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to do homework Ten steps to get started using the Net
So, you're ready to try using the Internet € Ten steps to doing homework on the Internet. € Tips for getting organized.
€ Suggestions to make your homework |
Make the Net work for youOK. You're connected to the Net and you're ready to roll. But before you go online to do your homework, remember the Internet is simply another tool you can use to do your assignments. It won't do your homework for you or totally replace your teacher, a library, or a good textbook!
Also, the information-gathering skills you use everyday are now more useful to you than ever. The Net is so big and has so much stuff that you'll need to decide what Internet information is valuable and what isn't. Still, the Net is an awesome resource you'll use time and time again. Listed below are ten steps for making the Internet work for you.
Ten Steps to Doing Homework on the Internet
Step One: Get organized!
Getting homework done fast and getting it done well takes organization, whether or not you use the Net. Below are some hands-on tips for getting organized.
* Do your homework at the same time every night. This helps you finish it on time and lets you set aside time to use the Internet.
* Make sure your homework space is quiet and has tons of light. Have supplies, including your computer, close by. A study area doesn't have to be fancy. A desk in the bedroom is nice, but the den or a corner of the living room works great, too.
* Turn off the TV. Force yourself not to call your friends during homework time. Of course, you can call a friend about an assignment. If you live in a small or noisy household, ask if other family members can do something quiet during your homework time.
Step Two: Read the assignment
You're organized and ready to work. Now, read your assignment(s) carefully. Be sure you understand what is required of you and what subject areas the homework covers.
Step Three: How much time do you have?
The Internet can help you complete both long-term research projects and short-term overnight assignments. But if it's easier and faster to use a book or magazine to complete your work, use them! Don't spend time searching for information on the Net if you can find it faster and more easily somewhere else.
Step Four: Is the Internet the best tool for your assignment?
If you're writing a paper, the Internet can definitely deliver sources of information that will make your work better. But if your teacher asks you to define a list of words scattered throughout a textbook chapter you're reading for next Monday's class, using the Internet isn't the best way to complete the assignment.
Step Five: Which Internet tools will help you most
You can use these Internet tools in all kinds of ways, for all sorts of homework assignments. Below are just a few of the things that you can do.
Communicate with people one-to-one
Your assignment is to debate an issue with a family member, a classmate, or anyone you choose. You can use email to complete the assignment by debating with a student from another state, another country, or even another continent! Peers, experts, and many other people are willing to help you. These people are like online penpals, so they're called keypals.
Track down the most up-to-date information
The Internet is full of up-to-the-minute news reports from hundreds of newspapers worldwide, thousands of up-to-date databases, and even satellite images taken every hour of every corner of the globe! You can find this information on the World Wide Web, gopher, and Usenet newsgroups. And Internet directories and search engines can deliver tons of the latest information.
Research a specific topic
You can find information about any topic you're researching, such as life in space or American politics. World Wide Web and gopher sites are good places to start looking. In the Usenet newsgroups, you can ask questions of a space shuttle astronaut or a political science professor.
Do a multicultural or global assignment
Do more than just practice your French with a classmate. Use the Internet to strike up a live conversation with a student your age in France! Use the Web to find a French speaker, then use email to try your French with a native speaker. Once again, go to the Keypals.com site mentioned earlier to find someone you can write to.
Compare and contrast information
Use Usenet newsgroups to follow the discussions about issues you have to research. You'll find plenty of debates on the pros and cons of gun control, the similarities and differences between the works of two writers, and so on.
Critical thinking and analysis
The Net is full of people who can help you think more critically about your assignment. After you finish a paper about the history of flight, post it to the aeronautics history Usenet newsgroup and ask the experts to critique it. Use their constructive criticism and turn a so-so paper into an A+ affair!
Information gathering from experts and others
Say you have to interview a famous local person for an assignment. Why focus only on your local area when you could interview Peter Jennings or George Lucas via email?
Find art work or computer graphics
The Net is home to millions of pieces of clip art and scans of works of art. One click of your mouse brings these images right to your computer. If you use them in your paper, just remember to credit the original creator of the images. If you're allowed to turn the assignment into a multimedia presentation using HyperCard, PowerPoint, or HyperStudio, the Internet will be a life saver!
Conduct a survey or questionnaire
Say you want to use a questionnaire to collect data. You can type it into your computer and post it to places online where the audience you want to reach gathers. You'll be amazed at the number of responses you get back overnight!
Step Six: Which directories and search engines can best help you?
You should use several Internet search directories to "mine" the Internet for the best and most complete information. Simply look over your assignment, decide which "keywords" will give you the best search results, and use them in your search.
Sometimes you'll use email or Usenet newsgroups to solve your homework problems. But most of the time you'll be searching for Web sites that have the information you need. To do that, you'll need to use Internet directories and search engines.
Some search engines are broken down into long lists of sites, called directories. Directories such as Yahoo and TradeWave Galaxy organize sites into categories you can browse. They're great for looking for information by clicking on categories, such as Science, then Biology, then DNA. Start with the directories when you're looking for a site. If they don't help, turn to the search engines.
To use the Net's search engines, you first have to type in keywords that describe the information you're hunting for. Then the search engines go out on the Net to find the sites that match your keywords. So start thinking about the "key" words which describe your homework assignment.
Take a look at your assignment(s) again. Read the instructions out loud to yourself. What are the keywords that jump out at you? Write them down. Here's an example.
Assignment
The Language of Shakespeare.
DescriptionElizabethan language may seem very different from modern-day English, but if read out loud, its meaning becomes clearer. Your teacher lists some of William Shakespeare's most famous passages, and asks you to read them and then "translate" them into modern-day English, using slang and modern grammar.
KeywordsShakespeare, Elizabethan, English, translate.
Alta Vista returned these results when the keywords from the assignment were entered.
Search engines work best when you give them very specific keywords. They help the engine return to you only those sites that most closely match the keywords you've given it. For example, using the popular Alta Vista search tool with the keywords for the Shakespeare assignment brought more than 150 results, including those in the screen capture on page 24.
Step Seven: Develop a search strategy
Once you've got your keywords, decide how much time and how many search engines you want to use. You should run your keywords through at least five search tools--three Web search engines (such as Alta Vista, Lycos, and Savvy Search), Veronica (to search through gopher sites), and DejaNews (to hunt through the contents of Usenet newsgroups). Don't forget that you'll need to give yourself some time to visit at least some of the sites the search engine returns to you.
Step Eight: Go online and find what you need!
You've gone through each of the previous steps. You've got your keywords. You've created a killer game plan to tackle your homework as quickly and efficiently as possible. Now it's time to fire up your modem and get started!
Force yourself to stay focused while you're online. Sure it's fun to surf the digital waves all night with no purpose, but it won't help you complete your assignment. Use a timer if necessary. Give yourself an hour or so to find the information you need. If the timer runs out and you still haven't found the info yet, turn off the computer and look elsewhere. An hour of searching is more than enough time to discover whether or not the Internet will help you!
Step Nine: Critically judge the information you find
If your Internet search returned a few sites that look like they might be useful, it's time to use your information literacy skills. Before you use information from a site for your assignment, take a critical look at it to determine whether the information is authentic and valid.
Why should you do this? Because anything can be published to a worldwide audience in seconds via the Net. This "information" could read like something from your textbook. But it could also contain inaccurate, unsubstantiated, or misleading facts.
The Internet has no "information police." Gone are the editors and proofreaders of the real world who question, sometimes rewrite, and check the validity of information in an author's work. In the real world, it's only after this time-intensive editing process does a book, newsletter, or magazine get published. This is not so with the Net. As you retrieve information from the Net to do your homework, think about whether it's "good" information that you can trust.
Step Ten: Cite the Internet information you use
to do your homeworkOK, so you've found helpful information online for your assignment. Go ahead and use it! But be sure to cite the online sources in your bibliography. See Chapter 7 for a full discussion of this, along with samples to show you just how to cite your sources.
Congratulations! The Internet has helped you finish your homework--doing a better job in record time.
Where to find KeypalsKeypals.com
URL: http://www.keypals.com
Sites with up-to-date infoElectronic Newsstand
URL: http://www.enews.comElectric Library
URL: http://www.elibrary.comSatellite Images of the Earth
URL: http://rs560.cl.msu.edu/weather/
Where to find expertsAsk An Expert!
URL: http://www.keypals.com/pitsco/ask.htmlNASA Usenet News
URL: news:sci.space.shuttlePolitical Usenet News
URL: news:soc.politics
Where to find clip artMultimedia & Clip Art
URL: http://www.itec.sfsu.edu/multimedia/multimedia.html
Where to post surveysIECC Surveys
URL: http://www.stolaf.edu/network/iecc/
Internet search engines and directoriesYahoo!
URL: http://www.yahoo.comExcite
URL: http://www.excite.comAlta Vista
URL: http://www.altavista.digital.com
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