A Web-based lesson is simply a lesson that in some way incorporates a Web site or many Web sites. A Web-based lesson can be conducted entirely online or it can be a traditional classroom lesson with an online component. In this guide, we will refer mostly to the latter. A Web site can be used in a lesson for a variety of purposes, including research, reading, writing, publishing, communication and collaboration with teachers and learners around the world.
Using the Web in the classroom brings with it both new opportunities and new concerns. The variety and scope of resources and information on the Web can inspire original activities and facilitate the creation of lessons related to any subject you can imagine (as well as those you probably couldn't imagine). The variety of media found on the Web such as text, video and sound is not only exciting, but is also conducive to different learning styles. In addition, the interactive communication made possible through the Internet makes domestic and international collaboration between students, teachers and others an easy and affordable option for your curriculum.
The possibilities for designing Web-based lessons are endless. However, it is important to remember that no matter how exciting an individual Web site looks, educational goals are the priority in the lesson, not the Web site itself. It cannot be emphasized enough that how you structure your students' time on the Web plays a critical role in the success of a Web-based lesson. It is important to point students in the right direction and to shape the Internet environment as you would any learning environment. Aimlessly surfing the Web needs to be curtailed in the classroom. That would be equivalent to sending your students to the library and asking them to browse through all the stacks with no particular mission in mind. Therefore, a Web-based lesson should include specific steps describing how and when the Web site(s) will be used in the course of the whole activity. The following Web-based Lesson Plan Template may be used to help you design your first Web-based lesson with the above considerations in mind.
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Web-based Lesson Plan Template |
From February through March 1998, the LAC conducted the World Wide Web Institute for BE & ESOL Teachers and Staff Developers, an intensive professional development activity. The institute was facilitated by the author and by David J. Rosen, Director of the Adult Literacy Resource Institute (ALRI) in Boston, MA. During the month-long event, thirty participants from all over the Northeast had both face-to-face and virtual (online) meetings. They explored and discussed the instructional possibilities of different Internet resources, including listservs, chatting and the World Wide Web. Their final project for the Institute was to design a Web-based lesson plan. All of their lessons are online in the LAC's Web-based Lesson Plan Gallery, at http://www.lacnyc.org/resources/curricula/gallery.htm. The Gallery was recently recognized by the National Institute for Literacy as a Top Ten literacy site. We have selected six of these lessons to serve as Web-based lesson plan models. In addition, two lesson plans developed by the author are provided. Each has a different curricular focus and is designed for either BE or ESOL adult learners.
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Virtual
Field Trip to the
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Teaching and
Learning with
Internet-based
Resources
http://www.nifl.
gov/ susanc/
inthome.htm
