• personal focus (use of students' Christian names, familiar references..)
• interest (use of animation, variety of font sizes, faces and colours ...)
• links connecting several original pages
• spaces to put student contributions during the session
• ideas for posting in the future
• printer at the ready for hard copy of student contributions (for reading, quiz..)

Procedure

• Show the Home Page (bare bones) to the class, demonstrate and explain 'scrolling', 'links' etc. I created 3 pages - "Welcome to..." (page1); "Information about the students" (page2); "This is where you can post your work..." (page 3), which were linked in a circle.
• On white board, complete sentence beginnings about students (page 2). Each student has final say regarding the sentence which will be put on the Home Page. It's a definite advantage having someone type these in as they are created.
• Print hard copies of these sentences for reading (group and individual) and a quick quiz.
• Encourage individuals to check out the Home Page - 'find' the bottom of the page, click on links, comment on graphics, colours etc.; make changes on their recommendation.
• Add written work produced in session to page 3. I typed in a report on a class excursion which one student completed during the session.
• Prior to next session, make additions (new links, graphics, and extra page with potential use outlined...)
• Arrange for someone clever to FPT the Home Page. Then learn it yourself!
• Print off copies of all pages and stick them on the white board demonstrate access to the Home Page (student followed instructions)
• Review 'scrolling' by discussing the differences between what's visible on the screen and the hard copy ... find the rest; how do you know there's more?.. represent the links between the pages by drawing arrows on the board as they are explored
• Discuss metaphors for this connection (one student compared it to a book: cover/contents, chapters, choice)
• Students complete additional exercises based on their sentences
• Add e-mail addresses, links to personal pages & other useful sites post writing completed in class
• Design & post activities based on student work

……… it can just go on forever ………

CGEA Outcomes
With the integration of all our NLT experiences over the semester, Levels 1& 2 Reading and Writing can be readily met.

Tasks at Level 1 could include:

• 1.1 Students introduce themselves on a group information page; write the text for a personal Page
• 1.2 Provide instructions on how to find the Home Page; how to 'scroll'; send an e-mail
• 1.3 Post facts about creating home pages/web sites; write a report on class activities/excursions; post responses to questions about Aboriginal history; make up & post a quiz related to facts learned about Aboriginal culture
• 1.4 Give a personal opinion on the Aboriginal experience; express a view on the issue of privacy on the Net
• 1.5 Read stories written by other students on their Pages and comment on them
• 1.6 Read instructions (constructed jointly) on how to find the class Home Page/send an e-mail, and do it
• 1.7 Read information posted by others about aspects of Aboriginal history and culture (Woolum Bellum School) and link to what is already known; read information about the Aboriginal Resources Trail (Royal Botanic Gardens web site) and decide whether or not it's worth a visit
• 1.8 Read what other students have to say about using the Internet in class. Discuss whether you agree and what you think about it.

Lynne Matheson - Class Activities

A Structured Approach
The CARWP Gateway/Homepage was set up by Mexie Butler in 1997 and provided a good range of links for the students to explore. The aim of the worksheet(1) I prepared was to guide them through some of the links with questions relevant to class work and current events.

To access the page students were able to type in the URL/ website address or else find it using a search engine. This helped to demonstrate that there is a range of ways to find things and not to be put off if the first attempt is not successful.

By giving a number of choices for each link, students could explore the link and, as one student found with the dictionary link (http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm), go further to find out meanings of other words. Through this structured approach students were able to practice their keyboard skills, develop confidence in moving around sites and see the potential for further searches.

In the next session (2) my approach using the @lbe Zine #3 was to encourage the students to read parts of the Zine that interested them and to email responses to the Duke St. Neighbourhood House students. Two pieces of writing looked at were, "Events of Misunderstandings" by Maria Buzjas (http://home.vicnet.net.au/ ~dukelearn/misunderstandings.htm) and "Manikato" by Shaun Terry (http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dukelearn/Manikato.htm). Maria's piece was great as a springboard for discussion, vocabulary work and writing. Unfortunately, after we had sent off email messages to Maria and Shaun, we subsequently learned that I had made an error with the spelling of the address for Maria and Shaun was working on the ADLEARN conference so that we did not hear back from either of them.

This experience showed up how best efforts do not necessarily come up with expected results. However, the language activities had been valuable and, for one student in particular, he had taken a big step in risk taking by communicating his feelings to another unknown student in his email message.

Dear Maria,
It was nice to read your story. I see you have the same problem like me about English expression. Not to worry you are not the only one as you can see I am the same. Always have a good sense of humour, it will go a long way and some small problems will go away somewhere. Hope to hear from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Ted

Hotmail
One aim of setting up each of the students with a Hotmail address was to get them to regularly access the Internet at the beginning of each class and hopefully, outside class times at Carlton library or else at the House during the week. The immediacy of email and the ease of access would hopefully encourage a change in their writing habits so that sending and receiving email would become a regular communication activity. For my students who do very little letter writing, developing a list of email correspondents was going to take some time but the potential to communicate worldwide might just prove enticing enough. The practical purpose and its relevance to their lives are important factors in determining how far students will be prepared to accept and use the Internet.

Setting up a student with a Hotmail address involved the student in making choices about the name and the password they will use. Each step in the registration process involved different keyboard skills so that the students could see the difference between a drop down list and a radio button as well as use the Tab key and backspace.

The level of assistance given varied depending on the student's computer experience. Once a few students were underway, I asked these students to register or guide others through the process. In this way co-operative learning skills were being used and the level of assistance appropriate to the individual student's needs could be met.

The Hotmail proved to be a good introduction for some students to actually use the computer and begin to remove some of the barriers they felt towards the technology. As a teacher, to have the immediacy of being able to send messages to individuals and then to observe the care and thought that went into their replies was wonderful and opened up another more personal level of communication, in some cases.

The students were all given a small notebook in which to record email addresses and interesting websites. The need to keep a record was apparent as some students had difficulty remembering their own password.

Margaret Hanrahan - Class Activities

What Works

• Finding sites that was linked to their home pages and then connecting to ones from there. Still they had already done some searching on their own by this stage.
• Doing their own home pages first and then have them connecting theirs to the classes and other work of their own that was on a separate home page.
• Getting them to give you the things that they want to visit and the teacher doing the search at home and so they have a good site to visit to start with and then use that one as a spring board to other sites.
• For my students having it all explained in Italian. Having that security meant that they were less overwhelmed by the technology.
• Looking for sites that were in their own language.
• Looking at things that could only be found in this format - today's local newspaper in their home country.
• Starting searching in a conducive atmosphere.
• Have someone do the search for them so they can enjoy the results without the frustration of having to do it themselves and all the mistakes that usually entails.
• Having it as a part of the classroom research activity so it usefulness is seen first rather than the other way around.
• Comparing the 'The Age' in reality and on the net.
• Telling them a little but only a little about how it works - the phone connects one computer to a server and then to all the computers in the world.
• Sometimes working in pairs so that they do not have to remember everything.
• Getting them to clearly see that what they print comes directly from the internet rather than having it done in the next room which makes it seem more like just a printed text that they are often given.
• Not having too many different computer going at the one time. I suspect it has to be no more than 5 at the beginning. Otherwise the students have to wait too long for the teacher to assist when things do not go according to plan.
• Visiting internet pages of people they had visited ie. Make a visit to another class where the students had made web pages and then read these on that occasion or at a later date. Attempts to read the pages before the visit were not very successful.

What Doesn't Work

• Doing much talking about what is possible.
• Taking them one step further than they are ready for.
• Getting them to do their own searches before they have had some success with having things found for them.
• Having no mouse skills at all so that adds to the frustration. If they only have an hour or so on something enjoyable like playing solitaire then they have one less problem.
• The computer the teacher plans searches on has the different software from the one the students use.
• Being only 1 step ahead of the students. You need to be 2 steps ahead.
• Sometimes having the students working in pairs if one feels they are not getting a good go.

When I started one class just clicking to make the links and using back on a students site they quickly became bored as they did not know these students and there was no excitement. It seemed like just another computer programme and not a very interesting one at that.