Web World Wonders - Florida's Star Schools Project
The United States Department of Education
The United Star Distance Learning Consortium
The Florida Department of Education
The Institute of Science and Public Affairs, Florida State University
The use of live video cameras on the Internet
has been around for some time now. These cameras allow viewers
to see a captured still image from a remote location at that exact
point in time. The image is usually updated over a period of time
ranging from seconds to minutes depending on the equipment. Many
resort areas have live cameras to showcase the current weather.
Some large cities are using these cameras to monitor traffic flow.
Other uses such as the famous "Fish Cam" where the camera is pointed
at a fish tank are considerably less informative. The Florida
Department of Education is developing a project to combine the
immediacy of being able to view remote locations with valid educational
content for student use.
Florida's Star Schools Project, Web World Wonders, makes it possible
for anyone from anywhere around the globe to explore many of the
natural habitats of Florida via the Internet. Users can take a
live look through the eye of a camera and view such natural wonders
as tropical coral reefs, swamps, marshes, and estuaries. Teachers
will find lesson plans and student activities correlated to the
Sunshine State Standards intended to increase environmental awareness
and communication skills, as well as opportunities for discussions
with others exploring these sites. Experts are available online
to answer questions and even to pose some of their own. The Florida
Department of Education's Bureau of Educational Technology and
the Geography Education and Technology Program at Florida State
University provide support to the districts selected to manage
these web sites and to develop the curriculum activities they
contain.
Currently there are three operative sites, at Pigeon Key in Monroe
County, Sawgrass Lake Park in Pinellas County, and Wakulla Springs
State Park in Wakulla County. Four other camera locations are
in the planning and implementation stage. These are at Six Mile
Cypress Clough Preserve in Lee County, at NASA facilities in Brevard
County, at Teneroc Park in Polk County, and at Key Largo School
in Monroe County. Each site provides the opportunity for any user
connected via the Internet to control the live video camera to
explore the site. The cameras have 360-degree rotation, up/down
movement and 12 X zoom, all under user control. By clicking on
a point in the picture, the camera will move and provide a new
image from that location. The system is designed to handle multiple
simultaneous users.
The web sites contain lesson plans to guide
students and teachers in keeping a log of their observations each
time they visit the site, including information on current weather
conditions. Information on environmental issues relevant to each
site is available via links to a variety of research areas. Students
are encouraged to pose questions online to local experts, as well
as develop research reports on related topics.
This project is a part of the USDLC (United Star Distance Learning
Consortium) Star Schools Grant, funded by the United States Department
of Education. USDLC is composed of five state departments of education
- Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina and Texas; one
local education agency - Education Service Center Region 20 in
San Antonio, Texas; one University - Western Illinois University
in Macomb, Illinois; two state schools serving the hearing impaired
-New Mexico School for the Deaf and Texas School for the Deaf;
and a non-profit distance learning programming network, StarNet.
