A Message from the President
Dr. Keith Verner
As all LabLearner students, teachers, and parents know, the LabLearner program does not assign a particular textbook. Since it is a 100% hands-on curriculum, most of the learning that occurs in LabLearner takes place in the lab, through first-hand observation. However, students obtain additional scientific information in their workbooks (Scientist Data Records), lecture notes, and NOW on the web.
The Internet is an exceptionally good source of information for LabLearner students. First, there is a nearly limitless number of excellent websites focused on essentially every science topic imaginable. Second, the form of information on the Internet is multimedia in nature. One may easily find live color video transmissions from the surface of Mars, virtual experiments involving essentially any physics principle, extensive photographs and video of every ecological biome on Earth, or a millimeter-by-millimeter trip through a real human body – all in color and with sound if necessary! In addition, students may download, store, and share absolutely any information they find with their teachers and peers. It is simply impossible to duplicate such a resource with any textbook.
It is also important to consider that the form of information available on the Internet – its multimedia, interactive nature – plays directly into the hands of K-8 LabLearner students. This is the form of information that they are brought up with and will need to use every day in the future, regardless of where they go to school, college, or where their careers ultimately take them. How many of us adults, in our professional work, find ourselves on the phone looking at the same website as the person we are talking to. How many times have we ended the discussion with something like “OK, I’ve just sent you the link.” or “I’ll print that for the staff meeting tomorrow?” LabLearner students can use the Internet exactly the same way… it is the future.
Finally, it is easy to find scientific websites directed at virtually any age/grade level. For example, if one types in – heat transfer eighth grade – into Google, over 32,000 sites appear, while if only – heat transfer – is typed in, over 36,000,000 hits are obtained! It is amazing how quickly information can be filtered on the web. On the other hand, it is still a daunting task for LabLearner students, teachers, or parents to pick the most relevant of these sites to relate to specific LabLearner curriculum CELLs. Therefore, LabLearner has done this for them. Our new LabLearnerLinks website provides from three to five relevant, quality websites for each curriculum CELL. It’s that simple.
It is our hope that LabLearnerLinks will be the beginning of a lifelong relationship between the search for scientific knowledge and the Internet, for all of our students, their teachers, and parents.
