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Looking for a list of sites on the Internet that might improve your curriculum and contribute to your professional growth? Check out Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators!

Kathleen Beck Schrock is in charge of technology for the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Much of her job involves integrating technology into all curriculum areas and grade levels. She also maintains an extensive online "Guide for Educators" -- a virtual one-stop encyclopedia for educators!

"I had collected many index cards of Gopher sites from 1993-1995, and, once I learned HTML, I decided to share my card box with the world," says Schrock, explaining how the Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators Web page was launched.

A portion of the Web page is organized by subject. The site includes pages such as Art & Architecture, Education Resources, History & Social Studies, Hobbies, Mathematics, Science & Technology, Special Education Resources, Sports, and Weather. There are extensive links for each subject. The page also includes a great deal of information about search strategies and the Internet -- for example, "Assessment Rubrics and the World Wide Web," and slide shows titled "How to Find It and What to Do With It When You Do" and "Creating a Content-Rich Homepage for Your School."

In addition to the Web page, Schrock has written or collaborated on three books: Evaluating Internet Web Sites: An Educator's Guide; Beginner's Handbook: Developing Web Pages for School and Classroom (with Susan Hixson); and Microsoft Publisherä for Every Day of the School Year (with Midge Frazel), which will be available this fall.

EVALUATING A WEB PAGE

As author of Evaluating Web Sites, Education World asked Schrock What are the most critical elements for teachers and students to look for in evaluating a Web page?

"The main characteristic" of an excellent site for educators, Schrock says, "is that it meets the need of the educator looking for information. Besides that, it should be authoritative, contain information about the author, and provide a bibliography of sources used if it is an informational page."

In her book, Schrock encourages teachers and students to think critically about the Web. She provides a Web Site Rating Form, a basic checklist for teachers to use in evaluating Web sites. Also included is a set of Web site evaluation sheets for students at the elementary, middle, and secondary grade levels. The book even has lesson plans and transparencies for teaching students how to evaluate Web sites.

"Learning how to use the Internet is not difficult;" she writes in the book, but "learning to separate the quality information from the mis- and disinformation is the hard part."

AUPs AND NET-RELATED ISSUES

An increasing number of schools are utilizing Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) to govern student behavior on the Internet. "I think an AUP is useful," Schrock says, "because it sets up the teacher's, or district's, expectations for student use of the Internet to support the curriculum."

You can see examples of AUPs from Schrock's district on their Web site.

"Finding information for others" is Schrock's most frequent goal when she explores the Internet. "I am interested in what I call the resource side of the Internet, which is obvious from my site."

EXPLORING SCHROCK'S GUIDE

"Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators" has garnered many awards. It was selected as one of the Top Ten Sites for Educators by Electronic Learning in the fall of 1996 and as an outstanding education-related site by Education Index for November 1997. A tour of the site clearly demonstrates why the in-depth, diverse site has won so many honors.

The Art & Architecture page, for example, provides many links. Just one of them, Art for Kids is a fascinating site that features art history and art projects, including making Japanese origami, fans, and dolls. And, under Science and Technology, there is an extensive list of Environmental Science Sites, which include a site with a library of links to environmental information on the Net.

Available at the Literature and Language Arts page are links to sites ranging from a database of favorite mystery writers, characters, novels, films, or TV shows to a site with links to information about hundreds of contemporary authors.

Whatever grade or subject you teach, whatever your areas of personal interest, there is bound to be a wealth of information for you in this guide. So wade into this online ocean of information (electronically, that is), get your feet wet, and before you know it, you'll be swimming in a sea of pertinent Web sites.

BOOKS BY KATHY SCHROCK

To order any of these books by Kathy Schrock, go to Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators and click New Books:

• Beginner's Handbook: Developing Web Pages for School and Classroom, by Susan Hixson and Kathleen Schrock, is available from Teacher Created Materials.
• Evaluating Internet Web Sites: An Educator's Guide, by Kathleen Schrock, is available from The Master Teacher.
• Microsoft Publisher for Every Day of the School Year, by Kathy Schrock and Midge Frazel, is available from Linworth Publishing.

• Unofficial American Graffiti Home Page Kathy Schrock pays tribute to the classic film American Graffiti with a complete list of credits that links to each actor's other movie and TV roles, a discography and review of the film soundtrack, trivia and famous lines from the movie, and other American Graffiti-related stuff.
• Kathy Schrock's Guide to Stangl Pottery Schrock provides pictures of and information about Stangl pottery. A timeline of Stangl history is included.
• Kathy Schrock's Guide to Eastham Schrock features information about the Massachusetts town of Eastham, on Cape Cod, with its scenic ocean beaches and historic sites.
• Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District Schrock provides information about the school district in which she works, and links to related sites.

Related Articles from Education World

• Incorporating Technology Into Classroom Curriculum
• Getting Started On the Internet: All Navigators On Board!
• Getting Started on the Internet: Searching the Web Is as Easy as ABC!
• Getting Started On the Internet: Simple Projects!
• Getting Started on the Internet: Safe Surfing
• Getting Started on the Internet: Developing an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
• A Companion for Kids Surfing the Net

Article by Sharon Cromwell
Education World®
Copyright © 1997 Education World