Untitled Document

READY-AIM-FIREANTS.COM

Created by Sandra S. Schultz

METHODOLOGY

Creation of this website was a learning experience. I have never worked with Dreamweaver before. It is a fabulous program. Readers may be interested in the steps I took to pursue this inquiry project.

I first heard of E.O. Wilson when he authored a cover article for the Atlantic. The article discussed Dr. Wilson's theory of the biological, evolutionary basis of morality and social organization. E.O. Wilson is considered to be one of the most influential scientists of our age, a Pulitzer prize-winner (twice) and, in my opinion, a genius. When I was assigned to prepare an inquiry project for my MAC program at the University of Michigan - Flint, I read Professor Wilson's book Consilience and decided to investigate his theory of consilience - the idea that all knowledge is related and interrelated.

Since I had only dabbled in template-driven web programs, I decided to take on the challenge of Dreamweaver and create a website based upon E.O. Wilson's theory of consilience and his exploration of the fireant plague on Hispaniola. As Dr. Wilson would have predicted, I was able to draw on many different disciplines and fields of study to present the mystery of the fireant plague. I feel this experience has been very valuable as a reminder that relevance and context are extremely important in teaching and learning. I have observed that teachers who make connections among subjects, and who make learning exciting, are the best teachers. The theory of consilience guides us to teaching across curricula, and finding all the ways in which learning crosses the artificial boundaries of the labels we have put on separate disciplines.

To pursue this project, I purchased an Intel microscope that projects images into a laptop and an ant farm to study ants with the children who attended the UM-Flint programs. I purchased and studied Dreamweaver and registered the domain name ready-aim-fireants.com. And they said all the good names are taken! I signed up for webhosting with 1and1.com, and I have found their service to be excellent.

In addition to the fantastic books by E.O. Wilson, I have found many resources on the web and those links provide very valuable connections for a study of this type. I hope every viewer of this website has the opportunity to explore those links; they provide a wealth of information. A website project provides a great opportunity to explore how the new technologies and the internet expand our ability to study and present any subject. After all, the subjects are all interrelated!

I enjoyed and benefited from my courses, taught by professors Pardales, Miller and Casler. Andrea Brooks prepared the fantastic powerpoint on ants which is linked to this site.

Sandy Schultz

(c) 2005 Sandra S. Schultz

METHODOLOGY

Creation of this website was a learning experience. I have never worked with Dreamweaver before. It is a fabulous program. Readers may be interested in the steps I took to pursue this inquiry project.

I first heard of E.O. Wilson when he authored a cover article for the Atlantic. The article discussed Dr. Wilson's theory of the biological, evolutionary basis of morality and social organization. E.O. Wilson is considered to be one of the most influential scientists of our age, a Pulitzer prize-winner (twice) and, in my opinion, a genius. When I was assigned to prepare an inquiry project for my MAC program at the University of Michigan - Flint, I read Professor Wilson's book Consilience and decided to investigate his theory of consilience - the idea that all knowledge is related and interrelated.

Since I had only dabbled in template-driven web programs, I decided to take on the challenge of Dreamweaver and create a website based upon E.O. Wilson's theory of consilience and his exploration of the fireant plague on Hispaniola. As Dr. Wilson would have predicted, I was able to draw on many different disciplines and fields of study to present the mystery of the fireant plague. I feel this experience has been very valuable as a reminder that relevance and context are extremely important in teaching and learning. I have observed that teachers who make connections among subjects, and who make learning exciting, are the best teachers. The theory of consilience guides us to teaching across curricula, and finding all the ways in which learning crosses the artificial boundaries of the labels we have put on separate disciplines.

To pursue this project, I purchased an Intel microscope that projects images into a laptop and an ant farm to study ants with the children who attended the UM-Flint programs. I purchased and studied Dreamweaver and registered the domain name ready-aim-fireants.com. And they said all the good names are taken! I signed up for webhosting with 1and1.com, and I have found their service to be excellent.

In addition to the fantastic books by E.O. Wilson, I have found many resources on the web and those links provide very valuable connections for a study of this type. I hope every viewer of this website has the opportunity to explore those links; they provide a wealth of information. A website project provides a great opportunity to explore how the new technologies and the internet expand our ability to study and present any subject. After all, the subjects are all interrelated!

I enjoyed and benefited from my courses, taught by professors Pardales, Miller and Casler. Andrea Brooks prepared the fantastic powerpoint on ants which is linked to this site.

Sandy Schultz