Web'ster: E Big City Sites
Faithful readers
of this column know they will be lead astray. International travel is
our passion and, if we have to be in our classrooms for nine months,
let’s see the world via the Internet. For us, it’s our chance
to escape. For our students, the Internet gives them a chance to stay
in touch. Let’s look at some travel sources on the Net that will
help you and your students stay in contact and learn more about the
world and even your neighborhoods.
The guides below
are great sources for background material students can use these to
prepare essays and discussions on “My country and its holidays/people/tourist
sites.” But before all of us fall asleep with those topics, think
about using the guides to bring a city alive. What movies are playing?
What art shows are on exhibit? What businesses are merging? Guides on
the web are more topical than printed material. They maintain lists
of current restaurants, cultural events, sporting matches, and other
changing attractions. Have your students compare theater listings in
two cities; have them write their own restaurant review of a hometown
restaurant they found on the web.
Once they learn how these web guides are organized, have them publish
their own personal guide to their school or neighborhood. Small group
brainstorming sessions will produce lists of categories for the students
to amplify individually or in pairs. Then the site will have to be maintained
and revised. Many of the city guide sites are full of ads. Don’t
despair. Use these ads in your activities. Remember ads are targeted
to area users. Have your students explain why there are liposuction
ads for Los Angeles sites and home builders’ ads for San Antonio.
To get a feel for these web guides, check out the US-based sites such as www.citysearch.com, www.sidewalk.com, and digitalcity.com. Citysearch has only two international sites, Sweden and Australia, but that’s two more than sidewalk and digitalcity combined. Digitalcity.com offers a wide range of local information. Once you pick your city, stick to the Local Tools so you can see what’s happening in the city of your choice. In the Washington DC site on the day I tuned in, there was no discussion of politics, local or national. I thought I must have clicked on the wrong city. They did offer the Personal of the Day— your chance to meet the love of your life—and a pen pal section (Remind them of security issues: no phone numbers, no addresses, etc.). The best source for international cities is the meta-search tool, www.AskJeeves.com. To find specific city sites, type in keywords such as “Tourism in Shanghai” or “Museums in Berlin”. For more global choices, type in “Tourism in City”. You’ll be given options for many travel resource web sites; city guide sites; travel guides and web sites for regions. You also find a lot of options that would make interesting side trips, but not necessarily worth the journey.
Lin Lougheed is president of Instructional Design International, based in Washington D.C.