We estimate that the work that you will do for this module will take about 20 hours to complete. You can do the work at school or at home, and you can fit it into your schedule however you see fit. We recommend that you set aside at least two or three hours each week to work on the module. This should enable you to finish the module in 6 to 8 weeks. Proceed as follows:

In this module you will learn how to use a web browser and how to create some basic web pages. Emphasis will be placed on how the Internet works. We will also tie the activities directly to your math classroom. Currently, the two main web browsers used on the Internet are Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. Both can be downloaded for free from the Internet. Netscape also has a component called Netscape Composer that allows you to create your own web pages. Since you will be creating web pages, we recommend using Netscape Navigator for this module. Microsoft also makes products that can create web pages, but these products are not integrated into their browser and they are not free like Composer.

Since you are reading this, your computer already has a browser installed. You can use this browser to download the latest version of Netscape from the Netscape website. At the time this is being written, version 7.1 is the latest version of Netscape and it includes both the Navigator and the Composer components.

Using the browser currently on your computer, go to Netscape's Browser Central by clicking on the following link:
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/

Follow the directions on that page to download the latest version of Netscape. If you are very new to computers, and are uncomfortable with downloading and installing programs, you should consider doing the first part of this module on a computer that already has Netscape installed, or you could ask someone that is more familiar with computers to download and install Netscape for you. Later in the module we will talk more about downloading software from the Internet and installing it on your computer.

In this step, you will learn the basics of browsing the web and using an internet browser. Some key topics include:

• URLs
• web addresses
• bookmarking pages
• managing bookmarks

Click here to do Step 1.

As the number of websites on the internet grows, it becomes increasingly difficult and time consuming to find the information you are looking for by randomly browsing. That is why a large number of Internet search engines have been created. In this step, you will search for some mathematical terms on the web.

Click here to do Step 2.

This is also a good place to do web searches, and take an extra good look at some math-related web sites.  While you are going though this step, you should be thinking about Steps 5 and 6 of this module in which you will be using the Internet to develop a lesson that you will use in one of your classes.

Click here to do Step 3.

In addition to providing websites with useful information, the internet also allows users to download free and trial software. The right math software can prove to be a vital tool when giving a lesson. This step will guide you through the process of finding and downloading software from the internet.

Click here to do Step 4.

In this step we are going to take you through the basics of how information is passed over the Internet using Hyper Text Mark Up language. We will look at the underlying basics of HTML and create some very simple web pages by writing HTML code directly. Once you understand how HTML code works, then in Step 6 we will give you a more convenient way of producing web pages.

Click here to do Step 5.

Now that you have an understanding of basic HTML, you can move on to a higher level HTML editing environment. This environment, known as a "What You See Is What You Get", (WYSIWYG, pronounced WIZ-zee-wig) is very user friendly. In this step, you will learn how to use Netscape Composer, a WYSIWYG environment for HTML web page editing.

Click here to do Step 6.

A web site consists of several web pages that are related to each other. As a classroom teacher, your web site might include some background information about yourself, links to internet resources that are appropriate for the subject you teach, and pages that would present a lesson that is appropriate for a class you teach.

For Step 7 you will assemble what we will call a Final Project. Since this module is on "Using the Internet in the Classroom", we are going to ask you to create a series of linked web pages that should be useful to you as a classroom teacher utilizing the Internet.

Click here for more details about completing the Final Project

After completing the files that will make up your website, turn in each of the files to the ClassComm handing system, under the heading 'Final Project'.