TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION DIGEST
Digest No. 12 -- July 9, 1997
A Moderated Mailing List
Steve Wildstrom (steve_wildstrom@businessweek.com), Moderator

Return to Technology & Education

I would appreciate comments from those who might have read the article, "The Computer Delusion," by Todd Oppenheimer, which appeared in the July, 1997, issue of The Atlantic Monthly. For those who have not read it, I believe it to be worth the time, whether or not you agree with its contents.

Michael M. Quinn

In Tech-Ed 3, Kevin Miller asked
> Withdrawing Internet access from our school would be devastating. Teachers
> regularly assign projects which rely on some Internet access to complete. Our
> library circulation is decreasing as computers are invading.
> Kevin Miller
> [How do others handle the problem of providing open Internet access while >
keeping the kids out of harm's way? Suggestions welcome.-MOD]

First, schools need to establish policies that provide for controlled Net access. Then, schools need implement those policies by monitoring usage at each computer, and blocking inappropriate sites. Industrial strength packages are WebSense from NetPartners, at http://www.netpartners.com., Net Access Manager from Sequel Technologies, at http://www.sequeltech.com, SurfWatch, at http://www.surfwatch.com. I'm sure there are other good packages as well. Companies like these will gain influence and market share from school districts buying large quantities of their software at discounted rates. I would encourage any school district technologists to inquire about volume discounts on software.

I'm having a heck of a time trying to corral what might be called "pedagogical issues" for the delivery of desktop PC mediated learning. What are they?

Glenn Ralston

[Anyone have thoughts to offer Mr. Ralston?--MOD]

Rolland Fitch (Rolland_Fitch@smtp.c-cubedcorp.com) wrote in Tech-Ed 1:
> I think that most schools in the grades K-5 would not need
>this technology at all or only as a teacher resource. Middle Schools (grades 6-8)
>and High Schools may need this capability in the library or media center with access
>available to all students.>

I think that what is even scarier that the Federal Govt. funding Internet access, is NON-educators deciding that Elem. school children should'nt have access to the wealth of information on the Internet. The fact that you don't support enhancing and expanding learning experiences for children by bringing this curriculum material directly into the classroom makes me wonder _what_ you think the value of this information is.

Michael F. Pitsch
State Coordinator
Tech Corps Wisconsin
70671.2234@compuserve.com
414-886-1807

Technology cannot fix every problem in our schools. However, in the hands of well-trained and confident teachers, it can be used to motivate passive students into active learners, deliver instruction in formats that match individual learning styles, embed subject matter instruction in an authentic, real-world context, and bring a world of up-to-the-minute resources and information into even the poorest classroom.

After reading your *Technology and You* column in the June 9th edition of Business Week, I thought you would be interested in hearing about the multi-million dollar Internet project being undertaken in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Prince Edward Island may be the smallest province in Canada, but it will soon have the first province-wide broadband communications network in Canada, providing high-speed Internet access to all Prince Edward Island schools and public libraries. In addition to this connectivity, PEI teaachers and students will also have access to Internet training and support provided by the Prince Edward Island Department of Education. The following summary provides a brief overview of the Internet project being rolled out here on PEI. If you would like further information, please contact the project coordinator, Martha Burka by e-mail at mwburka@gov.pe.ca or by phone at (902)368-4729.The Network

In February of 1997, Prince Edward Island began building a high-speed communications network which will connect all 66 Prince Edward Island Schools and 23 Public Libraries to one another and to the world. This network uses ATM technology, which allows graphics, audio, and video to be shared easily between users without excessive download time. This network will also provide multi-user Internet access to all Prince Edward Island schools and public libraries through a fibre optic connection. This means that every Internet-capable computer within the schools and libraries will have high-speed access to the Internet _ at least 10 times faster than dial-up access with a 28.8 modem. All 28,000 students and 1500 teachers in grades 1 to 12 will have their own individual e-mail accounts and web-browsing access. This Internet accessibility within schools and libraries is the first of its kind in Canada.

The Support
This broadband communications network represents a condsiderable investment for the Prince Edward Island education system. However, simply providing high-speed access to the Internet does not guarantee teachers and students will use this technology and use it effectively. As a solution to this problem, the Prince Edward Island Department of Education has created a training and support system for teachers using the Internet in their classrooms. This system provides Internet support to teachers and students in a number of key areas:

Online Support
The Department of Education has created a website called LESTER - Links for Educators and Students to Educational Resources (www.gov.pe.ca/educ/lester/). This website pulls together a well-organized collection of top-quality educational websites, all of which have been screened and made available to teachers for classroom use. This website has been in place since November 1996 and is growing continually to meet the needs of P.E.I. educators and students.

Internet Training Team
In addition to this online support, the Department has also brought together four skilled teachers to work as an Internet training team. This team has developed two Internet training sessions designed especially for teachers. The first one-day session is designed for beginners and covers the basics of the World Wide Web and e-mail. The second two-day session is designed for advanced Internet users who have honed their surfing and e-mailing skills and are now asking the question: *So what do I do with the Internet in my classroom?* During this workshop, teachers create and plan an interactive Internet project for use in their own classrooms. To support these sessions, the Internet team has also written and published two Internet manuals especially for teachers.

Individual Training Opportunities
Besides these formal training sessions, the Internet team is also available to work collaboratively with teachers on a one-to-one basis. This individual support is available at teacherso requests as a follow-up to the formal training sessions and can involve anything from review of basic Internet skills to development of Internet projects to the creation of school home pages.

The Internet team has been contracted again for the 1997-1998 school year and will continue to work to develop the Internet support system as the needs of Prince Edward Island teachers and students continue to change.

Strong support systems for teachers and students are key to the integration of technology into education. Our Internet support system, coupled with the broadband communications technology, has evolved into a network of which we can be proud both in terms of the connectivity and support it brings to the Prince Edward Island school system.

Thank you for your time.

Michelle McQuaid
Software Support Facilitator
Prince Edward Island Department of Education mdmcquaid@gov.pe.ca
(902) 368-4732

In your BusinessWeek column "Readin', Writin', and the Internet" 6/3/97 you wrote:

"But there are far less expensive ways, especially investing in teacher training, to make technology an effective part of education."

We agree emphatically. Shortly after the publication of our first WebPointers Internet Guide a wistful comment from a teacher in a rural school district prompted us to re-evaluate our product and our goals.

"The school's been wired. We're on the Internet. I've got a new computer in my homeroom,"he said. "But I haven't had the first minute of instruction on how to use it."

We first re-designed our product and this spring published our first 3-in-1 Interactive Edition which provides a 278-page Printed Edition, a 5MB downloadable pdf Electronic Edition with more than 4,000 active hyperlinks, and a weekly email edition that delivers three new narratives every week for a year -- extending the boundaries of the printed page well beyond traditional limits.

We then established the WebPointers Educational Consortium to provide the Interactive Edition at a greatly reduced cost.

As reported in the March issue of the NewsLeader, published by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, we provide the WebPointers Internet Guide to teachers and schools at half price through the WebPartners Educational Consortium; we have since introduced a 60% discount for orders of 25 or more.

The WebPointers Internet Guide is most valuable for getting teachers up to speed. It is jargon-stripped and written for newcomers. It provides narrative "excursions" that reveal not just what's new but what's useful.

We have shipped copies to school districts around the country and are zealous in our efforts to improve Internet Literacy. Please see WebPointers Online for a free sample pdf file. You may order online or send a PO to the publisher: Hope Springs Press, 849 Hermitage Road, Manankin-Sabot, VA 23103.

"We invest out time so you don't have to waste yours."

Robin Lind
(former teacher, Virginia Commonwealth University; former School Board Member, Goochland County; former student US, UK, Canada; ... still learning every day)

WebPointers Online
READ THE BOOK: 1997 WebPointers Internet Guide now available!
(http://www.webpointers.com/order.html)

Archives of this list are available at www.businessweek.com/bwplus/teched/charter.htm

To subscribe, send mail to listserv@listserv.businessweek.com with the message body: subscribe tech-ed (your name)

To unsubscribe, send mail to listserv@listserv.businessweek.com with the message body: signoff tech-ed