Web Browser Skills for Research (Published in the TechEdge, Fall 1997) by Wesley A. Fryer www.wesfryer.com     Passage of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for technology will dramatically change the way technology literacy is taught in elementary and secondary classrooms in Texas. Although teachers will not be required to meet the requirements of the TEKS until the Fall of 1998, educators should begin examining these requirements and start to meet them within classroom instruction. Due to the wide breadth of technology student skills mandated by the TEKS, technology literacy can no longer be relegated solely to computer teachers. Integration of technology skills will become a requirement, rather than an option, for Texas classroom teachers. (Online copies of the TEKS are available at http://wtvi.com/teks.) The goal of this column is to provide teachers with knowledge and skills needed to successfully integrate technology in the classroom. The column will address: Cross-platform internet use (for Macintosh and Windows 3.1/Windows 95 PCs) Lessons relevant to various content areas Lessons for secondary as well as elementary settings This article addresses users of both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer web browsers, and users of both ClarisWorks and Microsoft Word as word processing applications. Techniques can be adapted for use with other software applications. The internet is a global tool for information sharing. Roger Young has suggested two broad categories which define the ways the internet can be used in the classroom: for 1) communication and 2) information retrieval (TechEdge, April 1997). Dividing "information retrieval" into four subcategories can help us better understand possible internet applications for the classroom: Student Research Sources for "Traditional" Teacher Lesson Plans Online Student Projects Multimedia supplements to Teacher-directed Lessons Subsequent articles will explore each of these subcategories in detail. Initially, however, it is logical to examine some of the basic internet web browser skills required for many of these applications. The primary focus of this article, therefore, is: "Once I've located a worthwhile website, how do I obtain and utilize those resources?" Most likely, you'll find a website from either a traditional published source (like this journal), from an internet search engine, or from another website. A convenient way to obtain a copy of a webpage's contents is to directly print the page from your web browser. From the "File" menu at the top of the screen (in both Netscape and Explorer), simply select "Print." Netscape allows you to specify several preferences in the "Page Setup" window, like printing the webpage's title, location, page number, and the current date. While hardcopies of webpage content can be helpful, electronic copies are more useful and fairly simple to obtain. Although flashy images are alluring, the most important academic "meat" contained in a website is most likely in its textual content. It is easy to "copy and paste" textual information from a website into a word processing document or other software application. To copy and paste text, you should: Launch your web browser and connect to the website containing information you want to copy. Open the software application into which you want to "paste" copied information. (See accompanying Table A1 for a description of how to work with two software applications at the same time.) Once you have launched both your web browser and your word processing software: Locate some text on the website that you want to copy. Move the mouse pointer in front of the first word of the passage you want to copy. Click and hold down the mouse button (left button for Windows users), and drag the mouse pointer down to the end of the passage. Release the mouse button. The text you want to copy should now be highlighted on the webpage displayed by your browser. You are now ready to copy this text onto your computer's "clipboard." The clipboard is a portion of the computer's short term memory. (Accompanying Table A2 describes how to copy and paste text within the Mac and Windows Operating System (OS).) The clipboard stores one "chunk" of information at a time. After copying text, you will want to immediately "paste" it into a word processing document. You can use a word processing document created by ClarisWorks, Word, WordPerfect, etc. to "paste" text, but you may also paste into another application such as HyperStudio or PowerPoint. Using the method described in Table A1, switch from your web browser to your word processing document. Paste" your text passage as described in Table A2. When you are copying and pasting textual passages from websites, be careful when the first word of the passage is a link. You can tell if a word is a link because it is underlined and a different color, usually blue. Clicking on a linked word will direct your web browser to a new webpage, an undesirable move when you are trying to copy and paste text. To avoid this, move the mouse pointer well in front of the linked word before clicking and dragging to select the passage to be copied. Once you have learned to copy and paste textual information from a website into a document, you have mastered the basic skills needed to copy and paste images. To copy an image from a website onto your computer's clipboard (with Explorer for Macintosh or Windows, or Netscape for Macintosh): Move the mouse on top of the image and click once (right mouse button for Windows OS). If you are using a Mac, you will need to hold down the mouse button during these steps. A pop-up menu will appear. Select "Copy this Image" (Netscape) or "Copy Picture" (Explorer). Release the mouse button (if using a Mac). The image has just been copied onto your computer's clipboard. Next, switch to your word processing document. Some word processors, like ClarisWorks, allow you to paste graphics as either "text" or "graphic objects." If you want to paste your image as "text," move the cursor or "insertion bar" where you want the image to be placed. (Refer to Table A2 for "pasting" techniques.) If you paste an image as "text," it will remain on the line where you inserted it. Its position cannot be easily changed. A more flexible way to insert images into a word processing document is to paste them as "graphic objects." Refer to Table A3 for graphic object pasting techniques in ClarisWorks and Word. As a graphic object in a word processing document, you can easily change the position of the image and "flow" text around the object for a more polished appearance. Some images, which have a higher resolution, may lose some detail when you use this "copy and paste" method of obtaining internet images. In these cases, you may want to save the entire image file to your computer to preserve its original resolution. If you are using Netscape for Windows, you must use this method to import web graphics. To do this: Move the mouse on top of the image and click once (right mouse button for Windows OS). If you are using a Mac, you will need to hold down the mouse button during these steps. A pop-up menu will appear. Select "Save this Image As..." (Netscape) or "Save Picture As..." (Explorer). Release the mouse button (if using a Mac.) You will then be prompted with a normal file saving window in which you can specify the disk and folder onto which you want to save the image. Beware that not all web image formats can be readily translated by word processors. For this reason, the "copy and paste" method of obtaining graphics is usually preferable. Quicktime movies and audio clips can also be saved to your computer for use in presentations with HyperStudio or other programs. To save a movie or audio clip (in Netscape): Click on the link which would play the movie/sound clip through your web browser (right button for Windows OS). If you are using a Mac, you will need to hold down the mouse button during these steps. From the pop-up menu, choose "Save this Link as" and specify where you want the movie/sound file to be saved. Release the mouse button (if using a Mac). A brief practice session of these "copy and paste" internet skills will dramatically highlight the issues of plagiarism and copyright awareness which the internet's world-wide web brings to the forefront. Links to sites exploring these issues in further depth are provided on our website. Take time to familiarize yourself and your students with copyright laws and the importance of respecting them. Use the accompanying "Texas Heritage" internet scavenger hunt activity to practice the internet skills described in this article. Email your feedback and ideas as together we acquire essential Tools for the TEKS!   Wesley Fryer is a fourth grade teacher , internet consultant, and inservice presenter in Lubbock, Texas. website: http://www.wtvi.com email: wesfryer@yahoo.com Texas Heritage Cut & Paste Scavenger Hunt http://wtvi.com/teks/hunt.html by Wesley A. Fryer DIRECTIONS: Use your web browser and word processor to create a document answering these questions. This webpage is linked to all referenced sites, so you will not need to type in other web addresses to find your answers! Questions ask you to copy and paste textual information and graphic images in your answer document. (A linked version of this activity is available) 1. Who is the governor of Texas and what is his official mailing address? Include a photograph of the governor. (reference http://www.governor.state.tx.us/ ) 2. What is the date the Texas flag was adopted as the national flag of the Republic of Texas? Beside the date, include a picture of the Texas state flag. (reference http://www.lsjunction.com/flag.htm) 3. What is the name of the Texas state flower and what other names it is called? Include a picture of the flower. (reference http://www.lsjunction.com/flower.htm) 4. Copy and paste the full-text description of the "Old Fort McIntosh Historic District" into your document. Beside the description, include a map of the area. (reference http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Past/Book/Part3/webb.html) 5. What is the state bird of Texas, and what year was it adopted as the state bird? Include a picture of the bird. (reference http://www.lsjunction.com/bird.htm) 6. Copy and paste the location description of San Jacinto Battleground State Historical Park. Include a picture of the San Jacinto Monument beside this description. (reference http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/battlesh/battlesh.htm) 7. Who is buried at the smallest state park in the United States? (reference http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/acton/acton.htm) 8. Copy and paste the paragraph on "The Park's History:" of Goliad State Historical Park. Include a picture of "Christmas at Goliad." (reference http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/goliad/goliad.htm) 9. On what date did Davy Crockett arrive at the Alamo to defend it from Mexican troops? Include a portrait of him with your answer. (reference http://www.drtl.org/~drtl/webchro3.html) 10. What phone number should you call to arrange a tour of the Lubbock Lake Landmark State Historical Park? With your answer, include a picture of the "Bison Meat Processing Interpretive Demonstration." (reference http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/lubbock/lubbock.htm)   Wesley Fryer is an elementary educator and internet consultant in Lubbock, Texas. He welcomes your questions and comments about this article or about classroom technology integration in general! Tools for the TEKS home | Article Archive | Technology Workshops Mailing List | Feedback | Tools and Techniques | Technology Idea Exchange Contact me using this webform. Links to my blogs are also available. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.