ETL501 Topic 1 Information Resource

Information Resource

A new and inexperienced geography teacher has arrived in your school and has been given the task of teaching a year 7 class on rainforests as part of the Global Environments Focus Area. List 3 key types of information this teacher might need and suggest a source of information

• Location and Size of Rainforests- Google Earth mapping activity
• Characteristics of rainforest ecosystem- Earth Observatory (NASA) Biome, Global Maps
• Australian Rainforests & Wildlife- Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry www.daff.gov.au Australian forest profiles. www.arf.net.au. www.rainforest.org.au
• Comparison of Local and Global Rainforest

Comment From Barbra:

Think carefully about readability of your websites, remembering that you will have some students in Year 7 who may still be classed as developing readers. 

Readability tools
http://www.read-able.com/
http://juicystudio.com/services/readability.php
http://www.readability-score.com/

I think I was looking at the latter three sites as resources for the teacher to use as starting points for their knowledge and to structure activities off rather than send students directly there. I tend to use government sites like the forestry website with my VCE geography students.

ETL501 Topic 3: Evaluation of Websites

Cyberguide Ratings

http://www.cyberbee.com/content.pdf

I thought the evaluation sheet provided was quite clear and could be easily filled in. Areas of authority and reliability were well addressed as was currency. This evaluation sheet focused on the content of the site rather than the technical aspects.  Criteria that were not included which might add or subtract from a websites rating could be:

-easy of assess

-the website is advertisement supported

-login requirements

-aesthetics and design

-supported format (e.g. flash)

-support from site

Evaluating an ‘evaluating website’ website

http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/tbarcalow/490NET/Evaluation.htm

Looking through the CARS Checklist website I found that it was failing in many of the checklist areas Schrock had mentioned. The authors name was there, but not his credentials or contact details. Many of the links were broken or did not lead to where they were meant to. Further the website was last updated was in 2003 which in internet terms is very out-dated. 

ETL501 Module 1

Resource Provision and Information Resources Activities

Resource Provision

Objective	Question	Resource/Web 2.0 tool
Knowledge	What is an ecosystem?	Dictionary – print or online or basic textbook
Knowledge	Define an ecosystem and list the varieties that are found in South Australia.	Text Reading-Year 7 science textbook print or ebook. Text Reading- Parks Australia Website or pamphlet
Comprehension	List the different parts of the ecosystem and explain what they do.	Photograph annotoation-  Skitch (Android/iPad) Gimp
Comprehension	Compare a marine ecosystem with one from another area of our state.	Venn Diagram- http://www.readwritethink.org/
Application	using a diagram, show how the water cycle operates in an ecosystem	Simulation- Animation Creator HD (iPad) Drawing Cartoons (Android/Google)
Application	Demonstrate what happens when humans interfere with the water cycle.	Simulation- Animation Creator HD (iPad) Drawing Cartoons (Android/Google) Cartoon- online cartoon maker, chogger.com Photograph and share local pictures.
Analysis	Contrast the natural water cycle with that used by our community	Venn Diagram- http://www.readwritethink.org/
Analysis	Examine an ecosystem that has been damaged by human interference. Avoided how?	Questionnaire-Survey Monkey Graph- Excel
Synthesis	Identify an unspoilt ecosystem and design a way of preserving it.	Galapagos documentary- David Attenborough galapaogos.org Google Earth/Maps Design a set of rules/standards for conservation
Synthesis	How would preserving our local ecosystems enhance our environment?	Hypothesis- Mind mapping- Inspration Maps Lite (iPad)
Evaluation	Is it reasonable that people pollute our waterways? Defend your answer	Suvey/ Group discussion,/Debate- Skype, Class Blog Pros & Cons (android)
Evaluation	Assess the impact of pollution in our local waterways.	Editorial- Videocasting/Podcasting