The growth of telecommunication networks and projects is changing the image of the classroom for the 1990s. The walls of the classroom are expanding to encompass the world not only through communication but through a global philosophy and cultural understanding. The global classroom as it evolves will be connected by networks that reach across the globe, across ages and across subject areas. The classroom will include diverse communication technologies including computer networks, video, CD-ROM and satellite access. Students, teachers and parents in the global classroom will learn from each other and will together solve problems.
The concept of the global classroom has become a reality because of the expansion of world communication systems. These new and diverse telecommunication technologies represent powerful tools for linking both students and teachers together for sharing knowledge and diverse solutions to problems; and for actually creating the global classroom. As this learning environment is evolving, education is developing new visions of learning and teaching that will provide students with new ways to think and live in the global village.
Today there are many global classroom projects that have been designed for implementation. These projects provide the tools for developing global understanding as well as in depth studies in a variety of content areas and a thorough introduction to computers and telecommunication skills. One model for implementing a global classroom project is described in the following section. Specific projects are described at the end of the article.
Participating in an international telecommunications network requires some detailed advance planning and some teacher preparation. To get started on a project, teachers and administrators will need to acquire the equipment software and arrange the physical facilities to insure that the program will be easily implemented. After setting up and testing the equipment and software, teachers need to develop an effective plan for integrating the project into the program. This can be accomplished by meeting with the selected content teachers and then presenting the project to the class. Getting connected: The first step in using telecommunications in the classroom is to learn how to access the network and the account. As with most online projects, this procedure is usually documented in the manuals for the project and/or software.
Getting acquainted:
To insure the success of any telecommunications project, students and teachers must become acquainted with the system and the other participants. Initial activities involve sending "hello" messages to and from each site. After the introductory messages are sent and read, part of each session can be spent reviewing and responding to messages received. The teachers from each site also can communicate online with the participating teachers. In addition, students during the early online sessions should explore the other activities on the network. This exploration time, exposes students to the diversity of network communication and the breadth of possible projects.
Selecting a project and setting a schedule:
Once the students and teachers feel comfortable online, the communication should be directed at deciding what specific project will be done. This will vary by the needs of the class and the other sites.
An international project with over 150 schools participating from over 25 countries. Teachers and students develop projects on AppleLink for AGE. The projects cover topics from weather to role playing to writing games. The projects are all teachers developed and implemented. A team of researchers and developers are on the network to observe the activities, gather data, conduct research and interpret the online "happenings".
AT&T Learning Network, AT&T
P.O. Box 4012
Bridgewater, NJ 08807-4012
(800) 367-7225 ext 4158
AT&T Learning Network links a community of educators and students from the around the world through a curriculum-based program. Using the AT&T worldwide telecommunications network students from diverse classrooms engage in activities designed to motivate student learning and improve reading/writing skills. Classes are assigned to learning circles where they can explore among other topics global issues, society's problems and places and perspectives.
Computer Pals
Epson Australia Pty Limited
P.O. Box 280
Manly, S.W. 2095
Australia
An eight year old project originally started in Australia by teachers. The international project now includes sites all over the world including the United States, Germany, Scandinavia, Hong Kong, Korea and Canada. The projects are classroom designed and the telecommunications is an outgrowth of the project design not the basis for the project. The activities focus on "writing for a real reason" and include such diverse activities as peace poems and writing about ideas in science.
FrEdMail
FrEdMail Foundation
Box 243
Bonita, CA 91908-0243
(619) 475-4852
FrEdMail is a distributed network with nodes all over the world. Each node operates independently during the day as an electronic bulletin board which delivers mail to teachers in a school or a district. During low cost times, the mail is delivered to nodes around the world. FrEdMail activities encourage and motivate student writing. Projects are organized by teachers and are designed to be interdisciplinary. Past online activities have included an international cookbook, consumer comparisons and shadows project.
Global Laboratory
TERC
2067 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
(617) 547-0420
TERC's Global Laboratory brings students and teachers together through a variety of activities to develop strategies for environmental monitoring, modelling, working with databases, collecting data and investigating. Telecommunications is used to learn new methodologies, solve common problems and share data. Participants are being selected from a variety of global communities to insure diversity in the online laboratory.
KIDS-92
c/o Odd de Presno, Project Director
4815 Saltrod, Norway
KIDS-92 is a teacher initiated project for students in the age group 10-15. It is designed to connect kids in a global dialogue from as many countries around the world as possible. The project is being posted on multiple international and local networks. The students are asked to respond to only four questions: Who am I?; What do I want to be when I grow up?; How do I want the world to be better when I grow up?; and, What can I do Now to help this come true?
Kids Network
National Geographic Society
Educational Media Division
Washington, D.C. 20036
(800) 368-2728
Kids Network is an international network that introduces elementary school students (and soon to be available for middle school programs) to telecommunications, hands-on science and geography. Students conduct experiments and share the data across the network. Data is analyzed through charts, maps and graphs. The project software allows students to send an receive data, interpret data and write letters to schools around the world. Topics include acid rain, recycling, solar energy and other issues of global interest.
Teleclass International
c/o Dr. John Wollstein
1103 9th Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 733-2007
Teleclass International is a Hawaii-born program designed to join students throughout the United States with partner students throughout the world using computers and videotelephones. Countries that have participated in the project include Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Tahiti and Taiwan. Projects are centered around electronic mail and picture telephones. Topics for user developed activities have included a discussion in Spanish on the issue of US bases in Spain and a history unit with Japanese students.
Andres, Yvonne Marie, Mary Jacks and Al Rogers,
TeleSensations: The Educators Handbook to Instructional
TeleComputing. Bonita, CA, FrEdMail Foundation, 1989.
Clark, C., Kurshan, B. and Yoder, S., Telecommunications in the
Classroom. ISTE, 1990.
Hunter, Beverly, "Building Communications-Based Infrastructures to
Support Reform of Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education."
Washington, D.C., National Science Foundation Working Paper, 1990.
Kurshan, B.L. "Educational Telecommunications: Connections for
the Classroom - Part 1." The Computing Teacher, March, 1990, 30-35.
Kurshan, B.L., "Educational Telecommunications: Connections for
the Classroom - Part 2." The Computing Teacher, April, 1990, 51-53.
Kurshan, B.L., and Resta, P. "Proceedings Introduction." Proceedings of
the International Symposium on Telecommunications in Education:
Learners and the Global Village, Jerusalem, Israel, August, 1989.
Riel, M. and Levin, J. "Building Global Communities: Success and
Failure in Computer Networking." Paper in press, Instructional Science.
Riel, M. "Telecommunications: Connections to the Future: Report to the
California State Educational Technology Committee," September, 1988.
Roberts, N., Blakeslee, G., Brown, M. and Lenk, C. Integrating
Telecommunications into Education. Prentice Hall, 1990.
Rogers, E. M., Communication Technology: The New Media in
Society. Free Press, 1986.
The Apple Global Education Network, "A Report to Apple
Computer, Inc." La Jolla, CA, Laboratory of Comparative Human
Cognition, University of California at San Diego, 1989-90.
Wright, K., "The Road to the Global Village." Scientific American,
Marcy, 1990, 83-94.
Ed. Note: Three of Bobbi Kurshan's recent surveys of electronic networks are available online, courtesy of Dr. Art St. George and the Consortium for School Networking. In Art's words: This is to announce the availability of three important documents in educational telecommunications:
Report #2 describes a nationwide survey conducted by Educorp Consultants requesting information on statewide networks that serve to facilitate distance education. This document also updates the McAnge survey and provides contact information for statewide networks.
Report #3 presents an overview of home services with a special emphasis on educational activities on the network. The report concludes with an anaylsis of the findings.
The three documents are available by Listserv and anonymous FTP.
To obtain them from Listserv, send e-mail to either of the
following addresses:
listserv@unmvm (for those with Bitnet only connections)
listserv@unmvm.unm.edu (for those with Internet connections)
In the body of the mail, put the following three lines:
Finally, if you are interested in K-12 networking, especially as it relates to the NREN, you may wish to join the newly formed Consortium for School Networking. To become a charter member or to learn more about the Consortium, contact any of the following:
Art St. George stgeorge@unmb or stgeorge@bootes.unm.edu
John Clement jrc@bitnic or clement@educom.edu
Connie Stout cstout@utadnx
Return to GLOSAS News Contents for this issue.
URL: http://library.fortlewis.edu/~instruct/glosas/globeclass21.html
March 1992 -- Presented via the World Wide Web March 1999 by
Tina Evans Greenwood, Library Instruction Coordinator, and Mark Deavors, Library Instruction Assistant,
Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado
GLOSAS NEWS was orinally posted to the WWW at URL: http://library.fortlewis.edu/~instruct/glosas/cont.htm by Tina Evans Greenwood, Library Instruction Coordinator, Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado 81301, e-mail: greenwood_t@fortlewis.edu, and last updated May 7, 1999. By her permission the whole Website has been archived here at the University of Tennessee server directory of GLOSAS Chair Dr. Takeshi Utsumi from July 10, 2000 by Steve McCarty in Japan.