost, go Home! My Plan for Research Question/Keywords: Search Engines: Helpful sites I found:

17 BIBLIOGRAPHIES It is important to record where you find information during the research process. An accurate bibliographic record offers proof of the information found, and provides a reference for others to follow. Record the following information for each type of resource used. BOOKS Author s name (last name, first name). Title of book. City: Publisher, Copyright year. Camper, Edward. Flying Dinosaurs. New York: Puffin Books, ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES Title of article. Name of encyclopedia Year of publication. Pterodactyls. Encyclopedia Britannica 1992 edition. INTERNET SITES Name of Web site. Publisher of site. Day Month and Year of copyright <web address>. Excavating the Past Web Pages. University of Chicago. 1 August 1994 < MAGAZINE ARTICLES Author s name (last name, first name). Title of article. Name of magazine Month and Year of publication: pages of article. Zeeno, Griffin, Jr. The Age of the Dinosaurs. National Geographic October 1996:

18 GLOSSARY Term Definition* 1. Alta Vista A web site that employs bots to search for keywords on the World Wide Web. 2. Ask Jeeves A web site that employs bots to search for keywords on the World Wide Web. 3. bots Robot-like software tools that search Web servers to compile URL data. 4. browse To view data and information on the World Wide Web (WWW). 5. browser An application such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Communicator used to view and travel the WWW. 6. button A small outlined area that can be clicked to select an option or command. 7. cursor A symbol such as a rectangle or a blinking underline that shows where the next typed character will be displayed. 8. desktop A pictorial file system. Its pictures (icons) represent cabinets, file, folders, and other types of documents that can be worked with and rearranged as necessary. 9. download To transfer data from a larger host system (i.e., a web site) to a smaller client system (personal computer). 10. fields An area set aside for a particular type of information. 11. hard copies A paper printout of the data stored in a computer. (A soft copy refers to the electronic version of the same data.) 12. homepage A web page that serves as the main source of information about a particular person, group, or concept. 13. hyperlinks A highlighted word or picture on the Internet that takes the user to another place when clicked. (a.ka. links ) 14. icon A picture used to represent a specific file or application. When clicked, it opens the file or application for the user. 15. Internet A worldwide network of networks also known as the net, the information superhighway, and cyberspace. 16. keyword An entry used to identify a specific record or document. 17. pop-down menu A menu that appears directly below the command selected, as if it had been pulled down. 18. scroll bar A bar on the side or bottom of a window that allows users to view all the information contained on the page. 19. search engine A program or web site that allows users to search the WWW using keywords and/or specific questions. 20. sites A location on the WWW that contains a homepage and often additional documents and files. 21. status bar A bar at the bottom of a window that shows the current progress of a task being performed by the computer. 22. URL An address system used by WWW browsers to locate resources on the Internet. (Uniform Resource Locator) 23. Window A rectangular area on a display screen that runs a program or 24.Yahoo! shows data. A web site that employs bots to search for keywords on the World Wide Web. *Definitions were adapted from information gathered at and