castle8.html

Telecourses

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Any teacher or student knows how important it is to teach the three "R's"; READING, WRITING and ARITHMETIC.

The Global Schoolhouse, a current internet project, believes it is also important to teach two additional and very essential "R's" - RESEARCH and RELATIONSHIPS because they get kids excited about learning.

It is essential to teach the two new "R's" because most of the Internet tools that are presently available revolve around RESEARCH and building good RELATIONSHIPS between peers, resources, and the www are essential for students to achieve internet success.

An excellent way to teach the two new "R's" to students is to have them take part in online projects that require researching skills, as well as working with others in order to exercise relationship skills.

I found this project to be very interesting...

Sample Project
Project Title: Virtual Garden Around the World
Project Begin & End Dates: 3/31/00 to 5/30/00

Project Summary:
Help us create plant directory around the world. Classes choose favorite local plant,send a picture, information, and pressed plant. We will focus on the local name, plant parts, growth needs, uses and interesting facts to share with other classrooms around the world.

Project Level: Basic
Curriculum Fit: Language, Mathematics, Science, Technology
Technologies Used: Email
Project Email Address: [email protected]

Registration Instructions:
Register by sending basic biographical information about your community, school, and class to [email protected] by March 30, 2000. Projects may be sent between registration and May 30, 2000. Completed project will be displayed on our school web site.

Registration Status: Open
Registration Acceptance Dates: 3/13/00 to 3/30/00
Number of Classrooms: many
Age Range: 5 to 10 years
Target Audience: Anyone

Full Project Description:
Classes may register March 13-March 30,2000 by emailing biographical information about your class [email protected] . We would like to know location, type of community (rural, urban), age or grade level of students in your class, size and or description of your school. Information will be emailed to each participant and posted on a web site as it is received. These are the 5 questions we would like you to answer about the local plant you choose to tell us about: 1. What is the local name of your plant? 2. Describe the growth conditions (need lots of water, sunny or shady location, type of soil, season plant flourishes). 3. Describe the uses for your chosen plant (edible, nonedible, medicinal, animals that need this plant for food or shelter, etc.). 4. What part of the plant is eaten or used (example: potato we eat the roots, beans we eat the seeds). 5. Why did you choose this plant? If possible email (as a jpeg file) or snail mail us a photo, or scanned picture of the plant that you chose. Also you may send by snail mail a pressed sample of the plant or part of the plant for us to see. Press your plant in a catalogue or book, tape or glue scantly to posterboard or heavy paper, laminate or enclose in a plastic sleeve or ziplock bag to protect.

Send to:
Sheldon Unit #5 Kindergarten 150 South Randolph Sheldon, Illinois, 60966
Attention: Vickie Webster

Teacher Project will be completed and posted on the Sheldon Unit #5 website on the Kindergarten page, http://www.sheldon.k12.il.us by May 30, 2000.

Objectives:
This projcet will focus on plants and their characteristics. Participants will learn about plants all over the world.

A detailed lesson plan be obtained by emailing me at webster@sheldon,k12.il.us.

Project Sponsor: No Sponsorship

The above information was taken from the following website: http://www.gsn.org/pr/_cfm/index.cfm##sec1

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Taking A Telecourse:

(+)	(-)
You can take the course from a distance.	You do not feel like part of a class.
You can work at your own pace and in ways you benefit from.	You need to be a very goal oriented and self-directed person so that you do not fall behind.
You can work independentlly.	You do not have a peer or mentor to bounce ideas off of at hand.
You can contact the professor when a question arises.	It may take the professor some time to get back to you with comments.
Your course work schedule is very open and flexible.	Set up a daily studying time that works so you do not get behind with the work.
Written instructions are available and employed throughout the course.	There is little or no person to person verbal communication.
You do not have to go to campus on a daily basis.	Most telecourses require some on-campus activities because of lab projects, etc.
Time is flexible and you can work at a pace that is comfortable to you.	Most telecourses require as much time as on-campus courses.

The above information was taken from the following website:
http://www.ccsf.edu/Departments/Telecourses/file2.html

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