Teachers.Net Focus on Internet Projects

Teachers.Net August 25, 1998 Focus Internet Projects with Evelyn Kelley Hands on Internet Projects

Kathleen - Teachers.Net is happy to welcome Evelyn Kelley to share her ideas and yours about Internet Projects. Evelyn, would you tell us about yourself?
Kathleen - Tonight's session is about Internet Projects, Traveling Teddy Bear is an example.
Evelyn/Ala - I am a first grade teacher at Inglenook Elementary. I have been teaching Kindergarten for Mentally Retarded Students for five years, this is my first year for first.
Kathleen - Evelyn, tell us about your presentations at state level
Evelyn/Ala - I had a successful traveling teddy bear project last year that I started in January. I presented this at the State Technology Convention this summer. Also, at the councial for Exceptional Children in May.
Kathleen - Evelyn, would you like to tell us a bit about the Teddy Bear project?
Evelyn/Ala - I have participated in many internet projects and have built a good library of projects for others. The traveling teddy was five bears named for our state, community, school, grade. They traveled to a school for one week, and then onto another school. Activities were included. I introduced the world to a kindergarten class. They responded wonderfully and learned so much. The activities included a journal and booklets about topics which included surveys for all to participate.
Sharon H - What sorts of activities follow the bear?
Evelyn/Ala - Sharon, there is a journal they write daily activities. They email a message back home. A booklet about favorite books for example, my class included their choices, others added theirs.
Evelyn/Ala - The email journal is sent to all participants for them to make a dairy as the bear travels.
Sandy/K/Mo - What type of survey questions did you have?
Evelyn/Ala - I asked my students their favorite books, ice cream, sport, winter activites. These are put into booklets with notepad type covers. I had ten of them.
gabi - Evelyn, did you only send to other Kindergarten? How did you pick who got the bears?
Evelyn/Ala - I included all grades. I mailed the bears to the closest state that I could. I allowed a week in between each visit for mailing. This is important.
Evelyn/Ala - All the booklets are adaptable to grade level. The teacher in the upper grades often had high grade children ready teddy bear books to their classes. Ready.
Beverly/k/Ga - What information did you send to the classes about your class?
Evelyn/Ala - I started the journal with activities to get the bear ready. I included travel brochures and post cards with the bear, and a picture of us and our school.
Kathleen - Evelyn, how did you solicit participants?
Evelyn/Ala - I participated in an 100 email project and from there wrote schools asking if they wanted to participate. I started my own project because every project I found was full and not taking participants.
Evelyn/Ala - The 100 email project is listed on my school web page. This is an excellent project.
Sharon H - I know there is no such thing as a dumb question, ... Ok, so you have this package that goes from state to state and each destination updates the package? Is this correct?
Evelyn/Ala - Yes, and everyone that participates agrees to pay the cost of the postage for participating.
Melissa - I am planning a Travelling Bear(Maple)..how many schools would you suggest I include?
Evelyn/Ala - Consider school holidays, mailing time and getting the bear back before school ends. I would even suggest that you have your bear visit during a holiday so the children can refresh their memory of their friend.
Sandy/K/Mo - DId you include a camera? I was thinking of sending one with mine.
Evelyn/Ala - Sandy, yes I included a disposable camera. But, if you have the money, I would suggest a 110 film camera with a good flash. The pictures that come form the disposables often created problems with the flash not working.
gabi - How big was the package? Was it expensive to mail?
Evelyn/Ala - My school web page is http://www.bhm.k12.al.us/schools/inglenook - There you will find my internet project and a site for projects.
Evelyn/Ala - Gabi, one must consider the size of the bear to keep the mailing weight down. I dressed my bears in doll clothes and gave them a personality. The weight of the package would be about 2-3 lbs. It is best to suggest priority mailing so the bear will arrive within 3-5 days.
Co, - what are you sending
Kathleen - Evelyn, what are the pitfalls to avoid when doing an Internet project such as this?
Evelyn/Ala - You must continue the email activity during the week to keep the project active. This would include notes about travel destination, holidays and good day greetings. The participants are interested in the bear and you and your class.
Sandy/K/Mo - Did most of the projects you took part in have a web site?
Evelyn/Ala - I would suggest emailing each participant once a week. If your message comes in from the visiting school, this would count as a communication.
Evelyn/Ala - Sandy, No. I did not have my own web site until June this year. And, I made it. The email address is important and your communications with the classes. The web site and pictures posted onthe web would be icing on the cake, but are not imperative.
Beverly/k/Ga - Did you send more than one set of clothes? What else did you include?
Evelyn/Ala - I did not send any thing extra except a hat for winter travel. The bears returned with tshirts and some extra clothes. Many included post cards in the travel bag and pictues books they made. Photos were added from their film too. Two bears made the local newspapers.
gabi - Suppose you had sent the bear to my class. What are my responsibilities as far as email?
Evelyn/Ala - I purchased a doll backpack for travel. I made a folder with a suitcase for traveling instructions and directions of what to do when the bear arrives. Everyone must reply with a email upon receipt of the bear. Email one activity of the week, and email when they leave. Three emails. Many people sent more. All copies of activities sent in email are forwarded to all classrooms participating.
cbrmom - So basically, the bear travels from state to state. Who is involved in the emailing. The teachers, the students, both? Is the idea to get the kids to communicate via email?
Evelyn/Ala - Gabi, I hope I answered your question. I had started writing as you were asking.
gabi - yes, thank you
Sigh - What opportunites are there for math internet projects? Have you seen any? Can your recommend an activity or site?
Evelyn/Ala - cbrmom - If you children are capable, they can do the emailing. Some teachers do not have email at school and would have to do it at home, printing the communications for the children to ready. Putting the email into a scrapbook makes a good way to collect the letters.
Kathleen - Sigh asks about math Internet projects and any suggestions for sites
Evelyn/Ala - Sigh, Global Schoolhouse has a Project Registry that includes math projects for all grades. Are you familiar with this site? http://www.gsn.org
Sandy*K*Mo - where can we find out about internet projects for this school year? are there any others beside gsn
Evelyn/Ala - Sandy, SchoolWorld has many listed, including Flat Stanley and PostCard Geography. http://schoolworld.asn.au/flatstan.html
Kathleen - There are a number of such projects going on from Teachers.net people
Kathleen - Evelyn, what did it cost to mail the bear?
gabi - Did you already have the Internet in your classroom or did you have to request access? How could I convince my supervisors to get access for my room?
Evelyn/Ala - And, visiting the chat room on Teachers net is an invalauble resource for keypals and finding projects that people have needing participants. The cost is about $3.00 per package. As the weight goes up it increases. I try to monitor this and have some items sent home if it is too expensive.
Evelyn/Ala - Gabi, I did not have internet in my room. I received a grant that funded the phone line and the internet service. I am awaiting word about a grant for this year's cost.
Evelyn/Ala - i, If you do some of these projects with the email from home and make that scrapbook, you will have tangible evidence in hand. The children will tell others just what is going on. ARe you familiar with Web Wacker software. You can whack a web site, and take it to school on a disk. You use a browser to use it, but you do not have to be on the net to search the site.
cbrmom - Have your bears traveled abroad?
Sandy*K*Mo - did the grant help with any of the teddy bear costs, who funded your grant (always looking for source :-) )
Evelyn/Ala - cbrmom, No, but this year they will travel to Australia and England. Canada was the only other source outside the US last year. Visit my project on my web page, this year it is Backpack Buddies.
Evelyn/Ala - Sandy, yes I did purchase the bears and materials with grant monies. This was for a multicultral grant and this certainly covered cultures. My web page has a grant resource available, and there has been a discussion here at Teachers.Net in the archives.
cbrmom - Can you give us an estimate of how much time you spent on this project per week?
Evelyn/Ala - My grant was called Grandma's Attic and included materials for five cultures, Asian, African, Native, Mexican, and Anglo Saxon. The total for the two grants for this one title was $10,000. This will be discussed another night on Teachers.Net, right Kathleen. Web Wacker is available through Forest Technology. Look it up there. Their number is 1-800-544-3356
Evelyn/Ala - cbrmom, I would estimate about an hour a day minimum. I mailed five bears so I did involve myself a lot with this being my first project. As long as everyone sends email as requested, it would not involve much time because you use forward that to everyone on that bear's list.
Lexie - How did you get your list of classroom participants? Did you post on Teachers.net asking for volunteers?
Evelyn/Ala - cbrmom - However, you must do a daily mailing activity in your clasroom. I posted a picture of the bear by a map and read the email from them to my children each day. We named the state daily where they were located. This is how the children are involved, the main idea for the project..
Evelyn/Ala - Lexi, I got my participants from posting on Global Schoolhouse, visiting school web sites, and yes, yes, visiting in the Teachers.Net chat room and asking if there were those interested in an internet project for their room. I have over 120 participants for next year.
gabi - Evelyn, what did you do with the projects after the whole thing was over?
Evelyn/Ala - Gabi, The children this year will have the materials to look at from the states where the bear visited last year. I will have sourveniors to show them from there too. The 100 email project that I mentioned earliers has participants writing letters from everywhere as well that provides a good references. And, of course, the Atlas to find it on the map and post it on the map on the wall.
Kathleen - So, the class that initiates the project accumulates a nice collection of 'artifacts'
Evelyn/Ala - Yes Kathleen, but the classes that have the experiences have pictures, a scrapbook, a often local newspapers visiting their classroom. Plus, you get to know every school that is participating by the emails received. The project this year will include a video tape. They can copy this upon the visit, and will see the classes from where the bear has traveled.
gabi - Evelyn, what was the most unexpected thing that happened through this (good or not.)
Sandy*K*Mo - what other projects are you going to do this year?
Evelyn/Ala - One teacher would not communicated that the bear has been received in their room. I wrote many- daily- until she responded with why so many messages? I was anxious about if the bear would be ever be sent again. Another teacher had a parent lock a bear in their trunk for a week. These were the only two experiences, eveyone else was great. The pictures from the disposable were not good enough to put on the web. And, I needed to have permission to put the pictures on the web,and did not have this.
Evelyn/Ala - I am going to do a weather posting, once a week from http://youth.net/weather. 100email http://siec/k12/in/us/~west/proj/mail/descrip/html and Postcard Geography - all available on my school website under internet projects
Kathleen - Evelyn, are there any other url's that you would like to include here?
Evelyn/Ala - Often at these sites, you can find many others, if you have the time and desire. One of my first and favorite is Journey North. We made butterflies and they went to Mexico for the winter and we got Mexican butterflies in return in April. This is a wonderful project, the butterflies must be mailed in October.
Evelyn/Ala - http://www.learner.org/interact.html is for Journey North. It is free, you make the butterflies, but pay for the postage to Minnesota and a return envemlope. Sorry, it is paper monarchs that you make. They in turn send migrating email weekly about the Monarchs going south and then when they return. They also have numerous wildlife that they monitor.
Kathleen - EVelyn, thank you for sharing your time and experiece. We look forward to your Oct. 1 session on Grantwriting! Good night, I have to run!
Evelyn/Ala - We studied Mexico at Christmas and kept a map up all year to remind the children. Then we did a butterfly unit with Painted Lady butterflies.
Sandy*K*Mo - Evelyn.. that sounds fun.. thank you..
Evelyn/Ala - Lexi or Milly, have any questons.
gabi - Evelyn, thanks for quite an educational talk! I'd been thinking of doing this, but realize I have a little more planning to do ?) Thanks!
Melissa - I enjoyed the Journey North project and look forward to it again this year plus my travelling bear! Thanks Evelyn!
Beverly/k/Ga - Thankyou Evelyn. I am kind of slow but with your help I think I am starting to get the picture. I am excited about a teddy bear exchange I have signed up to participate in. Now maybe I'll understand better what to do.
Lexie - Evelyn, thanks so much. Could you put your website address again? Thanks!
Evelyn/Ala - Gabi, my project site has a suggestion guideline. http://www.scott.net/~ekelley/bkpkbuddies
Evelyn/Ala - If you have any traveling bears, include me on you visit list, just email me. We love visitors.
Evelyn/Ala - If you want a visit from my bears, just sign on at the site. Registration will soon close.
Evelyn/Ala - Beverly, if you need any help, just let me know.
Evelyn/Ala - Goodnight all, have a great week.