CyberFair Project ID: 1828

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Visions of Culture in Tallahassee
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms
URL: http://www.bucklake.leon.k12.fl.us/hoffman/cyberfair/index.html
Bibliography: No bibliography page cited

School: Buck Lake Elementary School
    Tallahassee, Florida, United States

30 students, ages from 10 to 12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 30, 2002. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2002

Classes and Teachers: Nanci Hamilton-Hoffman

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.bucklake.leon.k12.fl.us/

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Tallahassee is located in the big bend area of the Florida panhandle and offers a unique mix of science, technology, nature, education and culture. As the county seat for Leon County it has over 350,000 residents. Tallahassee is considered by most people as a small city but it is still growing by 15.4% every year. It is also the home to Florida's state capitol as well as Florida State University, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College. Music and culture dominate the activities offered downtown each month. We have many beautiful festivals that highlight the diversity of our community. Museums, an active Artistic community that contribute many sculptures and exhibits to our community propetuate a feeling of cohesion and solidarity. Three schools in our community, Buck Lake Elementary, Kate Sullivan Elementary and The FSU Developmental School, received the Getty's Annenburg Grant to promote Disciplined Based Art Education (DBAE) through the schools' curriculum. Science & technology also find a home in Tallahassee. From the Supercomputer Computations Research Institute (SCRI) at Florida State University to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, to the Tallahassee Astronomical Society, Tallahassee has the brightest minds and cutting-edge research anywhere. You will find the 5000 square mile area rich in history and color (see collage) - from restored historical homes and buildings to the Civil War site of the Battle of Natural Bridge. Nature lovers will appreciate the canopy roads, miles of trails for hiking and biking (in fact, Tallahassee is once again the host of the Masters Cycling Championship for 1998!), the Apalachicola National Forest, the beautiful Maclay State Gardens, or a visit to the nearby St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse, Florida Caverns State Park or Gulf of Mexico.

2. Summary of Our Project

Buck Lake Elementary School is a DBAE School.Therefore, in keeping with the curriculum of this school, we chose Local Music and Art Forms. The children chose five areas in which they highlighted our school's music and art forms: Music, Museums, Sculptures,DBAE (Disciplined Based Art Education) and Artists. Each group selected a student leader and each child committed to just one group. Knowing that not everyone can "rush into a burning building", everyone can be a hero or inspire others by the work they do in their communities. Based on this knowledge, they researched and designed a web page based on their collaborative efforts while offering a deeper perspectives into contributions made by a variety of people in their communities during this time of healing and reflection. These five subgroup pages were linked to one common page designed by the class as a whole. In this way each group was given the opportunity to highlight their own specific areas in creative and distinct ways. Many of these students knew how to play games on the computer before this project began, but none were able to demonstrate the computer as a tool for learning. Now they've learned to 1) make gifs and jpegs using PhotoShop 5.0 and HyperStudio, 2) develop web sites using web authoring programs, 3) communicate effectively by writing and posting weekly reports, 4) research the Internet for information on specific subjects, and 5) send Email to folks around the community and 6) chat using a group board. As the students have expressed in their comments, this project has also given them the opportunity to acquire skills that will help them throughout the rest of their lives.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:4-6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

The workstations in our classroom consist of three IMac computers (2 belonging to the extended day program and one belonging to Mrs. Hoffman) and one Dell (belonging to the school). We also have available a lab of thirty Dell Computers, although we didn't utilize this opportunity because getting work from those computers to the classroom computers to upload proved too difficult. The web browser utilized was Netscape 4.7 and 6.0.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The biggest problem our students had was working cooperatively. There were too many "bosses" and not enough "workers". Most of the their time seemed to be perfecting the gifs and jpegs as opposed to doing the actual writing and research. Once I introduced them to the telephone and email, they became more interested in corresponding with people around the city. Another big obstacle was keeping the computers up and running. When we started the project, we had four Imacs. One died and the extended day program didn't want to spend any money repairing it. Then when we were ready to upload everything to the file server, the district decided to rebuild the server. It was down for three days.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

We have two sound bites: One is "The Buck Lake School Song" and the other is the "Pledge Allegiance to the Flag".

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

Standard curricular requirements of the District, State and School are incorporated into every segment of this project. From Language Arts (reading, writing,spelling, English) to Social Studies (community and culture) to Technology (use of all technical tools), one will find learning in every pixel. The project culmination is a wonderful portfolio of student learning and mastery of skills.

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

We used a variety of tools and software:

1.Netscape Composer 4.7 and 6.0

2.PhotoShop 5.0 to make gifs and jpegs

3.HyperStudio to make gifs and jpegs

4.Scanner

5.Digital Cameras

6.Email to solicite help and information

7.ICQ to plan and communicate while at home

8.Mrs. Hoffman's Group Boards to communicate while at home

9.Telephone

10.Imac and Dell Computers

11.AlphaSmarts for word processing

12.Office 2000 for word processing

13.Tallahassee Democrat

14.Leon County Area Telephone Book

The students learned to 1) make gifs and jpegs using PhotoShop 5.0 and HyperStudio, 2) develop web sites using web authoring programs, 3) communicate effectively by writing and posting weekly reports, 4) research the Internet, newspapers and telephone books for information on specific subjects, 5) send Email to folks around the community and the world 6) chat using a group board, 7) use a scanner 8) use AlphaSmarts and 9) use digital cameras. The technical world became embedded in the curriculum and students began utilizing those technical tools as their parents used to use pencil, paper, typewriters and polaroid cameras.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

The more we probed and asked questions around the community, the more the students had to explain what CyberFair was all about. Those face to face ......or ear to ear..... conversations, certainly created an air of curiosity. Online, the students emailed everyone around the country soliciting help for their project... thus spreading the word.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

I'm not sure how our project will be received in the community at large. I do know that the folks we have contacted to get information are extremely excited about it. When they return from spring break, we will show off our CyberFair Project and these folks will be included in the guest list. I know it has had a great impact on the parents, however. They're amazed that children can develop something this impressive. They're also amazed that their children have given up so much "free" time to work on the project. Hmmm. School can be fun and motivating! I think another thing that has affected the children through this project is the knowledge that everyone has influence on their communities. The heroes don't have to be just policemen or firemen or sportsmen. The heroes are the ones you remember and try to emulate. Our artists and musicians told of stories where the classroom teacher or parent or a jazz concert artist influenced their decisions about the focus of their lives. If our project has done nothing else, it has brought new meaning and focus in their own lives and a deeper appreciation for the common man.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

Our parents were our primary source of volunteers along with support personel around the school. These parents took them to museums, concerts and other weekend events while helping them take pictures for their web sites. The support personel provided them unlimited access to the school resources. Members of the Global Community include teachers around the world who helped them with technical issues that this teacher doesn't have. For instance, we could make a sound bite on our computer, but we couldn't get it on the web page. We sent the sound bites to Janet Barnstable, Communications Resource Teacher at Percy Julian Junior High School in Chicago, Illinois. This opened a whole new perspective on virtual learning and cooperation to the children.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Many of Mrs. Hoffman's students knew how to play games on the computer before this project began, but none were able to demonstrate the computer as a tool for learning. Now they've learned to 1) make gifs and jpegs using PhotoShop 5.0 and HyperStudio, 2) develop web sites using web authoring programs, 3) communicate effectively by writing and posting weekly reports, 4) research the Internet for information on specific subjects, 5) send Email to folks around the community and 6) chat using a group board. They learned the dynamics of collaboration and team work while trying to meet a deadline. They also learned that to get a job done, sometimes requires that you work "overtime" while giving up other, sometimes more enjoyable, activites (baseball games, lunch, TV).

This project has given them the opportunity to acquire skills, not only technical skills, but social skills, that will help them throughout their lives. As Chantal said, “I didn’t know being a leader would be so hard. I am amazed at how much I have changed my attitude during this time.” Global community, cyberclassmates, and vitual classroom aren't just vocabulary words, anymore. These children have been thrust into the new millennium. There's no turning back, now!

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