Finding out  Information

CD ROMs

There are many ways in which the computer can be an impressive source of information, supplementing and enriching the paper-based texts we already use. CD ROMs, particularly reference texts such as Encarta, Oxford Children’s Encyclopaedia,  Britannica, can be very powerful. Precise information, in the form of text, pictures, sound and even video can be found very quickly. Always encourage children to ‘re-present’ information by putting it into their own words rather than copying undigested chunks of text into their own work.

For each CD ROM, always ask:: 

• How easy is it to find information?
• Can I extract the information easily, e.g. copy it and paste it into a word processor?
• Is the language appropriate for the children?
• Does the program explain difficult concepts using different media?
• Are there any technical problems with the software?

The Internet
The World Wide Web, and now particularly the National Grid for Learning, provides a mass of useful information to support literacy. 

Useful web addresses for teachers (Tony Poulter's list)

Detailed articles on the Internet, email, searching etc.

Help for new users of the Internet:

• Find the Address line. It starts with ‘http’ or ‘www.’

• Click with your mouse on the text in the line: it will probably turn blue.

• Type in an address from the web addresses list, taking great care to be as exact as possible with unusual characters. Don’t leave any spaces: a space tells the computer that you are typing two addresses, not one: so it won’t be able to find them.

• Press return or enter: this tells the computer to look for the address. If a message comes back saying that the site cannot be found, try typing it again. You may have made a tiny mistake. Sometimes sites are so busy you cannot get into them, sometimes they have moved. Try again later to make sure.

• When you find a valuable site, click on Bookmarks (Netscape) or Favourites (Internet Explorer) and ‘Add’ the site to your collection so that you can come back to it without typing the address again. In time, you will build up a large number of book-marked sites, and these will be your most useful resource.