Imagine a 6th grader in Michigan sending email to an acetic Coptic monk
who lives in a cave in the Sahara Desert?
Now imagine the monk sitting in his cave answering the email on a
laptop....
WebSiteOne(sm) and The Scriptorium have developed "Odyssey in Egypt".
It's an interactive archaeological dig.
It's a pilot program that is linking middle schools in Western Michigan
with the excavation. The Scriptorium is providing a 10 week multi-
disciplinary curriculum that covers Egyptian history, and culture along
with science and archaeology all on the internet.
The Scriptorium Center for Christian Antiquities is excavating the site
of a 4th century Coptic monastery at Wadi Natrun, Egypt (100 miles north
of Cairo, halfway between Cairo and Alexandria). It's the monastery of
St. John the Little.
Once a week, the school kids log onto the "Odyssey in Egypt" site, get an
update from the excavation and participate in the lesson for that week.
The updates include pictures and stories from the archaeologists, the
people working on the site, and two teenage correspondents. As soon as
something significant is found, it's on the internet.
The students send email to Dr. Scott Carroll, the excavation director,
and the other archaeologists. They ask questions, send drawings, etc. Dr.
Carroll answers questions and poses some new questions for the kids.
loving it.
The classes also get real pottery fragments to assemble in their classes
just like the archaeologists do in Egypt. One class even built a Sphinx!!
Pretty cool.
for more information, contact: Steven Boggess s-bog@website1.com
Cathy de Moll and Julia Gillett formed TBT International to create and
produce educational programs focused around the Internet. They are
the producers of Blue Ice: Focus On Antarctica.
Classrooms gr. 4-12 can examine the Antarctic Food web with this
interactive program -- learning in-depth about the rich ecosystem and
talking by e-mail to the scientists who study penguins, whales, etc.
They can see how scientists discover more about global warming
through studying the Antartic ozone hole and digging deep into the ice
core. High Schools can take part in an ozone data collection project.
Just a few of the Blue Ice featured guests from last year:
A penguin expert based at Palmer Station; the Executive Officer of a
Coast Guard ice breaker; a former representative from US Antarctica
Treaty committee; a NASA satellite engineer; explorers Ann Bancroft,
Will Steger and Norman Vaughan; a photographer and climber; a Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist; a glaciologist....Some of the Web sites
visited: Mawson and McMurdo Bases, the Center for Astrophyiscal Research
in Antarctica, British Antarctic Survey, NASA, The US Coast Guard Cutter
Polar Sea, NOAA, Scott Weather Base, Skymath, the Smithsonian, the South
Pole, the Penguin Page, and more....
"It's a great time to be a teacher or a student of science -- and a
television producer as well! -- with such fantastic tools as the Hubble
Space Telescope, interactive television, and the Internet now at hand.
These tools are linking us to scientific experts who want to share their
expanding body of knowledge with those who want to learn more about the
world and the universe in which we live." Project Director Geoff
Haines-Stiles
For the first time ever, in the spring of 1996, students in grades K-12
will have a chance to serve as collaborators with space scientists as they
design and implement observations for three upcoming Hubble Space
Telescope orbits. These observations will be the focus of two live,
interactive television broadcasts scheduled for March 14, 1996 and April
23, 1996 at 13:00-14:00 Eastern time on NASA-TV and many Public
Broadcasting Stations. Check with the Education Director of your local PBS
station for local coverage.
Passport to Knowledge projects integrate live telecasts, on-line
resources, and print curriculum materials.... three key characteristics of
this frontier breaking real world science adventure series. Working in
partnership with NASA, NSF, STScI (Space Telescope Science Institute), and
public television, Passport to Knowledge is living up to our
theme......"real science, real scientists, real locations, real time!"
Students will have the opportunity to interact with scientists via an
on-line Question and Answer forum and Field Journals, giving a close-up
glimpse of the lives of key scientists, researchers, and support
personnel. Our discussion mail list invites educators to share integration
ideas. Special activities are planned now through April so be sure to
join our updates mail list.
"I work for a K-8 district with schools in Chandler, Tempe and Phoenix,
Arizona. Each classroom is equipped with at least one Power Mac (or
equivalent DOS machine if the teacher prefers) and at least one portable
(laptop) computer workstation. Students have access to the Internet
through both of these computers, provided they are linked to the network.
Teachers are currently doing a variety of activities using technology and
the Internet. The students cannot access the chat groups. We also have
technology staff (teachers) whose job it is to train teachers in/on the
use of technology in their classrooms."
"Our students communicate with scientists and other professionals and
students across the country via Internet. We have 6 sites (+2 more going
to training next month) active in the GLOBE Program - where students
scientifically collect environmental and weather data and communicate
their data via Internet to NASA and other scientists."
"We also use the Internet as a research tool. The Intel Program was
specifically designed to encourage girls and minorities in math, science
and technology. We are currently working on a homepage for this. The
focus group here are 6th, 7th and 8th grade girls and minorities. We hope
to continue the program for two more years as long as the $$ is there.
There is a strong technology/Internet component to this Program."
"There is also a strong family piece to the Intel Program. Our next
family night will consist of our students teaching their parents/showing
them how to use Internet. We have another grant proposal pending through
NSF that extends the Intel Program and adds a mentoring component with
junior high/high school/college women. It is also very technology
oriented."
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Telecommunications Projects in Montgomery County, Virginia
For the past five years students in Montgomery County have had access to the
Internet through Virginia's Public Education Network. More recently, funding
from an NSF grant written by the Computer Science department of Virginia
Tech, in conjunction with the school division, has allowed several schools
to connect to the Internet through the Blacksburg Electronic Village via
high-speed dedicated lines donated by Bell Atlantic. Through the use of
telecommunications, students have had the opportunity to participate in
many projects resulting in world wide contacts which have fostered
greater global understanding. Descriptions of some of the projects follow.
A Comparison of Social Problems
Fourth and fifth graders at Bethel Elementary compared the social problems
of Virginia with those in other countries. The students composed the
following letter which they sent by email:
"Hello.
We are a group of nine and ten year old students who are studying world
geography. This morning we had a class discussion focusing on the greatest
problems in our state, the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our list of problems
included the following:
* homelessness
* drug abuse
* racism
* gangs
* hunger
* crime
* poor leadership.
After looking at these problems closely, we believe a common root for most
of them is a lack of education. If people were better educated, many of
these problems would be lessened.
We then looked at this fact: In Virginia our government spends four times as
much incarcerating each prisoner than it does on each child attending
school. We believe if we had better leaders, perhaps these amounts could be
switched and many of our social problems would be solved. If schools
received the increased funding, we could have better equipment, more books,
more teachers, programs designed to meet the real needs of learners, and so
on. This would lead to more people being better educated.
What do you believe to be the greatest social problem in your country? What
do you believe are the causes? What solutions would you recommend?
Thank you for taking the time to help us."
Putting Historical Events into Perspective
Students in the United States spend much time studying two interesting time
periods--the late 1700s and the mid 1800s, focusing particularly on the
American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War. But where do these
events fit into the big scheme of things? Fourth and fifth graders at Bethel
Elementary School are finding out through an email project. The following
letter was sent to volunteers in twelve different countries:
"Hello.
We are nine and ten year olds who are studying United States history. The
time periods we are studying are 1760-1790 and 1850-1870. We would like you
to answer two questions for us:
1. What do you believe is the most historically significant event of the
time periods 1760-1790 and 1850-1870?
2. In the time periods given, what is the most historically significant
event of your country?
Thank you for helping us."
CU-SeeMe
Fifth graders at Riner Elementary School compared the geography of southwest
Virginia to that of Bellevue, Washington, first by exchanging email and
finally by participating in a CU-SeeMe exchange with the students at Sunsite
Elementary School. Disney, Inc. sent a production company to film the
exchange to air on "Epcot: Journey to Discovery."
Student-Run Literature Contest
Fifth graders at Margaret Beeks Elementary School hosted a national
literature contest. Each week a team of students wrote a set of clues about
a fictional character. Monday through Thursday clues were posted as to the
character's identity. Monday's clues were hardest; by Thursday the clues
were fairly easy. Students from thirty-one locations throughout the world
participated, sending their guesses in by noon on Friday. Every Friday
afternoon a list of "winners" was emailed to the participants. The following
year a request came in for a repeat of the contest. Another school
volunteered to run it and did so successfully. The project continues to this
day.
Sunrise-Sunset
Contacts in thirty locations world wide sent the exact times of sunrise and
sunset for January 11th. Fifth graders at Margaret Beeks took this raw data
and first compiled it into a table, converting all times to a 24-hour clock
for easy subtraction. The amount of daylight was calculated and students
made a bar graph beginning on the left with the location experiencing the
least sunlight. Then, the students took a blank world map and numbered the
locations from the North to the South Pole. "Ahas!" were exclaimed as the
students discovered the correlation between the amount of sunlight and the
location on Earth. Of course, one student queried, "If Antarctica has the
most sunlight, why is it the coldest place?" This led to a science lesson
about the earth's 23 1/2 degree tilt.
Comparison of Consumer Consumption
A fourth grade classroom at Margaret Beeks Elementary School made a
comparitive study of the amount of consumer goods they owned with the goods
owned by people in other countries. The families of the twenty-six students,
who are residents of Blacksburg, answered the student-designed survey
telling how many bicycles, cars, microwave ovens, etc. they owned. Using
email, students administered the same survey to twenty-six people in foreign
locations. A comparison of the data showed that Americans owned many, many
times the consumer goods of people in other countries.
Discovering Earth's Fault Lines
Each day fifth graders at Margaret Beeks Elementary School checked the
earthquake report on the University of Michigan's online weather service. A
colored push pin was inserted into the earthquake site on a world map
mounted on a bulletin board. After several months, students were able to
locate the major fault lines on the earth by looking at the pattern of the
push pins.
Iditarod
The excitement of the Iditarod was brought into fourth and fifth grade
classroom at Margaret Beeks via email. Several times each day a school in
Ohio sent updates of the race. Previously, students had studied the Iditarod
and read the book Race Against Death. A map of Alaska was displayed and
students traced the course. Students began to root for certain racers, and
the girls, in particular, loved that women sometimes win this test of
endurance and commitment. Straight pins with small paper pennants labeled
with the names of racers, which students can move on the map when the
updates arrive, make this an exciting project.
For more information on Montgomery County projects, contact Melissa
Matusevich at mmatusev@pen.k12.va.us
___________________________________________________________________________
Don't Forget to Learn for Yourself!
One of the most exciting parts of having a new technology become
available is the opportunity for teachers as well as students to learn -
or even take the opportunity to learn along with the students. Don't
worry, they don't really expect you to know everything. One of the best
things about having the Internet available to me is that is legitimately
lets me say "I don't know - let's go look it up" to my kids - and then we
do. Sometimes the kids are better at finding out new things on the
Internet than I am - and that's ok. I'm always excited when they find a
new place for us to explore!
Training the Trainers - Teacher Training Projects
One of the most effective techniques for improving the quality of
education for girls is to "train the trainers" - encourage training for
teachers in ways to deal more equitably with girls in the classroom, and
train those teachers to then train other teachers in their districts and
schools. The following are some examples of training programs for teachers.
__________________________________________________________________________
Computer Equity Expert Project
The Computer Equity Expert Project was designed to increase girls'
participation in technology, science and mathematics, in advanced elective
courses and in extracurricular activities. This was accomplished via a
trainer-of-trainers approach with 200 grades 6-12 classroom teachers and
administrators, representing every state in the U.S. Four week-long
seminars for 50 trainers each and a three-day followup meeting were held
for 200 trainers. Trainers taught workshops to their faculty and led
faculty teams in implementing strategies with girls. Followup contact
included a newsletter and an electronic network.
Among the results: trainers reached over 77,000 girls with their
strategies and involved 9,400 of their colleagues. Seventy-one percent of
the trainers gave equity presentations not required by the project.
Ninety-eight percent of the trainers performed at or above the minimum
level required by the project.
Dates September 1990 through February 1993: 2.5 years
Sponsoring Organization:
Women's Action Alliance
370 Lexington Avenue, Suite 603
New York, New York 10017
(212) 532-8330
Project Director: Jo Sanders.
Current address:
Center for Advanced Study in Education
CUNY Graduate Center
25 West 43rd Street, Suite 400
New York, New York 10036
(212) 642-2672
These are some examples of the results of this teacher training program,
the Computer Equity Expert Project:
In Pennsylvania, a trainer held a Saturday "Computer Brunch" for girls and an
adult female of their choice, with food donated by local businesses. In
Michigan, a trainer started a computer club for middle-school girls. In
Colorado, the science department decided to try an all-girl science lab.
It worked extremely well.
In New York, female chemistry and physics teachers were hired due to
awareness created by the project. In South Carolina, a trainer started a
girls' science club which attracted as many as 45 girls at one time.
About a dozen of the girls, graduated to 7th grade in another building,
joined the previously all-male science club in the new school.
In Texas, a trainer invited women engineers to speak to students.
In Montana, a trainer issued personal invitations to girls to join the
rocketry club. It used to be 15:1 in favor of boys, but it's now 50/50.
In Arkansas, a trainer identified 22 girls who were highly qualified for
advanced math and invited them to a meeting -- where pizza was served! --
to urge them to continue. Two-thirds did. In Wyoming, science teachers
made sure that girls were equally involved in science activities, not just
watching from the back of the crowd.
In Washington State, a trainer accompanied girls to an engineering fair at
a local university, where their guides for a tour of the facilities were
female engineering students. In Kansas, all counselors are now required to
meet with the teachers of advanced science and math courses to learn more
about the courses in order to advise the girls (and boys) better.
In Florida, a trainer was so successful in recruiting girls for the middle
school computer video crew that he had to go out and recruit a couple of
boys. In New York, science and math teachers experimented with getting girls
interested in their subjects through girls' existing interest in Language
Arts by incorporating novels in which science and math played major roles.
A representative sample of impact measures in participating schools, as
reported by trainers, is as follows:
New York: The ratio of boys to girls in the computer lab after
school used to be 25:2. Now it is 1:1.
Wyoming: Girls' enrollment in Physics rose from 46% to 62%, and in
Introduction to Calculus, from 45% to 71%.
Oklahoma: In 1991, the elective computer science class had no girls. A
year later it had 31% girls.
Nebraska: Pre-calculus enrollment, which had been 20% female, is now 45%
female.
Montana: Programming class had no girls in 1990. In 1991 it had 14%
girls and in 1992 it had 31% girls.
Colorado: 1991: 15% girls in Computer Programming. 1992: 30%
Arizona: Female enrollment in upper-level math and science courses
increased from 18% to 30%.
Virginia: The Advanced Placement Pascal class went from 0% to 50% girls
in one year.
Oregon: Girls' enrollment in Advanced Math rose from 37% to 64%. For
Advanced Chemistry, it was 20% to 63%.
Impact on Trainers
"I stay in contact with other trainers, passing on information about
grants and workshops. ... The training has been a valuable asset to my
professional life." Margaret Harris, Maryland
"I have been called upon by several committees in the school to act as a
consultant when gender issues have arisen." Barbara Rogers, Colorado
"I can honestly say that I had no idea, before beginning the project, that
I was not meeting the needs of my female students. ... I do feel I am
making a difference now." Nancy Jentzsch, Colorado
"Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to increasing computer use
among the female students of our school. This knowledge has helped me in
my professional work in innumerable ways." Deanna Bisley, Wisconsin
"It has made me more conscious of the manner in which I treat my own three
daughters. I correct myself when I find I am setting ceilings for them,
and I encourage them to pursue their goals with more conviction."
Vicki Williams, Maryland
"The project provided me with the background and expertise to identify
bias throughout my professional work [Technology/Mathematics Consultant
for 38 school districts]. ... Since the project I do, on occasion, catch
myself exhibiting a biased attitude. This probably never would have
occured without the project's blame-free approach." Gerald Zeller,
Illinois
"Professionally outside my classroom I have blossomed. I am now confident
to do presentations to total strangers from a variety of content areas."
Penny Reynolds, Nevada
"Because of my association with this program, I now have practical,
successful strategies for working with females, and I can assist my
colleagues in their efforts to interest more females in their areas of
computers, math and science." Marie Miele, Pennsylvania
______________________________________________________________________________
GirlTECH
GirlTECH
The Center for Research in Parallel Computation (CRPC), in collaboration
with Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP) and the Houston
Independent School District, launched GirlTECH, a training program for
K-12 teachers to help girls become more confident with technology. The
project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), aims to
encourage girls to consider careers in mathematics and science.
"The CRPC began to look at programs for women to help overcome gender
barriers, whether perceived or real," Kathy El- Messidi, associate
director of external relations at CRPC, said.
"The problem really starts in grade school, when attitudes about math and
science are formed," said Debbie Campbell, technical coordinator, external
relations at CRPC. "It is believed that influences come from teachers and
primary role models, such as mothers. We can do something about the
teachers."
The one-year prototype program featured a four-week teacher training
program, which took place at The Rice School/La Escuela Rice in June. Siva
Kumari of The Rice School and Alice McKay, a teacher at Clear Creek High
School, trained a core of 22 Houston- area teachers in gender issues and
computer technology, such as how to use the Internet.
First priority was handing out 22 IBM notebook computers with internal
modems and Internet software to assist the teachers in developing teaching
materials. In turn, the teachers will take their laptop computers and the
information they learned back to their schools to be used in classrooms,
workshops and conferences this fall.
As part of the program, the core teachers presented the material to 100
additional teachers at a RUSMP workshop.
"It is estimated that those 122 teachers will impact at least 30,000
students in the Houston Independent School District in the first year,"
said Cynthia Lanius, GirlTECH project manager and associate director of
RUSMP.
The Rice Women in Computing student organization is also involved in the
project, and will provide presenters and mentors for the younger students.
To focus GirlTECH issues in the classroom, Lanius proposes student
councils be established at each school to offer activities and support.
If the prototype is successful, Campbell hopes that NSF funding will
continue over the next three years, with funding for Houston in 1996, for
the state in 1997 and for the nation in 1998. She also hopes that the
program will motivate more school districts to provide access to computers
and the Internet.
By training teachers directly and getting the program into the classroom,
El-Messidi hopes to "have the schools clamoring for Internet access." .
Copyright © 1996-2001 Donna Woodka All Rights Reserved.