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Out of Ecuador
There are 5,600 miles between Argentina's Tierra del Fuego and Quito,
Ecuador -- and a great many lessons, discoveries, and insights to be learned
along the way. On February 18, five adult explorers will begin a three-month
journey that will take them through Chile, Bolivia, and Peru as they travel
the longest longitudinal distance possible over land in the southern hemisphere.
Your students can ride along for free with the GlobaLearn
South America Expedition, which aims to explore the cultural and environmental
diversity of the southern and western regions of South America. Using laptop
computers, digital cameras, and audio recorders, the explorers will capture
their discoveries daily and send them via satellite uplink to the web, where
your students can participate in the exploration of sites such as Cotopaxi
in Ecuador -- the highest active volcano in the world. |
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Liquid crystals and other wonders
Pop open a laptop or glance at your digital watch, and you'll find yourself
looking at a liquid crystal display. How do these things work, anyway? The
science behind liquid crystals is revealed at the Polymers
& Liquid Crystals web site, a product of the combined minds at Case
Western Reserve University and Kent State University. With JavaScript interactivity
and animations galore in QuickTime and Macromedia Shockwave and Flash formats,
this virtual textbook makes lessons come alive for advanced high school
students. The site also covers polymers -- long chains of hard-working molecules
that make everything from car tires to nylon fabrics possible. And there's
a virtual laboratory, too: Users can download and run laboratory simulations
for both Windows and Macintosh platforms. |
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Illuminating physics
There's nothing like a little hands-on experimentation to help students
shed some light on difficult concepts in physics. Not every school has the
means to provide students with a state-of-the-art physics lab, but if your
school's web browsers support Java, you'll be able to send your students
instead to the Interactive
Physics and Math with Java web site. Using these interactive models
of physics phenomena, students will be able to spend serious learning time
with simulations of a spring pendulum, diffraction of light, induced current,
charged particles in a magnetic field, and more. It's an entertaining way
to become enlightened about the way things work in the physical universe. |
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Wheels of discovery
If you're looking for an interactive hook to get students excited about
Asia, the Vietnam Challenge might
be just the thing. On January 1, a team of 75 athletes -- composed of persons
both with and without disabilities -- begin a 1,200 mile, three-week bicycle
journey of discovery through the heart of Vietnam. Veterans from both sides
of the war in Vietnam will participate, as well as three-time Tour de France
winner Greg LeMond and Diana Nyad, holder of the world's record for the
longest swim. Participating schools will have an opportunity to communicate
with the Vietnam Challenge participants as they travel Vietnam's diverse
landscape. Students will be able to exchange messages, learn more about
Vietnamese culture and history, and find out about daily life in today's
Vietnam. |
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