Learning: Tips for the Wired Classroom
Go Figure with This Site

I am the Webmaster of a Web resource for high school calculus teachers.

I've spent the last few years building this Web site. My goal was to create an online archive of calculus help that presents a sense of humor, is approachable, understandable, and exhibits what a single teacher can do with a Web presence.

I would like to make my site known to students and teachers alike, because the site can be an asset as an at-home resource. My commitment is a free Web site that entertains as well as educates and provides new and engaging content every week of the school year. Try it by going to www.calculus-help.com.

Michael Kelley
mikekelley@chesapeake.net
Prince Frederick, Maryland

Powering Up
My tip is to use Powerpoint to teach word-decoding. I made slide shows, each concentrating on one rhyme-- "____at" words. The beginning sound first appears on the screen with a text font and sound of my choice. Then the latter part of the words appear on the screen while moving to the left to join the beginning letter.

The kids love this and think it's very cool to sound out and blend words. It's especially fun when I've inserted the sound of a race car!

Jana Cagle
First grade teacher
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Technology Integration
Wouldn't it be helpful to have Web sites for your entire curriculum in one convenient place to use when you need them without having to remember the URLs?

As the computer teacher in an elementary school, I surveyed all the K-2 teachers in our school for Web sites they would like to use for classroom instruction. I asked the teacher to select Web sites that would enhance their content area curriculum, categorize them by subject area and give a brief description.

After receiving the list from the teachers, I sorted and compiled the Web sites. Some of the sites include authors, math, math flash cards, search engines, Spanish, science, and lesson plan Web sites. I also included any technology workshop information that I had presented to teachers.

I then posted these sites onto our school Web site: http://mtsd.k12.nj.us/ves/websites.htm. Teachers can then conveniently go to our school Web site and link to their favorite Web site from their classroom without having to type, store, or remember the URL. Teachers don't have to search for their URL on scraps of paper, find the sites in their list of favorites, or type a URL with 30 characters. All they have to remember is our school Web site: www.mtsd.k12.nj.us.

The sites are available with just a few clicks. As the year progresses, I hope to add more Web sites.

Violet Markmann
Computer teacher
Skillman, New Jersey

Writing from the South
One of my favorite Web sites is www.southernvoices.org, the official site of "Southern Voices," a high-quality, professionally designed and laid out anthology of writing by high school students from 10 Southern states.

This site not only allows me to pre-sent real-world exemplars of student writing and provide a potential real audience for my own students' work, it also features "Lessons and Prompts," sample writing activities designed by teachers Gerry Wilson and Bill Brown, and "Interviews" with established major writers including, Jill McCorkle, Andrew Hudgins, and T.R. Pearson.

"Southern Voices" is especially relevant to my own students and others in the Southern region, but the voices that speak in its pages will appeal to writers and readers anywhere--they are some of the very best to be found in cyberspace and all regions beyond.

Edwin Epps
eepps@spart7.k12.sc.us
High school English teacher
Spartanburg, South Carolina

Three Great Sites
My very favorite Web site is www.teacherweb.com, because you can create your very own Web site for your class.

TeacherWeb.com has a terrific support staff; I've E-mailed a couple of different questions to them, and I've always heard back from them within a day. Both my students and their parents check the site regularly for homework, letters, links, announcements, and even pictures of my students' work.

Another site I like is www.Lizardpoint.cm/fun/geoquiz/usaquiz.html because it it contains a map game that helps students to learn the location of the 50 states. This site also has a menu bar with games to help the children learn the locations of other countries.

My third favorite: www.funbrain.com.

Pam Chapman-Locke
Dragonlocke341@cs.com
Fifth grade teacher
Cupertino, California

Subhead
After my students and I have researched the history and workings of the Electoral College, I have them complete a web activity from the following site: www.jump.net/~jnhtx/ec/ec.html The site is an Electoral College Calculator with information and a color-coded map showing how each state's electors voted in the 2000 Presidential election. The students must answer questions concerning information on the site as well as from the map. Then the students are instructed to "clear" the map of all results; afterwards they can click on a state and assign it to the candidate of their choice--noting how many votes each state holds. They can assign a state to Gore of the Democratic party, Bush of the Republican party, Nader of the Green party, or Buchanan of the Reform party. The map lights up in color as they assign each state to a candidate until finally they are able to see which one reached the coveted 270 votes to win the college and election! Over and over again they play with this calculator to determine a new winner. This site is excellent for demonstrating how the college works and allows the student to put the system to the test!

Amy S. King
High School Social Studies Teacher
Ramseur, North Carolina

My favorite Web site
Here's a site that allows teachers to post resources, assignments, and important messages for students and their parents. No passwords are needed to view the site. You just enter your zip code to set up the page and access a variety of tools. Check out www.schoolnotes.

Jennifer Lee
Language arts teacher
Louisville, Kentucky

Bytes for Beginners

I'd like to know what the rules are for using personal software in my classroom. Are there any procedures I have to go through to get my software approved for use in my class?
Every district and school maintains different policy with regard to this question. So, it would be wise to seek the advice and council of your administrator--or better yet, curriculum/department chair or technology coordinator--prior to engaging students in learning via non-district-approved software. Here are a few reasons why:

• Your district may have implemented strict curriculum guidelines that extend to educational software (benchmarks, rubrics, etc.)

• You may have signed Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) containing language that prohibits you from installing or running personal software on school computers and/or networks, a liability issue (the computer or network on which the software was installed crashes or contracts a virus).

• Some software programs require you to obtain a special license before using them in a classroom or other public setting. If you install and run software without the appropriate license and are found out, you and/or your colleague could be held liable for violating software copyright laws or licensing agreements.

Is there a way to retreive my E-mail even when I'm away from my own computer?
You can easily retrieve your E-mail even when you're away from your home computer and don't have a laptop. You do need a computer with Internet access. Once on the Net, log on to www.mail2web.com and simply put in two things. First is your E-mail address and second, your password for that account. That's it. You don't have to sign in, log on, or register with them. The site will have your messages. You can respond to them or not. It will leave your messages on the server so that when you do get home, you can file them, print them, or delete them. It is free to everyone. The company get its revenues from ads on the site.