Learning: Tips for the Wired Classroom
A Web Site for Reflection

Virtual Visits in History
This site offers a panoramic virtual visit to the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles where world leaders met to sign the Peace Treaty ending WWI. It's a stunning view for history students, and I've used it to jump-start discussions about this era.

www.chateauversailles.fr/exec/360.asp?
PIC=glace.vtl&REQ=default.htm&LANG=EN)

Jo Burr
American history, English teacher
Lawrence, Kansas

Chemistry Made...Easier
I've found a great free resource for teaching the periodic table of elements and chemistry. This table has to be one of the most comprehensive available on the Internet.

The table provides information on all 109 officially named elements, including over 30 properties, 3,600 nuclides (isotopes), 4,400 nuclide decay modes, the elements' names in eight languages, and more. Technical terms are linked to their definitions, which are written to be easily understood.

The entire site can be navigated easily, and quick loading has made it ideal for my classroom.

Ken Barbalance
Science, chemistry teacher
Fairbanks, Alaska

Modern Magazines
We all celebrate our students' creativity when they publish a literary arts magazine. Now imagine them publishing this magazine on a CD-Rom! My classes have created such a project.

By burning a CD, the students can add full-color art and photos, audio, video, graphics, and animation, as well as the traditional short stories, poems, and essays. Black-and-white photos can be augmented with color, too.

With this technology, students can publish a poem and read it aloud on the CD. Our CD is a fully interactive, multimedia celebration of student creativity.

Ray Gen
English Department chair
El Segundo, California

Can't Pass This Up
In my opinion, Teachers.Net is truly a blessing to any educator regardless of level or expertise. Teachers.Net offers 45 grade level and special-interest chatboards, hundreds of lesson plans, a Web site homepage maker, mailings, job center, chatrooms, weekly live chat meetings on various topics, and much more!

Live chat sessions with internationally known authors and educators, such as Howard Gardner, Hap Palmer, and Harry Wong, are hosted by Teachers.Net in order to provide an array of professional development opportunities for educators worldwide.

I log onto Teachers.Net everyday to search for advice, lesson plans, or just to unwind with colleagues after a long day. It has enhanced my growth as an educator and has helped me further my education in graduate school. This is definitely a site to be listed among those that an educator can't live without!

Kim Tracy
Fifth grade teacher
Laurel Hill, North Carolina

A Multinational Millennium Challenge
Ours was one of 300 schools from 41 countries that took part in the AT&T Virtual Classroom Contest, a Web site design competition for multinational teams of primary and secondary students.

Each team consisted of three schools from different countries. Our students were teamed with "cyberclassmates" from the Birkdale South State School in Australia and the Doverwood School in Canada.

The teachers involved in this contest qualified for entry by passing a test conducted by AT&T.

The contest ran from September 1999 to February 2000. Our students chose a topic, researched, designed, and created the Web pages themselves. The project helped them to develop their computer, writing, communication, and technology skills.

Students learned how to use E-mail, HTML, scanners, digital cameras, and other tools. For example, students used E-mail to interview residents of Somers Point. They also learned a great deal about geography, different cultures, Internet safety, and about teamwork and responsibility.

Our parents group assisted the project by awarding us a grant for the purchase of a scanner and Web design software. Mr. Hawthorne, an art teacher, helped our students design our Web banner.

For more information about the AT&T Virtual Classroom, go to www.att.virtualclassroom.org.

To view our Web site, go to http://www.att.virtualclassroom.org/
vc99/vc_45/index.html

Mary Rydzewski
Social studies teacher
Somers Point, New Jersey

Buddies From Down Under
My kindergarten class is taking part in the Travel Buddy program. We have exchanged a stuffed toy with a kindergarten in Australia and are keeping a journal of its adventures while staying with us. The children are learning through E-mail what life is like in another country while learning to communicate via computer. In a few months, we'll return the animals along with their journals. The children love it and parents get involved by writing what their child dictates. We found our Australian friends through E-Pals.com

Grace Morina
Kindergarten teacher
Paulsboro, New Jersey

Demystifying Earthquakes
In my sixth grade classroom, we are studying earthquakes and plate tectonics. Using the United States Geological Survey as a source, students are able to locate current earthquakes, their location in longitude and latitude, depth below earth's surface, magnitude, and exact time of the quake. Maps show the area of quake, color-coded depths in different areas, and vibration speed as felt around the world. Lots of other information on earthquakes is also listed.

The address is www.neic.er.usgs.gov/

Richard Cox
Sixth grade teacher
Chillicothe, Ohio

TALK TO US:
Have a nifty classroom tip or lesson plan that uses technology? E-mail a description (under 200 words, please!) to wiredclassroom@list.nea.org.

Is there a Web site, CD-ROM, or piece of software you can't live without? E-mail your favorites--and why you love them--to myfavoritetech@list.nea.org.

Or send your responses by regular mail to NEA Today, or by Fax to 202/822-7206, or through the Web at www.nea.org/cet.

Those published here will receive a sparkling NEA Today mug!

Bytes for Beginners

Occasionally, when surfing the Web, I come across content that's labeled PDF formatted. What exactly does this mean and why can't my browser view it?
The acronym PDF stands for "Portable Document Format" and was developed by Adobe Systems, Inc., developers of the popular desktop publishing software PageMaker.

The PDF standard has become the de facto standard for distributing documents across multiple platforms--such as IBM PC, Macintosh, and Unix computers--and the Internet.

This standard is designed to support the distribution of published content where sophisticated design and layout must be preserved in order for the content to be readable and interesting.

One example: The prolific author Stephen King has just published the first installment of his new novel The Plant, which is available for download in PDF format. PDF documents preserve fonts, layout, and graphics exactly as the designer intended.

Once there, download a software program named "Acrobat Reader," which will allow you to take advantage of PDF formatted content. It's free!