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Descriptions Requirements and Downloads Documentation
Descriptions of KIE Software


Custom KIE Student Software

KIE Tool Palette & Guide
Providing Cognitive Scaffolding and Guidance

The design and implementation of KIE reflects recent research in science education. Students encounter both procedural and conceptual guidance (or "scaffolding") as they work on their projects. The guidance is tailored to the different KIE activities students engage in and the evidence they investigate. While working within KIE, students are also provided with a tool palette which allows them easy access to all the various components of the KIE software.

This software can be downloaded


SenseMaker Tool
Students Make Sense of Evidence and Reflect on Their Understanding
SenseMaker Picture 

SenseMaker is a software tool that helps students figure out the relationships that exist between a number of different Web resources. As they investigate pieces of Internet evidence, students organize the items from the Web into categories (or frames) in Sensemaker. The SenseMaker they construct can be an argument they use as part a debate project or as an organization of different resources during a design project. SenseMaker helps students understand and use the diverse range of information found on the Web. More information can be found on the SenseMaker page.

This software can be downloaded


KIE Web-based Resources

Evidence Database
Exploring Collections of Scientific Evidence

Part of the KIE curriculum includes a networked database of scientific evidence which is directly appropriate for student projects. These collections of evidence come from teachers, KIE developers, students, and other Net resource developers. The KIE Evidence Database is carefully crafted so that the evidence is appropriate for students. Additionally, specific cognitive guidance helps students interpret each piece of evidence.

You can view all the pieces of evidence currently in the KIE Evidence Database.


 

SpeakEasy Discussion Tool
Students Engage in Science Conversations over the Net

As part of KIE students also exchange their scientific ideas over the Net using the KIE SpeakEasy tool. Using SpeakEasy, students from around the world communicate about science topics relevant to their projects.

You can get more information about the SpeakEasy and the Multimedia Forum Kiosk (a related project)

 


KIE Project Development Software

Project Manager
Manages KIE Projects in the Classroom

The KIE Project Manager allows teachers to personalize or completely revamp the projects they choose to use in their classrooms or to create new projects. Changes can be made to the set of activities students do, the guidance presented to students, and the documents associated with a project, among other things.

This software can be downloaded


Evidence Manager
For creating and editing Evidence pages

The Evidence Manager (a web-based resource) allows teachers, scientists and other and evidence contributors to create new Evidence pages for the Evidence Database, and to view all existing Evidence pages. It can also be used by the original creator of an Evidence page to edit that page.

You can go to the Evidence Manager but a user account is required to add or edit evidence


Commercial Software used with KIE

    • Netscape Navigator(tm) (1.1N or later) [INFO]
      used by students to do web browsing

       

    • ClarisWorks(tm) (2.0 or 4.0) [INFO]
      an integrated works package used by students for some activities

       

    • AppleScript(tm) (1.1) [INFO]
      a Mac system extension used by the KIE software

       

    • AppleShare(tm) [INFO]
      necessary networking software if you plan to have more than 10 networked Macs running KIE

       


NSF Logo. Funded by the National Science Foundation
Send inquiries to kie_info@www.kie.berkeley.edu. (Modified November 97, Vygotsky) UC-Berkeley Copyright © 1995-97 KIE Research Group and the UC-Regents.