General Information Project Overview Goals Curriculum Connections Resource Connections Evaluation

  General Information

  Project Overview

Basic to the introductory study of global ecology is a survey of the world's major biomes. Traditional studies of this topic in our world geography, environmental science and biology courses offer a well-researched and information-intensive treatment. Th e focus of instruction is often so centred on learning about the unique nature of all the earth's biomes we fail in the opportunity to examine a biome, the home biome, up close. The home biome project initially attempts to increase student knowledge of o nly one of the world's major biomes. Students at participating schools will create and contribute to, a web page that promotes an understanding of their home biome. It is felt that immersion in the study of a single biome will provide students with a gr eater appreciation of the distinct qualities of their home biome. The home biome web page will have links to similar, student-maintained, home biome sites located throughout the world. Once established, a network of home biome pages has obvious potentia l as an alternative to learning about all the world's biomes.

  Goals

1. To establish an interchange of information between a schools at different latitudes, representing the different biomes.
2. To create an opportunity for students to profile and promote their home biome (ecoregion).
3. To establish at participating schools a student-maintained web page dedicated to providing a home biome profile. Students would regularly post: standard data about their home biome such as average precipitation and temperature. Digitized images, newsp aper articles and anecdotal reports could be included.
4. To establish a standard set of data that would be posted at each site so that visitors might compare this data to that for their home web site.

  Curriculum Connections

Using online resources such as School Net we hope to locate at least 12 schools to participate in this project. In its earliest stages the project will involve a single class of approximately 30 level III biology students. Participation in this activity will satisfy a project requirement that every science student at the school must fulfill. The students in this class will share in the web page's initial design and construction, the collection of data on the home biome and establishing links to the other schools. Once the project is running collection of data and updating of site information can be rotated between the participating geography, environmental science and biology classes.

  Resource Connections

The students to which a service such as the home biome project would be most beneficial are those enrolled in world geography, environmental science and biology courses. Our current access to the Internet is limited to a single computer designated for st udent used. Internet access to an entire class is desirable at all phases of this project. At present we have a full page colour scanner and digital camera to commit to the project. Internet access throughout the school would greatly aid the project in its earliest phases. Class access is desirable once the project is running.

  Evaluation

• Students use the Internet as a learning resource.
• Students participate in an information exchange with peers in other parts of the world.
• Students discover the unique qualities of their home biome and promote their region through the project.
• Students garner a true appreciation for the diverse nature of all the world's biomes.
• Students realize environmental responsibility is a global concern.
• Students develop a proficiency in web construction and maintenance.
• Students gather experience in data collection and analysis required in this project.