Enhancing the Classroom by Using Course Websites

My first step was to find a suitable textbook for this project. My plan is to teach high school history, so I was given a general level U.S. history textbook by a teacher from Howell High School. She offered me an honors-level textbook, but I felt that I would be getting in over my head while creating the study guide and chapter test, so I opted for the genera

l level book. I decided that I would like to create an online supplemental quiz with an answer key, a weekly listing of the homework that I would assign for the class, and a section with links to other valuable Websites that might interest the students in learning more about history and would also help them with any research project or term paper that I might assign to them. I also included a study guide that the students would print out and fill out ahead of time that we could go over in class. In my opinion, this part is the most important part of the website because it would guide the students on what pieces of information were most valuable to them when test time came, and no one could complain that I was giving mixed information out to the class. I also added some extra material that I might not be able to include in my lesson plans due to proper time management, but they are little interesting facts that might get the students more actively involved in learning about history. Every day I would have a section entitled Today in History, and it would have an interesting fact that we might not be able to discuss in class. I also would have a Quote of the Week, which would be from a famous person in history in order to give the student a sense of what was occurring during certain time periods. I would add extra credit questions on tests to make sure the students were reading these extras. It would be a reward for being actively involved.

With the introduction of new vendors, such as WebCT, Teacher Web, and Jones Knowledge, Inc., it is becoming easier for teachers to create their own class Websites, and according to Zirkle (2003), some of these cost little or no money at all. These sites include tutorials and demonstrations that can help guide the teacher along, and allows them to use the technology effici

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