The lessons have been designed to allow a teacher flexibility of lesson selection and best fit into the existing curriculum. It is not necessary to complete all of the lessons, however, it is recommended that all of
the Core Activities are completed prior to students undertaking other Enrichment Activities. Please review each of the lessons carefully and use your judgment for allocating class time for the project. The information below may assist you with the implementation of the project:

Limited Computer Access
The following suggestions may assist implementation in a limited access situation.

Using Handouts
Students can access the data from home computers (when available) OR by giving them a handout each day with latest data.

Teacher Presentations
Teachers with 1 computer connected to a projection device can use
the Internet to introduce or enrich a unit, or prepare students in the use
of a web site before a session in the computer lab.

Learning Centers
Students can rotate through different activities during the course of
one class or over a longer period of time. Each student or group of
students takes a turn working at a different activity or learning
center.


Back-up Information
Save the files: Save the web pages to a disk / hard drive or cache of your computer beforehand.

Hard copies: Print and make copies of specific images or data
(e.g. the list of recent earthquakes) ahead of time to have on hand.


Mirror Site Information
A mirror site is a copy of this web site which is located on a different computer, acting as a back-up in case our computer server, network, or electrical power is down for any reason. The mirror site is updated
once a day to reflect any changes made to the web site in the previous 24 hours.

You can access the project mirror site at the web site address below:

http://www.k12science2.org/curriculum/gulfstream/

Write down the mirror site address in a place where you will have quick and easy access to it if need be. If possible, print out this page to keep for future reference.


Refresh
Browsing the internet requires downloading multiple files from the internet to the computer. Users often wait long periods while complete web pages slowly show up on their computer screen. To speed up
browsing time, the files that are downloaded are temporarily stored in the cache (referred to as Temporary Internet Files in Internet Explorer). Often in a Computer Lab setting, the computers are not shut down
each day, and the temporary files remain on the computer.

So, if a student visits a real time data site one day, the information from the site is stored in the cache. If a student revisits the same web page a following day, the browser will first look in the cache for the
information before it goes to the internet for the most recent image.

To prevent confusion, the students should first look for the time and date stamp on the image. If it is not the most recent image, click the “Reload” or “Refresh” button. This will insure that the latest data is displayed.

Internet Explorer uses the term “Refresh”, and the Refresh button can be found next to the Back and Forward buttons in the toolbar.

Netscape Navigator uses the term “Reload”, and the Reload button can be found next to the Back and Forward buttons in the toolbar.


Toggling Between Browser Windows
Toggling is the term used to describe switching between open browser windows.

You can have more than one web page open at a time using the same browser or using different browsers.

To open a new window in Netscape Navigator, simply click on File, and from the drop-down menu, select New, and then Navigator Window. A new window will open where you can type in a separate web
address.

To open a new window in Internet Explorer, simply click File, then New, and Window.

If you are reading a web page and want to see one of the links in another browser window, simply right click on the link and select, Open link in new window.

To toggle between windows on a PC, simply look at the status bar, usually located at the bottom of your screen. You will see buttons with the titles of the web pages that are currently open. Simply click on the
window you wish to view.


Internet Safety
It is important that any educator using technology  has an understanding of the potential dangers that the Internet poses and steps to protect students.  Armed with this information, teachers can both protect their students as well as educate the public to the benefits of the technology.