TECHNOLOGY NOTES

From GED Items, January/February 1996.

In recent months, access to the Internet has increased dramatically. Many colleges and universities as well as libraries and other publicly funded programs have computer resource centers where teachers, students, and the general public can "go online", often at no cost. For the ABE and GED teacher, getting access to the Internet, and the very popular World Wide Web, is considerably less of a challenge than it was a year ago. Approximately 9.5 million Americans now are accessing the Internet, using services such as America Online, Web browser software, such as Mosaic and Netscape, or the text-based Gopher.

At the GED Testing Service, we are often asked to suggest ways in which teachers can augment their science instructional resources. A recent search of the World Wide Web using the Yahoo search engine yielded 33 science education sites, and there are many others that the ABE/GED teacher could find useful. One award winning site worth mentioning is Access Excellence, a $10 million experiment sponsored by the biotechnology giant, Genentech, Inc.

Access Excellence is a science education program for high school level biology teachers. Implemented in April 1995, with the help of teachers from the San Francisco area, the project was designed to help eradicate the sense of isolation that many teachers say is their greatest limitation. Access Excellence is available on America Online in the education section's Teacher Information Network and as a "home page" on the World Wide Web ("point" your Web browser to http://www.gene.com/ae).

Geoff Teeter, a Senior Program Manager at Genentech, says Access Excellence "enhances biology teaching by providing a computer network forum in which teachers can share teaching ideas and lesson activities. They can access information, get expert assistance, and share experiences with other teachers to create new ideas." Each year until 1998, a group of about 100 fellows is selected from applicants in a nationwide competition supported by the National Science Teachers Association. The fellows receive laptop computers and specialized computer training.

When I surfed the Internet and located Access Excellence, my first response was one of delight at the many resources available in science. The menu allowed me to select from several topic areas by pointing and clicking with my mouse:

• What's Hot this Month! --- top news items and feature stories;
• Activities Exchange --- classroom activities and ideas;
• About Biotech --- biotechnology, from early history to present career opportunities;
• What's News --- new scientific discoveries, interviews with scientists making news, and more;
• Teacher-Scientist Network --- information and idea exchange between teachers and scientists;
• Teachers' Lounge --- opportunities for networking and collaborating with other teachers;
• Resource Center --- science reference information, meeting and convention schedules, competitions, exhibits, and more.

During my exploratory session, I opened "resource Center" and located "Carolina Tips" and "NSTA Reports," among other titles. Accessing "NSTA Reports," I found several interesting articles. I also discovered, while using the "Activities Exchange" section, that teachers had collaborated in tracking the spread of flu in the U.S. Others studied the changing of leaves in the Northeast. Two teachers now are directing their students on a project that analyzes dinosaur DNA.

In "What's News," one example of bringing science news into the classroom related seminars on DNA and DNA forensics projects to criminal trials in the news. Another involved the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Teachers and students, through Access Excellence, interviewed the key researchers studying Ebola. Soon to be added to Access Excellence is a section called "Teaching in the 21st Century," with subjects such as science education reform and using technology in the classroom.

During my surfing session, I was thrilled to find Carolina Online/Carolina Biological Supply's new Web home page (http://www.carosci.com). Carolina Online gives information on receiving a catalog, new products, and articles from the popular "Carolina Tips" newsletter. Carolina's home page is linked to Access Excellence; I found, when I selected the opportunity to read the text of a "Carolina Tips" back issue, a simple point and click transferred me to the area of Access Excellence where Genentech has placed full text of "Carolina Tips" back issues. Access Excellence provides so many links to science related sites that it's an excellent source for novices and experts alike who are seeking ideas and information.