Top
What is TheDump?
Short for Teachers Helping Everyone Develop User Materials and Problems, TheDump is a collection of K-12 level resources on the LON-CAPA network. Easily imported into courses, these sequences make it easy to add tested and well-written problems from several sources into a course. Along with university coordinators from Michigan State University and Florida State University, TheDump is currently run and headed by K-12 teachers from around the Mid-Michigan area.

Top
Current Content
As of May 2006, TheDump contains sequences with over 500 resources, written and used around the world. While the bulk of the problems are currently in the physics and chemistry disciplines, efforts are underway during Summer 2006 to construct and build a library of mathematics resources.

Current subjects and disciplines included in TheDump include (but are not limited to):
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Earth Sciences
  • Calculus (in progress)
  • Algebra I (in progess)
  • More to come...
Because of the LON-CAPA's built-in content sharing system, these resources have been written in a variety of locations, including Michigan State University, Florida State University, Simon Fraser University, East Lansing (Michigan) High School, Mio (Michigan) Public Schools, and many more.

Top
Features
Easy to Find and Use Resources

Since resources are organized by topics and subtopics, it is easy to find homework problems, content pages, or demo that you may be looking for. It only takes seconds to find and import resources from TheDump, it makes setting up a course for the first time much easier.

High Quality, Tested Materials

Resources in TheDump, already used in hundreds of courses across the LON-CAPA network, are throughly tested and checked before their inclusion. One of the current priorities of TheDump is to make content conform to the new State of Michigan science and mathematics benchmarks, and to ensure that all resources are not only viewable on the web, but also print out well to paper.

Choose Only The Resources You Want
When choosing resources, course coordinators have the option to load a given sequence into a course, but delete the resources which are not needed or desired, allowing for completely custom-built courses of materials.

Top
Accessing TheDump
Accessing and using TheDump's materials to your advantage is simple: sequences are located in an organized directory on the Michigan State University (msu) domain on the LON-CAPA resource network. Importing these sequences into your own course can be done in seconds, and learning how accomplish this takes only a few minutes.

For more information on how to access and import content from TheDump into your course, see this four-page guide in PDF format (requires Adobe/Acrobat Reader):


Top
Contributing to TheDump

Fortunately, it is now as easy to submit resources to TheDump as it is to use them. If you find a problem or other resource that you think belongs in TheDump, and meets the necessary quality requirements, please take a few seconds to submit it. By adding a new resource to TheDump, hundreds of other teachers from around the world will be able to easily find and use it in their own courses, when they might have otherwise not found it.


Top
Officers and Coordinators

The following are the 2005-2006 faculty and student officers of TheDump:

TheDump Coordinator:  John Plough
plough_jw [at] elps.k12.mi.us
East Lansing High School, East Lansing, MI

University Advisors:		 Ed Kashy
kashy [at] nscl.msu.edu
University Distinguished Professor,
NSCL, Michigan State University

Hon Kie Ng
ng [at] phy.fsu.edu
Associate Professor of Physics,
Florida State University

Felicia Berryman
felicia [at] loncapa.org
LON-CAPA Support Coordinator
Michigan State University
Algebra I Subject Coordinator: Laura Callender
callenl [at] wy.k12.mi.us
Roosevelt High School, Wyandotte, MI 
Algebra II Subject Coordinator: Grant Melville
gmelville [at] webbervilleschools.org
Webberville High School, Webberville, MI
Biology Subject Coordinator: Joe Grigas
jgrigas [at] lake-fenton.k12.mi.us
Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI
Chemistry Subject Coordinator: Mike Huber
MHuber [at] PortagePS.org
Portage Northern High School, Portage, MI
Earth Sciences Subject Coordinator: David McCreight
click to send e-mail
Eastern High School, Lansing, MI 
Forensics Subject Coordinator: Michael Sampson
SampsoM [at] redfordu.k12.mi.us
Redford Union High School, Redford, MI
Physics Subject Coordinator: Bill Struck
StruckW [at] wmston.k12.mi.us
Williamston High School, Williamston, MI
TheDump Student Coordinator: Phil Fazio
phil.fazio [at] gmail.com
Graduate, Williamston High School, Williamston, MI

Top
TheDump Mailing List

To find out more information on upcoming meetings and events related to TheDump, and to find out what areas are currently being worked on and improved, please visit and subscribe to TheDump's electronic mailing list. An archive of past contents is also available to browse at this site.