Make It Work

Briefly describe the program:

• Why is the Mona Lisa Smiling? is a multidisciplinary inquiry driven international collaborative Internet project developed by high school seniors in J.F. Kennedy High School and their partners in Sweden.

• The workshop will engage participants in exploring how to use the unique research, multimedia and interactive capacities of the Internet to shape subject content specific constructivist learning experiences.

• Technical features of the site include: html scripts, image mapping jumpbox navigation , multimedia sound, and animated graphics.

• Site is viewable with any browser, and is accessible to the hearing impaired.

Visitor participation include:

• Creating and sending digital musical postcards in one of a dozen languages, taking an online interactive quiz with any browser, hearing original da Vinci music, discovering a dozen da Vinci diversions through random research, watching the the Morphing of Mona Lisa, signing the guestbook, and completing a site survey.

• John F. Kennedy High School is in the Bronx, New York and the Soltorgymnasiet is in Borlange Sweden.

How will you present the program?

• The program will be presented through a video overview created by coach Steve Feld detailing every aspect of the site. After viewing the video, the rest of the session will be devoted to an open discussion of the ways in which participants can adapt the site format, features, and model to meet their class, subject and content needs.

What do you hope to accomplish in this workshop?

• To Introduce, involve and engage participants in exploring the ways the internet can be used to motivate and facilitate independent and collaborative inquiry learning.

• To provide attendees with a model of a single paradigm project utilizing key Internet skills.

What resources would be necessary to duplicate this program?

• Access to the web (could be from school library.)

Presentation:

• The workshop will demonstrate how novice and experienced Internet users can develop collaborative, compelling, contageously engaging, educationally challenging and resource rich web sites. The presentation will focus on how JFK High School students collaborated with partners in Borlange Sweden to investigate the centuries old enigma "Why is the Mona Lisa Smiling?".

• Design potential customized content specific web sites around key issues on topics of their curricula.
• Tap into the Internet's potential for infusing , enhancing and fostering multicultural understanding.
• Utilize vast research possibilities of the Internet to buttress their sites with additional links.
• Develop plans for actively engaging their students in collaborative, cooperative and leadership roles in web site design, installation and maintenance.
• Further explore and incorporate use of Java and CGI Scripts to enhance the project with site survey, interactive quiz, counters and guestbook.
• Integrate text, graphics, rewards, digital postcards, audio and animation components into web site designs,