TrackStar: Structure to Integrate Websites into Your
Teaching
You
don't know what else to tell your students except
"Look at this website!"????
Learn
how to use TrackStar and solve this problem.
You
can use TrackStar to collect a group of related
websites into one document and add instructions
that appear along with each website. You can easily
edit, add, or delete parts, or the whole site.
The software
was developed through a US government grant for
education several years ago. It is online, free,
and very easy to use.
Avoid
reinventing the wheel!!!! The whole idea here is
sharing. Anyone registered can search for collections
of sites (called 'tracks') about a topic and can
use someone else's track. To look at tracks made
in German when you enter a search term in TrackStar,
use term 'deutsch' rather than 'German' when searching.
WHAT
IS A TRACK?
track
= 3 to 15 webpages collected on a particular topic
identified by an ID number
8 sites
per track is recommended, but one site can link
to another complete track
WARNING:
TrackStar uses its own server --- tracks are not
on a University of Virginia server, so be wary of
putting a lot of time into your track. Alas, it
could be deleted. The good thing is that they are
fast to make.
TAKE
A LOOK AT MY TRACK:
Track ID 88907
(you do not have to be registered to enter this number
in the box on the home page and view the track)
This
one is on getting a German driver's license vs.
getting one in Virginia. It is set up -- as they
all are -- in three frames.
TRACKSTAR
PAGE LAYOUT: three separately scrollable frames
Frame 1: LIST OF WEB ADDRESSES (URLs)
Far left:
list of URLs (uniform resource locator) to click
Frame
2: INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR STUDENTS
Top:
instructions for students
Frame
3: THE WEBSITE
Middle:
the webpage or site you click on at the left will
appear here
HOW
CAN I REGISTER IN TRACKSTAR TO MAKE A TRACK?
Go to
TrackStar in a browser: http://trackstar.hprtec.org
Click
on "TrackStar Registration (for new users)"
in middle of home page and proceed as directed.
Do not use your e-mail password for TrackStar!!!
Make up a new one.
Why do
they want the e-mail address?
- if a site disappears, TrackStar will remove it
from your track and e-mail you
- if other instructors find errors in your track,
they can contact you to change them.
- I made my track months ago and have received no
e-mail at all (i.e. you do not get on a mailing
list)
Students
can also register to make a track and collect websites
as an assignment.
HOW
DO I MAKE A NEW TRACK WITHOUT TYPING LONG URLs?
1. use
a browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer to
find URLs you want to use
2. open a Word document and copy and paste the URLs
from the browser into this Word document
3. write instructions for students about each website
in the Word document (e.g. request to find certain
info)
4. copy and paste the URLs and the instructions
from the Word document to TrackStar as follows when
you make the track
Timesaving
advantages of working with the intermediary Word
document:
- if you write your instructions in German, diacriticals
work in Word
- you do not need to retype the URLs in TrackStar
- you can copy and paste the URLs and the instructions
into TrackStar
You can
keep the Word document open along with the TrackStar
page plus the browser. You can view all three windows
at once on a split screen, or view only the Word
document and TrackStar.
HOW
TO MAKE A TRACK:
Click
"Login to Make or Edit a Track" in center
of TrackStar home page
Check
box "print my e-mail address" so people
can let you know if they find mistakes and you can
correct these errors.
Check
box about related websites. TrackStar will e-mail
you about additional websites they find, or new
ones you haven't found. You can add them to your
track.
Name
the track
Describe
the track: why you make it (your objective)
Subject
area: check non-English for foreign languages
Select
grade level: university
Do not
give a date due (otherwise track will be deleted
after the due date)
Give
info for "this track is …:"
resource
list (recommended)
also
possible: worksheet or extended learning
a worksheet
(i.e. instructions for students at top of website,
e.g. info they should find in the particular website)
extended
learning - e.g. compare cultural differences
do
not check box 'demo' - if you do, the track will
disappear in a week (of course if you just want
to test TrackStar, you do want to check this box)
Work
in TrackMaker frames (recommended)
Netscape
version 4 or higher can usually handle the regular
version.
Now
add the info that you have collected for each link.
ADDING
LINKS
Add link
from Word document into box on far left (important:
copy and paste the link - you do not need to retype
it)
Give
short title of link (this will show up in the frame
on the left)
Before
you paste the link into the TrackStar box, delete
all contents of the box (http:// is given in this
box, so you need to delete it from this box if you
are cutting and pasting your link from the Word
document because these characters will be duplicated
and the link will not work)
ADDING
INSTRUCTIONS
Annotations
box: directions for students telling them what to
do with the webpage
Instructions
can be in the target language
You can use a search engine in German (e.g. use
http://www.Yahoo.de
or any of the German, Austrian, or Swiss search
engines you will find soon on the Search Engine
page in the upcoming TTSP German resource website)
You can
copy and paste a worksheet created in word processing
software
Click
on "add link" --- now you are done with
the first link.
Repeat
for each additional website you want to add.
You can
go back and insert another link, or edit any info
you have added.
When
you have added all your links (about 8 per track),
click on "make track."
Be
sure to write down the Track ID number
You need this to find it again (you can also do a
search if you forget it)
INTRODUCTORY
WEBPAGE FOR YOUR TRACK
If
you want to focus the exercise and explain what
the track is supposed to do, or familiarize students
with TrackStar's three-frame layout, you can use
the "build a webpage" feature for this
(example on track ID: 88832)
TIPS
TIPS TIPS TIPS TIPS
Do not
use the quiz feature - it can't handle foreign language
diacriticals
The home
page feature is fine.
The text
version is good for printing, but only the last
active frame will print
You can
insert another site and change the order of the
sites listed by using the insert/delete feature.
========
Peggy Setje-Eilers, Teaching + Technology Support
Partner (TTSP)
University
of Virginia, Department of Germanic Languages and
Literatures
|
