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How is the MicroWorlds in Action site organized?

MicroWorlds in Action presents a variety of resources for a wide range of learning styles and needs. Following brief descriptions, you will find specific suggestions for using the MicroWorlds in Action resources in a computer lab.

Projects

Each folder contains a sequence of MicroWorlds projects of increasing difficulty built around the same theme. The first page of each folder gives a brief hyperlinked description of the folder's projects. To the left of each project description is a rough difficulty indicator, modeled after the symbols used on ski slopes:

= easy
= intermediate
= advanced

The first page also provides a link to a page of shapes used in creating the folder's projects and a link to a downloadable version of the projects.

Each project includes:

  • a brief statement of goal
  • a screenshot of the project
  • an interactive version of the project
  • a list of new Logo vocabulary terms used in the project, with hyperlinked explanations
  • the project's procedures
  • a project map (from MW Pro) illustrating all project elements (turtles, instructions, buttons, sliders, textboxes, pages, and so on)
  • notes of explanation
  • three types of extension activities: What If?, Challenge, and On Your Own
  • small navigational buttons to move between the project components

On the first page of the section – the project file drawer page – you will find a link to a downloads page for all projects. You might like to download projects in order to make quick explorations of variations in the procedures or to use existing projects as launch pads for your own extension. But downloading projects is not necessary; within each folder, the interactive projects, code, and needed project elements are clearly presented so that each project can be recreated from scratch for a more rigorous learning experience.

Feel free to explore the folders in any depth and any order. More folders are coming soon. We welcome you to submit projects or project ideas for us to consider as we create new folders. (Of course we will credit any outside contributions!)

The project folders are also presented in Spanish for the benefit of Spanish-speaking students and teachers.

Resources

Resources include:

  • printable MicroWorlds activity pages suggesting project ideas and possible plans
  • a printable table of all MicroWorlds vocabulary, with explanations, examples, and links to projects within the site that use each term. (We would like to thank LCSI for allowing us to place their excellent support materials in a handy reference format.)

Coming soon:

  • annotated links to particulary useful MicroWorlds resources
  • annotated links to resources on constructivism
  • suggestions for establishing a constructivist computer lab

Search

The site uses the Google search technology to help locate information within the MicroWorlds in Action web site.

Site Map

The site map provides a hyperlinked outline of the materials on the MicroWorlds in Action site.

Our Team

Learn a bit about the long-distance team involved in the development of MicroWorlds in Action.

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