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Germaine is getting ready for the "end of term" student presentations. She updates a few changes of the schedule to parentlink so that those parents who work with computers can watch their student's presentations "live" as they happen. She knows that not all parents will have this capability or flexibility at work, but most have a computer, either at work or home, programmed to record anything listed in parentline which includes their child's student code. Of course students can also create their own tapes at school and later play it for their parents. She turns the micro- camera on the speaker's table and tests to makes sure it is transmitting.
The students take these presentations very seriously as they know that there is a chance that their presentation and their written materials might be published online in STARS (Student Teaching and Resource System) supported by the U.S. Department of Education. Teachers can, with parent approval, forward presentations to be reviewed by a district education panel and then by a national panel of subject matter experts. If the materials are accurate and are judged as something that can be used by other children as learning tools, the presentation is listed with the resource materials. The students becomes STAR mentors and are given a special account to help other students who might want to explore a similar topic or interest. Only a few group projects make it into STAR, however, all projects are stored for one year on the school account and some are stored by the district for longer terms. Many are exchanged informally among small groups of schools that work together on projects. Students take their work seriously. It is for others to use, not only for a teacher to evaluate and it may give them STAR status in the community. They are simultaneously teacher and student.
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