4.1.4

How Stuff Works 4.1.4 Seek information for personal learning in a variety of formats and genres. Although this is a dot com webpage, it is really cool and a good substitution in case a student does not have access to a database. How Stuff Works has a wide variety of information available in the forms of images and videos, and as such is an excellent source for visual, and also audio learners. How Stuff Works has content which is aimed at adults (such as information on first time home buying), material that is aimed at both children and adults, as well as content which is aimed specifically at younger students. The material aimed at children is educational, but also appealing towards a younger audience. An example of such is the Shark Attack Quiz:

The quiz has lots of cool pictures of sharks, which are always a big hit with young students. Whenever an answer is clicked, correct or incorrect, a brief blurb appears explaining the answer.

This is not the only way that How Stuff Works provides students with the chance to gain further knowledge. Once the quiz is over, the student has the option to compare his/her score to other students, or to take other educational quizzes. By clicking the link "Saltwater Fish" above the quiz, students can find a variety of information on sharks and other saltwater sea creatures. If students still have shark attacks on the brain, a quick search using the term "Shark Attack" brings up numerous educational and entertaining articles about shark attacks:

Shark Attack Patterns
These examples illustrate just how in-depth How Stuff Works gets in covering its various topics; these aren't even all of the articles on shark attacks. Students can also connect How Stuff Works with their Facebook accounts. This allows students to share articles, quizzes, or other educational media found on How Stuff Works with each other, and with their friends from outside of class.

There are two aspects of How Stuff Works that directly support children's information seeking behavior, according to Linda Z. Cooper's research in //A Case Study of Information-Seeking Behavior in 7-Year-Old Children in a Semistructured Situation// (Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53 (11):904-922, 2002. According to her research, children "looked for information largely through **visual browsing** and **asking questions**." (906, emphasis added) The design of this website definitely supports both of these tendencies. The layout is always supported by engaging photographs of the subject matter, and there's even a "pics and puzzles" feature to visually engage students. The entire approach of the website encourages question-asking and will branch off to more and more specific searches almost infinitely, inspiring students to continue to do research by asking and answering all their own questions.

This tool supports numerous aspects of the NETS Standards:

1) Creativity and Innovation c. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues-How Stuff Works uses quizzes, polls, lists, and more to help students self-guide through thousands of possible subjects. It allows students to take their research as far as they'd like by continuing to suggest more articles, questions, and answers.

2) Communication and Collaboration a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media-This tool allows students to connect with each other through the website itself, by allowing them to compare scores with their peers, and read materials written by experts. As noted, students can also interface How Stuff Works with their facebook account, another way of sharing and using different media and communicating information through different formats.

3) Research and Information Fluency c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks-the variety of features offered on this website makes it a diverse source for research depending on the assignment and the student's own approach to it.

4) Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions-data collection is made interesting and intuitive by the design of this website. Students make their own choices to explore content through a variety of designs.

5) Digital Citizenship b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning and productivity- Students can brag about their scores to the quizzes on facebook, take pride in sharing with others what they've learned.

6) Technology Operations and Concepts d. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies-current interests lead to learning, both how to navigate through the sites many features, and by constantly offering new knowledge paths to the students.

Multiple Intelligences

1) Interpersonal learners-How Stuff Works offers many opportunities for cooperation and sharing with others, both on the site and on other sources.

2) Verbal-Linguistic-These learners can feast on the many texts within the site.

3) Logical-Mathematical-will love the scientific investigation offered in this tool.

4) Intrapersonal-although there are many opportunitis for collaboration, more reflective students can work alone through whatever paths interest them.

5) Auditory-the videos on How Stuff Works will appeal to those who learn best through sound, music, and rhythm.

Meaningful Learning

1) Active-being able to manipulate the environment of the website engages students and makes the learning active and meaningful.

2) Constructive-comparing scores or posting results allows students to reflect on the learning which has taken place.

3) Intentional-there is a completeness to each article or activity on the website; the student can then choose to pursue each topic further or stop when their goal has been met.

4) Authentic-the real-life aspect of the subjects covered by the webpage keep learning in its natural context and makes it meaningful.

5) Cooperative-Students can work with the materials presented, or choose to work with their peers to problem solve and learn. How Stuff Works encourages conversation between learners.