Kevin Erlinger Science Teacher
Urbana Middle School
Urbana, Illinois

Skills:

There are many tools that I feel comfortable with to access, manipulate and generate data. These tools include software such as word processors, spreadsheets, databases, presentation software, FTP software, HTML editors, internet browsers, Java Applets, browser plugins, graphics editors, newsreaders, and email programs. Furthermore, I am comfortable using scanners, digital cameras, and projection units. I have also developed a working knowledge of VRML and know how to utilize it, but by no means do I know how to write VRML language. I believe that most of these tools are valuable for use with students in a classroom setting. I am a little apprehensive about allowing students to use newsgroups since they can be both misleading and inappropriate. This however is not a true concern in that our school server does not support newsreaders. At this time, I am very comfortable writing HTML but in the future I want to learn more advanced HTML programming as well as exploring more possibilities utilizing Java, JavaScript, and VRML. I am also interested in learning more about internet based tools like NCSAÕs Habenero.

Communication:

The specific communication tools that I have utilized and feel confident in are Eudora, Telnet, Webboard, and Netscape/Internet Explorer. In the classroom I would like to utilize the previously mentioned communication tools. If students have email accounts, the lines of communication can be opened up outside of the classroom. This communication can occur between peers, teachers, and mentors to name a few. I have had several students in the past few years who have corresponded with professional scientists. This correspondence helped students get cutting edge information on questions, concerns , or topics of interest. Last year, one of my students took a digital photo of an insect we were unable to identify and emailed the photo to an entomologist at the natural history survey. This was a very rewarding experience for the student because she was able to get feedback from an expert.

In addition to email, I would like to see the school district acquire a package such as Webboard. Not only would this be valuable for disseminating information and discussions among teachers in the school district, it could provide communication for students and classes as well. I could foresee Webboard being used to collaborate with other classes within a subject area. For example, my eighth grade science classes could pose questions/experimental data to the two other eighth grade science teachers classes and vice versa. Furthermore, it could serve as a repository for students questions and ideas that could cross not only classrooms but grade levels and curriculums as well. I think the possibilities of a Webboard type system for a school district are incredible.

As communication tools, web browsers are very powerful and useful to the classroom teacher. Students can communicate via web pages and email within the browser. Writing and publishing web pages allows students to communicate in written, graphic, audio, and video forums.

Telnet can be useful as well, but out of the tools mentioned may be the most limited. I think it is important to be able to telnet in that it gives you the freedom to check your mail and send mail on any machine without carrying a disk with your program or settings. The problem is that students have to be taught some Unix commands or use pine. I personally need to learn more Unix commands so that I can use Telnet for more than checking my mail.

Multimedia:

Multimedia tools that I use and would use in the classroom are Hyperstudio,ClarisWorks slide show, PowerPoint, BBedit, Netscape/Internet Explorer, RealPlayer, Macromedia Shockwave, Sound Machine, Java, Photoshop, Gif Converter, Transparency, digital cameras, scanners, and digital video. I have also used Claris Homepage but prefer to write raw HTML in BBedit. Hyperstudio, PowerPoint, and ClarisWorks are excellent ways for students to create multimedia presentations. They all support the extensive use of graphics, audio, video and digital photo capture. Gif Converter, Photoshop, Transparency are all software packages for graphics editing. RealPlayer, Sound Machine, and Macromedia Shockwave are very useful plugins or support software for the web browsers which will allow students to utilize some of the more fun and advanced features of the internet. As I mentioned earlier, Java is one area that I want to explore more. There are numerous Applets available for use by myself as well as students. I personally would like to learn some Java programming and explore more of the Applets out on the web. Other tools that I would like to explore are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premier. I have only just scratched the surface of the endless capabilities of Photoshop while I have never used the video editing program Premier.

Legalities, Special Needs, And Issues:

This is one area that I feel I have learned a great deal about in this class. One of the issues that I had never considered prior to this course is accessibility. I discovered numerous sites discussing accessibility and sites offering suggestions for authoring web pages. For example the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) web site is an excellent site with numerous page design strategies. The Bobby site was also interesting in that it evaluates the pages and gives you feedback on how to make it more accessible. I have used Bobby on my CTER web pages as well as my pages that I have posted on the district server.

Other issues I explored in this class are censorship/free speech, software piracy, and pornography/sexual predators. Censorship/free speech is a hot internet topic with just about everyone. As an educator I feel we need to monitor our students carefully and steer students from certain sites, yet like many people I do not believe that the internet needs to be censored by outside agencies such as the government. In the article Just Say No To Censorship author Audrie Krause states that internet censorship is inappropriate and that the decision about what is appropriate should be left up to the individuals using the web as well as parents and educators. As teachers, it is important to let students know what is acceptable through an acceptable use policy. As far as software piracy goes, it is important for students to realize that programs acquired from the web may not be free and using them illegally is piracy. Students need to understand the differences between shareware, freeware, and commercial software. Lastly, on the issue of pornography I found The Parents Guide to The Information Superhighway which is an excellent source of information and resources for parents and teachers alike. It has tips and tools as well as links and recommendations on how parents can keep their children safe on the internet. The guide discusses benefits and risks of such things as email, browsing the web, chatting, and using parental control tools. It really emphasizes that parents and educators need to stay involved and informed.

Evaluation:

Evaluation and assessment are areas that my group needs to address in the near future. We need to research what types of assesment we wish to employ in this project. I look forward to learning about electronic assessments in future courses. Some areas we may explore as a group are student electronic portfoloios, web based form evaluations, and elctronic presentations. However, I feel our project has some built in assessment as it stands right now. Students participating in this project get immediate feedback from the chemical and biological sampling analysis. In my experience, students respond well to this type of feedback and can utilize it for further discussion and analysis.

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