Architecture

This site is organized hierarchically into rooms, sections, shelves and entries. Each icon in the Lobby is a room: Cool Projects; Student Stuff; Multimedia; Printer's Press; Professional Development; Community Center; Conference Room; and Workroom. At the Librarian's Desk are spaces for a Plan Book and Web Tools. They are structured like the rooms, represented by the icons.

The entries may contain one, a few or many locators. As a throwback, some of the locators may be an email address or telephone number and, therefore, are not hyperlinks. A few valuable offline resources have been included, too.

We encourage the use of multiple windows so you can view more than one page at the same time or load different software for simultaneous viewing. This capability is typically available via File on your browser.

Navigation

Several aides will help you to navigate through the many entries in this Instructional Media Center.

1. First-time visitors will find a text-based description of the rooms' contents on the Welcome page.

2. This wallpaper, lined with bookshelves, for instance, signals your location in the "stacks" here.

3. A dynamically-generated outline of the rooms, sections, and shelves is available at the Librarian's desk; the outline is always current, because it is updated automatically as new entries are added. Clicking on the shelves, then, reveals the entries.

The Catalog at the Information Sign on the Librarian's Desk connects entries with instructional and professional goals. Like real instructional media centers, the scope of the entries is diverse. Strategies for incorporating them into your curriculum will vary. Some stand alone as units, such as the Passport to Knowledge explorations, GLOBE and volcanoes, for example, but they can be enriched by other IMC resources. The WhyFiles provides background for current events in science but the archives might fit into a particular unit which you have constructed. Museums exhibit particular topics--for a unit or as a touchstone for online research projects or a model for exhibiting your students' own work. Other references, Creating A Virtual Museum or online publications or community networks, can also serve as models for you to adapt in your own setting. Many entries specialize in enabling tools, networked communities, time-sensitive events or pointers to large databanks (e.g. English language development). Finally, some entries recommend other software environments for you to load onto your computers.

The seed collection, broad-based Environmental Studies, has been shelved separately from other topical and general resources in the Cool Projects, Student Stuff and Multimedia rooms. Since the instructional philosophy of this site, however, presumes an interdisciplinary, project-based approach to learning, sometimes this distinction does not hold up. Moreover, many of the referenced sites, such as the Lawrence Hall of Science projects, are also inherently cross-disciplinary.

4. The Search the Library function, another site navigation aide, is accessible by clicking on Information at the Librarian's Desk, too. Usually you will check "all fields". It will yield more productive results, if you have familiarized yourself with the above navigation aides first. If you cannot locate a resource, send E-Mail to the Librarian, librarian@k12imc.org. We are here to help!

Becoming a Contributor

One of the major goals of this environment is to encourage participant contributions and, thereby, stimulate communities of interests. The first step is to register at the SignIn on the Librarian's Desk. After you register you can choose one or two options, upgrading to a Contributor and receiving Personalized Updates (see below). Checking the Contributor box will trigger a form, exactly like the other entries in this Media Center. After you have completed the form, it is forwarded to the Librarian for review. You will receive a quick response to your submission. If it is appropriate for this Center, it will be placed on the correct shelf. You will see it posted on the What's New spot of the Lobby Bulletin Board, and it will be accessible via Search the Library.

We are always looking for a Web page reference(URL) to an intriguing project, developed in the field. Feel free to contribute one by following this same procedure.

Your contribution will include your email address for others to contact you about your project or recommended URL.

Be sure to COMPLETE THE FULL FORM or it cannot be included.

Sign Up for Personal Updates

When you become a patron of this site, make sure you check the Site Update Newsletter option. The Site Update Newsletter is an occasional e-mail newsletter with information on the latest K12IMC changes and news. You can also stay informed by subscribing to one of our RSS feeds.

Be Sure To Tell Your Colleagues About This Site

Building self-organizing communities is the heart of telecommunications networking activities.