School: Carlinville Middle School
    Carlinville, Illinois, United States

10 students, ages from 12 to 16 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 27, 2002. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 1998, 2001, 2002

Classes and Teachers: Ginger Granger

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.carlinville.macoupin.k12.il.us/middle/mainpg.htm

1. Description of Our Community

The community of Carlinville is considered to be one of the “100 Best Small Towns in America”. Among the 6,000 residents living in Carlinville we have a diverse ethnicity allowing the old and young to explore new and open worlds. Though small, it is a very busy, hard working, and big-hearted town where people try to better themselves and their community. The Carlinville School District is ranked among the highest in the area, and it is a national “Blue Ribbon” school. We have restored many of the old buildings that were once in the area, which makes a historical statement for all to enjoy. Some of Carlinville’s marks on the history books are stories of Abraham Lincoln visits and tales of the Underground Railroad. Even though Carlinville is a small community it was affected by the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and was able to gather strength and help its nation. Many organizations and groups around the community set up fundraisers and memorials to help ease the pain of our nation. Many visitors to Carlinville find the town a friendly and safe place, and they often return to visit.

2. Summary of Our Project

As you walk through the streets of Carlinville you not only see a quiet, peaceful, loving town, but also many historical buildings and landmarks. Our Project is about Carlinville and its historical background. Carlinville is unique in its own way and it is a nice, safe place to live. It has many old buildings and although it is small it has many interesting things and places that make it distinctive and interesting. Our project tells about all the different locations in Carlinville and how they make Carlinville an historical and fascinating place to live. Our project also shows how helpful and kind our town is, not only during big tragedies like September 11, 2001 but constantly. On the September 11, 2001, upon hearing about the tragic events, many individuals and organizations reached out and did many activities to help our nation. Residents of Carlinville are always reaching out to help fellow Carlinville citizens and they are always ready and willing to give money, support or assistance to anyone in need of it. Our project shows how important our town is to us. We hope after seeing our project you can feel the same way about our town.

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:1

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):

The team worked in a 30 computer lab using many different types of software to produce this project. Having a T-1 line and our own web server enables us to have an easier way of producing the pages.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

We had to overcome many difficulties that made it hard for us to complete this project. We have been working on this project for 2 years now. Last year we were unable to complete it because of our computer systems crashing frequently. During one of the crashes some of our information was destroyed and was unable to be retrieved again. Some of our project had to be started over from the beginning. This year we have also had problems such as having difficulties putting our survey up on the Internet and the subject being changed because of the heartbreaking events of September 11, 2001. Because we were determined to complete the project we worked harder to produce a high-quality website. Another problem that we had to overcome is that we lost a couple of disks with a lot of our pictures on it. We had taken these pictures with a digital camera and it took a lot of our limited time to get them back. We are also a group of middle and high school students, therefore, our schedules are greatly different.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

At first CyberFair was just a fun project, but as we started to get information and began getting farther into the project we realized that it was also a learning experience. We never realized how much historical background our town truly has and how it contributed to the history of Illinois and the nation. Because we wanted to share our community, we tried to provide quality information that will encourage all to visit both in person and on the Internet.

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

We followed the National Educational Technology Standards for the middle and high school students. Our school has no issued requirements for computers at this time, but they will soon be added in the Illinois State Standards. Specific standards addressed were: Grades 6-8 5) Apply productivity/multimedia tools and peripherals to support personal productivity, group collaboration, and learning throughout the curriculum. 6) Design, develop, publish, and present products (e.g., web pages, videotapes) using technology resources that demonstrate and communicate curriculum concepts to audiences inside and outside the classroom. Grades 9-12 5) Use technology tools and resources for managing and communicating personal/professional information (e.g., finances, schedules, addresses, purchases, correspondence.) 8) Select and apply technology tools for research, information analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making in content learning. Curriculum guidelines for the middle and high schools involve the use of web tools and application software necessary to create the web pages. Reading and language, also used in all areas of curriculum are used as the pages are researched and developed.

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

Macromedia Flash 5 created the introduction. Microsoft FrontPage 2000 was used to build all of our web pages. Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 was used to create our 9/11 video. Adobe Photo Shop 5.5 used for complex photo editing. Microsoft Access 2000 was used to build our database. Sony Digital Camera’s was used to take pictures. Microsoft Photo Editor 3.01 was used for simple picture editing. Umax Scanners was used to scan pictures that were not taken with digital camera. Microsoft Word was used for our logo and developing the information for the project. Macromedia Flash 4 was used to build the spinner on the homepage. Microsoft Paint was used for pictures. Pentium 2 Computers used for the project. Hewlett Packet DeskJet 855Cse and Epson Stylus Color 800 color printers was used for printing. Hewlett Packet LaserJet 5 was used for printing. Microsoft Image Composer 1.5 was used to make the tickets seen on all of the pages.

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

We talked to many people in our community about our project. Some were asked for information about particular places and events. In this way, they found out about our project and were pleased to provide any help they could. As new spread that we were developing a site about our community, others wanted to know how they could help. We have come to find that many people are very interested in the project because it involves young people working with complex technology, and it also highlights our community for all the world to see. By involving many different individuals and organizations, we were allowing our project to belong to the entire community, not just to us. Although we received no monetary donations, our town and school have provided us with the large amount of support and information. Without that, we would not be able to complete the project. All in the community are anxiously awaiting the publication of our website.

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

The impact of our project on our community is still to be seen. However, we are hoping that the website will allow our citizens to be more aware of the unique town that Carlinville truly is, and attract more visitors to see our historical sites in the future. Although there are other websites about Carlinville, none of them have gone into the extended details involving the primary historical sites mentioned in the sites. It is hoped that people from other areas may also benefit from this project because it shows the actual differences between their community and ours. It might even encourage those communities to look at their own area for the same type of historical significance. Of course, providing a website of our community will develop community and national pride at this time in our history.

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

Our volunteers came from the people that we interviewed in our attempt to find information about Carlinville's history. Because we have so many service organizations that help our community and others all year long, we have included these activities on our web pages. The students at Carlinville High School & Carlinville Middle School have done canned food drives to help out our local food drive as well as blood drives even before the events of September 11th. We are proud of all of our community participants and their efforts to make our town the special place that it is.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

As a result of doing this project, we learned to work as a team. We have also learned more about technology than what we did when we first started this project. Patience is another lesson that we have improved upon during our project. We have developed relationships with people from our community- especially some of the adults that we acquired information from.