How to Begin Using Camp Internet in your Classroom 

Camp Internet offers content, projects and curriculum you can use today in your science, history, reading and art classrooms.

Project based  focus areas within Camp are the GIS/GPS mapping and the Global-Garden sustainable agriculture (school garden).  New this year is a digital video elective for High School students.

Where is everything?  How do I find my way around the Camp Internet Campus?

Every web page within Camp has a “search” link.

Always remember that if you need to find a subject or word the “search” link will always be there, on the lefthand side of the page.  The “search” tool is an important gateway to Camp Internet for you and your students.  Use it often and teach your students to use it.

One of the first things you will notice is that there are 7 study areas within the Camp Internet online Campus.  You signed up for a specific study Expedition but you may use any of the units within Camp Internet at any time.  Many teachers use the GIS/GPS science unit and the Garden unit along with their Expedition. 

Camp Internet is above all a Project oriented curriculum enhancement tool.  Camp gives you a means to enrich your daily classroom teaching activities in a variety of ways and it is your choice which activities you select to implement. We offer you suggested guidelines for implementation and success in the chart below to help you set-up you Outpost in your classroom, implement the program, encourage family participation, and see real, measurable results in student achievement.

Camp staff will support your project management and technical needs on an ongoing basis because we know Happy Campers are the most likely to really make headway with delivering the program to their students! When you need help, email camp@campinternet.net or call 1-800-889-2823.

Every Classroom becomes a ‘Camp Internet Outpost’

I. Suggestions and options for setting up your ‘Camp Internet Outpost’:

      Attend Camp Internet’s introductory training sessions in person or online (see Teacher’s Web).

     Learn to navigate Camp Internet and become familiar with the content you want to use in your classroom.

       If you are taking part in the Garden project register your classroom at: http://www.rain.org/global-garden/school-garden-registry/

     If you are taking part in the GPS/GIS project register your classroom at: http://www.rain.org/campinternet/gis/school-registry/

      Introduce your students to the idea of using the Internet as a part of their classroom curriculum

      Remember – you can use any week’s featured content resources and corresponding live Dig or Chat events – AND – you can use the online research resources for class activities any other time they met your needs.

       As much as possible determine which Monthly activities or Family Nights you will participate in (see Calendar and Teacher’s Expedition Journal) and the Fall/ Spring special project assignments.

      If you are required to use a publisher’s reading program, you will see that many of Camps resources compliment the major reading programs and will make those programs more enjoyable for your students. Look for the connections and plan on how to integrate camp with your reading programming.

       Decide how you want to implement the program and this is often based on number of computers students have access to. Options: divide class into small working groups that collaborate as teams while sharing one computer; rotate students at computers individually; if you have weekly access to a lab plan to do the introduction in the classroom and then follow-up with 1:1 computer access in the lab for research and live event activities; if you have only one computer online in the classroom, plan on how to use a TV monitor to enlarge the image and showcase the program each week to the entire class – any/all of these techniques work with Camp Internet.

       In the classroom, set aside a storage area for Camp materials – you teacher binder with masters, Teacher’s Expedition Journal, wall or desk calendar, books, videos, art supplies, science supplies etc.

       Before launching the program, review the Teacher’s Expedition Journal you have completed in advance and as best suits you, transfer your planned activities from your Journal to either a wall / desk calendar – or the electronic calendar in your camp email center.

       Put a Camp poster, backpack or other materials on a classroom wall as a display to excite learners.

     Set up one or more computers in the classroom with a bookmark to Camp Internet and a sign naming it a Camp Internet Outpost Computer.

      Using the black line master in your binder, or the online master, print out passports for each student and staple. Also print out their acceptable use pages. Using the online version, you can modify these anyway you like.

     Organize color incentive stickers as rewards for each section of the Passport my students complete ( if you have purchased a materials kit we will provide these, if not, you can acquire your own).

II. Launch your Camp Internet Outpost’s Expedition!

      Introduce the program to your students by showcasing the highlights in their Expedition. Introduce History, Reading, Art, Science, School Garden, GIS, and Technology features you think will excite their curiosity.

      Show them the tools in their own, personalized Student Center.

     Show students the archive of live online activities – Internet Digs, Trail Guide Chats, and Field Reports – let them know that responsible use will empower them to participate in these special learning activities.

      Demonstrate the GPS unit to students and do a school site reading.

      If you have a School Garden – post news about it in our Garden Registry.

     As the first September activity, have students write School Introductions that each teacher will then post online (and add links to your school web site or uploaded pictures if possible).

       Announce clear goals for special projects – Fall Field Reports (December/January) and Spring Field Reports (May/June) are the time these projects are posted online and become part of the Camp community. These can be individual or small group projects, in class or out in field.

      If you have purchased a materials kit, give each student their own backpack folio and passport.

      If you are not purchasing the materials kit, you can create your own passports from the black line master in your binder – or from the online version in the teacher’s web and distribute to each student. Or you can use the online passports and print out chapters as they are completed.

      Print out the Parent Letter in the Teacher’s Web and send it home to student’s families to introduce this program to their parents (available in English and in Spanish).

      Issue the Camp Classroom Log-in and Password to your students with their agreement to behave responsibly online at all times – some classrooms have students sign a written responsibility agreement.

       Keep your teacher-only log in and password private, not for student use, and know that if students do gain access to this account you must ask to have the password changed immediately so they can not access the answers to the Passports or other teacher-only materials in the Teacher’s web.

      Other:

III. Begin fully implementing the Camp program in you classroom:

      Look ahead at your Teacher’ Expedition Journal to plan ahead what students will be doing in advance of each week’s activities. (Updates to events will arrive on Mondays)

      If you are doing any collaborative events or projects with other classes, stay in touch with your colleagues by email and put the date/time for live joint events on your electronic, wall, or desk calendar.

       Remind students of the clear goals for special projects – Fall Field Reports (December/January) and Spring Field Reports (May/June) are the time these projects are posted online and become part of the Camp community. Aim for substantive, illustrated reports on class or field projects.

     Each Monday, watch for the new weekly briefing to arrive in your email or see it posted online. There will be a Campwide briefing with all updates – and often an individual Expedition briefing with details on implementation strategies. This is when the LIVE Trail Guide chats will be announced so keep an eye out for this enriching experiences for your students academic growth.

q       When there is a week you want to participate in the featured events, we suggest setting aside an hour on Tuesday to introduce the theme to the class, and then assign an hour during the rest of the week to provide computer time for them to use the featured content. If there is a live event you want to have them join in – such as an Internet Dig – set aside time for that.

       We suggest doing the new live Digs if time is limited as they overview the feature every week.

       Remember ALL Digs are available anytime for research/quizzes (no posting) under ACTIVITY.

       When there is a Trail Guide Chat scheduled, use the Trail Guide Web to introduce students to who the Guest will be, have them prepare a set of questions in advance, and then prepare them to post polite and thoughtful questions during the event.

      Invite students and their parents, using provided flyers, to attend any of the online Family Nights at your school when you can open your doors – from a public library computer - or from their own home computers (see calendar for event dates and themes, and Teacher’ web to print out flyers)

      Host field trips whenever possible to local or remote sites and file Field Reports online.

       Other:

IV. Participate actively as a Teacher in the ongoing professional development activities including the following:

       Work with your Teacher’s Expedition Journal to plan, change, and adapt Camp resources to serve your classroom needs on an ongoing basis.

       Note the standards matches and linkages to any required reading programs.

       Join in the four Online Teacher Workshops that are open 24 hours a day / 7 days a week for your professional development. The workshops will feature; How to Navigate Camp Internet, How to Create an Internet Dig, How to Build a Field report, and GIS / GPS Mapping.

       Develop a local school site or community GPS mapping project and submit data and pictures to camp to add to our map.

       Work in one or more collaborative activities online with another teacher / classroom – or do an art / science exchange where you mail each other projects.

       Develop parent involvement activities to help support student achievement.

       Plan a field trip if possible to a related museum, park, or university resource.

      Select a date when you will post your own Internet Dig online for your class to use.

       Prepare student projects and field reports for online publishing as often as possible and arrange times to post and share – no HTML programming needed!

       Watch the briefings and calendar for the regional in-service days Camp hosts through out the year that we welcome you to participate in and arrange release time to attend.

      Take a local teacher training class to learn how to build a class web site and use Camp activities as a source for content – and to brag about your students!

       Attend educational conferences in your own region and make presentations about your Camp Internet success to your peers.

      Share your accomplishments with peers at a staff or district meeting.

      Keep your principal and district curriculum director informed of your class accomplishments!

      Other:

Thanks for Being an Important Part of the Camp Internet Distance Learning Community !