Each year The Wilderness Classroom engages in one, or two online learning adventures. During these adventure students are able to interact with expedition members though our web site as well as school visits before and after each adventure. During our next learning adventure, Project Peru, we will explore the Amazon Rainforest by dugout canoe!

Each learning adventure is focused around updates which we post on our web site. Our full updates will appear every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through out the adventure and previous adventures are always available for exploration. To visit previous adventures click on the adventure's logo at the bottom of the home page, or the previous adventures link in the learning adventures section of the web site.

EXPEDITION UPDATES

Below are examples of the types of materials you and your students will use to learn along with us and dictate where we go and what we explore during Project Peru.

Notes From The Trail - Our journal entries, photos, and daily data.

Tico Times - Interesting facts and profiles about the people who live in Costa Rica or people we've met along the way.

Critters of Costa Rica - Each day a new animal of the rainforest will be featured. Find out where it lives, what it eats, and other interesting facts. Photos included.

Video Clips - You will need Windows Media Player to access the video clips.

Mystery Photo - Each update, students can use their investigative skills to solve a
mystery. Clues are provided and responses are sent to the adventurers.

Cast Your Vote - Decide where Eric and Dave go, what they do, what they study and eat by casting your vote on our online polls. Please use the maps to find out more about the options presented. Encourage students to submit their reasons why they voted for a particular destination.

MAPS

A very informative look at the geography of Costa Rica. This can be a great tool
for making the best decisions on the weekly polls!

CALENDAR

The Calendar has information about the previous updates. So if you missed an update or can't remember the date we visited the Arenal Volcano or the date Green Sea Turtles were the day's Critters of Costa Rica, the Calendar will provide you with answers.

COLLABORATION STATION

The Collaboration Station is where students can communicate with Dave and Eric while they are on the trail. You will need your Username and Password to enter the Collaboration Station. Visit the Sign Up page to learn about registering.

Chat Room: Eric and Dave have scheduled real-time chats. Each chat will last one hour. We will give you advanced notice of the chat times on the home page and in the Notes From The Trail. Each chat will be designed to talk about a specific theme. Please have your students adhere to this, because sometimes we have scheduled special guests to be in the chat room with us as well to answer questions. Also, please log your class on as one user. With multiple classrooms in the chat room at the same time, it can become difficult to answer and monitor each student. An LCD projector works very well for this. You may project the Chat Room onto a screen for the whole class to see.

Question and Answer: Occasionally, Eric and Dave will ask questions in their journals. This is where students can respond to those questions. Students can also post their own questions. It can be a wonderfully motivating tool to prompt students to research the answer to their own questions, or help solve other questions. Please have students look at the previous questions to make sure they aren't duplicating a question already asked!

Daily Dilemma: Each day, Dave and Eric are presented with dilemmas. We will talk about the dilemmas in our Notes From The Trail. We want your students to use their higher-order thinking skills to help us make the best decision.

LIBRARY

Rainforest Library: The Rain Forest Library is a wealth of information for you and your
students. Included are useful facts and pictures about the different animals,
plants, and people who make the rainforest home. It is intended as a quick
reference guide and supplement to the information provided at the beginning of
each unit.

Lesson Plans: The Teacher's Lounge is where all of the lesson plans for the Rainforest
Project. It contains the same units as the printed Teacher's Manual, as well as
some quick activities (most with worksheets) to use in conjunction with Notes
From The Trail, Critters of Costa Rica, Mystery Photo, and Tico Times. You may
download the plans and print it out for additional reference. The lessons are
available in .pdf format for printing, or HTML for online browsing.

Links: An index of links that we find helpful to educators, scientists, adventurers,
historians, and conservationists.