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#517. Computers and Teachers: Intro to SCR*TEC's Track Star

Computers and Teachers: An Introduction to SCR*TEC’s Track Star

1. Track Star is a tool that teachers can use to focus on a specific collection of websites. It is set up in three frames, with the largest window showing the webpage, a smaller window above for teacher comments, and a navigational window on the left. (a fairly classic format!)

2. To find a track, go to this URL:
http://scrtec.org/track/

3. The “Tracks” are created by teachers, and they vary in content and purpose. You can search by subject or grade level. For “today’s lesson,” go down to
“VIEW BY GRADE” and pull down to the Primary (K-2). Click on VIEW. This will take you to a list of all the tracks that are for primary level.
(you’re at http://scrtec.org/track/index/primary.html)

4. Try my Track, please!
Scroll down to the Technology section, and click on “For Primary Teachers Only.” This track isn’t meant to be used by students. It’s a track I made to use as an introduction to using the computer in the primary classroom. http://scrtec.org/track/tracks/s01004.html

5. You can use tracks, adapt other teacher’s tracks, or make your own tracks. The track listed above, “For Primary Teachers Only,” took me about an hour to plan and less than an hour to “enter” into the Track form. However, it is based on two years of somewhat haphazard URL-collecting!

Personal Note: I’ve been ineffectually tinkering with a single slow Internet connection in my classroom for two years, UNTIL May 1998. Two months ago, I got a connection in my home. It’s summer vacation, and I’m finally getting a feel for finding educational resources on the Internet. I’ll be “making tracks” in the future! Look for more on teachers.net later! --L.L. July 1998

PS Track Star is just one part of the SCR*TEC site. Look at their home page at:
http://scrtec.rtec.org/
Be sure to take the “guided tour.” (Click on the fifth rectangle on the menu bar under the star, called SCR*TEC Solutions.) The site is constantly changing, so check back often!