NYCENET (www.nycenet.edu) has many useful educational links that introduce different websites and put our teachers and students in touch with projects around the nation and the world. However, New York City has its own special needs and offers various situations that call for decision making. That is one of the reasons for developing "The NYC Performance Standards". These standards emphasize contextual learning, critical thinking, and problem solving skills, especially in Mathematics. At the same time, multimedia and Internet can be very effective tools in bringing real life situations to learning environments. Therefore, we should take advantage of these tools to integrate technology with the curriculum.

It was with the above intention that "Math City" was created as an Internet activity. This project which is currently in its pilot phase has been the result of a teamwork between DMIS and DIS. The premise for this project was to introduce real life situations to students and encourage them to exercise and expand their problem solving skills. The following is the description of the instructional design for Math City:

"Math City" has four characters based on New York City students. Every week, these children encounter situations for which they need mathematical solutions. Some problems may be continuous and progress from one week to the next. There may be more than one solution or different ways of getting to a solution. The audience ranges from 5^th to 7^th grades; therefore, there are different levels of difficulty and complexity in the presented situations.

End-users submit or email their own solutions and the reasons behind their solutions. These responses get evaluated by a math expert and the best answers are published. Additionally, our math expert submits her own solutions and reasons. Every week these responses are published for the previous problem. Therefore, students can compare their own answers to those of their peers and the expert’s. This is an important process in self-reflection and helps students evaluate their own skills.

Math City has the flexibility for classroom management to suit various teaching styles. It can be accessed and discussed by a group or an individual, at home or school. The responses could come from individuals or from the entire class.

This project has been welcome by both teachers and students in the pilot study. Class discussions show the importance of exchanging opinions about situations. It is often decided that in real life, you may not have the right or wrong answer, only the best option for the situation.