Call for Participation

You are cordially invited to take part in the first teacher workshop for James Burke’s Knowledge Web. Burke, best known for his Connections books and television series on BBC, PBS and The Discovery Channel, has been working with educators and technologists for three years to create a WWW version of his work that will allows students to chart their own journeys through history.

The Bay Area workshop will be August 5-9. Participants will be able to work with Mr. Burke, advise him on refinements to the projects, and on how it can be implemented in the classroom. We will also investigate educational methods such as Constructivism that can inform integration of technology, and create curriculum articulated with state standards. Participants will also be invited to a lecture by Mr. Burke, receive professional development credit, as well as books or copies of his CD-ROM game. Junior and senior high school teachers in all subject matter areas are needed, but science, social studies, English and math are the most relevant.

General information on the project can be found at k-web.org. A good overview of the project can be found in a recent Wired article. More detailed info can be found in Burke's vision statement. Also check out the tentative schedule. If you would like to join us, or need more information, contact Patrick McKercher at 408 286-3193 or pmmckerc@cats.ucsc.edu. There is no deadline or charge, and no high level of computer proficiency is required, but space is very limited.

Sponsored by the Institute for Educational Innovation