COPIAGUE, New York—Standing outdoors with her first-graders on a sunny day, Eileen Plaskon asked a question guaranteed to launch her students on a learning adventure. "I asked them, 'Can you run away from your shadows? I wonder.'" Within minutes, some children were dodging in and out of the shade in an effort to make their shadows "disappear." Others were snapping digital photos of their classmates' shadows, gathering evidence to support their observations.

"This kind of activity makes learning into a discovery," says the 25-year teaching veteran who teaches at Deauville Gardens Elementary in the Long Island community of Copiague.

A project she calls "Sunshine, Shadows, and Silhouettes" is filled with active learning about science, language arts, and technology. For several weeks, students participate in all sorts of activities related to light and shadow.

The project starts by students using digital cameras to take silhouette portraits of each class member. Years ago, Plaskon did a similar project by hand-drawing each student in profile, using a projector as a light source. "That took forever, and the kids never stayed still," she recalls.

Digital cameras offer a time-saving solution. What's more, the teacher manages the project so that students are the ones using the technology. Teams of students take the photos, download them, and print copies.

Next, students go outside to take photos of classmates and their shadows. They learn while experimenting with taking photos at different times of day, and under sunny and cloudy skies. "There's an element of discovery," Plaskon says. "They figure out why shadows sometimes look smaller, sometimes bigger. I could just tell them the answer, but it's better if they go out and discover. They get to be investigators."

The first-graders share their enthusiasm about shadows with the whole school when they post a bulletin board. Onlookers are encouraged to guess which teacher or school leader goes with which shadow photo. Later, they add another "Can you guess?" activity to showcase their community "shadow search." Explains Plaskon: "We go out with cameras and take pictures of all kinds of all kinds of shadows, including mailboxes, school buses, and signs. Then the students make a display, asking people to guess what object each shadow goes with."

Language arts come into play, too, as students read stories about shadows and write their own shadow literature. For Mother's Day, they take home their finished silhouettes and accompanying poems.

Using technology comes naturally to Plaskon, but she can still remember when she used to draw everything herself for her classroom. "With computers, it's faster, quicker, better." She has taken advantage of the frequent in-service training sessions in using technology offered by Copiague Public Schools.

For the past three years, Plaskon also has been the technology mentor for her building, which serves about 925 students in grades K-5. The role means she's released from her regular classroom duties for half of each day so that she can work one-on-one with colleagues who want to develop their technology skills. "We work side by side, with me there as a coach. We work on the specific skills they want to learn." The mentoring approach works well, Plaskon says, especially for supporting "the reluctant learners who might be lost in a class of 25. They don't have to be afraid of asking a stupid question. I don't supervise or evaluate. I'm just a colleague there to help a friend."

Thomas Diener, technology coordinator for the district, says integrating technology into the classroom "has been good for our community. People are proud of providing these resources to our students. They appreciate the value to students." Diener describes his role as being "the cheerleader. I push the vision and try to remove any obstacles."

Although the community has a suburban feel, it's starting to experience urban-style challenges, Diener says. Many students come from families with high needs. A recent project offered by Lightspan has used technology to help local schools connect with families. Participating families receive a Sony PlayStation* to take home, along with a CD with literacy software. "Parents agree to use the software to support their children's reading skills. What we didn't expect," he adds, "is that some parents are also using the software to teach themselves. We've had parents involved who have never connected with the schools before. It's been heartwarming."