HAMILTON, Georgia—Growing up in rural Georgia, middle-schoolers tend to imagine that life-threatening parasites or bacteria are worlds removed from their bucolic community. A trip to the computer lab at Harris County Carver Middle School opens their eyes—and expands their horizons far beyond their hometown.

Veteran teacher Nancy Sills combines science and social studies in a project she calls The Microbe Zoo. Students divide into teams to research a particular world region in the computer lab. They visit the Web site of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to find out which diseases travelers might be exposed to in different world regions. "They learn about the diseases, causes, and prevention of the areas they will 'visit,'" Sills explains.

To make the learning more personal, students also create a passport that details their family history for two or three generations. "They include any medical problems, immunization records, and countries that they've visited," the teacher notes.

Using the Internet again, they search for tourism information about specific countries in their assigned world region. Then they plan a virtual itinerary. "They must 'stay' for two weeks and visit at least six specific sites, describing what they will see," Sills explains.

Students are sometimes amazed by the health risks that come with travel. Relates the teacher: "One student remarked that with all the stuff you could catch, you might as well stay home. But the group that had been assigned North America popped up and said, 'Do you know what you can get here? Let's move to the moon.'"

Students at Harris County Carver Middle School tend to be computer-literate, Sills says. "It is a challenge keeping up with them." She makes use of the five networked computers in her classroom as well as a large-screen monitor for facilitating instruction. The school of about 1,100 students also has a computer lab and a portable lab. Each team of teachers has access to a digital camera and laser printer, as well.

Whether she's using new technologies or finding other ways to interest eighth-graders in "anything besides the opposite sex," Sills enjoys finding ways to direct students toward learning. "I love challenging students to be like Winnie the Pooh: Think, think, think."