[LM_NET] HIT: MARCO POLO! Thanks everyone!

[Lori Lombard <maryjane13148@YAHOO.COM>]

                      Thank you all so much for all your great responses! I will be 
forwarding this on to my Superintendent! I think she will be very impressed and I 
look forward to taking a closer look at this site myself. You are amazing! Below 
are the responses that I received. I hope the cut and paste worked.
  Lori Willey, Librarian
  A.J. Smith & Cayuga Elem.
  Union Springs, NY
  maryjane13148@yahoo.com
    
  It's a gateway to good sites in the areas of Language Arts, Social Studies, Art, 
Science and Economics.  They also provide lesson plans and a newsletter to 
subscribe to.  They were started by World Com so I think they don't do as much any 
more, but it is worth looking into for free!
  We've used the Marcopolo website for a couple of years in my district. 
We were even given some inservice training on it.  

Not every lesson plan provided is of equal value, and I generally use
it to search for links for lessons I'm designing myself, but I have
found it to be a very valuable site.  Their list of partners is
impressive:  NCTE, National Geographic, NEH, etc.  the have a huge
collection of lesson plans incorporating technology into every area of
the curriculum.  

Anyone reasonably well-versed in basic searching can use their site;
their search pages have several limiters that really focus your 
results:
grade level, curriculum areas, etc.  Lesson plans are based on 
national
standards across the curriculum.  

Marcopolo even offers free online training on using the site.  Using 
the
site is free, though I see from their site that they have group 
training
on integrating technology, too, for a fee.
  http://www.marcopolo-education.org/home.aspx 
   
  This is a terrific resource. Very deep and broad range in content/curriculum 
coverage.  I was trained 4 or 5 years ago by an Oklahoma training initiative.  The 
site was developed through MCI, and when that corp went down many of us thought 
MarcoPolo would disappear.  There are many organizations who stepped up to committ 
time and money to support MarcoPolo, and so far it is running very well.
   
  The concept began when 7 educational orgs combined their efforts to bring 
Internet content into the classroom through reviewed lesson plans correlated to 
national standards.  The 7 orgs:  National Geographic, NCTE, The Kennedy Center, 
NCTM, National Endowment for the Humanities, AAAS (Am Assoc for the Advancement of 
Science) and National Council on Economic Ed.  These groups worked with the support 
of MCI to build searchable websites linked to a base (MarcoPolo.)  Each site 
contains national level benchmarks for skill learning and can be searched by 
content, age, grade level and type of lesson. 
   
  I have enjoyed many applet interactives, pdf's, referenced articles and much 
more.  This year I found a wonderful series of lessons when a 3rd grade teacher 
emailed me and said, "I want to do something interesting with fairy tales."  I did 
a search and we began a 9 lesson series covering 4 weeks of reading, language 
arts/writing, and social studies activities with fairy tales, folk tales and 
fables.  Search the main website using Folk Tales, language arts, grade 3-5 and 
find #13 - Exploring World Cultures through Folk Tales.
   
  Just last week Kindergarten said she wants to study polar bears in January.  So, 
I search polar bears and through the multiple layers of a great lesson beginning 
with "ants" I found such lessons as Writing Reports with Kindergarten? Yes! and 
Draw a Story:  From Pictures to Writing.
   
  I really love this site.  If you have the chance to attend training, do it!  It 
takes some time to become familiar with the depth of information, but it is worth 
the time.  Good luck and I hope your school has the Internet technology to fully 
integrate this wonderful resource!

  Marcopolo.com is a great site for lesson plans.  Our state DOE even 
links
its site to it on the state standards screen.

  I'm a Marco Polo trainer. It is a greaat resource - a sort of portal of
reviewed internet educational sites, grouped by content area.

Melody Pinkston

  Marco Polo is fantastic.  You can access it easily, and it is free to 
everyone.  Our four campuses had a free two-hour inservice on it last 
August, and this next summer we'll be doing a full day on it for 
everyone. http://www.marcopolo-education.org

  
 am also in New York and received this recently from
the Buffalo School Library System director:

The stress and anxiety for 3-8 testing has begun.
After the New Year -that will only intensify. Here is
some information that may help your teachers. Please
share this far and wide with teachers, parents etc.

Marco Polo NY - http://www.nyiteez.org/MarcoPoloNY/

Every performance indicator in preK-8 math has at
least 2 sample tasks to help teachers and students
prepare for the March test.
On the right side menu, click on Math.

I sent it on to the curriculum/test person at my
school and this was her reply:
Marco Polo is a new--and once old initiative from
State Ed.  There is supposed to be extensive training
on it and it is a little controversial because it
seems to be a mandate.  

     
  Several years ago I attended a workshop sponsored by them on how to become a 
teacher trainer using the program.  I find it to be an excellent resource- for all 
the major subject area and more.  All the links are internal, which means they 
basically stay within the parameters of the host site and are evaluated based on 
educational effectiveness, currency, reliability, etc.
   
  Click on www.marcopolo-education.org/  and check out the partner sites and have a 
look around. 
            http://www.marcopolo-education.org is the URL for Marco Polo.  Here  is 
the fact sheet about Marco Polo.  I have used it and it is a great resource.  
   
            About MarcoPolo  MarcoPolo Fact Sheet  -->                              
WHO:
A partnership among the leading national and international educational 
organizations and the MCI Foundation, MarcoPolo: Internet Content for the Classroom 
features seven discipline-specific Web sites that house Partner-created and 
reviewed Internet-based lessons and resources-all at no cost. MarcoPolo makes 
commercial-free, standards-based content of the highest quality easily accessible 
to teachers and students. The gateway site is accessible at 
http://www.marcopolo-education.org. The Partners are as follows: 
  Partner Overview  
  MarcoPolo is a consortium of nine of the nation's leading education   
organizations, 50 states and the District of Columbia, and hundreds of   education 
and training experts from across the country. The program's Content   Partners 
develop and deliver -- free to teachers -- high-quality,   standards-based, 
commercial-free Internet resources designed to be integrated   into the K-12 
curriculum. A nationwide Cadre of 100 trainers deliver a free   train-the-trainer 
program to 10,000 state-based Field Trainers a month   providing them with the 
background and tools needed to train teachers on how to   use the Internet to 
enhance classroom instruction; and, a State Network of all   50 states plus the 
District of Columbia will roll the training out to every   classroom in America by 
2005. 
 -->           ARTSEDGE
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts     Created by the John F. Kennedy 
Center for the Performing Arts, ARTSEDGE provides resources and exemplars for 
teachers to teach in, through, and about the arts. The site includes lesson plans, 
advocacy and professional development resources, and up-to-date information on arts 
programs from around the world.     Interactive Site Map  •  Flash      Tour  •  
-->Standards            EconEdLink
National Council on Economic Education     Developed by the National Council on 
Economic Education, EconEdLink provides teachers and students with lessons and 
classroom learning activities based on economics topics in the news and real-time 
economics data. EconEdLink content is designed to help integrate economic concepts 
across the curriculum as outlined in the Voluntary National Content Standards in 
Economics.     Interactive Site Map  •  Flash      Tour  •  -->Standards            
EDSITEment
National Endowment for the Humanities
    Presented by the National Endowment for the Humanities, EDSITEment features 
lesson plans and additional classroom resources in art and culture, literature and 
language arts, foreign language, and history and social studies. It also serves as 
a gateway to the best humanities sites on the Web, and it features a monthly 
theme-based teaching resource calendar.     Interactive Site Map  •  Flash      
Tour  •  -->Standards            Illuminations
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics     The Illuminations site is 
designed by The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to bring NCTM's 
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics to life through engaging 
interactive student applets, comprehensive Internet-based lesson plans, and teacher 
resources such as "Reflections on Teaching."     Interactive Site Map  •  Flash     
 Tour  •  -->Standards            ReadWriteThink
International Reading Association
The National Council of Teachers of English     Developed by the International 
Reading Association and The National Council of Teachers of English, ReadWriteThink 
provides resources and best practices for educators in both reading and language 
arts subject areas. This site features lesson plans, literature and professional 
development resources aligned to the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language 
Arts.     Interactive Site Map  •  Flash      Tour  •  -->Standards            
Science NetLinks
American Association for the Advancement of Science     Created by the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science, Science NetLinks features lesson plans 
(with embedded student E-Sheets and interactive student activities), reviewed 
resources, and additional activities such as Weekly Science Updates. Science 
NetLinks resources are aligned to AAAS's own Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science 
Literacy.     Interactive Site Map  •  Flash      Tour  •  -->Standards            
Xpeditions
National Geographic Society     Developed by the National Geographic Society, 
Xpeditions brings rich, standards-based geography content to teachers and students. 
This site includes materials for K-12 teachers and students and their families, 
including an interactive atlas with over 1,600 printable maps and Xpedition Hall, a 
virtual learning museum with exhibits aligned to the U.S. National Geography 
Standards.     Interactive Site Map  •  Flash      Tour  •  -->Standards            
     MCI Foundation    MCI Foundation is the founder and an active contributor to 
the MarcoPolo partnership, providing staff, technical support and funding since 
1997.    
  WHAT:
Internet-based Content: Each Partner site features both original Partner-created 
content and lesson plans (currently over 6,300) including student activities, 
classroom resources, and Partner-reviewed content from reputable sites, which have 
been thoroughly reviewed by experts. This review process ensures that MarcoPolo 
Partner sites house only content that is accurate, unbiased, up-to-date and 
appropriate for the classroom. All Partner lessons reflect the national standards 
commonly adopted in their respective disciplines. All are ready for the classroom 
and are adaptable to teachers' own state and local standards and curricular needs. 
At present, MarcoPolo records almost 2.5 million user sessions per month. 
Professional Development: In addition to rich content, MarcoPolo provides scalable 
"train-the-trainer" professional development on Internet integration. MarcoPolo 
Staff Trainers work with regionally-based MarcoPolo Certified Trainers and Field 
Trainers, who adapt the professional development program to their own state and 
local needs and curricula and deliver training to teachers using MarcoPolo's 
comprehensive training materials. The MarcoPolo Professional Development Program 
shows teachers how to integrate Internet-based content easily and effectively in 
any classroom. To date MarcoPolo trainers have trained over 215,000 teachers 
throughout the country.   
  Rollout Network: The MarcoPolo Consortium also includes a rollout network to 
facilitate the integration of the MarcoPolo program into local, state and regional 
education systems. Rollout partner organization staff members and consultants 
manage and support the MarcoPolo program within their service areas in various 
ways: communicating program information to their education communities, arranging 
and tracking training quality and progress against rollout goals, integrating 
MarcoPolo program information and resources into their own organizational Web 
sites, aligning MarcoPolo content to state standards, providing educators with 
additional supplementary resources, and keeping their management and stakeholders 
updated on the program. 
  Comprehensive Measurement: MarcoPolo's Rusticello, the most powerful state-based 
professional development and measurement database in education, facilitates every 
aspect of the training process - from handling online requests, logistics and 
rosters to follow-up surveys and reporting. Rusticello features the most extensive 
and largest teacher survey functions for any single program in the United States, 
including training surveys, content surveys, follow-up surveys and customized 
surveys. Almost 150,000 total surveys have been collected to date, which include 
write-in comments and quantitative data. MarcoPolo staff members examine the 
collected data daily and are constantly evaluating the program to continue to meet 
teachers' needs. Additionally, Michigan State University and other universities 
utilize pre- and post-testing of students using MarcoPolo to ensure that MarcoPolo 
has a positive impact on student achievement. 
  WHEN:
MarcoPolo was launched in 1997. 
  WHERE:
MarcoPolo is available nationwide with no fees required. Teachers, students and 
parents simply may go to http://www.marcopolo-education.org to discover MarcoPolo's 
world of rich Internet-based content for the K-12 classroom. 
  WHY:
Despite the Internet's rapid growth and widespread presence in American culture, 
educators still have concerns about the quality and credibility of Internet 
content, the effective integration of Internet-based resources into a 
standards-based curriculum and online safety. Additionally, teachers simply do not 
have time to scour for educational purposes the millions of resources available on 
the Internet. MarcoPolo was created to address these concerns primarily by meeting 
the needs of teachers through top notch content and the best professional 
development on Internet integration. Teachers currently rate both MarcoPolo content 
and professional development better than 4.5 out of 5.0, demonstrating that 
teachers are MarcoPolo's final arbiters and that MarcoPolo is effectively meeting 
the needs it outlined at the beginning. While MarcoPolo continues to address these 
initial but ongoing concerns of teachers, the Consortium now is also working to 
provide Internet-based student interactive
 resources and assessment components - two elements teachers have told the 
Consortium, via MarcoPolo's comprehensive measurement program, they need. 
  HOW:
The MarcoPolo Consortium sets quality guidelines, shares best practices and 
technology innovations and creates cross-disciplinary educational experiences for 
teachers and students. Teachers and students may access lessons and resources 
directly from the Partner sites, or they may use the comprehensive MarcoPolo Search 
Engine, which yields only educational results. The Search Engine houses both 
original MarcoPolo Partner content and resources reviewed by Partners and 
educational experts. Teachers may conduct a basic search, a power search (with 
qualifiers such as grade level and discipline), a keyword search and a subject 
search. Whatever the search method teachers choose, they will find only resources 
appropriate for their classroom. 

  The website you want is 
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/home.aspx .  I 
had training when it was still run by WorldCom.  They provide 
better-than-
average sites, and I often look to see what they have to offer on 
various 
topics.  Make sure you check out the interactive ones.
  
 
  Lori Willey, Librarian
  A.J. Smith & Cayuga Elem.
  Union Springs, NY
  maryjane13148@yahoo.com













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