The judges said:
An extremely appealing and engaging presentation of the issues and factors leading up to the American Revolution. An exceptionally high quality project, offering
multiple avenues for two-way communication. Great attention to detail and compelling characters, presented with a contemporary twist, while still capturing the
period. Not just your crusty, old retelling of the subject but an evocative and timely discussion and presentation of the people and issues.
A tip from the producers:
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, as the largest outdoor living history museum in the United States, offers a wealth of 18th century resources to visitors,
historians, educators and web developers. Those resources must be used with care always being conscious of the appropriateness to the project and with due attention
to intellectual property rights. This season's Electronic Field Trips season led off with "A Soldier of Liberty" which allowed us to maximize the use of our own
resources in some unique and engaging ways. Filming a battle scene at the Carter's Grove Plantation was an adventure in both logistics and earth moving to make the
space "battle ready!"
Our goal was to demonstrate the daily life of a young recruit, Nathaniel, who joins the army to fight for the freedom of his country and discovers the boredom and
drudgery of a soldier's life. Through the technique of "letters home to mother," we learn Nate's inner feelings about war, his comrades, and the cause he
so fervently believes in. Portraying the soldier's lifestyle as Nate moves from young recruit to seasoned veteran, places some interesting constraints upon the
producers. War was a violent and messy business and we had to find ways to show that side of the Revolution being mindful that our audience is largely fourth and
fifth graders.
Our partner in the development of the web site, Educational Web Adventures (Eduweb), saw that we could create engaging and creative interactions through the use
of QuickTime VR technology, streaming video, and interactive lessons. We put the student in the role of a quartermaster and have them "tour" the Powder
Magazine in Colonial Williamsburg to purchase the necessary supplies for properly outfitting their troops. We also saw the need to create a connection between 18th
century "ordinary citizens" and the students so that they could understand and appreciate the tough choices colonists had to make. One of our goals is to
have the student be a publisher to an authentic audience. So we created the "Eyewitness Video Shop" in which students become video producers creating a
persuasive video of their point of view concerning the Revolution. They can then publish the video globally to anyone with an email address.
So, take a script that has a hero, a small love story, friends who find themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield and mix in a bit of web wizardry and one
ends up with an engaging model to encourage children to jump in and find out what the American Revolution was all about. We hope that they will come away with not
just a better understanding of the events, but a real empathy for ordinary citizens who did extraordinary things.
The judges said:
A distance-learning series of courses on science-related subjects, presented by engaging and passionate scientists. An effective and engaging medium for teaching
and discussing complex theories and models. A well thought out and clear teaching tool, offering plenty of opportunity for two-way communication between students
and teachers.
A tip from the producers:
Seminars on Science, the online professional development program of the American Museum of Natural History, allows K-12 teachers to participate in six-week courses
in the life, earth, and physical sciences. The program offers eight courses that include original essays, rich media, and learning resources for educators.
Co-authored and co-taught by Museum scientists and educators, Seminars on Science brings participants into the collections, laboratories, and exhibitions of this
preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institution. In Spring of 2003, It was necessary to find a new course platform that would give it great stability
and reliability while also offering flexibility to define the best user experience. After an extensive search, the program selected eClassroom, the K-12 division
of eCollege, to power their online courses. eClassroom provided the necessary technology and support that allows Seminars on Science to run its own program.
Additionally, the course navigation was improved-more logical and consistent without being redundant. And the overall design was updated to be more friendly and
inviting, with portraits of the instructors to greet learners upon entering the course and strong scientifically appropriate visuals to support the content.
The judges said:
A series of online activities relating to the Museum's transit-related collections. A variety of engaging themes and topics, appealing and informative for kids,
including some interactive game-style functions, project-submission features, moderated discussion boards and a virtual classroom.
A tip from the producers:
Produced to coincide with the Centennial of the New York City
subway, the New York Transit Museum's Community Crossing is a
unique online web site that provides learners and educators the
opportunity to interact directly with Museum curators, exhibition
experts, and peers located throughout the tri-state area and all
over the globe. The site also allows learners to easily share
original stories, written essays, oral histories, poetry, photographs
and artwork about public transportation in the New York metropolitan
region. Community Crossing features extremely rich, yet easily
accessible, two-way communications tools, such as an online Virtual
Classroom. The Virtual Classroom features two-way web-based audio,
a whiteboard for the display of museum images and artifacts in
real-time, annotation tools for drawing on top of subway maps
and diagrams, and tools for allowing the facilitator to turn controls
over to participants to lead sessions themselves. The tools within
Community Crossing are just as conducive to formal, scheduled
online programs for the public at large, as they are for more
ad hoc online meetings and collaboration with small groups of
educators and learners. This flexibility increases the utility
of the site, allowing it to support the Museum's mission on both
programmatic and operational levels.
Gold: Soldier of Liberty
Silver: Seminars on Science
Honorable Mention: Community Crossing