In May 1999 we traveled to San Diego, California to give a talk about our Amsterdam Web Project. We were invited by Professor Don Leu from Syracuse University to present at the International Reading Association's preconference institute entitled "Teaching with the Internet: Preparing Children for their Literacy Futures".

The institute had over 200 participants from the US, England, Australia and the Netherlands. Other speakers included: Don Mayfield & Linda Taggart-Fregoso from San Diego, Hazel Jobe from Tennessee, David Wray & Jane Medwell from University of Warwick (UK), Tim Lauer from Oregon, David Reinking from Georgia and many more.

Following the conference we had a chance to explore some of the sights of San Diego. These included: the world famous San Diego Zoo, the Old Town, Mission San Diego de Alcala (the first of the 21 California missions stretching from San Diego to Sonoma), the Coronado Hotel, and some of the numerous museums in Balboa Park. At the Museum of Man we discovered an exhibition on the Mayas entitled "Path to the Lost Cities: In the Footsteps of the Maya Explorers". Finally, on Cinco de Mayo we traveled south to Baja California for an enjoyable visit to Tijuana and Encsenada.

The week in San Diego gave us the opportunity to learn from other teachers about a number of instructional models which work with Internet technologies to promote and support digital literacy for our students. We had ample time to discuss our web site as well as plan for next year's online projects. We returned to our homes in Amsterdam and San Francisco enthusiastic about the coming year and grateful for the opportunity to spend this exciting week in San Diego.