The award-winning, internationally recognized pilot project ELECTRIC SOUP was created by Florence McGinn, Senior Executive Vice President of GKE, and her students from 1995 to 2000. Grants and support to McGinn's pilot project work came from AT&T Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Macromedia, GKE, Technology and Learning magazine, the NJ Department of Education, the US Department of Education, and many others.

Florence McGinn and three of ELECTRIC SOUP's former student editors offer their "favorite picks" from the volumes of that on-line literary magazine. Selections are made by Douglas Gorton and Emily Judson, former Editors in Chief of ELECTRIC SOUP, and Neela Mookerjee, that e-zine's Poetry Feature Editor.

Florence McGinn, 1998 US National Teacher of the Year's Favorite Volume: Volume 14 (click to view)

Volume 14 is of Electric Soup is an eternal favorite for me. This volume has strong international reach, intellectual coverage of the quest archetype in multimedia, and a powerful national collaboration. The collaboration between Dianye Middle School in Beijing, China, and Electric Soup learners in New Jersey is accessible from the "Poetry from China" link on Electric Soup's main page as well as from Volume 14. Additionally, the CyberLit feature of Volume 14's Electric Soup has wonderful, original quest poems presented in multimedia. And, in the Asbury Park feature, learners from a United States rural district and urban district joined together to write and publish poetry collaboratively. Truly, Volume 14 is an international learning conversation between talented learners in on-line multimedia!

GKE-selected Exemplary American University Students' Favorite Volumes:

Douglas Gorton, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Volume 15 (click to view)

Volume 15 is my favorite volume of Electric Soup because it was one of the last volumes that I participated in creating. With many of the features, I have fond memories of helping editors create piece by piece. All the features are amazing creations by very gifted members of our staff. The volume shows the beautiful melding of technology and writing, the artistry of creation possible, and it spills forth with fond memories.

Emily Judson, University of Delaware: Volume 12 (click to view)

The growth in depth and array of features within Electric Soup's Volume 12 truly demonstrates its strengths and diversity of writing. Volume 12 marks the beginning of several innovative and intriguing features including the Virtual Art Gallery, a collection of digital graphic art, and Fingerprints, writing by the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf. While each feature shows a distinct thematic element, every feature comes together to create an exciting and unifying Volume 12. The uniqueness and innovative appeal of this volume speaks to the vision of the magazine, therefore making it my favorite.

Neela Mookerjee, Stanford University: Volume 11 (click to view)

I have always enjoyed Volume 11. From its elegant cover page to its crisply designed features, the editorial work does the writing justice. Also, many of us were still learning a great deal web pages, and features like CyberLit were brand new. If nothing else, Volume 11 shows how much enthusiasm can compensate for formal training in creating a fantastic product.