Re: [school-discuss] Using Manhattan Server

[David Bucknell <david@members.iteachnet.org>]

I've used Manhattan with primary, middle and high school students as well as
teachers. I'm a strong supporter of this tool.  It's one of those simple tools
that doesn't proscribe your thinking as a teacher. It's also dependable. I also
like the fact that it's very Web-oriented, letting you upload a Web site as an
attachment. It also has a strong future as Steve Narmontas, its developer, got a
big grant which he and his employer, University of New England, have put to good
use.

Uses?

Best all-in-one Web tool: compose attachments in Mozilla (ok, you need the Gimp,
too) and upload Web sites to your course.

Beats the heck out of a simple homework bulletin board, but the teacher can keep
it as simple as she or he wants: introduce one module at a time.

I use it to teach an online course in "teaching with the Web."

A colleague used the chat, which logs chats, as a means for his elementary
school students to write their own play collaboratively. They did it for
homework for a month: extremely successful.

I've had French and Spanish and High School teachers all use it successfully and
happily.

I've used viewlets with it extensively.

I've used Hot Potatoes with it extensively.

We do Web Quests for all subjects and upload them to Manhattan: no ftp or scp
necessary and Manhattan provides protection/user authentication/ logging (you
handed it it when?)

I like the way you can put the students in teams for collaborative projects,
too.

We're translating it into Thai for local schools' use.

David

Quoting Ian Paterson <ipaterson@shaw.ca>:

> > At the end last year I found out about the Manhattan Server (virtual 
> > classroom program). It is now up and running, and our teachers are very 
> > excited about its potential. My two questions are:
> > 
> > 1. If anyone is using the Manhattan Server, how best have you utilised 
> > it? ie. Had an off-site quest lecturer take a subject
> 
> Not exactly what your asking, but there's a new release due out in a 
> week or so which will have the settings in place to allow for virtually 
> any CGI application already written to be used in Manhattan as a class 
> module. Just something to keep in mind, in case you find something 
> *sooo* cool on CPAN that you just have to use it in your class ;)
> 
> > 2. Is there anyone out there who would be interested in doing a combined 
> > virtual class with some of our students. My principal would like me to 
> > do a trial with one of our older classes before we introduce it to the 
> > whole school. My first thought are to do a culture unit (the differences 
> > between our society and yours) even if it was mainly an email/discussion 
> > group, but I am open to suggestions.
> 
> I've forwarded your message to a interested party. He will contact you 
> shortly about this.
> 
> > Thanks for your time (and again sorry if this is not the right forum).
> 
> There is a manhattan-users list (manhattan.sf.net has a link somewhere, 
> I think), although it gets very little traffic. This is as good a place 
> as any.
> 
> -- 
> Ian                                         https://www.ipaterson.ca
> 


-- 
http://iteachnet.org/~david

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