Unit Three - Internet


Task 4 - I Need A Vacation
Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

Need a vacation? Now is the time for you to plan your vacation. Skiing? Washington D.C.? Yellowstone National Park? You are going to choose a vacation destination, research the lodging, airfares, entertainment options and expenses. Decide when you are going and for how long. You have $2000 for this trip, take a friend, if you can afford it, and include them in the budget. You will organize all of your data in various documents to enable you to compare options and make educated decisions. In the process, you will demonstrate your ability to use the internet for researching and incorporating that information into several formats.


The Task

You will complete research on the internet about your vacation trip and gather as much information as you can on your data collection sheet. Once you have collected all necessary data, your task will be to complete the following documents and save them to your saving folder in a folder called "My Vacation." It is absolutely mandatory that you save all your documents in the correct folder for grading purposes.

 
Required Documents:
  1. Complete the preliminary data collection sheet with researched information necessary to complete the following tasks.
  2. A spreadsheet with all lodging (hotel) information on (5) different locations. (ie: hotel name, address, room price, e-mail address, etc).
  3. A "travel budget" spreadsheet with expense categories (travel, lodging, food, car rental, entertainment, miscellaneous, etc). along with a chart or graph to express your data visually.
  4. A 4-5 slide presentation, done in past tense, about your travel destination and what you did while there, using PowerPoint.



Resources

Ideas and Links

  • If you need Ideas for travel destinations, here is a list of some popular vacation spots with some links to information about those destinations. Using this site will save you time.

Travel Planning Sites

The following are travel planning sites where you can get airline and flight, hotel, and car rental, information, etc.


The Process

Things to do

How to do it

1.

Choose a vacation spot

Decide on a vacation spot of your choice. If you need help with this click on Ideas to see a list of popular vacation destinations along with links to some sites. Using this will save time.

2.
Preliminary Data Collection Sheet

As you research your destination, record the data on the preliminary Data Collection Sheet with the information necessary to complete all the following tasks. If you have internet access at home, you may be able to do some of this research outside of class.

3.
Approval of data collection sheet

Once you have completed research and filled in your data collection sheet, show your Data Collection Sheet to Mr. Hurt for approval. He will initial it and check you off before you go on.

4.
Lodging Spreadsheet

In AppleWorks or Excel, create a spreadsheet with all lodging (hotel) information on (5) different locations. (ie: hotel name, address, room price, e-mail address, etc) Sort in alphabetical order. Finding this info may require some research. (click here to see an example and additional information)

5.
Travel Budget - spreadsheet and graph

Using AppleWorks or Excel, create a "travel budget" spreadsheet complete with formulas and expense categories (travel, lodging, food, car rental, entertainment, miscellaneous, etc). Do a cost analysis of various options making adjustments to bring your expenses within your $2000 budget. Make a chart or graph to express your data visually.(click here to see an example and additional information)

8.
Final Presentation

Using PowerPoint, create a presentation about your vacation:

  • 5-10 slides
  • at least 4 pictures
  • a map downloaded from the internet
  • past tense description about your travel destination and what you did while on your vacation.
  • budget graph

Make the presentation past tense, as if you have already taken the trip, you should know enough about this vacation spot after your research to do this. (click here to see an example and additional information)

9.
Print your Documents

Once you have completed everything and double checked it for accuracy, spelling, following of directions, etc., then show Mr. Hurt the documents you created and turn them in and/or incorporate them all into your final project for him and the class to view. You should have:

  • Data Collection sheet
  • Travel budget with spreadsheet and pie chart
  • Lodging Spreadsheet
  • Presentation Rubric with your self evalaution filled out
  • Final Report(Print the slides, with notes if you used them)



Evaluation

Your grade will be determined by the documents you create and how well you adhere to the guidelines of instruction. This project should provide enough valid information to enable you to plan an actual trip. You can view the rubric to see more specifically what Mr. Hurt will be looking for in your project and how you will be graded. You will need to score at least a 30 to pass this Task Four.



Conclusion

Once you have completed this project, you will have shown an ability to create various computer documents necessary to be considered computer literate. In addition, you have learned some practical travel planning techniques using the widely available internet as a resource. One day you will use these techniques to plan an actual vacation. Have fun, Bon Voyage!


Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion
Internet 101
Task One - Partner/Individual
Task Two - Partner/Individual
Task Three - Individual
Task Four - Pick One Partner/Individual
  1. Journey Inside the Internet
  2. The Web At-a-Glance
  3. Navigating the Browser
  4. What was that again?
  5. Good Netizens
  1. Browsers, Browsers, Everywhere!
  2. Finding a Needle
  1. Internet Drivers License Test
  1. I Need A Vacation

Internet 101 Worksheets - Use only if you don't have a printed copy from Mr. Hurt
or your are printing them from home. 

You will need Acrobat Reader to view them.

Click here for the PDF of all the handouts for this Unit
(PDF)