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Fellow Educators, I am the deputy director of eduction at the Taubman Museum of Art located in Roanoke, VA (see http://taubmanmuseum.org). I have designed, and we have recently had created, a Web-based Art Interactive Tool (WAIT) that allows users to interact with works in our permanent collection in a unique manner. Using a scaffolding interpretive model that I also designed (REED-LO), users, through WAIT, formulate an interpretation of a work of art in our collection. WAIT provides the user with guiding questions and allows users to record their thoughts online - in the end, they publish their overall interpretation of the work of art online. Teachers can create, for free, "classrooms" through WAIT that includes all of their students. They can then assign a specific work of art to their students. The students then access the work using a unique username and password. After they publish their interpretations, the teacher can approve each interpretation which then allows the students to access what their peers wrote about the work of art as well as the "expert" essay related to the work. In essence WAIT allows users to formulate a personal meaning of a work of art before reading what others have written about the work. WAIT can be found both through the Taubman Museum of Art's website, under the "Learn" section, or by going to www.waitarttool.com - it is free to use. I was hoping some of you would check out WAIT and discuss your thoughts about the tool through this forum. Be aware, however, there are some minor bugs that we are working through - but for the most part it is working fine.

THE GUIDE TO SOUND EFFECTS Sound designer David Filskov's collection of tips for making your own sound effects, submitted by sound designers from all over the world. Click on the LISTEN tab to see photos and hear the sounds. Would make great writing starters or conversation starters.