Choose Your Tool

Attention: Steve F.
Re: Trailfire in the 6th grade Language Arts classroom

Steve,
Students are researching digitally. Less and less go to the libraries and dust off books to find information. More and more simply log on and bowse the Internet. Because most students reasearch via Internet, it is our job, as teachers, to provide a safe way of conducting Internet research in the classroom. Trailfire is the answer.

Trailfire is a teacher made, webquest-like browser that allows students to search for information in a safe, confined, and precise way. For a given subject or topic the teacher wants to teach, he or she can make a trail of web pages for students to follow. The teacher will first find information on several different websites about the topic he or she will teach, then link these websites to Trailfire (through guides), and finally, make comments or ask questions to students on each webpage, called "marking". The pages are linked together, with comments, in a sequential path developed by the teacher for easy use by the students.

Trailfire is a tool that should be used in every classroom. Trailfire provides a safe and easy way for students to research information on the web. Trailfire makes learning authentic, interactive, and personal. The student constructs his or her own new knowledge about a subject or topic by following the trails, reading the teacher's comments, and answering the provided questions on each marked page. Teachers can make sure students stay on task during the instructional period because all they have to do is look at the computer monitor to see whether or not the student is on the "trail" as each web page shows a sticky note with markings by the teacher. Trailfire is safe because it eliminates disorganized and cluttered searching and browsing.

I believe Trailfire is a tool that can be effectively and efficiently implemented in all grade levels and for all content areas. If you would like to learn more about Trailfire, please contact me. I would be more than happy to administer a PD, training, or information session on the use of Trailfire in the classroom.

Sincerely,
Jackie