To help teachers get off to a good start, this paper presents the updated "Back-to-School Guide" that is brimming with new-media ideas and resources. It outlines ten tips, along with easy-to-use tools, that will help teachers build their classroom community, survey students to bring out their ideas, and make learning more collaborative. Links to…

"Mashup" is a new technology term used to describe a web application that combines data or technology from several different sources. You can apply this concept in your classroom by having students create their own mashup maps. Google Maps provides you with the simple tools, map databases, and online help you'll need to quickly master this…

Discusses an activity in which computers with color monitors can be used to demonstrate light blending with relative ease. (MKR)

Describes a microcomputer-based laboratory experiment designed for high school students that very accurately analyzes Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, addressing each variable separately while the others are kept constant. (Author/CCM)

Finds that few electricity and magnetism experiments make use of computers for data acquisition. Reports on the use of a Vernier system for the measurement of the RC time constant for the charging and discharging of a capacitor. (CCM)

Advocates allowing students to create their own animated simulations as a better way of teaching scientific processes. (YDS)

Investigates a number of virtual experiences and creates three categories: (1) virtual field trips; (2) virtual digs; and (3) field trips incorporating virtual reality. (Author/MM)

Describes a simple method to enhance the teaching of protein structures and function by analyzing amino acid sequences using word processing programs. (ZWH)

Describes a teaching method using computer probeware to enhance students' laboratory experiences. Discusses the role of computer probeware in the science classroom, how probeware affects learning, and how it affects efficiency. (KHR)

Explains how to do a science fair project and lists the necessary steps. Provides Internet resources. (YDS)

Uses a computer interface to measure terminal voltage versus current characteristic of a variety of batteries, their series and parallel combinations, and the variation with discharge. The concept of an internal resistance demonstrates that current flows through the battery determine the efficiency and serve to introduce Thevenin's theorem.…

Presents five interactive, computer-based activities that mimic scientific tests used by sport researchers to help companies design high-performance athletic shoes, including impact tests, flexion tests, friction tests, video analysis, and computer modeling. Provides a platform for teachers to build connections between chemistry (polymer science),…

Describes a simple computer interface that can be used to make reliable time measurements, such as when timing the swings of a pendulum. Presents a sample experiment involving a form of pendulum known as the compound pendulum. (Author/YDS)

Although weather, including its role in the water cycle, is included in most elementary science programs, any further examination of raindrops and snowflakes is rare. Together rain and snow make up most of the precipitation that replenishes Earth's life-sustaining fresh water supply. When viewed individually, raindrops and snowflakes are quite…

Describes a project where students publish their work on the World Wide Web. Enables students to share their work with other students and researchers around the world and to receive feedback from new sources. Discusses cyberscience, implementing web lab reports, and assessment strategies. (JRH)