PROJECT IDEA EXCHANGE “PIE” MONTHLY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 2: NO. 4 February 2003 www.mcvts.net/pie PROGRAM OF THE MONTH Are you searching for an approach to use to involve your students in learning about life in the past? If you are, I suggest that you look into "I Remember…" a educational project being conducted and posted on the PIE website. Simply stated, "I Remember…" is an effort to record, document and share remembrances of life. Students will be asked to seek out someone who has a remembrance of a past event that will assist others in learning about the Human Experience. Members can also post their own remembrances. The remembrances need not be ones of epic portions. They need not be those of a well-known situation, but rather they need to be the memories of what we, as humans, have experienced. Once an event has been successfully documented, each document will be posted on the PROJECT IDEA EXCHANGE website (http://pie.mcvts.net), permitting students and others around the world, who support education, to read about, react to and develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the role that each has played in the creation of the Human Experience. "I Remember…" is an educational program that can be adjusted to fit almost any grade level. This project was “tested” last and produced some wonderful results. To learn more about "I Remember…" and to read a few of the posted interviews, access the PIE website (http://pie.mcvts.net), go to the MESSAGE FORUM/HISTORY PROJECTS and then click on "I Remember…" You will find a full description of the project. To make the project easier to implement, included on the website are interview forms that can be used along with suggested websites that explore the concept of documenting personal experiences. Contact Ernie Read (reade@mail.mcvts or erreadiii@aol.com) for more details or assistance is taking part in this program. Please get your students and yourself involved! Remember that the past is often the key that unlocks our future! MEMBER NEWS PROJECT IDEA EXCHANGE is proud to welcome the following new members to its steady growing worldwide membership. Britte Brabants, KTA Wollemarkt , High School Teacher Mechelen, Belgium Marilyn Londono, College Student Naples, Florida PIE members can now be found in twenty-three countries on six continents. Please share PIE with others and encourage them to join. An updated PIE Membership will soon be posted. There are still some technical problems with the MEMBERSHIP LISTING and APPLICATION pages of the PIE website. If you wish a to receive a full listing of all PIE Members, please contact Ernie Read at either reade@mail.mcvts.net or erreadiii@aol.com. The listing will be immediately forwarded to you. Once the problems have been successfully addressed, you will be able to access detailed information describing every PIE members, including their email addressees, by accessing the PIE website at www.mcvts.net/pie or http://pie.mcvts.net and click on MEMBERSHIP LISTING. PIE “TIP OF THE MONTH” One of the first questions that students ask when studying a topic that refers to a geographic question is, “Where is ….?” Location is a topic that not only interests most people; educationally it is a vital factor in assisting students to better understand the topic at hand. To help address this concern, I recommend that you take a few minutes and explore MAPS.COM (http://maps.com).  MAPS.Com is a website that provides numerous resources, some interactive, which will assist the user in developing a deeper understanding of the geographic topic and a source of information for answering their questions. There are two particular sections that I found extremely beneficial.  The first is EXPLORE WITH MAPS. This section provides the user with a wide variety of maps and accessibility to numerous unique features such as Online Aerial Images. Need information on Time Zones? Go to the Channel Features and click on “World Time Zone Map” for an active map containing the time in thirteen various time zones.  The other section is LEARN & PLAY. This contains numerous activities, including educational games to encourage active participation in the learning process. LEARN & PLAY also contains an extremely helpful Channel Features area. If you are teaching geography, any related subject or topic, or just need to access a map to assist you, take a look at MAPS.COM. A word of caution. While many of the services provided by MAPS.COM are free, you cannot access all areas of the site without first becoming a paid member. But despite this, the free areas of the site are too valuable to miss! Take a look, you will be glad that you did! DIRECTOR’S NOTES Are you involved in an educational project that is successful? Do you have a website that you wish to share? Are you looking to join or create a project? If so, share your topic, idea, question or such with others by posting it on the PIE website. Also share it with me so that I can include your topic, idea, question or such in the next monthly newsletter. Looking for other schools to work with, do the same. Do you have ideas but need some assistance; contact me (erreadiii@aol.com; reade@mail.mcvts.net). I am always available to assist you in whatever manner possible! Be Well, Happy and Safe! Ernie Read/ PIE Director