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OCR for page 9
InNorthCarolina, dents in real time as they view images
from undersea submersibles—even as sci-
“If I ever have a problem with
classrooms are becom- entists use the submersibles to do research
my homework, I can always in such places as the
ing “virtual” as learning Mediterranean Sea
get on the Internet, whereas “An information superhigh-
goes long distance.Using or mid-ocean ridges.
in the classroom a teacher way is only as good as the
the initial links in a high- During the Gulf War,
doesn’t always have the time students in the United on-ramps that you have to
speed digital video network States communicat-
for all 30 students. They
that will soon connect over get onto it. . . . If there isn’t
ed regularly over the
never have the time, as a
3,400 North Carolina classrooms, a low-cost, effective, and
Internet with students
matter of fact.”
colleges, libraries, hospitals, and in Israel, discussing simple way for a school or a
—BRANDY JUSTICE , STUDENT
government offices, students are learning such subjects as what
classroom to get on the
foreign languages, mathematics, and it feels like to be
Internet, then it is not really
science from teachers hundreds of miles under attack by Scud
away. Professors at colleges of education missiles. doing any good.”
are observing and counseling student Distance learn-
—MITCHELL KAPOR , ELECTRONIC
teachers over the network. High school ing multiplies the
FRONTIER FOUNDATION
teachers are participating in subject mat- resources available
ter workshops and development seminars to schools and teach-
without leaving their schools. High school ers, greatly increas-
groups and clubs are using the network ing opportunities for
to conduct long-distance joint meetings both teaching and
“At this very moment, there
after school hours. learning. It invites
are students in a small
The ferment in North Carolina reflects students anywhere in
distance learning experiments that are the country to
rural school in Mississippi
taking shape across the country. Using the acquire the informa-
learning the Russian lan-
National Geographic Kids Network, stu- tion they want direct-
guage. There is a group of
dents are comparing environmental data ly from experts.
they have gathered, such as the acidity Network links
Brandy Justice
students in an inner city
of their local rainfall, with similar mea- expand and enrich
school in Detroit working on
surements made by students around the pool of teachers
linear equations. There are
the world. Through the Jason Project, in mathematics, sci-
oceanographer Robert
students in a remote Maine
Ballard is interacting
fishing village reciting
with hundreds of
Japanese.”
thousands of stu-
NETWORKING —RICHARD RILEY, SECRETARY OF
Global Reach of THE U.S. D EPARTMENT OF
K–12 National Geographic
10
EDUCATION
Kids Network
EDUCATION
A high-speed digital
“backbone” connects Students from countries around
major cities in North the world (marked in red) inter-
Carolina through opti- act through the National
cal fiber. At each node Geographic Kids Network to
(the Southern Bell study local environmental issues
Central Office in the and compare the results with
Triangle Park
Research
inset), other links carry their peers. Below, students
video, audio, graphics, conduct an acid rain experiment
and text to schools, to gather results that will be
Asheville
Charlotte
Durham
Raleigh
hospitals, and govern- discussed on the network.
ment offices.
Wilmington
NORTH
CAROLINA
NEW HANOVER
Cape Fear COUNTY, N.C.
Community College
New Hanover
High School
Southern Bell Central Office
New Hanover Regional University of
Medical Center North Carolina/
Hoggard High School Wilmington
OCR for page 10
T
ence, or other fields. Moreover, the infor- By contrast, 99 percent of American he Internet is the pro-
mation students receive via networks can public schools have computers, and 93
totype of the informa-
be individualized to fit their specific needs. percent of students use them during the
tion superhighway. A
The new information technologies can school year. But these numbers can be
foster a much more cooperative approach deceiving. Many of the computers in reflection of many com-
to learning. The discovery-oriented learn- schools are older, cannot be networked,
munities and individuals,
ing made possible by comput- and cannot run the newest
it has been built upon
ers can be used to evoke dis- software. Furthermore,
“Advances in networking
cussion, negotiation, and crit- many of these computers both public and private
technologies provide the
ical thinking. Students can are not being used in ways
initiatives. It provides a
work in groups to solve prob- that exploit their full capa-
potential for access to edu-
means for collaboration and
lems and use the computer to bilities. Instead, they are
cational resources that may
compare their efforts with dig- being used to reinforce out- research not bound by walls,
not otherwise be available in dated models of education
itally stored information and
distance, or time.
with similar efforts outside that fall far short of the
many rural school systems
The Internet is a key
their school. goal of providing students
and also in financially
Yet computer networks, with what they need in element in reinventing K-12
disadvantaged urban school today’s world.
despite their benefits, remain
education. Children and
unused by most schools. For networks to be used
settings. Distance learning is
adults alike who have
According to data for the effectively in schools, a new
now possible using full
1993-94 school year gathered model of education is need- access find that the Inter-
motion video and providing
by Quality Education Data, ed. This new model goes to
net’s boundless information
only 23 percent of public interaction between instruc- the heart of the educational
resources and communica-
schools use educational net- enterprise, reshaping the
tors and students. Network
works in at least one class- roles of teachers, students, tions capabilities are not
connections that lead to new and technology.
room. Even more significant-
only enlightening but fun.
ly, inner city schools and types of collaborations
But for the Internet to be
rural schools, which many
between students, teach-
experts say could profit most successfully used in teach-
ers, and university facul-
from the resources made
ing and learning, the 16,500
available by computer net- ties at remote locations
school districts across
works, are the schools most
are becoming available.”
likely to be passed by. America need both to have
—RICK BOUCHER , U.S.
access to it and to be able
REPRESENTATIVE
to use it. Both the public
and private sectors have an
opportunity to expand
access to the Internet, link-
ing our nation’s schools,
libraries, universities,
research centers, private
companies, and homes.
Phone lines, interactive
cable television, satellite
links, and fiber optic cable
In the Jason Project, students help con-
trol and gather data from a deep-sea
all should be options for
submersible exploring the seafloor.
connecting to the net.
Through satellite downlinks to schools,
hundreds of thousands of children have
participated in the Jason Project’s
voyages of discovery.
