Intended Audience: K-12, University, Teachers

E-mail: duedall@fit.edu
Last update: 05/21/01

The six earth spheres system, or  "spheres" approach, shown above and and also listed below, is commonly used in teaching Earth Systems Science at K-12, colleges and universities. In SCIWEBS each "sphere" is a hyperlink to a specific subject area (i.e., sphere: cosmosphere, hydrosphere, etc). After you connect to a sphere you will come to a number of web sites, each linked  to  a completed Web Site Evaluation Form (WEF)  for the site.   After reviewing the checked boxes on WEF you can decide whether or not you should access the site.

Evaluation of web sites is something that you should get into the habit of doing any time you are on the web in search of a site for your classroom activity.  The issue is one of web site quality: can you trust the information provided on the web site you are looking at.

With SCIWEBS Version 1.0 new or quality sites that appear on the WWW will be added to each sphere page on an ongoing basis. You are encouraged to contribute to the process of web site evaluation by sending me web site addresses using the SCIWEBS Feedback Page.  I also welcome any comment or disagreement  (with me) you may have on the quality or evaluation of a site.  I have placed a numerical score sheet  (Excel spreadsheet) on my SCIWEBS FTP Site so that you can download it to use (or modify) in your own web site evaluation development.

In time you should try to combine some of the SCIWEB sites with your own web sites to provide "Sphere Integration".  Sphere Integration is one of the  goals of  integrated Earth Systems Sciences. 

As an example of Sphere Integration, consider hurricanes. Hurricanes  get their start in the cosmosphere--the sun--the ultimate source of   most energy on Earth.   However, the movement and dynamics of hurricanes take place in the troposphere which part of the Atmosphere.  But the oceans, the largest component of the Hydrosphere, plays a big role in hurricane development---a warm sea surface  "triggers" or gets a hurricane started. In the Biosphere, a hurricane obviously creates havoc for organisms (including man!) in its path. But a hurricane can be beneficial in some situations,  such providing rainfall to relieve drought (allowing plants and animals to grow in arid regions).  At the human or Anthroposphere level, a hurricane can cause devastation and death:  Fatalities in the hundreds to thousands and occur, depending upon population of an area and strength of the hurricane.

With the large number of sites on the WWW integration of spheres should be  possible. 

SCIWEBS can be used to determine the of quality web sites.  You can get started by using the SCIWEBS Web Site Evaluation Form to help you decide if a site fits your needs in an Earth Systems Science application.