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Travels With Susan

Web site name: Mrs. Silverman's Web Site
Web site URL: http://www.susansilverman.com
Web site creator: Susan Silverman, Comsewogue School District, Long Island, New York

"When I was a classroom teacher, I kept a teacher's journal in which I shared photos and stories of the exotic places I visited," Susan Silverman told Education World. "Whenever I returned from a trip, my students were eager to see the places I had traveled to. My travel experiences led to the creation of thematic units, and my journal was an enriching supplement to the curriculum."

Now, although she's out of the regular classroom and working as an instructional technology teacher, Silverman still uses her Web site to remain in touch with current and former students. It is where she shares her ideas, experiences, and passions as an educator and a person.

The goal of Silverman's site is to provide an educational resource for parents, educators, and students. In addition to the beautiful photos, visitors can find exciting collaborative Internet projects and links to exemplary Web sites. They also can learn about upcoming technology conferences and locate valuable educational articles.

From Silverman's home page, visitors can access her Webfolio, which contains samples of student work from her 1996 to 2000 classes and links to the collaborative Internet projects she's developed. Many teachers enjoy viewing the digital work of Silverman's former students to get ideas about activities they can do with their own students. Her collaborative Internet projects are the biggest hit of all, however!

Visitors can also click from the home page to the Curriculum link. There they'll find online resources for staff development, the Comsewogue school district's technology plan, a "student showcase" of online projects created this year by students in six of the district's schools, and more!

"If you asked me what gives me the most joy and pleasure when it comes to my Web site, that would be easy to answer," said Silverman. "I get my biggest thrill from taking digital photos and using beautiful scenery to create backgrounds for my Web pages. I think about my photographic journal when I'm on my travels and I never take a trip without my digital camera. On the plane ride home, I'm already working on photo graphics and beginning to design some Web pages. My journal pages are complete way before I unpack or do laundry!"

Article by Cara Bafile
Education World®
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