Virtual Cities: A Multimedia Tour
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Procedures for Teachers is divided into two sections:
Prep -- Preparing for the Lesson.
Steps -- Conducting the Lesson.




Student Prerequisites:
Read through the entire lesson. Plan to execute the project according to your time and technological resources. If your students go to a computer lab, you might want to include the lab teacher in the project. Additionally, you may want to assign Web research for homework when appropriate. As a housekeeping note, create a new folder for each student or group of students, or have each group bring in one floppy disk to keep track of images and text.

It is assumed that students know how to download images from the Web and save work to the desktop or floppy disk.

Materials:
  • Reference materials/library resources (print, Internet, CD-ROMs, etc.)
  • A digital camera, or a regular camera and scanner, if photos are to be incorporated
  • A scanner (optional)
  • Large monitor (optional)
  • 1 floppy disk per group (optional)
Bookmarks:
The following sites should be bookmarked:

Bullet GOING PLACES
http://www.thirteen.org/goingplaces/

This is wNetStation's Web companion piece to the PBS series. The series focuses on the experiences of everyday travellers and their personal reactions to the cities and regions visited.

Bullet USA CityLink
http://www.NeoSoft.com/citylink/

This site provides detailed information on many United States cities and towns.

Bullet U.S. State Web Sites
http://www.state.(state abbreviation).us

Fill in a state abbreviation and check out that state's Web page.

Bullet Color Landform Atlas of the United States
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html

This site has a searchable database of landform maps.

Bullet MapBlast
http://www.mapblast.com

See a map of a specific area you are studying by entering in a street address.

Bullet U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov

Find out facts about the United States.

Bullet Yahoo: Get Local
http://local.yahoo.com/local/

Plug in the zip code of the city you are studying and this site will return comprehensive information about the area.

Bullet 50 States and Capitals
http://www.50states.com/

An online database full of facts about individual states and capitals.

Bullet Fodors
http://www.fodors.com/

A comprehensive travel service with online travel guides to 87 cities worldwide.

Bullet Virtual Tours
http://www.dreamscape.com/frankvad/tours.html

This site bills itself as "a collection of tours of the World, Museums, Exhibits, Points of Special Interest, and the U.S. Government."

Bullet Web 66
http://web66.coled.umn.edu/

Web 66 maintains the Internet's oldest and most complete list of school Web servers.

Bullet Keypals-Listservs
http://www.pitsco.com/keypals/listservs.html

At this site you can sign up for a listserv and request a keypal for a collaborative project.


Computer Resources:
You will need at least one computer with Internet access to complete this lesson. While many configurations will work, we recommend:

-- Modem: 28.8 Kbps or faster.
-- Browser: Netscape Navigator 3.0 or above or Internet Explorer 3.0 or above.
-- Macintosh computer: System 7.0 or above and at least 16 MB of RAM. CD-ROM player recommended.
-- IBM-compatible computer: 386 or higher processor with at least 16 MB of RAM, running Windows 3.1. Or, a 486/66 or Pentium with at least 16 MB of RAM, running Windows 95. CD-ROM player recommended.

For more information, visit What You Need to Get Connected in wNetSchool's Internet Primer.

Software:
Kid Pix Studio Deluxe is the software used for this project. You can use any software that has a slideshow feature, such as PowerPoint or ClarisWorks.
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There are five lessons in Virtual Cities: A Multimedia Tour:

Bullet Lesson I: Introducing the project.

Bullet Lesson II: Learning to create a Kid Pix slide show.

Bullet Lesson III: Preparing a storyboard.

Bullet Lesson IV: Producing the project.

Bullet Lesson V: Presenting projects.


Lesson I:   Introducing the project (1 class period).


1.

Introduce the project and familiarize students with the GOING PLACES Web companion piece. If possible, connect your computer with Internet access to a large monitor and take your students on a Web tour of GOING PLACES. Discuss the highlights of each location visited, and brainstorm ideas on other elements that could be added to the tour.


2.

Tell the class that they will be studying a city of their choice and will examine the geography and climate of their city, the history of their city (including the founding fathers), and key economic activities that have contributed to the growth of the city, both past and present. They will develop a narrative that describes points of interest in their city, and create and present a multimedia slide show tour of the city. Any other ideas from the brainstorm in Step One should also be included.


3.

Divide students into groups. Groups will choose a city to study and will use online resources, CD-ROMs, reference resources, books, magazines, encyclopedias, and videos from the library to conduct their research.


4.

Pass out the Investigation Worksheet from the Organizers for Students section. Each group will be responsible for completing a worksheet.

Homework: Students should begin their research. Have students gather research materials from a library and bring them into class.


Lesson II:   Learning to create a Kid Pix slide show (1-2 class periods).


1.

Give your students a tutorial in using the slide show freature of your chosen software. If you are using Kid Pix, refer to the Kid Pix Overview found in Organizers for Students.


Lesson III:   Preparing a storyboard (2-3 class periods).


1.

A storyboard serves as a blueprint for the slide show. It provides a workspace where the group can plan the layout, images, and text for each slide of the slide show. Distribute the Storyboard Activity Sheet, found in Organizers for Students to the class.

Using the Storyboard Activity Sheet, have students decide:
  • The sequence of the slides in the slide show.
  • The images, digitized and/or drawn, for each slide.
  • The text for each slide.
  • The placement of images and text on each slide.
Each group should turn in a completed storyboard before moving into production.


Lesson IV:   Producing the project (2-3 class periods).


1.

Before students begin creating their slide show, have them check their projects for the following:
  • A title.
  • A minimum of five slides per presentation.
  • A reference slide that lists at least two sources.
  • Clear and readable text.
  • Correct spelling and punctuation.
  • Purposeful slides that point to the content.
  • Graphics that support content and do not override it.


2.

Have students begin creating their slide show.


Lesson V:   Presenting projects (2 class periods).


1.

Each group will be responsible for presenting their work to the class. Time should be budgeted for questions and answers for both the educational content and the technological aspects of the project.

If possible, connect the computer that will be used for presentation to a large display monitor.





Submit a Comment: We invite your comments and suggestions based on how you used the lesson in your classroom.

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