Teaching and Learning in a Networked World

The Promise of Technology

Dr. Huntley believes there are three major problems faced by schools, for which Internet access can lead to new solutions.

Schools are information-poor In many schools, information resources are very limited and often out-of-date. For example, the libraries of many public and private schools are small and under-staffed.
Classrooms are isolated Teachers are often, by default, the ultimate source of wisdom on a given topic. In many cases, the extent of an individual teacher's knowledge may limit the opportunities for students to learn.
Reform initiatives are not being realized In many schools, reform initiatives that seek to make schools more interesting and suitable for learning are not funded or are poorly implemented.

Access to the Internet, in particular, can dramatically address these major problems faced by schools. An ideal vision of technology use in schools includes ubiquitous computers, completely networked together and linked to the Internet with a dedicated connection. Everyone, in all classrooms, would have access to local computing resources and access to the riches of the Internet.

Internet access expands the information base A connection to the Internet gives schools access to repositories of information and resources from around the world.
Internet access decreases classroom isolation By exploiting the Internet as a communications medium, communities of learners unconstrained by geographic boundaries can excite and inspire both students and teachers.
The Internet can radically transform the learning environment Teachers who integrate access to the Internet into their curriculum create dramatically changed learning environments that begin to address the intent of current reform initiatives.

Real Life Examples

The National Science Foundation has funded Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc. (BBN) in Cambridge, Massachusetts to conduct the first phase of a testbed of school networking on a national scale. The Networked School Testbed Project offers a chance to explore what can happen when schools are connected to the Internet.

background information on the Networked School Testbed Project.

To date, the results of the Networked School Testbed Project demonstrate that the benefits of school networking are substantial. Some of the Project activities include:

InternNet

InternNet is an effort to network students at the University of California at San Diego who are studying to be teachers. The students communicate electronically with each other and with their professors about curriculum development and the art of teaching. Lesson plans created by the students are published on the Testbed Gopher server [copernicus.bbn.com].

via gopher to InternNet students' lesson plans.

Urban Math Collaborative

The Urban Math Collaborative Project is a national network of math teachers who are using the Testbed to understand the incremental advantage of Internet connections over standard dial-up bulletin boards.

Shadows Project

The Shadows Project facilitates discussions within and between two elementary schools, the Ralph Bunche School in New York City and the Graham and Parks School in Cambridge, MA. Participants collect sun shadows and other data as evidence for developing theories of the relationship between the earth and sun, and discuss their observations on an Internet newsgroup. Archives of the discussions are available on through the Testbed Gopher server.

via gopher to the Shadows Project.

Community of Explorers

In the Community of Explorers project, high school science teachers collaborate electronically to develop approaches to the use of computer simulations of phenomena such as gravity, relativity, and population ecology. Distribution of the simulations over the network enables teachers and students to share the output of their investigations.

Cooperative Learning

The Internet gives students and teachers a unique opportunity to explore vast resources of information. The Internet culture also encourages users to produce their own information which can be shared with the rest of the online community. Students at the Ralph Bunche School, for example, have created an electronic newspaper that is published on the school's Gopher server [ralphbunche.rbs.edu].

to the Ralph Bunche School newspaper.

According to Dr. Huntley, the current most pervasive themes in Education Reform are 'cooperative learning' and 'collaborative teaching.' Being part of the Internet community, where cooperation and collaboration are fundamental to the online culture, helps teachers make this transition.

Ironically, similar themes promoting collaboration and cooperation are used to describe the 'r-eengineered' workplaces of business and higher education for which today's children are being prepared. In fact, the technology necessary to make the vision of global communication a reality exists today and is deployed in universities, corporations and other organizations around the world. So why are so few children in a very small number of schools reaping the benefits this vision promises?

Barriers to Internet Use

According to Dr. Huntley, students are not apprehensive at all about using technology and participating in the Internet's electronic community. The barriers to bringing the Internet to their classrooms, however, are enormous. Two of the obvious problems are lack of money and lack of expertise.

Lack of Money In most classrooms where communications technology is currently being used, the teachers have had to fight for years just to get a telephone line and a modem. The cost of the ubiquitous connectivity recommended by Dr. Huntley is intrinsically expensive. Administrators and teachers look at such costs and cannot justify them in relation to their current budgets.

Lack of Expertise In assessing the cost of connecting a school to the Internet, certain factors must be considered such as the number of users who can be served by a dedicated connection and the educational value of that connection. The cost of access to the information resources on the Internet must be compared to the cost of traditional education tools such as text books. This kind of cost/benefit analysis requires expertise and an understanding of technology which is not yet common in school districts.

The creation of a seamless network with ubiquitous desktop access is a complex task. School networks tend to be kludged together if they exist at all. The expertise required to set up a local area network with a connection to the Internet is virtually nonexistent in most school settings. There is also a certain amount of fear on the part of many teachers and administrators, who have not yet mastered this new technology.

Dr. Huntley suggests that the major reason technology has not lived up to its promise in schools is due to a lack of investment in training. Unlike businesses, which invest heavily in human resource development in the use of new technology, schools spend a tiny fraction on technology training. School administrators should take a cue from businesses and allocate appropriate funding for training teachers in the effective use of new technology.

A Look at BBN's Internet Server for K-12

The pioneering educators who have already brought the Internet to their classrooms have adopted its culture of generosity. A number have undertaken the mission to help orient others in K-12 and teach them basic Internet navigation skills. Information sources for K-12 are becoming organized, and the Internet is buzzing with online discussions and sharing of ideas. Tools are also being engineered to facilitate the use of communications technology by schools.

For example, researchers at BBN have created a family of tools called "Copernicus" technologies. The Copernicus Server is an easy-to-use and easy-to-manage Internet server which is now available for schools and other educational organizations. Teachers, students and administrators use the Copernicus Server for communication and data access both within their organization and throughout the international Internet.

Traditionally, the setup and operation of Internet servers required specialists with years of experience in UNIX. The day-to-day use and management of the Copernicus Server, however, can be accomplished without using its native UNIX-based operating environment. Instead, teachers and students who are more familiar with personal computers can use client software on the Macintosh to perform routine administrative tasks such as creating user accounts. This innovation and attention to easing the use of technology is helping to bridge the gap between technology and users in schools.

more information about the Copernicus Internet Server.

Information about K-12 and the Internet

Helping school districts understand effective Internet access is paramount. Unfortunately, even schools that do understand the value of the Internet don't know where to turn for assistance and advice about how to get started. According to Dr. Huntley, "there just aren't enough people who know about the Internet AND understand schools." To contact Dr. Huntley, reach him on the Internet at mhuntley@bbn.com.

Many sources of information exist for anyone interested in K-12 and school access to the Internet. Dr. Huntley has established a Gopher server [copernicus.bbn.com] on which he is organizing information for the K-12 community. This is good place to start, since it points to numerous other excellent Gopher servers for K-12, such as the AskERIC Electronic Library Gopher server at Syracuse University [ericir.syr.edu] and the Coalition for School Networking (CoSN) Gopher server [cosn.org].

to Dr. Huntley's Gopher server.

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Sponosred by MIT Press: Schools For Thought