1. Description of Our Community
Our local community is defined in several ways: Our school is certainly our primary community. It is here that we develop our sense of community as well as respect for our fellow citizens. The cities surrounding our school provide the hub of our feelings of civic pride. Our focus for this project includes these as well as our county; Palm Beach, our state; Florida, our country; the United States of America and the World. As responsible citizens of the world we wanted to research the impact of Space Exploration throughout all these areas
2. Summary of Our Project
The Columbia accident occurred as we were in the midst of making a decision about our Cyberfair project. As we grieved over the loss we realized that everyone is impacted by space exploration in one way or another. We were moved to research the influence of space exploration on our lives. Our project is a compilation of research, interviews and personal opinions about the effects of space in all aspects of our lives. We are fortunate to have Kennedy Space Center close enough to visit but even those who aren’t able to visit there feel the presence of the Space Program in their lives. We wanted to share those feelings with all who visit this site.
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:more than 6
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
The primary challenge was the time element. It took us a while to fully grasp what all was involved with the task. We spent way too much time trying to decide on a topic for our project; then we were faced with trying to conduct the research and the challenge of putting it together into a web page. We were also concerned about being sure everyone in class was involved. We each had several tasks to do in order to get it all together. The other problem was inexperience with the details of creating a web page; we were learning while we were creating. As always with this type of project, we can look at it and see ways to improve it. We had to learn to trust our judgment and accept it as it is.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
Participation in CyberFair has given us the opportunity to develop our ability to work together as a team to accomplish something that none of us could have done alone. We learned that each of us has something special to offer to the group; each is an important link to the creation of a project which will showcase our school and Space Exploration.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
Our school has adopted an emphasis on Emotional Intelligence and increasing our understanding of this powerful skill. The first part of EQ is understanding ourselves or emotional literacy. This project helped us develop that skill by examining our thoughts and feelings and putting them into words. The second part of EQ is evaluating our choices and motivation. We really had to put this into action as we worked together to create the project. The third part o the EQ circle is giving of ourselves to others. We grew tremendously in this skill as we thought about how we could share with others through this project. A number of our Technology standards were met through this project; • Becoming proficient in the use of technology • Practice responsible use of technology systems, information and software • Develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that promote lifelong learning, collaboration, and productivity. • Use technology tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, and produce other creative works. • Use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences. • Use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively with multiple audiences. • Use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. • Use technology tools to process data and report results. • Use technology resources for problem solving and making informed decisions. • Employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.
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