netTrekker Training Outline

Total Time: 45–75 minutes

Quick Intro (5 minutes)

Digital Learning Commons Homepage

• Introduce staff to the website and show them how to access resources.
• Point out the Search box (appears on every page) and the About section.
• Explain differences between Students, Educators, and Parents sections.

netTrekker

netTrekker provides easy access to educator-evaluated websites focusing on K-12 resources, many of which align with Washington State standards. It also links to tools and classroom guides for teachers.

Intro Activities (15–30 minutes)

Go over the different levels of netTrekker: Elementary, Middle, High, and State Standards. If students or staff want a lower reading level, they can use the Elementary section to find information.

Keyword Search: Give staff an opportunity to do a keyword search, and then explain the search results page. Explain that when results come up, there are a variety of different tabs at the top to choose from: Lesson Plans, Learning Exercises, Pictures, Maps, Charts. These tabs lead to different types of resources related to the keyword search.

Subject Search: Give staff a chance to dive into a particular subject and explore information. Be sure to let staff pick the subject they want to explore.

For more information about searching netTrekker, click on Help in the My Tools box. When browsing Help, you'll find information about searching under Search with netTrekker.

Digging Deeper (15–30 minutes)

Timeline: netTrekker's dynamic Timeline provides a chronological index of eras, events, arts and innovations, and famous people throughout history. The Timeline is located inside of the blue Features box. Zoom into a specific period of history, compare and contrast major innovations across continents, or layer artistic works onto periods of history. netTrekker gives users the power to view history piece by interactive piece. For more information, click on Timeline Help in the Help Tips box.

Famous Person Search: Using netTrekker's Famous Person Search, you can quickly and easily locate information about well-known people, including political leaders, athletes, scientists, artists, writers, and more. This feature is located in the blue Features box. For more information, click on Help in the My Tools box. When browsing Help, you'll find information about this tool under Search with netTrekker.

My Tools: The yellow My Tools box contains links to helpful resources, such as preferences, help, and other administrative features. There is also a link to information about contacting netTrekker if you have more questions or need assistance.

Teacher Tools: netTrekker is loaded with tools collected especially for teachers. These include links to national teacher associations, education news sources, professional development, classroom resources, and state resources from all 50 states, as well as many other helpful sites for educators. You can access these tools from the Features box.

References: netTrekker is loaded with additional reference resources for elementary, middle, and high schools. Click on References in the Features box to access these resources.

Additional Resources (5 minutes)

Click on Help in the My Tools box to access the following tools. When browsing Help, you'll find these tools under Implementation Resources.

netTrekker Tour: The tour takes about 10 minutes and provides an overview of the product's unique features.

netTrekker Quick Reference Guide: This guide shows the key features of netTrekker at a glance, and is a great resource for introductory or advanced training classes.

Assessments (2–5 minutes)

Return to the Digital Learning Commons website. Click on the Training Evaluation link, which appears at bottom of every page on the site.