Kurt Ballash
Jefferson High School, LAUSD
What do you think of when you hear the words "Los Angeles River"? For most of us, it's a blur of concrete and a trickle of water that we pass as we zip by on the freeway.
However, for teachers who attended a recent Target Science workshop on the history, geology, and ecology of the L.A. River, this unique geological feature has been revealed as a complex and interesting feature of the landscape, and the perfect subject for a site on the Internet's World Wide Web.
The four-week workshop, "Los Angeles River Connection," involved extensive fieldtrips along the length of the river and lectures covering its history, ecology, and geology. When the workshop ended and I learned that the workshop would not be repeated, I felt teachers should have a way to share and preserve what was learned about this unique Los Angeles waterway.
Because Target Science was already using LALCNet to share workshop investigations, I suggested that we create a web site with photographs and text that would serve as a tour, or virtual field trip, of the L.A. River. This way, any teachers with Internet access, whether in Los Angeles or around the world, can "tour" the river with their students.
The project leaders, Pat Dung and Esther Zack, supported the idea of a web site. With the help of LAEP web master Jeff Hill, I learned HTML, the programming language for creating web pages and, even with little previous multimedia experience, became proficient at scanning our field trip photos and integrating them into my very first web site.
It was great to see my own creation appear on the computer screen. It looked good enough to call professional!
Eventually, the overall structure came together, and the virtual field trip was complete (at least until the next update). The experience of creating the web site was very satisfying, as well as instructive and fun. Educators should focus more on authoring web sites, not on simply "surfing the 'Net."
Is the L.A. River unique in the City of Angels? According to Al Rogers of the Global School Network, who spoke at a telecommunications conference I attended in Pasadena, there is something called the California Web Project - a web site about local topics that features pages created by students.
Al reminded us (and I couldn't agree with him more) that close to every school is a landmark, issue, community leader, or geographical feature that can be a suitable web site topic for teachers and students.
So the next time someone asks you for directions to the Los Angeles River, tell them www.lalc.k12.ca.us/laep/smart/river/tour/index.html.
It's right across the keyboard from the Nile.
