Four years ago I devoted an issue to Multiple Intelligences, and since then Gardner's work has continued to evoke interest and enthusiasm throughout education. Not only has interest continued to grow, but the list of intelligences has increased and there is ongoing discussion about an existentialist intelligence. Gardner continues to consider other intelligences and has indicated that he thinks teachers may be a good source of potential intelligences yet to be discovered. But the question remains, will there be a finite set of core intelligences or will the list proliferate into innumerable paths to learning? In his most recent works, Gardner suggests we err on the side of caution and consider that there may be only a finite few intelligences when all is said and done. Certainly, a finite set of intelligences is much more manageable for educators!

Gardner also writes eloquently about the attributes of a classical education in accommodating the various intelligences; the concepts of good, truth and beauty being reinvigorated in our curricula. In an age of standardization and test item analysis, this too can have important implications for the classroom. Only time will tell. For me, the most powerful use of Gardner's work is its transformation from a cognitive theory into a learning theory. This is the argument I make in my upcoming book Ways of Knowing: Multiple Intelligences and Technology, which is to be published by International Society for technology in Education <http://www.iste.org> this May.

Overall, I have selected sites that respect Gardner's work and have not opted for overly-simplified explanations of intelligences that short-sell their potential in human understanding (e.g. defining the musical intelligence as solely a conduit for music, or the naturalist intelligence as inclusion of nature in the classroom). Also, I avoided selection of sites that proffer canned instructional units and black-line masters as the way to implement multiple intelligences theory. For me, Gardner offers us a chance to deepen and expand our instructional practices to reach all learners in the classroom. Marketing traditional instructional media to reach multiple intelligences is pandering to what is familiar and comfortable, but not what is true to the spirit of Gardner's work. Enough said - here is a dozen of the best resources online for considering and applying multiple intelligences theory in instruction.

• The 8Ws Model for Information Literacy: An Overview - http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic71.htm
  Annette Lamb offers a project-based approach that makes use of instructional technologies to help tap into all of the intelligences while promoting higher order thinking skills. This information processing model of instruction includes watching, wondering, webbing, wiggling, weaving, wrapping, waving and wishing. It's certainly worth your time and easily adaptable to most any classroom.
• The Building Tool Room: Multiple Intelligences - http://www.blarg.net/~building/trm_intelligence.html
  New Horizons for Learning offers a variety of articles that address multiple intelligences and instruction, including "Learning Through Many Kinds of Intelligence," "The Research Results of a Multiple Intelligences Classroom," "Five-Phases To PBL: MITA (Multiple Intelligence Teaching Approach) Model For Redesigned Higher Education" and "Multiple Intelligences Power Up Math Teaching." Each is a full-length online journal article - I highly recommend this site to help get the wheels turning!
• Educational Leadership: Teaching for Multiple Intelligences - http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/9709/toc.html
  If you missed this September 1997 issue when it was first out - or even if it's just time to revisit it - Educational Leadership offered a full issue on Gardner's work and placed it online. While not all of the articles are hyperlinked, it's a good quick reference to what you'll find there before you hike off to your campus library. And the pieces you can read online include Marge Scherer's "Martian Chronicles" and Linda Campbell's "Variations on a Theme—How Teachers Interpret MI Theory."
• Exploring Multiple Intelligences - http://www.multi-intell.com/
  New Dimensions of Learning is a popular MI site. It has a homey way of drawing the reader in to consider how he or she experiences MI in human experience. It's a little slow loading and the graphic's schemes can be distracting - especially the mouseovers that can be especially frustrating if you're not very deliberate in your navigation. But the content is worth your consideration and the links to other sites make it even more valuable.
• Harvard Project Zero - http://pzweb.harvard.edu/
  Gardner offers professional development opportunities every year through Project Zero based at Harvard, and this site showcases some of the current research initiatives underway: Adult Multiple Intelligences, The Creative Classrooms Project, Innovating with Intelligence and Project SUMIT (Schools Using Multiple Intelligences Theory) are just a few of the many projects currently underway.
• I Think.....therefore.....M.I.! - http://surfaquarium.com/im.htm
  Newly updated and ready to roll, my page is now five years old and continuing to strive for solid content and worthwhile virtual experiences in all nine of the intelligences. Note that this past year we've added a Multiple Intelligences Discussion Group which is free to join and gathers teachers together from around the globe to discuss classroom applications of Gardner's work. Still, the big draw is probably the Web-based activities by intelligence that allow anyone to experience the qualities of each intelligence while sitting at their keyboard.
• Multiple Intelligences Primer - http://www.clat.psu.edu/homes/bxb11/mi/index.htm
  This Penn State-based primer is a couple of years old and it only acknowledges seven intelligences, but it offers an interactive test of your MI knowledge and an online 49-item MI survey that gives you a quick snapshot of how your intelligences distribute themselves. It's probably best suited as a nice intro in the classroom, and it is well done enough to withstand the test of time.
• NEA's Interview with Howard Gardner - http://www.nea.org/neatoday/9903/gardner.html
  Now going on three year's old, this interview by Stefanie Weiss presents answers and issues Gardner struggles with as his work continues to evolve. The issues presented here are still on the front burner today, and the no-nonsense questions provide the reader a sense of what multiple intelligences theory can mean for teachers who truly reflect on their instructional practice. You may also want to read a shorter 1998 interview by Ronnie Durie at http://www.newhorizons.org/trm_duriemi.html.
• Tapping into Multiple Intelligences - http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/month1/
  Public television station WNET in New York City offers this nicely formatted presentation of Gardner's work as part of its "Concept to Classroom" series. There's a quick little self-inventory and a great transcript of an interview with Gardner conducted as an online event. Most impressive to me, this site uses the latest web technologies to produce a colorful, fast-loading, easy-on-the-eyes, well-written site that outdoes almost anything else I've seen online as a treatment of Gardner's work. A must see!
• Teacher Education: Multiple Intelligences - http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/teachereduc/indexTE.html
  The Aussie School House offers this well-developed overview of the intelligences and instructional approaches to stimulate each. The spelling activities examples are an extra bonus, helping the reader to begin to see the possibilities for Gardner's work in even the most traditional of academic disciplines. Intense, colorful graphics may enhance or inhibit your experience, depending on your tastes.
• The Theory of Multiple Intelligences - http://www.edwebproject.org/edref.mi.intro.html
  Man is this site hard to find. Most old addresses no longer work, and this one just happened to pop up as I was losing hope that EdWeb still maintained it. But it's worth the digging, because EdWeb gives an objective, unbiased look at Gardner's theory and its implications for education. Be sure to check out the links under the question "How would MI affect the implementation of traditional education?" It's good food for thought and a great discussion starter.
• Use ALL Your Smarts: Multiple Intelligences for Diverse Library Learners - http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/kholmes/presentations/MI.html
  Katherine Holmes of Lesley College does a really nice job of putting together coverage of the first eight intelligences, and it's packaged here specifically for library use! I'm not as pleased with the presentation of the musical intelligence as I am with the others, but overall this is a great page to use with students beginning research work.

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