Chicago Schools to Use IMSA’s Internet Toolkit

(Media Advisory: The media are invited to attend the conference. Please call Brenda Buschbacher at 630-907-5033 by February 23 if you would like to attend. More information is available at wwwimsaedu/ncsssmst.)

AURORA-- Thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Polk Bros. Foundation of Chicago, teachers from three Chicago elementary schools will receive training in the use of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy’s Internet Toolkit. The Internet Toolkit offers teachers and students an easier and more effective way to navigate the Internet.

Three lead teachers from Owens Elementary School, Songhai Elementary School and White Elementary School in Chicago will begin training this Spring and will continue their partnership with IMSA for one year. In addition to on-site training, teachers will participate in Internet Toolkit online workshops and will receive ongoing assistance from staff at the Teachers Academy of Math and Science (T.A.M.S.).

The Toolkit includes interactive learning materials, tips on effective search strategies, as well as software tools such as a meta-search engine, an assessment database and tutorial construction tools designed to build proficiency in using the Internet for research. The Toolkit represents one dimension of IMSA’s On-Line Learning Programs, part of an ongoing commitment to the State of Illinois’ educational technology initiatives.

"The purpose of the Toolkit is to build the capacity of teachers and students to access, evaluate, analyze and use the wealth of information now available on the Internet to improve student learning," said Dr. David Barr, IMSA director of On-Line Learning Programs and Toolkit project director.

For classroom use, the Internet Toolkit is designed to make it easier for students to target a smaller number of relevant documents, to search selectively for pictures or other data to be incorporated into a report, and to learn how to evaluate the credibility of the documents retrieved," explained Barr.

IMSA’s Internet Toolkit was designed specifically for educators by IMSA staff and students- including ’96 alum Mathew Brictson of Elgin, ’97 alum Angela Thelan of Palos Park and ’95 alum Zachary Miller of Island Lake.

Last Spring, the Ameritech Foundation sponsored the Ameritech-IMSA Information Literacy Project which helped to create a network of five schools and 55 teachers that were trained in the use of the Toolkit in their classrooms Those schools included: Walter L. Newberry Mathematics and Science Magnet School (Chicago Public Schools), West Aurora High School - Aurora (District #129), Tefft Middle School - Streamwood (District U46), East Aurora High School - East Aurora (District #131) and Wredling Middle School - St. Charles (District #303).

Located in Aurora, Illinois, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State to develop talent and stimulate excellence in teaching and learning in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. More than 14,000 teachers and 20,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from IMSA's professional development and enrichment programs. IMSA serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy leadership and action research.