The Teacher's Technology Academy Cyberspace abounds with places to learn. Once you get online, you can progress through tutorials to discover more about searching and finding information, learn more about specific programs or applications, and/or creating resources yourself. If you have gotten to this page, you obviously already know a lot! Here are a few places where you can further your knowledge! Internet Information/Web Page Creation Application-Specific Information (HyperStudio, ClarisWorks, etc. Do you have a particular question about how to use technology? Click here to ask us your questions, and check back to read the answer! Internet Information/Web Page Creation A Student's Guide to Research with the WWW will teach you (or your students) about web pages and searching strategies. Written for first-year Composition students, this guide would be very helpful for those starting out using the Internet for information-gathering purposes. Added 7/18/00 http://www.slu.edu/departments/english/research/ If you are new to the Internet or want to find more information on how to use the web with students, look no further than the Beginner's Guide to the Internet for Educators. Not only will you learn how to get connected and start surfing, but you will learn about citing Internet resources and links to education resources. Added 9/8/00 http://205.146.39.13/linktuts/bgtoc.htm If you really want to learn HTML, concentrate on one of these resources: NCSA (at UIUC) Beginner's Guide to HTML, presented by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, a research institution of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimer.html or The down-and-dirty 8-Minute HTML Primer can help you get started in no time! However, you might need to spend more than 8 minutes to really get your page to look the way you want it. http://web66.coled.umn.edu/Cookbook/Win95/HTML/MinutePrimer.html or Earthweb gives you HTML Goodies, which lists many different tutorials and primers to get you started. Some are basic while others will let you exert greater control over the page code. Added 8/4/00 http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/dlink.index-jhtml.72.1218.-.0.jhtml or Another possibility is Case Western Reserve University's Introduction to HTML. Somewhat long, it does cover important HTML concepts, with a quiz at the end of each section. See how you score! http://www.cwru.edu/help/introHTML/toc.html or Creating Your Own Web Page is a simple, step-by-step guide about web authoring and to sites that tell you how to get free server space for your page. http://www.smplanet.com/webpage/webpage.html or Resources for Creating Your Own Web Home Pages, from the people who give you TEAMS Distance Learning. is another way to learn more about web page creation and usage. http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/internet/webpages.html or The Basics of Building a Web Page, from the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, takes the learner step-by-step through making a web page in Netscape Composer. The directions are written for Windows users, but Mac users could also benefit from this tutorial. http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/~smithg4/tutorial/composer.html Also, you can learn about HTML text editors, which allow you to create web pages without learning HTML, in the Technology Mall. Community Consolidated School District 15 of Illinois also created an explanation of sorts of what the Internet is and how it works. It is easier to read than the previous guide, but does not present as much information. http://www.ccsd15.k12.il.us/ESC/sites1.htm Imaginary Landscape has created a tutorial for Configuring Eudora, a popular e-mail client software. You will learn how to set up the program, receive and send mail, and send attachments. Added 2/11/00 http://www.imaginarylandscape.com/helpweb/mail/eudora.html Creating Killer Web Sites is high level design principles for serious Web page creators. Don't visit this site unless you have access to applications such as Adobe PhotoShop, some experience using graphics and html editing programs, and a high degree of interest in design. This is really a site to let you move beyond the average web page. You might want to use it in conjuction with the PhotoShop tips and tutorials listed below at Webpedia. http://www.killersites.com/1-design/index.html The Cyberlibrarians' Rest Stop is a place to sit, relax, and learn how to search more effectively. During the tutorials, you will learn about web directories, indexes and search engines, as well as searching tips. You will also learn a bit about pictures and where to find them. Added 5/30/00 http://www.thelearningsite.net/cyberlibrarian/reststop.html The eHows: Operating System Basics is an excellent resource for learning. Check out the tips for both Mac and PC users. There are also some fun tips, such as "Make Your Friends Believe You're a Computer Geek!" Added 2/22/01 http://www.ehow.com/Center/catIndex/0,1004,1102,00.html Part of an over-all tutorial created by Jeff Williamson, "Finding Things 3: Searching More Effectively" can help you do just that! The better your searching skills, the easier it will be for you to find information on the Internet. However, don't look at this resource first! Look at other search engines, such as Yahoo! or Infoseek, and read their help files or suggestions. Once you have spent some time using a browser and understand how to move around the internet, take a look at this page to learn how to find information more quickly. http://classweb.gmu.edu/classweb/jwilliam/ce-introinter/finding_things3.html Holton USD, in Kansas, has created a series of "how-to" videos for their teachers. You can go to the website and watch a video on how to download information or create a webpage. The concepts the videos illustrate are clear, and information is shared in small chunks. Added 7/11/00 http://www.holton.k12.ks.us/Training/index.html How do I learn to write HTML and publish pages? from the Netscape Handbook: Answers to Tough Questions will help you do just that. In addition, you can learn what a "gopher" is, what "ftp" is, and security on the internet. This page has no graphics, but it does have good information. This would probably not be the best place to get started, but it is definitely worth a visit. http://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/1.1/handbook/docs/answers.html#C22 Snap.com has created a long list of resources (a How-to Guide) for people who are new to the 'net. You can learn about the differences in style between e-mail and "snail mail" (traditional mail) as well as Internet terms. The list is long,and some of the pages take a while to show up or load. Don't get too impatient! http://www.snap.com/directory/category/0,16,-19723,00.html ICONnect, a program of the American Association of School Librarians, provides online courses for library media specialists and anyone else who is interested in IBASICS (Internet basics) or advanced courses. You can register for classes through e-mail, or you can look at previous classes by clicking on the "Archive" link at the bottom of the Online Courses page. The courses have interesting and important information, but don't have a lot of pictures. It might take a bit of time to go through all of the courses, or pick and choose what you are interested in. http://www.ala.org/ICONN The members of the Tech Challenge Consortium have created a set of handouts which accompanied workshops on the Internet. Click here to see a list of the handouts. The handouts are in PDF format. Click here to learn more about PDF documents. http://www.techchallenge.org/Technolopolis/handouts.htm The Internet Detective will help you uncover information in all sorts of places. Once you register (which is free), you can progress through lessons, tutorials and quizzes to learn how to evaluate Internet resources. Just about everyone will probably learn something new. Added 2/28/00 http://www.sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html Internet 101 bills itself as "a set of instructions ... for people who don't like to read instructions!" You can go step-by-step through the sections, learning as you go along, or you can pick and choose what you want to find out about. There is a glossary of technical terminology. Added 2/11/00 http://www2.famvid.com/i101/internet101.html A memo produced by Internet School Networking (ISN) group in the User Services Area of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) seeks to answer questions asked about the internet and its use in schools. Although the memo is not presented in a particularly easy-to-read format, it contains interesting and valuable information. However, it is not for the faint of heart! http://www.cusd.claremont.edu/~rmuir/rfc1578.html KidsClick is a search tutorial written with kids in mind. It would be helpful for both students and adults. The concepts are clear and easy to follow. Added 5/30/00 http://www.worldsofsearching.org/index.html Another possible starting point for your exploration is LearntheNet.com, which has easy-to-read, informative tutorials on various aspects of online communication, such as e-mail, listservs and the world-wide web. If you are not interested in the technical side of the internet, skip some of the sections. However, information on browsers, bookmarks, sending e-mail and mailing lists is vital. http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/00start.html Link2Learn is a Pennsylvania initiative to expand the use of technology in the classroom. One of the ways Link2Learn is reaching teachers is by providing self-paced technology tutorials on using the Internet and integrating technology in the classroom. http://l2lpd.arin.k12.pa.us/linktuts/tutmain.htm Looney Toons Teach the Internet isn't just for kids! If you are new to the Internet, you should definitely step through the web browsers and electronic mail tutorials. They are very specific and explain all of their vocabulary words. (There is a pop-up dictionary that explains different words.) You can also learn how to download plug-ins, which add new functions to your browser. The tutorials are excellent, but have a lot of pictures. If you are using an older computer or have a slow connection, be prepared to wait. Added 1/20/00 http://ltti.entertaindom.com/home.html At MyHelpDesk, you sign up for free membership. Then you personalize the service by clicking on the software you are use or are interested in. MyHelpDesk then builds a list of support directories, message boards, on-line training, tutorials and articles you can click on. This would be a great resource to learn more about a particular piece of software, such Internet Explorer or Netscape Communicator. Added 2/10/00 http://www.myhelpdesk.com NetLingo.com is an on-line Internet language dictionary. You can find the definition of a piece of computer hardware, such as a modem, as well as information of e-mail acronyms and emoticons (those funny little sideways smiley faces people add to e-mail messages). Added 2/8/00 http://www.netlingo.com/ Newbie-U: New User University wants to help "newbies" become "knowbies." Newbie-U is a free service to teach beginning Internet skills. The web and e-mail courses are especially helpful. You can also access P.E.G., a Plain English Dictionary. Added 2/11/00 http://www.newbie-u.com/ net.Tutor, from the Ohio State Universities Libraries, will help you learn web basics such as using browsers, e-mail and searching. You will also find links to tutorials on specific applications, such as WordPerfect and Microsoft Excel. Added 9/8/00 http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/index.html Reach for the Sky is one of five Rural Telecomputing Math and Science Projects funded by the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project and USWest Foundation. Teachers can go to the site to learn more about using the Internet as well as looking at online math and science activities. The course entitled "Learning Basic Internet Skills" has a self-check test at the end. See how you do! You might want to focus on lessons 1-4, to get a general sense of how to harness the power of the 'net. http://www.learner.org/courses/rfts/ The Schoolhouse Networking Operations Center has information to help with Getting Schools Connected. You will find information and links on why to get connected to the 'net, the nitty-gritty of setting up networks and how to protect your students once you are connected. This would be a great resource for schools that are beginning the process or need more information on planning/implementing a network. Added 2/9/00 http://metalab.unc.edu/cisco/noc/#tips The K8AIT (K-8) Self-Paced Internet Tutorial can teach you how to use the Internet, even if you are beginning at square one. The lessons can be completed at your own pace, and include an on-line glossary. This would be a great way to start using the Internet. Added 1/18/00 http://wings.ucdavis.edu/SPIT/ To find information on the Internet, you have to know how to search. Seven Steps Toward Better Searching, written by Bernie Dodge of San Diego State University, teaches you seven different searching strategies to use. The lesson is focussed on AltaVista, but you could probably use these techniques with other search engines. (However, read the information/directions at each search engine to learn what techniques will work.) http://edweb.sdsu.edu/WebQuest/searching/sevensteps.html The Texas Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT) will help you learn the some of the differences between information you find in a library and what you find on the Internet. It also helps you with searching strategies and evaluating on-line information. You can access TILT Lite (if you have an older browser or do not have the Flash plug-in) or Full TILT. Added 1/31/00 http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/ The Internet Guide (TIG) is a fee-based on-line tutorial to assist people who want to become adept at using the Internet. You will learn about browsing, searching, e-mail and downloading software. The following link takes you to a demonstration TIG site, which is also very useful. Added 7/12/00 http://www.fis.utoronto.ca/Ce/Tig/Demo/default.htm The Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design will give any new web page creator ideas on what not to do when publishing pages. Even if you've made many web pages, it's a good idea to go back and reevaluate what you've done. Added 8/4/00 http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html Web Search Strategies will teach you the differences between subject directories and search engines, how to formulate key words and how to use different search strategies. This would be a great learning experience for someone who has some experience navigating the web. Added 2/11/00 http://home.sprintmail.com/~debflanagan/main.html Do you know something about creating web pages and are dying to learn more? When you hear about dhtml and xml, do you want to learn more? Webmonkey is for you! Webmonkey a fantastic resource for web developers, with information on programming, design, databases and more. This is probably not for a beginner, but for someone who really wants to create great websites. Added 2/2/00 http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/ webTeacher, created by TECH CORPS and the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), has created on-line tutorials for teachers. You can learn about web browsers, Internet addresses or web safety. The tutorials are short and to the point. http://www.webteacher.org wNetSchool, sponsored by Thirteen/WNET (New York's PBS station), has created several wonderful Internet Primers. You will learn Internet basics, such as getting connected, browsers and e-mail, as well as more advanced topics such as installing Macromedia's Flash player. You need to register to use the site, but registration is free. After you register, click on "Internet Primer" to get started. Added 2/1/00 http://www.thirteen.org/teach/index.html Now that you have browsed through some web site creation tutorials and lessons, here is a resource to help you create the content of your web page. Writing for the Web has several guidelines and suggestions for aspiring web site creators, as well as links to other resources. http://wdvl.com/Internet/Writing/ World Wide Web Workbook is a series of short, concise lessons with a clear focus. After following the lessons, you should be able to do some Internet navigation. Some of the pages take a little while to load, because of graphics, but it is worth the wait. You could probably finish the workbook lessons between one and two hours. http://sln.fi.edu/primer/ back to the top Application-Specific Information (HyperStudio, ClarisWorks, etc.) ACT DEN (Digital Education Network) has collaborated with Microsoft to create step-by-step tutorials online for Internet Explorer 4.0, FrontPage, Office 2000, Outlook Express and  PowerPoint. The tutorials are easy to follow and fun. Each lesson is short and to the point. However, there are a lot of graphics, so be prepared to wait if you have a slow Internet connection. http://www.microsoft.com/education/tutorial/online.asp Apple Computers has created a website of tips and tricks for AppleWorks (formerly ClarisWorks). The site also links to free templates and clip art that users can download. AppleWorks is cross-platform, so both Windows and Macintosh users can benefit from this site. http://www.apple.com/appleworks/tips/ AtomicLearning.com has created Quicktime tutorials for a variety of applications. If you have Quicktime installed (which comes on all Apple computers), simply click on the link and a short movie will be downloaded to your desktop. The movie will take you step-by-step through some process. Much of the website are restricted to subscribers, but parts of it are available for free. Added 5/15/01 http://www.atomiclearning.com/ FreeSkills.com offers free online training on a variety of applications, such as Microsoft Office, Corel WordPerfect and Adobe Photoshop. You access the web site, and can download over 200 free courses. You will need Acrobat Reader to read the course content that you download. For more information on Adobe Acrobat, click here. Added 4/24/00 http://www.freeskills.com/ Hermosa Beach City School District’s Technology Mentor Program has created lesson plans using particular software, including some on how to use software such as HyperStudio. You will need Adobe Acrobat (a free, down-loadable program) to read the lessons. To learn more about how to get or use Adobe Acrobat, click here. http://www.bnet.org/hvsd/mentorproject/lessonplans.htm Snap.com has created a list of resources (a How-to Guide) for people who need hardware and software questions answered. Visit "Puter-School", or find the link to Microsoft's technical support. Windows and Macintosh users can both find sites of interest. The list is also long,and some of the pages take a while to show up or load. Don't get too impatient! http://www.snap.com/directory/category/0,16,-14262,00.html Learnlots.com wants to help you do just that--learn a lot about various software products through easy-to-follow tutorials. If you are using a Windows-based computers, visit this website to learn how to use many software applications as well as information on Linux and MP3 technology. Added 4/26/00 http://www.learnlots.com Microsoft in Education is addressing the needs of teachers (and others who want to learn pieces of software) with their "In and Out of the Classroom" guides. Teachers can explore or download the lessons for use at another time. However, if you do not have Microsoft Word or Microsoft Office on your computer, you will not be able to use these guides. They are written in Microsoft Word, and can only be opened if you have Word on your computer. http://www.microsoft.com/education/instruction/default.asp Germantown Academy in Pennsylvania has posted an extremely helpful tutorial for Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0. The tutorial leads you step-by-step in creating a new presentation. http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/powerwk.htm Pocket Projects, presented by the Lennox School District, are mini-lessons that can be used for a technology training inservice or by an individual who wishes to learn more about a particular software program. They consist of easy to follow instructions and some screen shots. http://www.lennox.k12.ca.us/Pocket/Pocket.html ScanTips will give you lots and lots and lots of information about scanning. Written to help beginners get started, it has ideas and explanations that would probably be valuable to just about anyone (unless you are a professional). Added 3/20/01 http://www.scantips.com/ State-of-Entropy provides tutorials specifically for Paint Shop Pro. Much of the information, however, can be applied to other graphic construction programs. Added 12/4/00 http://www.state-of-entropy.com/ Lennox School District, as a part of its own TLC grant, is offering Technology Enhancement Workshops on a variety of topics. The handouts for the workshop are available on-line. They are in PDF format. To learn more about PDF format, click here. http://www.lennox.k12.ca.us/TLC_grant/workshops/handouts.htm TeleEducation, from Canada, has created three tutorials on Microsoft products. Go through the step-by-step lessons to learn PowerPoint, Excel or Word. The lessons are written for Windows users, so if you use a Macintosh computer, just remember that some of the pictures or instructions might be slightly different. http://teleeducation.nb.ca/it/module5/commence.html TrainingTools.com free training materials on "emerging web technologies" such as Javascript, HTML and FrontPage. After deciding what you want to learn, you can download the "course" to your computer and go through it step-by-step. Courses are available for Macintosh, Windows or Unix users. This would be a great resource for someone who knows the basics of building web pages and wants to go further with their knowledge of web-authoring tools. http://www.trainingtools.com If you have any experience at all with Adobe PhotoShop, you have some idea of how powerful a creation tool it can be. It's very likely that many of the graphics you see on the Internet and in print have passed through PhotoShop at some point. Now you can learn how to recreate some them. Part of Webdeveloper presents short tutorials on creating fancy PhotoShop graphics. At this site, you can also find information on other web creation topics, such as Javascript and Dynamic HTML. To use this site, you need some experience and the desire to experiment. http://webdeveloper.internet.com/design/ The University of Detroit Mercy has created an overview of how to use WordPerfect 6.1. The tutorial is written for students at the university, but can be used by other people. Added 1/18/00 http://www.udmercy.edu/htmls/cc/train/wp61.htm
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