CyberGuide by Pamela Page

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 Introduction

This team activity will give you a better idea of what it is like to be a trucker. You will be taking a simulated road trip in your own eighteen wheel truck up the length of California . You also will learn how to check the weather and road conditions, and how to plot a course using a map web site.

With your teacher, please review your school's acceptable use policy for work on the Internet. Also, links to the web often change. Tell your teacher when you find a poor link in this guide.

The Task (Trip Log)

You will be keeping a daily log of your trip. In this log you will record all the information for each day you travel until you reach your destination. You will also plot your course on a map of California. The job of filling out the Log should rotate to a different team member each day.

The Process: Exploring the Web, Creating a Product

Your job is to haul a product in your truck from San Diego, CA, to Crescent City, CA. You will get on the Internet to fine the information you need for your trip. Also, some of the information is right here in your Student Guide. Remember, you must follow the laws and rules stated in this guide, just as real truckers must follow state and federal laws.

Day One

Today is not a traveling day. You will need to take this day to plan your trip, and to get the forms you will need to keep track of all your information.

1. Click on this map and print a copy to plot your route to Crescent City. Wait to plot your trip until you get into the map web site later on.

2. Click on this Trip Information Log and print a copy. You will need this to write down important information about your team:

• team name
• team members
• daily destination

3. Click on this copy of Rules of The Road. You must follow all these rules or your team will be penalized!

4. Go to Crop Information to choose one of the top 20 crops in California. Write your crop it in your Trip Information Log.

5. Go to Mapquestnow.

Find out how f ar it is to Crescent City from San Diego. You will also get directions on how to get to Crescent City on the freeways. Type in your starting point, which is San Diego, CA. Leave the street address blank. Then type in your destination, which is Crescent City, CA. Then click the circle next to "city to city", and click on "Calculate directions".

• Scroll down the page. There will be two small maps: one of your starting city and one of your destination city. Below the maps Mapquest will give you the total miles to Crescent City--and directions on how to get there. Follow those written directions and plot your course to your destination on your printed map of California. Also, write in the total miles on your Trip Information Log.

6. Now that you have some more information you can fill in the rest of the information on your Trip Information Log. You may want to ask your teacher for a calculator to complete your Log.

Day Two

You are now ready to begin your trip. You will need to check the weather and the road conditions for your first day of travel. When you go to the different sites, don't forget to log the information on your Daily Log. You will need to fill out a Daily Log EACH DAY you travel.

1. Go to California Highway Conditions. Scroll down to the area you are in and look for your highway. Click on the highway you are traveling on today and check on the road conditions. Don't forget to write what you find out in your Daily Log.

2. Go to Weather Information, type in the closest city to where you are and click "go city". That will give you the weather report. Don't forget to write the information in your Daily Log. If you type in a city that isn't on their list, pick one that is nearby on your map, and try it.

3. At this time ask your teacher if she/he is using FATE CARDS for this activity, if so, you must send a team member to roll the dice to find out your "Fate" for today's travel, because as you know, "Anything can happen on the road".

4. Using the information you now have from the RULES OF THE ROAD paper, and your Fate for today, you are ready to compute how many hours and miles you can travel today. To get how many miles you can go today multiply the number of hours you can travel by 55. Remember, you can go no faster that 55 mph at any time. This will tell you the most miles you are allowed to travel today. When you have computed this information write it in your Daily Log.

5. Now it is time to go into Mapquest and find out how far you can get today on your trip to Crescent City. Type in your Starting Point, and then choose a city up the highway. Mapquest will calculate the number of miles.

• If you can go farther, based on your miles calculated for today, go back and type in a city that is a little farther away.
• If you don't see one, then double click on the picture of the small map of the last destination city you entered. This will send you to another screen which will show a larger map of the surrounding area. Then you can look for another town.
• When you find one, go back to the previous screen, click on the box at the bottom of the screen to calculate new directions and enter it as your destination city, and see how many miles it is.
• Remember you don't have to travel exactly the miles you have calculated, and you have to stop for the night at a rest stop, (marked by an R on your map) or in a city on your map.
• If you would like to see if there is another town you can stop at for the night that is not on your map, then follow the same procedure you did for finding a town farther up the highway.

When you have completed your travel for the day, and you have a town or rest stop for the night, then complete your Daily Log, by writing some notes about your day. How was the food when you stopped to eat. Did anything interesting happen along the way? How was the weather? Were there any traffic accidents? Extra points will be given for the most inventive journal notes.

Each Day After Day 2

Continue your trip to Crescent City. Each day you must print another copy of the Daily Log in order to fill out your information for the day. Don't forget to check road conditions, weather, and distances using the web sites listed in the directions for the first day.

Answer the remaining question on you log for the day, and mark your progress on your map. Don't forget to write in your log about your experiences for the day.

The simulation is over when you reach Crescent City or the city assigned by your teacher.

 How You Will Be Graded

You will receive a group grade based on the following on your daily log and group participation

• Did you complete all the information in your Log each day?
• Did you do all your calculations correctly?
• Did you use your imagination to write a journal entry relating your experiences for the day?
• Did you follow all the rules of the road and complete your Trip Information Log?
• Did you work well with your team, support each other, help each other with the Log entries, take turns with the computer & the map, and did you avoid "putdowns"?

Click notebook to go to Student Activities

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