For this project, you will develop a web page with your group.
You will choose a geographic subject or issue that you find interesting, educational and worth sharing with others.  You will determine an audience for your page: grades 5-6, grades 7-8 or high school. You will present the content with the education of this audience in mind.

If your web page meets the grading criteria and is favorably evaluated by the instructor and peers, it will be posted on this web page. It may then be competitively evaluated and included on the new ISU GTU home page, where it will be available for community teachers to use in class. This is a great way to share what you have learned!
 
 

   Choose a subject. Although you have ample flexibility in this project, there are some considerations.

   - It is best to choose a subject that the whole team is interested in. If there is big dissent among team members during the choosing of the project, it may be a disincentive for some to work on a project they dislike.

   - Make sure that the subject you choose is one that can be researched in the time allotted and with the resources available. If  you are not sure, do some preliminary research attempts to see what's available on the web, at the library, in your department, etc.

   - The subject must relate to geography. This is not necessarily a difficult requirement. As you have seen, there are many types of      geography and geography relates to many other disciplines. However, you must focus on the geography of whatever it is that you are studying. For example, instead of developing a page on cows in general, do a study of the spatial distribution of various types of cows, such as dairy cows versus beef cattle, in the U.S. (with maps, of course). You then could look at the diffusion of various nationalities of immigrants throughout the U.S. and the types of cows (or breeds) they favored. You could also look at the different types and locations of industries that have developed based on cows.

  Map out your web page. It is best to do this in person together with your team. Decide how many pages you want to develop within your web page and how you want the links to work. Do you want to have various components listed and linkable off to the side of the page? Would you prefer to run through the site linearly, as in a tutorial? Mapping the page helps not only in designing the web page but also in focusing the material content. It is advised to have one home page and at least 3 sub-pages with material and links.

  Divide the workload. Depending on how many people you have in your group, you will divide the project in such a way so that there are several researchers and an editor. Usually, the editor is the one with the most web experience. If you have only a few team members, the editor may also have to be a researcher.

  Start researching. You will need to use at least 7 outside sources. These can be books, articles, information from other web sites, interviews, CD-ROMs, or other academic resources. However, it is vital that you cite your sources in your work. Do this as you would in a term paper. Citing must comply  with one of the major methods (e.g., APA, Turabian, MLA).

  Periodically regroup. Every once in a while, meet with your team members to evaluate progress. This is important for the following reasons: to make sure that everyone's work is in synch, to avoid gaps in the material or unnecessary duplication of effort, and to ensure that everyone is focused.

  Get it together. Once finished, compile all the material and pages. This is the editing phase. You will probably find that you need to add a portion here or there or rework parts of it. You will also finish compiling the bibliography or sources cited section. Once finished, it's ready for instructor review before final submission!

   Make sure to keep back-ups of your material. This picture says it all as far as why.

   Make sure to edit your work: spelling, grammar, style, content are all subject to evaluation. Don't forget... the written content itself is the most important means of educating your audience. It must be accurate, understandable and sourced.

It can be hard to work together with others to make a web page that flows well and is consistent and comprehensive. However, the ease with which your audience can follow the basic workings of your page is very important not only to attract readers but also to keep and educate them.

   Content, content, content. The whole point of doing the page is to educate. Interesting pictures, cool graphics, neato animation are great for attractive and effective presentation. However, they must serve in a supporting role to the content of the page. The total written content should amount to approximately 5 pages of double-spaced, 12 point font text. Click on the globe button to see a page that would NOT be a good example of content-rich web design :-)
 

Here are a couple of sites to help you get started.

HTMLHelp.com

Yahoo! HTML Help for Beginners