Introducción

Half term break! Every school year we look forward to that week which breaks up such a long school period as we usually have between Christmas and Easter. Mum and Dad think that both Easter and half term are a good period of time for city break bargains. However they don't have much time to look for them and...

They ask you to help them organise a family trip to London. Although the family lives in Malaga, leaving from Madrid would be no problem as they can always stay up with Grandma at no extra cost, apart from a little present for her and Aunt Maria. The trip would last at least five days.

It is important for you to consider the following information as you make your decision. We are looking for the lowest possible airfares, hotels and attractions. Mum and Dad like art, music and theatre. The children are under sixteen and love Nature and sailing. They all enjoy shopping but have a limited budget for the trip. Working as a group you need to research information about each of the Web sites provided . Use the spreadsheet provided to record your findings about each category to help you compare the results.

In order to convince the family, you must prepare a travel brochure for the activities you choose to have the best value. In each brochure you must highlight the major attractions, and include the information you found on airfare, activity and accommodation costs. Remember to make your brochure colourful and attractive.

Good luck! We know it is a big responsibility, but we know you can do it.

First, you will split into groups of four. You will need to divide the group so that 2 group members will be responsible for each job titles, bargain hunter and trip planner. Once you have been assigned your roles, you will then proceed to research your topic.

The two different job descriptions are given below.

1. Bargain hunter:
You are responsible for finding and comparing information about prices on travel lodging. You will review the three websites below to compare the overall costs of the trip. Your goal is to find the cheapest rates you can . You will also need to find cheapest prices for a hotel room . Record all the information gathered on the comparison chart provided.

As bargain hunter you will review these web sites in order to determine the best deals:

- Yahoo
http://www.travel.yahoo.com

- Expedia
http://www.expedia.com

- Octopus
http://www.octopustravel.com

http://www.tube.tfl.gov.uk

Remember you are trying to find the best deal out there. This could include promotions and packaged deals. Also, we only want the lowest prices of airfare and hotel accommodations. You will go to each Web site and find the prices for all the categories. This will give you a good idea on which is the lowest. Print out copies of the Web pages detailing the prices given so we can confirm these prices. Once you have found the information keep track of the lowest price in the spreadsheet that is given to you.
Remember that there are 24 hours in a day, and that this is only a five day trip, so time is a factor. Take what you think is the best option between a flight only and a hotel or a package deal , taking into account the situation of the hotel in the city .

We will use this information along with the trip planner's summary to determine which choice and itinerary is the best value for the price .

2. Trip planner

You are responsible for finding out what activities to do in London. You should prepare a list of the following: attractions, parks, tours, restaurants, and other features of the city. You will include the costs of the activity (if any apply) as well as operating hours of the location.

As this trip planner, you will review these web sites in order to find the attractions of the three cities.

http://www.aboutbritain.com
http://www.visitbritain.com
http://www.timeout.com
http://www.tube.tfl.gov.uk

Once you have found these web sites you will review the major attractions such as the following: monuments, museums, theatres, sporting events, restaurants, and tours. You must choose at least five of these attractions to include in your brochure. Organize the information you have found on the Trip planner Worksheet. Make sure you include the information about each of the attractions. This information will be used with the price comparison spreadsheet to determine which choice is the best value for the money.

As a group, your final duty is to work together and evaluate the information you have gathered. You will create a brochure for the city that includes information prices of travel and lodging and city attractions . Make sure the brochure is colourful and has pictures of the city and its attractions.

Trip planner Worksheet

Evaluación

You will be evaluated on an individual and group basis. Individually, you will be marked on how well you completed your role in the group project. As a group, you will be evaluated based on how well your group has analyzed and combined the information you have gathered.

*Remember: Each group is responsible for completing their job. If one person does not finish their tasks, this will affect all members of the group.

After completing your task successfully you should have learned:

- How to search the Web sites to find exactly what you were looking for.
- How to use a spreadsheet to compare results
- How to navigate sites to pick out important information and translated this information into a descriptive brochure
- How to compare different possibilities, along with their costs and advantages, and make a decision on what you have found
- How to organise group work and share information to reach an agreement

If you would like to investigate more search pages like those you have used, here are a few you can look through.

- Google http://www.google.com

- Altavista http://www.altavista.com

- Excite http://www.excite.com

Type in a word and see what sites come up for your topic. You will be amazed at the number of sites you will find.

** Remember: We use the computer primarily for research and instruction.

Credits