Dear Fellow Educators and Parents:

• Holism takes into account the whole person and the whole learning environment.
• Constructivism takes into account the need to teach students to reason, and to find the tools they need to problem-solve and succeed in life.

A central tenet of educational psychology

"[T]eachers cannot simply give students knowledge. Students must construct knowledge in their own minds. The teacher can facilitate this process, by teaching in ways that make information meaningful and relevant to students, by giving students opportunities to discover or apply ideas themselves, and by teaching students to be aware of and consciously use their own strategies for learning. They can give students ladders that lead to higher understandings, yet the students themselves must climb these ladders."

Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, Robert Slavin, 1994

I hope teachers view this project as one of those ladders. And I hope volunteer advisors help teachers hold the ladders steady while the children climb.

Educational philosophers have acknowledged that constructivism lends itself well to technology. Consider if you will these assumptions of constructivism:

• Knowledge has multiple interpretations
• Learning is an active process
• Process and product are emphasized
• Problem solving is the focus
• Power and control are shared among students and teacher
• Learning is a collaborative process
• Reflection is promoted

Teaching Literacy Using Computers, Using Technology in K-8 Literacy Classrooms, Rebecca Anderson and Bruce Speck, Merrill Prentice Hall, 2000

This project was designed based on certain ideals for educational models. Bear in mind, I use the word ideals rather than rules because I continue to strive to make this a better educational vehicle. I am always happy to hear how I am doing from teachers, advisors, parents and students.

I believe that holistic constructivist educational web models must strive to:

• Be universally relevant
• Use but not rely wholly on technology
• Connect learning to real-world experiences and needs
• Help a student grow intellectually and as a member of society
• Bring students together with mentors and positive societal role models
• Provide instructional flexibility for teachers
• Serve as a multi-disciplinary learning vehicle
• Build a student's sense of self-worth and self-empowerment
• inspire critical thinking
• Be adaptable to various learning styles and multiple intelligences

If "children learn by doing," * it is undeniable that we teachers do, too. Please let me know how I'm doing here. And thank you. Barbara "Ms. B" Moran (my resume)

* An educational slogan popularized by Progressive educator William Heard Kilpatrick in the 1920s