Using Images and Websites in your Face-to-Face Lectures

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1 Using Images and Websites in your Face-to-Face Lectures In order to take advantage of images and Websites in your classroom teaching, you need to be using a Web-enabled classroom with a projector that is connected to a computer with Internet access. We already have several classrooms like this on campus and we will be creating more in the coming months. As well, we have ordered a number of portable projectors with Internet access which will serve to turn any classroom into a Web-enabled classroom. In addition to your traditional lecturing techniques, you can add significant value to your lectures by incorporating some of the myriad, free and legal resources available on the World Wide Web. Believe me, there is something for everyone out there, no matter what your subject matter is. First, you must decide what you are looking for. What is your subject matter? Depending on your topic, you may want to use images, Websites, or other resources. Once you know your topic, do a Web search for content that may be of use to you. I prefer to use to search the Web, but you can use any search engine you like. I also suggest that you try multiple search engines since each one will pull up different results. When searching, use simple key words in various combinations to get the most focused results. For example, if I teach Latin American History or Anthropology and my course content is about the Mayan world, I may search for any/all of the following: Maya Mayan people Mayan history Mayan culture Mayan art Maya, museum Maya, map If you want Google to search multiple words as a single unit of information, put the words in quotes as on the left. Each of these searches will generate unique results. Usually the most relevant information will appear at the top of the results list. As you go through the results of your search(es), you should keep track of the most useful sites you come across. Bookmark them in your browser or copy and paste the URL addresses into a text file. [See Bookmarking instructions below.] When you are done searching, go to your list of potentially good sites and revisit them in greater depth to see if you want to use the entire Website, just certain components of it, or nothing at all. Beware that not all Websites are created equally. It is up to you, as an Internet literate person, to decide if a particular Website is of value, if it is accurate and up-to-date, etc., etc. This is called being a critical consumer of online content. [See Alexander and Tate s System below.] Another useful strategy, if you are only looking for images, is to do a Google Image search. When you go to click on the link Images above the text box. Now you will be searching only for images rather than full Webpages. In your results, you can click on any of the images to visit the source webpage where that image is located. Once you have identified the Websites and/or images you want to use in your lecture, you can create a Word document to store/access them. Alternatively, you can store images as single files and pull them up one-by-one. As well, you can create a PowerPoint presentation or other means of sharing them in your class. 1

2 In my opinion, the easiest way is to use a simple MS Word document. Just paste the images you want to use there and also place hyperlinks to specific Websites that you want to visit in class. Once you have the images in your document, you can resize them within MS Word. However, if you want to do more complicated customizations, you will need to use a photo editing program. Below is an example I generated from doing the Web searches described above. A final note of caution, while it is both legal and ethical to use images and other content found on the Web for instructional purposes, online copyright laws are still ambiguous. My advice is that whenever possible, point your Browser to the original Webpage. This is the safest way to share such content and it also increases the hits that the Website gets. As a second choice, you can take the images directly from the Website and use them without visiting the Website they came from during class. [See Saving an Image instructions below.] If you do this, however, always cite the source as I have done in the examples below. Bookmarking a Website (Favorites) Use the Favorites menu in your browser to save Websites so you can easily access them in the future. 1. Find a Webpage you want to save. 2. While viewing it, open the "Bookmarks" menu if using Netscape Navigator, or the "Favorites" menu if using Internet Explorer. 3. Click on "Add Bookmarks" in Netscape Navigator or "Add to Favorites" in Internet Explorer. Saving an Image from the Web You can easily copy or save an image from a Website so that you can use it in other contexts. 1. Move your cursor over the graphic on the Webpage. 2. Click the right mouse button. A pop-up box appears. 3. Save the image to your hard drive by selecting a Save Picture As option. Copying an Image from the Web 1. Move your cursor over the graphic on the Webpage. 2. Click the right mouse button. A pop-up box appears. 3. Choose Copy and then paste the image into another program like MS Word or PowerPoint. 2

3 Alexander and Tate's Five Point Criteria System Criterion #1: AUTHORITY Is it clear who is responsible for the contents of the page? Is there a link to a page describing the purpose of the sponsoring organization? Is there a way of verifying the legitimacy of the page's sponsor? That is, is there a phone number or postal address to contact for more information? (Simply an address is not enough.) Is it clear who wrote the material and are the author's qualifications for writing on this topic clearly stated? If the material is protected by copyright, is the name of the copyright holder given? Criterion #2: ACCURACY Are the sources for any factual information clearly listed so they can be verified in another source? Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors? (These kinds of errors not only indicate a lack of quality control, but can actually produce inaccuracies in information.) Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the material? If there are charts and/or graphs containing statistical data, are the charts and/or graphs clearly labeled and easy to read? Criterion #3: OBJECTIVITY Is the information provided as a public service? Is the information free of advertising? If there is any advertising on the page, is it clearly differentiated from the informational content? Criterion #4: CURRENCY Are there dates on the page to indicate: When the page was written? When the page was first placed on the Web? When the page was last revised? Are there any other indications that the material is kept current? If material is presented in graphs and/or charts, is it clearly stated when the data was gathered? If the information is published in different editions, is it clearly labeled what edition the page is from? Criterion #5: COVERAGE Is there an indication that the page has been completed, and is not still under construction? If there is a print equivalent to the Web page, is there a clear indication of whether the entire work is available on the Web or only parts of it? If the material is from a work which is out of copyright (as is often the case with a dictionary or thesaurus) has there been an effort to update the material to make it more current? (Copyright Jan Alexander & Marsha Ann Tate ) 3

4 EXAMPLE: Mayan History and Culture General Timeline Museums Maps (interactive) Images Architecture Characters, calendar, etc. Maya Today Apocalypto Movie 4

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