Frequently Asked Questions about the Internet Hunts and other activities
Search this site. Go to Google. In the search box enter site:www.mrsoshouse.com type a space. Then add your keyword(s). So if you want a computer hunt, enter site:www.mrsoshouse.com computer. Click Search. You will get a list of all the pages in my site that contain the word computer. Remember that better keywords get better results. HTH
Things are always changing and adapting
Classroom Strategies to Engender Student Questioning - I am reworking hunts with these issues in mind.
I am adding math related questions using the outstanding web resource Countdown Math
There are now questions users must research using an online resource.
In some hunts, I have added a cumulative question at the end. The Question is the Answer - the secret to great research.
In some cases, I find a more interesting or current question/topic. I am also revising activities to align with the PA Academic Standards.
On a few occasions, the web site that the question was linked to is removed. If I cannot find a good alternative site, I remove or revise the question.
January 7th, 2007 - I have decided to release some of my works to public domain. Others are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. Look at the bottom of each activity to find the notice of copyright.
I continue to retain a full copyright protection on the majority of my work. That is noted on the individual works. You MAY NOT post my copyrighted works in a personal web site, a school web site, or in an intranet. See Teach Act guide. Use of the materials here constitutes an agreement with these Terms of Use.
I want to include your Internet hunt as a site link. May I have your permission ?
Absolutely. Feel free to link to any hunt or the index pages. I suggest the index because I will do my best to preserve the links from the index even if I revise the site. You are prohibited from reposting the copyrighted hunts in a personal web site, a school website or an intranet without appropriate attribution.
There is a broken link or two in a hunt or activity. What should I do?
Let me know of any problems and I'll fix them ASAP. If you want to use one in a class, run the links before hand. I try to fix them within 24 hours of notice, but often accomplish it by the next morning.
I have not linked this info to avoid being spammed.
Alternatively, use the problem as a "teachable" moment. You could show the students how to delete parts of the url to find the page.
Finally, consider directing the students to find the answer using their web searching skills.
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"Would I be violating your copyright if I printed an Internet Search for use in my classroom, but omitted some of the questions because of time constraints?" actual email
If you print a copyrighted hunt, just as it appears, and then instruct the students to ignore/skip questions, no - you are not violating the copyright of the hunt. That is a perfectly legitimate use of the hunt.
If you alter it by removing or changing certain questions and post it online, you are violating my copyright and terms of use. In that circumstance, you might consider making your own hunt.
- Do the research on the Internet. Craft the questions in the number and on the subject you desire. Make the web page. Generate the answer sheet.
- Post your hunt in your account online. The more unique hunts about a subject, the better!
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Public Domain: I have decided to release a few activities to public domain. This means people may use it freely with no copyright restrictions. This is noted at the bottom of the activity's web page.
Copy-Paste - On hunts designed for more experienced computer users, I have given the directions to make a word processing document on which the student enters their answers via the computer. This is noted in the directions.
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So many questions - too little time
On occasion when I build a hunt, I uncover a multitude of great sites or super questions. Consequently, I just keep posing questions. You may feel that a specific hunt is too long to use in a class. Consider utilizing the "every other plan". Have the kids count off 1's and 2's. 1's can do the odd numbered questions, 2's can do the even numbered ones. Suddenly an eighteen question hunt is only nine questions long. This strategy also cuts down on "info sharing".
OR
Make Your Own Printed answer sheet. Write the numbers of the questions you want them to follow from the hunt.
What's with the lines?
The other day a teacher wrote telling me there was not enough space on the web page nor on the pdf file for her students to write the answers. I looked at both again with a critical eye. It occurred to me that they would be more "user friendly" if there were lines provided for the answers. I am working through them adding printer friendly answer sheets with lines in pdf. See DAF
Why are you moving to DAF (Digital Answer Format)?
Digital Answer Format encourages the building of technology and keyboarding skills. It helps the students practice skills needed in moving between 2 applications. It can decrease our use of paper. Many universities are offering online courses. This is a good way to prepare students to be successful in these courses. Employers recognize the speed of communication, flexibility of collaboration and cost savings of a digital work product. Just as we teach writing with a pencil, we must teaching writing with a keyboard. The processes are two very different things!
For those who desire a print answer sheet - Make Your Own Printed answer sheet directions.
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I have found a typo, punctuation problem, spelling slip, grammatical gaff, evident error, queer question...
Consider it a teachable moment with your students. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and send me an email pointing out the foible. Tread lightly. A self-appointed spell checker sent me a note. She corrected my spelling of Plimoth. She had not followed the link to see that that was the very spelling the organization used. I pointed out to her that she would be well advised to verify things BEFORE she corrected others.
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Where are the answers?
The answers are on the linked pages or in the site I linked. Or you must develop an answer based on the info at the site. I do not provide the answer keys. Users must go to each web page and find them. TAI - "think about it" are questions the user should be able to answer based on the info already covered in the hunt.
A word to the wise. I recently received an exceedingly nasty, obscene email from a student who was unhappy with my no answer keys policy. He vented his spleen at length and signed it with another person's name. It took my daughter, a prolific online researcher, a few minutes to trace the email back to the high school via the clues in the email. I found that one of the teachers was using the mentioned activity in her class. I contacted the administration regarding the obscene email. There were serious consequences for the student who sent the ugly message.
I am open to constructive criticism. I will not tolerate abuse.
I think you should add lots of cutsie moving pictures to the hunts.
An interesting suggestion. I certainly have been tempted. But if you understand how bandwidth and web pages are intertwined, then you know that with all the loading and reloading of the hunt pages there would be a terrible waste of bandwidth. So, though seriously tempted, I sternly resist adding superfluous images and especially moving images which are the most wasteful.
What are your terms of use?
I am providing many of the hunts in pdf. You'll need a free pdf program
to use them like Adobe
Acrobat Reader. You are permitted to either print the pdf or the web
page for an answer sheet.
I continue to retain a full copyright protection on the majority of my work. That is noted on the individual works. You MAY NOT post my copyrighted works in a personal web site, a school web site, or in an intranet. Use of the materials here constitutes an agreement with these Terms of Use
You MAY NOT take my copyrighted web files off the site and repost it in a personal web site, a school web site, or in any intranet. Use of the materials here constitutes an agreement with these Terms of Use. Examples of copyright violations
What actions do you take for people who violate your copyright and/or terms of use?
I may notify them to remove the hunt from their website. I do notify their ISP and request it be removed. In the case of educational institutions, I notify their superiors of the violation and their web master. I am also posting links to them on my copyright page. Ultimately, I will take legal action.
Where do you get the ideas for topics?
I do accept suggestions and work collaboratively in person and via
the Net. For example: the hunts about the Prairies,
Colonial People, National
Parks and Fever 1793 were all requested by
teachers via email. Otherwise, I have a running "to make" list.
In the case of the novels based ones, I have identified the ones I have done based on books my children read as a class in school or that are of interest to me. Several were selected from the reading list for the Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award from the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association.
Do all the hunts go from one site to another?
No, several are meant to provide a guided experience of an exceptional
web site. Examples: Impressionistand Prairie.
What are your goals with the hunts?
I have a bunch.
One is to build web skills. Most hunts use an online form like a dictionary or database to get an answer. I also vary the directions for returning to the hunt page to build web browser familiarity: Back button, hold on back button, Go menu etc. My article called Getting Back explores the many options for navigating on the web. I also regularly incorporate harnessing the Find feature to help users scan lengthy pages for info.
Secondly, I strive to take students to exceptional informative web sites. I believe a critical skill for the future is the ability to find info. It is no longer what you know. It is "What can you find out?". These hunts challenge users to read carefully to get the right question and read just as skillfully to find the correct answer.
I like to add a "controversial" subject on occasion to stir the pot. Examples: water flowing differently in northern or southern hemispheres and raindrops being teardrop shaped.
Thirdly, I craft the literature based ones to give the user a picture of the setting, characters, and author. When historical facts are mentioned I take the hunt to a site to validate or debunk the fact. I believe they enrich the reading experience. For middle school or high school students it can be a great project related to literature or author they are studying.
I have been adding a mathematics based question to many of the hunts in an effort to demonstrate to students - "when they could need to know this stuff".
Some of these hunts gather online resources or outline a topic. My Environmental Hunt is an example.
Finally, the months hunts are a bit of whimsy on my part. It began with March when I realized how many "march" things I could define. I received a lot of positive feedback about the March hunt from educators. One even wrote to ask when the April one would be up. So I continue to develop and maintain them for each month.
How long does it take you to make a hunt?
That depends on several things. What do I know about the subject? Perhaps it involves reading a book. Some answers are elusive on the web. This is not usually due to the availability of the answer so much as the quality of the resource providing it. I make a habit of avoiding pages with pop ups whenever possible. I shun pages with a superfluous use of graphics because they waste bandwidth and slow the "hunt process". Some pages are nearly unreadable due to color schemes or harsh background graphics. UGH!
It may take a few hours to several days to make a hunt. Once I have the links, I convert the page to a pdf answer sheet, too.
Filtering software blocking pages
On occasion I hear from someone that their filtering software is blocking a site I have included in a hunt. You can allow access to a site or page using the filter's administrative privileges. Alternatively, you can skip that question or seek out the answer using any search engine. A teacher wrote to me because a museum site I had linked to had a drawing of a Native American woman with no shirt. She wanted me to change the link. I understand her problem. I looked for a few hours on the Net but could not find an equivalent resource that was age appropriate. I urged her to make an original hunt using resources she was comfortable using.
I have objections to filtering software. Not on principle, but rather because it is done mindlessly at worst and poorly at best. As the web continues to grow exponentially, these tools will grow even more useless. They will offer either a false sense of security or grossly inhibit the free flow of valuable information.
I ask you... Since there is a book with illustrations of Michelangelo's sculptures in the library shall we bar children from entering the library? the nonfiction section? the art area? Do not forget to include the geography and periodical sections where thousands of kids have gotten their "first peeks" in a National Geographic. Oh yes, lock up the science books, the dictionaries and the psychology books, too.
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Civics & American History Essays
Civics & American History Projects
Fields, Meadows, Fencerows EcoStudy Unit
Internet Hunts Computers & Digital life
Internet Hunts Ele/IS Literature
Internet Hunts MS/HS Literature
Internet Hunts Months & Holidays
Essays- many subjects
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Observation - Science Skill Builders
Pennsylvanians - Famous & Prominent
Project based learning activities
Problem based learning activities