Cool Projects
Updated: April 11, 2005
Browse this Microsoft Classroom Teacher Network archive to see how creative teachers can enhance the learning experience for their students by integrating new technologies into classroom activities. For the latest classroom resources, please visit Innovative Teachers.
Art: A Reflection of America (831 KB PowerPoint file)
"How is a piece of American art a reflection of (or reaction against) the events, attitudes, or issues in America at the time it was created?" That is the question that Kathleen Doherty poses to her 9th grade students at The Bromfield School, Harvard, MA in this Unit of Work. Students present their findings to the class in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, a newsletter, or a Web page.
Attaining Computer Literacy Through the Core Curriculum (105 KB PowerPoint file)
Jeff Skelton is the computer literacy teacher at Hedrick Middle School in Lewisville, Texas. This is the third year that he has worked with core curriculum teachers to integrate technology in the classroom. Students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades devote 10 weeks each year to accomplish their learning objectives.
Bats and Sound (282 KB PowerPoint file)
Vickie Hayes teaches 3rd Graders at Lakes Elementary School in Lacey, Washington. Her 3rd graders learn new scientific concepts through a fun lesson about bats and the role sound plays in their lives. Vickie began teaching with technology 19 years ago and feels it helps her students to build self-confidence while improving skills in writing, critical thinking, collaboration and research.
DNA Technology Research and Short Story Project (155 KB PowerPoint file)
Ned Granville teaches 9th Grade Honor's Biology and 11th and 12th Grade Advanced Placement Biology at Roswell High School in Roswell, Georgia.
In "DNA Research and Short Story Project" students research the latest technology in DNA fingerprinting, and then use this information to produce a newsletter about DNA technology (using Microsoft Publisher), a PowerPoint presentation summarizing DNA, and a short story using DNA fingerprinting to solve a crime.
Student Electronic Portfolios (70 KB PowerPoint file)
Dennis Barbata is a computer science teacher and technology coordinator at the Oak Grove High School in San Jose, California, where he recently created the Information Technology pathway, one of nine pathways that students follow throughout their four years of high school at Oak Grove. He also created Project EagleWeb in which students write web pages for small local businesses.
Global Environmental Issues: Air and Water Pollution (428 KB PowerPoint file)
Hank Bitten developed this lesson plan for his honors level students at Indian Hills High School in Oakland, New Jersey. Students work in teams to research air and water pollution and present their findings to a public audience.
Global Internet Projects (254 KB PowerPoint file)
Susan Silverman designed this lesson plan to expand the horizons of her second grade class at Clinton Avenue Elementary School in Port Jefferson Station, New York. The Global Internet Projects take her classroom beyond its four walls and into the global educational community.
The Titanic: A Multidimensional Project (280 KB PowerPoint file)
Quincy Cook and Cathy Walker are 7th grade teachers at Narrows View Intermediate School in University Place, Washington.
"The Titanic: A Multidimensional Project" is their interdisciplinary six-week unit in which students use Microsoft Office 2000 to develop a travel brochure about the Titanic as well as a newspaper reporting on the Titanic disaster. The project can easily be adapted to other historical events.
