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The Best Web Sites for Teachers (by Vicki F.
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Virtual Architecture—Designing and Directing
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Educators Take Charge—Teaching in the Internet
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If I Teach This Way, Am I
Doing
My Job?
Constructivism in the Classroom
by Debra Sprague and Christopher Dede
Educators have been moving toward both technology
integration and
constructive teaching practices. But they may not understand
how these
changes translate into effective classroom practice. This
month’s
feature describes the value of integrating technology with
student-centered,
meaningful, and engaging learning experiences based on
constructivist
theory.
Download
the full article (PDF, 340 KB, PDF Instructions)
Ten Powerful Ideas
Shaping
the Present and Future of IT in Education
by David Moursund
Dr. Moursund describes 10 powerful ideas (based on
Seymour Papert’s
powerful ideas) for information technology in education.
Getting Everybody
Involved:
Cooperative PowerPoint Creations Benefit Inclusion
Students
by Rebecca Kelly
Using PowerPoint in a cooperative setting allows inclusion
students
to create presentations as part of the learning process.
Special education
teacher Rebecca Kelly suggests her approach for any subject
area in
Grades 4 and above. See one of the student-created PowerPoint
presentations.
Electronic Books:
Presentation Software Makes Writing More Fun
by Bob Hodges
In this month’s second article covering student
PowerPoint use,
Bob describes “electronic books,” a concept he
developed in
response to his district’s five-year plan to integrate
technology
into the learning process. See samples of student’s work
and print
his worksheets.
Do Vampires Exist?
Using Spreadsheets to Investigate a Common
Folktale
by Hollylynne Stohl Drier
Using basic mathematical concepts and spreadsheet skills,
students investigated
the existence of vampires. The spreadsheet provides a
computational
tool that facilitates the investigative nature of the activity
and allows
students to solve a mathematical problem in an open-ended,
exploratory
manner. Hollylynne’s award-winning lesson plan is posted
on Microsoft’s
Web site.
Chatting It Up Online:
Students Talk
to a Favorite Author
by Pamela Livingston
One of the many things computer technology can provide to
schools is
a way to reach beyond the four walls of the classroom and
bring a unique
learning experience to students. Author chats are one way this
can happen.
Visit many different sources of information about author
chats, and
then try one with your students.
Mars Mania: Internet Resources
for the
New Millennium
by Bob Albrecht and Paul Davis
Longtime readers of Power Tools for Math & Science will
remember
projects involving Mars in the past. This year, Bob welcomes a
new co-author
to the fold and begins a new incarnation of Power Tools. This
month’s
Starship Gaia looks at building communities on Mars (and
provides many
data resources you can use in your classroom) and then brings
the focus
back to Earth for some sources of environmental projects and
information.
Tornadoes and Lightning and
Floods,
Oh My!
Weather-Related Web Sites for K–12 Science
Lessons
by Juanita Jo Matkins and Denise Murphy
One of the biggest problems with using the World Wide Web for
classroom
lessons is finding enough time to locate useful sites. But,
Juanita
Jo and Denise have done the hard part for you. You and your
students
can visit the Web sites they evaluated.
Electronic Fences or
Free-Range Students?
Should Schools Use Internet Filtering Software?
by David Pownell and Gerald Bailey
Two Kansas State University faculty members outline the pros
and cons
of Internet filtering software. They also offer school
administrators
four options to choose when deciding whether to filter
information.
Smooth Skating for Multimedia
Mania
Winners
by Kate Vanderhorst
Two Canadian fifth-grade girls won the 1998 International
Multimedia
Contest using their imaginations fired by HyperStudio. Find
out more
about the yearly Multimedia Mania contest and read some other
classroom
HyperStudio projects.
Mining the Internet
Online
by Glen Bull, Gina Bull, & Judi
Harris
Mining the Internet is an ongoing column in L&L.
Frequently
the Internet changes substantially in the six months between
the time
that a column is submitted and the time it appears in print.
The Mining
the Internet Web site will provide a location for updates to
each issue’s
column. It will also provide a way to offer active links to
Internet
locations mentioned in the column and a place for material
that would
not fit in the confines of a four-page column. The column will
therefore
become a hybrid mix of print materials that will appear in
each issue
of L&L and supplementary materials that will be
placed on
the Web each month.
