TechnoBiography

TechnoWeb biography lesson plans show students how to construct a web-ography, an online biography about a significant person. Teachers may choose to assign a specific person or topic, or they may allow students to make their own choice. Step by step instructions teach students the technology skills which may be integrated into any curriculum area: language arts, history, social studies, or creative arts.

Students begin by viewing a sample web-ography, included in the project resources. The website is about Dian Fossey, a zoologist who studied wild gorillas. It contains a sample of each page that a student will make:

Following an activity about the importance of citing the sources of information, students complete an organizer and begin researching their subject using the Internet. Bookmarked websites, provided in the TechnoBiography resources, assist in directing students’ searches.

The biography lesson plans guide students in designing the appearance of the website. After an introduction to Microsoft Publisher, they customize the web page by choosing a:

• publication template
• color scheme and font scheme
• navigation bar and background

On the Home Page, students learn how to:

• make a text box to write a description
• insert and format pictures
• add a customized border
• write a picture caption

These skills are reviewed and practised when the students make the Biography Page.

For the timeline, students use a visual organizer to list important biographical events in chronological order. Then Autoshapes are created, aligned, distributed evenly, and connected to make an attractive, clear timeline in Publisher.