CMSE Online Front Page Features Index

IMSEnet: A New Resource from NC State

Here on CMSE Online we specialize in providing access to resources in the Triangle area for mathematics and science teachers. For the most part, we don't try to compile lists of links to resources outside the area; we leave that to other, better-staffed places, such as LEARN North Carolina. Recently, however, we've found, right here in the Triangle area, a web site featuring an excellent selection of resources from across the country, carefully chosen and annotated so that you can't really go wrong with anything you find.

The site is IMSEnet, a service presented by the Instructional Materials for Science Educators (IMSE) project at North Carolina State University. IMSE is presented by a group of science educators known as the SERVIT Group (Science Education Research in Visual Instructional Technology), led by Professor John Park of the NCSU Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education.

The SERVIT group's mission is research into the effects of educational technology in science instruction, and in connection with that mission they've carried out a number of professional development projects with teachers. To support these activities, they have prepared a CD called the IMSE CD-ROM, containing visual lesson plans, software, and instructional materials from a variety of science Web sites. IMSEnet makes some of these same resources available over the Wide World Web.

IMSEnet includes a variety of resources for science teachers. You'll want to check out the site to see them all, but here are some which seem particularly noteworthy.

• Selected Web sites for each area of science. The emphasis here is on "selected." For each discipline, IMSE has picked out a dozen or so of the most useful Web sites. And for those areas we know anything about, they've done a good job of finding the very best. This is especially useful for teachers who aren't too familiar yet with Internet resources: the ones IMSE mentions will not diappoint you, and they'll lead to many others as well. There are 14 of these links pages in all.
• Science listservs. Several dozen of the best listservs for science teachers. It's hard to find this information, so IMSEnet does a real service in bringing these lists to our attention.
• HTML tutorials. Where to get help if you're interested in designing and maintaining your own Web pages. There are also links to helper applications which can extend the capabilities of your browser.
• Demonstrations. Links to half a dozen sites specializing in demonstrations and classroom experiments. These sites are rich in ideas and materials for the classroom.
• The science press. There are pages of links to the Web sites of the principal science magazines, journals, and televison and radio shows. It's very handy to have these links assembled in one place. (We have one suggestion for improvement here: the wonderful Scientific American site is missing from the list of science magazine sites.)

None of the resources we've mentioned is unique to IMSEnet, which means you can find them all elsewhere. But there aren't many places you can find so many resources of such consistently high quality. Here in Chapel Hill we're happy to take our hats off to State in this instance: thanks, folks, for such a useful resource for us all.

Internet Sources

IMSEnet Home Page

Here's your staring point for exploring IMSEnet's resources. It's a complicated address, so be sure to bookmark it right away.

LEARN North Carolina/LENI

Another excellent site for resources, this one covering all subjects. The LENI section of LEARN North Carolina is public, so you can use it whether your school is a "LEARN school" or not. You can also suggest resources to be added to LENI's database.

Scientific American

When you're checking out science resources, don't neglect this one: it has a wealth of material on all areas of science. There's a popular question and answer area with information on scores of topics, and your students can send in their questions for future articles.

FEEDBACK: We'd be happy to have your comments and suggestions.

CMSE Online Front Page | Features Index

Posted November 3, 1997. Features remain online as long as they remain current; they may be updated if new information becomes available.

Copyright © 1997, Center for Mathematics and Science Education. Teachers have permission to duplicate this page for use in teaching their own classes. All other rights reserved. You are welcome to link to this page, but do not copy its contents.

http://www.unc.edu/depts/cmse/webideas/IMSE.html

Center for Mathematics and Science Education
CB # 3500, 309 Peabody Hall
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500

PHONE: voice (919) 966-5922; fax (919) 962-0588