CyberFair Project ID: 6501

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Folsom Attractions
Category: 5. Local Attractions (Natural and Man-Made)
URL: https://sites.google.com/site/folsomattractions/home
Bibliography: https://sites.google.com/site/folsomattractions/bibliography

School: Folsom Crescent School
    Folsom, California, USA

20 students, ages 8 - 15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 10, 2011. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): None

Classes and Teachers: Coach- Farida Ansari ; Grades 3 - 9

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.folsomcrescentschool.com

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Folsom is a charter city located within Sacramento County, having a population of around 70,000. It is a small community but consisting of diverse cultures and religions. The population of Folsom has grown steadily over the past years due to its fun, peaceful, and family oriented quality. It has been voted as the best places in America to live, work, and play, in many a magazines. Ours is a small Islamic school located in the heart of Folsom. It is an activity center for the Muslim community, and holds the power to represent Islam in a peaceful way.

2. Summary of Our Project

The Folsom Attractions project aims to showcase to the world that our city has a story to tell. It has a rich history with colorful attractions for one and all. Folsom was made famous worldwide by Johnny Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues' song, and so the historic Folsom Prison is the highlight of our project. Folsom has a number of exciting attractions like the American River, Folsom dam, Historic district and many more. So we have featured each for everyone to experience the fascinating city of Folsom.

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:2-3

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

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

We completed this project as part of the ComputerClub at the school. All students got their own laptop to work afterschool.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

We had problem coordinating with each other since some students had to work individually during the winter break in December. We also had problems sustaining the interest level, as this was an on going project. We tried to overcome the problems by creating teams for individual WebPages and also appointing team leads who kept up the morale and interest level.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Cyberfair helped us to view our city as a book with exciting chapters that displayed colors of modernism along with hues of its rich heritage. Now we view our city as an awe- inspiring attraction. Cyberfair gave us the opportunity to get involved, take action, and research our way through the beautiful attractions in Folsom.

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

Cyberfair helped us cover many content standards. Firstly we were able to develop a central idea by following the different stages of the writing process. Since each of us developed individual WebPages we were able to focus and organize on the research process. We were able to draw information from various sources, analyze it, and draw the most important ideas. We participated in the community activities and showed mutual respect for each other. Most importantly we were able to use technology for communicative and collaborative work. By far the Internet was the most significant productive tool for our website.

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Project Elements

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

We used laptops, every student had his/her own laptop. We used iphones to capture images. We researched at the local public library, and interviewed various people. We also used flashdrives to save our material. The most information we got was through the oral interviews where individuals with expertise about the attraction gave us the information. The school or the students owned all the tools. One of the most useful tool was the iphone on which we captured pictures and even recorded interviews.

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

Most of the contacts with the people in the community was in-person. Many of them were genuinely interested in our project and happily shared information. The most interesting information we got was from the Folsom Prison interviews, where we had the opportunity to hear many anecdotes of the prison escapes and the life of the prisoners.Most of them gave us brochures and suggested other different attractions in Folsom to be mentioned. Representing the most important ones became difficult, but as ambassadors we had to pick the best.

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

We envision that our website would encourage people in the community to visit the many unexplored places in Folsom. Many of us had not been to the places we researched till now. But the project provided us with the opportunity to discover new places and look at the unique attractions in Folsom. Many of the parents in our community have also visited these places for the first time.

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

We had many parent volunteers who took time to visit the attractions with their children.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

This project has been very interesting and fun for the whole team. We thoroughly enjoyed discovering and exploring the different aspects of the project and the different Folsom attractions as well.

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View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 6501)

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