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December 15, 2002
Awards of Excellence (cont'd)
Top Award Winners
NetOp School 2.5 (CrossTec Corporation)
This top winner is a next-generation network management tool for the classroom, library, or computer lab that lets teachers control the display on each student's screen from one desktop location. With a captive computer-using audience, they can then lead students through desktop demonstrations, observe their screen activity, or assist them individually from their own computer.
More than just a monitoring program, however, NetOp also lets teachers send files to all student PCs with one centralized command; create supervised chat rooms; shut down and restart computers in a PC-based classroom; and customize their classroom view using a number of display options.
While judges welcomed NetOp's screen display monitoring features, they also noted the program's possibilities for collaborative learning. For instance, a Breakout Session feature allows users to create independent work groups within a class, while a Pass the Chalk option encourages student participation by giving kids control of the demo screen. As one judge wrote, "NetOp provides a simple-to-install, easy-to-use solution that promotes collaboration and peer-to-peer learning."
Win CD. Price: $639 for teacher and five-student site license.
HydroMania: Water Quality (PASCO)
"An authentic integration of lab and computer" is how one judge described PASCO's hands-on virtual lab for testing water quality. A hybrid package that includes temperature, pH, and conductivity probes and software for data analysis, HydroMania gives students the tools to study water quality in their home environment. In the Acid Rain Riddle, for example, young scientists explore acid's effect on the pH of water samples with varying levels of alkalinity. Using the software and probes, kids can determine the level of water safety for humans and animals by analyzing levels of coliform bacteria, as well as dissolved phosphates, nitrates, and oxygen in water samples. Within the five investigations, students are guided through the process of scientific inquiry, asserting hypotheses and then testing them with technology.
With a helpful Teacher Resource Kit, educators can effectively emphasize the unique physical properties that make water a life-sustaining resource. The kit includes lesson plans aligned to national science and math standards and a variety of activity sheets, transparencies, and black line masters for quick implementation in the classroom.
Mac/Win CD. Price: $520. (Grades 5 and up)
Relate for Kids (Ripple Effects)
Following in the footsteps of its award-winning forerunner, Relate for Teens, Relate for Kids sets another high mark for media-rich guidance software. In this version, tailored for kids in grades 3-5, students explore coping strategies and work toward building the social and emotional skills needed to effectively deal with bullying, violence, and the pressure to experiment with drugs-just a few of the increasing social stresses facing today's students. Designed to appeal to a diverse range of learners, the program delivers skill-building opportunities in predicting consequences, being assertive, and knowing when to ask for help.
Featured are video sequences in which peers model appropriate responses to high-pressure social situations. Ideal for individual student use, the program lets kids select the way they want to explore each topic, from true-story video sequences and online self-assessments to critical thinking and writing exercises. Relate for Kids also lets teachers track student progress and block access to inappropriate topics for certain student audiences. One of our judges found the offering so necessary to her work with at-risk kids, she's writing a grant to purchase it for her classroom.
Mac/Win CD. Contact publisher for individual pricing options. (Grades 3-5)
Resist (Ripple Effects)
Ripple Effects received a second nod from our judges for its Web-based offering for teens. Resist covers more than 20 age-appropriate topics, such as Ethnic Conflict and Religious Diversity and Justice, to help youth constructively cope with the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Teachers and students visiting this free site will find a rich resource for opening up a dialogue about the social, emotional, and political consequences of that infamous day in American history. Lesson units on Feelings, Tolerance, and Democracy are framed within scenario-based behavior training, interactive games, discussion questions, and opportunities to put tolerance into practice. The segment on Managing Feelings, for example, offers effective strategies for understanding common but uncomfortable emotions such as fear, anger, hate, and even guilt. In the Tolerance unit, students encounter first-person accounts of hate crimes and then learn how these victims positively managed their situations. A segment on Democracy explores the meaning of patriotism and loyalty in a time of national distress.
Resist is flexible enough to be used in an exploratory mode by a single student or to launch discussion within a group setting. Judges were particularly impressed by the way the topics in this program prompt critical writing and reflection.
Web site. Price: Free. (Grades 6-12)
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