Eight Quick Tips for Helping Learners Read Online
1. Problem: Although there are advantages to reading
on the Web, some students will need more preparation before
reading online.
Tip: First, ensure students are comfortable with using a
mouse to navigate and know at least one way to scroll down
the page. Make sure to review pre-reading strategies with
learners. This is even more important since Web pages are
often presented differently than printed text. See http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent/classroom.htm#pre
2. Problem: Lack of experience with the Web
Tip: Go over layout, format, and navigation features of various
sites as a class. Ask them to scan for buttons or links
that lead to specific information. For example, on a
presidential candidate’s Web site, ask which button
will lead to his views on the issues. If you expect students
to use a search engine, try having them do a simple online
scavenger hunt, asking them to find tidbits of information
such as where a candidate was born. Have students work
in pairs so they can help each other navigate and work
with the information.
3. Problem: Getting lost
Tip: Help students develop strategies for getting the information
they want and returning to the page of entry. As one
would do when walking in the woods, ask them to visualize
the “path” they went down in relation to
the “main trail.” Suggest they start this
by using the “one-step forward one-step back” method
and rely on the back button at first.
4. Problem: Too many options
Tip: Talk about the pitfalls of links. Discuss the kinds
of information that can be gathered, and help students
understand that it is not necessary to click on every
link. Work with them on how you make decisions about
whether to follow a link or not.
5. Problem: Too much information
Tip: Model the gathering and selection of information. In
terms of gathering information on the Web, talk about
the need to take particular advantage of reading strategies
such as skimming and scanning. Share your wisdom such
as, “more is not necessarily better.” Ask
students to focus on getting the main idea and answering
the 5w’s before clicking more than a couple links
deep. See http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent/classroom.htm#read
6. Problem: Evaluating content
Tip: Compare and contrast two Web sites that have very different
views on a topic. For example, cut and paste information
from a white supremacist Web site on civil rights into
a Word document. Then do the same for the NAACP. Without
identifying the sources, ask students to read each. Then
show them the sites and later ask them to identify the
sites from which they came. Teachers should discuss challenges
of evaluating Internet sources. Suggested teacher reading:
http://www.uwec.edu/library/Guides/tencs.html
7. Problem: Relating the varied links to the main
idea or the problem that needs to be solved
Tip: For students who might not benefit from outlining, note
taking or mind maps, suggest making brief notes on stickies
and placing them around the edge of the monitor with the
major idea for the main page at the top. Linked pages with
supporting details, placed down the sides of the monitor,
may simply be a word or two.
8. Problem: Synthesizing the information
Tip: Provide students with scaffolding activities to help
them organize their ideas so they can better comprehend
what they read. Organizing the stickies or creating a
mind map may be an important step before presenting what
they learned or applying it to a project. See http://www.nelrc.org/changeagent/classroom.htm
Also see: http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies
/lit_index.asp?HREF=/newliteracies/jaal/9-03_column/
