.
Julia Perez, a middle school science teacher, has seen her students interest in science skyrocket with the implementation of new technologies. She has her students testing the salinity of pond water using handheld devices with probe attachments and software that allows them to input data from the field. Later, they will analyze the information that they collected back in their school's computer lab. Meanwhile, another group clusters in comfortable chairs in the corner her classroom, reading a textbook chapter on adaptation. Others wear headphones with microphones attached that help them navigate a computer program on tropical fish and pronounce terms they"re learning from an interactive glossary that can operate in three different languages. Across the room, two special need students use a touch screen and joystick to manipulate text and multimedia elements as the create presentations on the impact of pollution on coral reef environments. Later in the week, Perez's class interviews a marine biologist on a distant coast via teleconferencing technologies and a screen that allows large-group participation. Within the month, the entire class will visit the local aquarium, and then follow up on their visit by going to the aquarium's website. Additional activities for this unit include a webquest that lets kids take part in the real-time adventures of a team of researchers conducting underwater expeditions in search of Mayan artifacts off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The student will use the information that they have gathered to assume the roles of landowner, conservationist, fisherman, travel agent, and so forth in a simulation where they"ll debate a series of topics related to marine life. Also, everyone is participating in what could be called traditional activities. They are reading Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea, writing fish stories for a school-wide contest, and painting fish with pastels and oil paints.