SHRUB OAK, New York—Being a keen observer is a skill worth cultivating in a young scientist. That's why instructional technology teacher Linda Brandon has second-graders taking a close look at a neighborhood tree to watch for seasonal changes, or recording what time the sun rises and sets during a particular month. By using technology to record their data and email to communicate across long distances, students also are able to contrast what they've learned with observations made by students living in other parts of the world.

For years, Lakeland Central Schools teachers have been teaching students to record their seasonal observations as part of the science curriculum. In 2001, when all classrooms in Lakeland Central Schools were equipped with computers and Internet access, Brandon expanded the project. "We were able to enhance an existing project through the use of technology by allowing all classrooms to connect with another classroom in another part of the country or world," she explains.

A project Web site (www.lakelandschools.org/
EDTECH/Seasons/home.htm*) opens with the strains of Vivialdi's "The Four Seasons, Concerto 3, Autumn." From the home page, visitors navigate to different templates for recording observations. For instance, students observing a deciduous tree near their school might consider the shape, color, and amount of leaves; color of bark; shape, and size of trunk; arrangement of branches; and signs of animal life. Students are encouraged to make their observations in varied formats, ranging from data collection and written descriptions, to drawings or photographs, which are then scanned and saved on the site.

The second-graders study communities as well as science. "Our classes are able to share information with students in communities that may be different or similar to ours," Brandon says.

Students in Cannelton, Indiana, for instance, sent Brandon's students information about the Moon Tree* that they were observing in their local neighborhood. "It turned out that this tree was germinated from a seed that traveled to the moon and back on Apollo 14. We had no idea such a thing even took place!" she says. Her class also learned that NASA* gave every state a chance to send two seeds on a trip to the moon. "One of the seeds from New York was planted in an arboretum just a couple miles from our school district."