Tapped In Newsletter: December 1999

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...ON THE TAPIS
December 1999
Issue 25
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In This Issue
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[1] Happy Holidays from TAPPED IN
[2] Tell us your story!
[3] MathForum ASO Coming in January
[4] Albert Einstein Fellowship
[5] Tech Tips: Gremlins in Cyberspace
[6] Kids Who Know and Do 2000 (Conference Announcement)
[7] Your Voice Counts (Last call for the survey)
[8] About ...On the TAPIS


As a precaution for Y2K we will shut down overnight 12/31/99-1/1/2000 See our home page for more details.

Quote of the Month:
"The great obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the continents, and the ocean was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel Boorstin (from "The Discoverers")

[1] Happy Holidays! by Judi Fusco, Mark Schlager, Patti Shank and Richard Godard
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As the end of the year approaches, we reflect on the past year and look forward to the new year.

Here are some of the highlights of the past year...
In January there were approximately 2,400 TAPPED IN members, now there are almost 7,000 of you! In March we moved to a new, very powerful server (thank you Sun!), and then got a new look in TAPPED IN (our new interface). In June we went to NECC and had a wonderful time meeting long-time members and new friends! (We'll be at NECC this year too and hope that we can meet more of you.) In July, Erik Wilson planned an online summer carnival for TAPPED IN members--a very successful learning-while-playing day! July, August, and September kept us busy with workshops and training sessions. Throughout the fall we began working with some new partner organizations (NCREL, BLT, MMAP, Lennox School District, and Schwab Foundation For Learning) to bring you new online events and services.

We also want to take this time to thank you for all of your support, help and feedback. TAPPED IN is a community, so you are the most important part of it! Each member brings new and valuable perspectives. Next year more new partners will be joining us, with more exciting projects. We hope you will join us online! If you have any questions or comments please send them to us.

Happy Holidays to you and yours.

[2] Tell us your story!
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We'd like to profile more members doing projects involving TAPPED IN or technology in their classrooms. Email us with your story or for more information. If you haven't seen the member perspectives that we have on our website be sure to visit our member perspectives and read about some of the projects that have been done, and how and why others use TAPPED IN.

[4] Math Forum ASO Coming in January, by Jody Underwood
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The Math Forum is a dynamic Internet-based community focused on mathematics education at all levels. It brings together teachers, students, researchers, parents, and others to participate in on-line interactions and collaborative projects, to ask and answer questions, to pose problems, to provide solutions, and to share resources. We will overview the features in the Teacher's Place including Ask Dr. Math, Teacher2Teacher, Problems of the Week, The Internet Mathematics Library, Web Units, and Discussion Groups. Site resources and services will be discussed during Math Forum's ASO at Tapped In on January 31st.

[3] Albert Einstein Fellowship: Where Classroom Practice Informs Policy
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Elementary and secondary science and math teachers can apply to spend a year in our nation's capital as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow. The Fellowship, enacted by Congress and funded by the Department of Energy Office of Science, with participation from NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health allows selected teachers spend up to one year in a Congressional Office, the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Education (ED), or the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The Fellows provide their educational expertise, years of experience and personal insights to these offices.

Information about the current Fellows, their duties and day-to-day activities can be found at the Triangle Coalition web site: http://www.trianglecoalition.org/ein.htm.
The application process closes February 25, 2000. Fellowships will begin in August or September of 2000. If you have any questions or need additional information regarding this application or the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program, contact Peter Faletra at (202) 586-6549 or via Email to peter.faletra@science.doe.gov or Cindy Musick at (202) 586-0987 or via Email to cindy.musick@science.doe.gov

[5] Technology Tips - Gremlins in Cyberspace
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Are cybergremlins working overtime to make logging in difficult for you? TAPPED IN tries to make sure that every user has access to the environment, no matter what computer, browser, or version of the browser is being used and they try to make the technology as invisible as possible. But, occasionally, the gremlins enter cyberspace.

Here are a few things you can try to overcome those login blues: (1) If you are on a Mac, make sure Java is active and memory is adequate; (2) Do not resize your windows; (3) For pc users - do a restart and uncheck the compact interface box that is below the password box on the login screen. (4) Read the FAQ page (5) If you have tried all these and are still having problems, send an email to us explaining what kind of computer you are using, what the browser/browser version is, and what happens when you try to log in.

Advanced Tech-Tip of the Month - Member Directory
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Does TAPPED IN have a member in Italy who might be interested in collaborating with your class? What is the email address for the member you talked to at the ASO? You can get the answers to these questions by searching the Member Directory (mdir). Type FIND (nameofcountry) IN $MDIR to find all members who registered as being in Italy. Type READ membername IN $MDIR to get a member's email address if they have made that information public. Ask a HelpDesk member for more assistance!

[6] KIDS WHO KNOW AND DO 2000 (Conference Announcement)
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The 8th Annual Conference on Project-Based Learning, March 31 - April 1, 2000, will showcase the work of outstanding PBL practitioners, and their students, who focus on instructional design within the context of school reform. Keynote speakers are Linda Darling-Hammond on School Restructuring, J.D. Hoye on the Classroom of the Future, Ron Berger and John Reid on Students as Researchers, and Stephen Bingler, David Stephen, and Elliot Washor on New School Design. They will be joined by over 100 leading PBL practitioners and educators from around the world.

[7] Your Voice Counts
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If you haven't taken our survey, please take a few minutes from your holiday break to take our Survey. If you have taken our survey, give yourself a BIG pat on the back! Your feedback is what keeps TAPPED IN funding! http://www.tappedin.org/info/surveys/1999

[8] About ...On the TAPIS
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Postings of all ...ON THE TAPIS issues are available on the TAPPED IN website. Contact us if you have any questions about your subscription, password or user name, or if you have any news items that you want to share with the community for ...ON THE TAPIS.