Handling the Activities: instructions for students

The Formats of the activities

The course is built around five activities which are known as Filamentality Activities: Hotlists, Multimedia Scrapbooks, Treasure Hunts, Subject Samplers, WebQuests.

The following formats' explanations are suggested by Tom March and taken from 'Tips on Picking Links'. You are strongly advised to study them carefully.

1. Hotlists
• Hotlists collect web sites and divide them into subcategories.
• Hotlists provide learners with a wide range of resources that allow for expansion research and individual interests.
• Resources are collected to supplement a unit of study and provide an abundance and variety of information so that students can explore based on their own research goals.
2. Multimedia Scrapbooks
• Multimedia Scrapbooks collect web sites, but divide them by media type, e.g., photographs, maps, sound clips, videos, quotations, facts, etc.
• Multimedia resources are available as raw material to use in newsletters, desktop slide presentations, bulletin boards, collages, HyperStudio stacks, web pages.
• Resources are collected to supplement a unit of study and provide an abundance and variety of information so that students can explore based on their own research goals.
3. Treasure Hunts
• Treasure hunts collect web pages that contain specific information about the domain being studied.
• Treasure hunts target specific knowledge acquisition outcomes; questions encourage reading for meaning.
4. Subject Samplers
• Subject samplers engage students in aspects of a topic they find personally interesting or motivating as a strategy for developing positive attitudes and affective connection to the topic.
• Students respond from a personal perspective, provide personal interpretations of art or data, and make comparisons to experiences they have had.
5. WebQuests
• WebQuests prompt learners to inquire and construct meaning through collaborative research and decision making.
• WebQuests collect web sites grouped by opposing or overlapping roles to create a thick sense of complexity and multiple truths. This may be because the topic is controversial, but it may also be that the topic is so large or connected to other issues that it requires a team approach.
• WebQuest resources illustrate diverse perspectives and pose strong opinions so students can critique and discriminate.

Taming the browser

When you first access the site you are advised to add its address (URL) to the list of favorite pages. If you use Internet Explorer on the Favorites (Izbrannoye) menu of the browser click Add to Favorites to save the address. If you use Mozilla, Firefox or Opera click Bookmark this Page on the Bookmarks menu.

Later when you decide to access the site again choose the saved address on the Favorites (Izbrannoye) or Bookmarks and click it to open. Thus there is no need to type in the address every time. Also it is possible to categorize the links (URL) according to the topics of the course.

Saving your time and money

If you access the site from your home and use an Internet card with a limited amount of time you might wish to manage your time effectively. If so, it is a good idea to save the pages you open into your hard disk or use the 'print' button on the far right column to print the pages. Doing this you will save your money and at your own pace you will be able to read (and translate) the activities and the proposed articles.

You are also advised to create a new folder on your hard disk to keep all the materials at hand and off line. Name it as "American Studies". To make it even more convenient you should create as many subfolders as needed. All these will help you keep the data organized. Remember, you do this because you do not want to spend loads of time looking for some information/document you desperately need at a given time.

'Any news is good news'

At the very beginning of our seminars we are to talk about the latest news related to the United States. That's why you have to search the Internet for a piece of relevant news. Also, you can find your news by simply following one of the links exposed on a topic's page.

Completing the activities

To complete the activities you should first read the instructions through and only then start doing them.