With more than 70 percent of schools nationwide having Internet access and more anticipated with E-rate funding on the horizon, Web page design is becoming an integral part of the curriculum. Students from the Grossmont Union High School District in El Cajon, California, design and maintain the district Web site and Web sites for each campus as one component of the district technology literacy requirement. One student created an outstanding site for the San Diego Convention Center, but did not have his work posted due to a delinquent deadline. Another obstacle is the World Wide Wait. Although bandwidth is adequate, many of the instructional services are now provided via Internet.
Students submit entries and are judged by the educational community on process and product.
ThinkQuest, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to advancing education by accelerating the use of computer networking applications and technology. We thought it would be wonderful if students and teachers, working together, could invent educational tools using their skills. While technologists like to believe the concept of creating Web pages is new, the reality is it is a 21st century book report that addresses multiple intelligences through multimedia creation. The media has changed from paper to computer, and the audience has changed from the bulletin board and the library to the world. I agree with Myrick and Johnson, Web page design is a skill for the 21st century.