•One of the easiest ways of getting started with technology in the classroom.

•A source of authentic content outside your class.

•Working with other teachers: you get to know much more websites.

•Using Internet in the classroom: limited technology needed and very few chances of going wrong.

•Web pages usage:

•As printed pages (no computers needed).

•With one computer with Internet connection.

•In a computer lab (networked and connected computers).

Your choice depends on what you want to achieve:

•Challenges of authentic websites can be met by the type of task you give your sts.

•ELT websites give opportunities for more controlled language work (Homework).

•Authentic sites can fit your sts’ interests (keeping motivation).

•Evaluating authentic sites:Easy structure and navigation.Small chunks of text.

Design achievable tasks.Show sts sites for help (dictionaries).

It is one of the most useful skills that teachers and learners can acquire.

Teachers:

•Finding useful resources quickly.

•Speeding up lessong planning.

•Facilitating web use in class.

Learners:

•Quickly accomplishing web-based tasks.

•Learning that technology enhances the learning experience.

Google: www.google.com

Works similarly to a telephone directory:

You search a name or title and the directory gives you more information about that entry.

To find exactly what you want:

•Know what kind of information Google has on each page (address, last update and keywords).

•Properly define your keywords (more is less).

•Use the “phrase” search technique (Google will treat the phrase as a whole)

•Try to visualize the content on an ideal web page and decide exactly what to search for.

Yahoo!: www.yahoo.com

•A way of browsing titles.

•Resembles a library: users have an idea of what they are looking, but not the exact title, so they browse and wander around.

•Divides its content into subject areas and subdivisions of them. Users browse the section which best fits their interests and then search for the exact page.

•The search results can be more accurate than those of Google; they tend to lead searchers to the first page of a site, not into the middle.

Ask: www.ask.com

•Allows users to type simple questions as search queries.

•Selects keywords from the question to construct a search.

•Gives you a results page with the answer at the top and links to relevant sites below that.

•Movies: Internet movie database: www.imdb.com

•Books: Amazon: www.amazon.com

•Football World Cup information: FIFA: www.fifa.com

•Images in various formats: www.images.google.com

•Shopping search: www.froogle.google.com

•Online video material by keyword or category: www.search.yahoo.com

•Videos: www.altavista.com

•Audio files in different formats: www.altavista.com/audio/default

•Audio and video: www.search.singingfish.com/sfw/home.jsp

•TV broadcasts (short video material): www.tv.blinkx.com

They search more than one engine at the same time from one single page.

You can get a sense of balance, a more rounded view of what is out there on the Internet.

•Dogpile: www.dogpile.com

•KartOO: ww.kartoo.com

•Mamma: www.mamma.com

Whenever you visit a search engine, click on the help link to see what hints and tips the site owners recommend for improving your search techniques.

How useful and appropriate are they for the classroom?

What are the aims and objectives of my lesson?

Does the website fit in with them?

Does it enhance and complement the rest of the materials and activities?

Accuracy:

•Who is the author? Is he/she an expert on the subject?

•Is the page content reliable and factually correct?

Currency:

•Is the content up-to-date?

•When was the page last updated?

Content:

•Is the site interesting and stimulating?

•Is it attractive and easy to navigate?

Functionality:

•Does the site work well? Do all the links work properly?

•Does it need large files or alternative technologies?

•Plan your session well: visit the websites before going to the classroom.

•Save the ones you want your learners to work on (Favorites).

•Be familiar with the content: if you can answer unplanned questions, your confidence will grow.

Warmer:

•Introductory activities, interest-generating ideas, etc.

•Prepares the learners for what they are going to do in the web part.

•Best done in the classroom.

Web:

•Spend only as much time as you need working with the computers. •Go to the computer classroom only for this part. •If you have limited access to computers you can print off web-based materials. •Time and task: make sure your learners have a clearly-defined task to do and time to complete it.

What next:

•Once the group has got what you intended from the computers. •Go back to the classroom. •Deal with the tasks.•Proceed with follow-up activities.

We can work with a lower level class and the Internet.

Try to have short lessons.

Make sure the learners know it isn’t necessary to understand every word.

Choose the right websites to raise their comfort levels.

•Websites with simple, clearly presented text.

•Websites with nonlinguistic data easy to interpret.

•Websites with visuals.

•ELT websites (the content has been written, edited and prepared with this audience in mind).

•Plan carefully and use a structured approach to the way you use websites.

•Motivate learners using websites to provide new knowledge and content.

•Don’t use “all-singing, all-dancing” websites; they distract the learner’s attention.

•Don’t discount simple text-based websites.

•Always have a backup plan in place.

•Use the knowledge of other teachers and of the learners to help you with the technical side of the lesson.

•Try saving the web pages to your computer hard disk (“File…”, “Save as…”, give it a name and select “Web page, complete”).

•Have learners work in pairs or threes. Make sure everyone participates (encourages oral communication).

•Try to arrange the computer room so that you can easily maintain control over learner activities.

•Make sure the content is suitable for the learners, if not, install filtering software limiting the access to unsuitable content.