Internet Resource Directory, Part 4: Ideas for Curricular Infusion of Telecomputing Tools and Resources version 1: July 7, 1992 The information in this file is the result of Internet "prospecting" and teamwork by 24 eastern Nebraska teachers who were enrolled in a graduate telecomputing-in-education course during the Spring 1992 semester at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Much of their work for the course entailed exploring different Internet resource sites, then writing, fieldtesting, and revising friendly documentation describing online resources that they felt to be of value to K-12 teachers and/or students. About half of their time was spent brainstorming, discussing, refining and testing ideas for telecomputing infusions that take full advantage of a range of Internet resources. Below please find articles that describe some of the students' infusion ideas. **This is NOT meant to be an exhaustive list of all of the ways in which Internet resources can be used in the classroom**. Rather, it is a beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing collaborative effort among telecomputing educators on a larger scale. We invite you to use this, share it with other teachers, amend it, append to it, and update it. We hope that the information that it contains will be useful to you. Judi Harris & the students of TED 8000: "Computer-Mediated Communications for Educators" University of Nebraska at Omaha Judi is now in the: Department of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Texas at Austin JBHarris@Tenet.edu (beginning: 8/10/92) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- ARE THERE LEGOS ON MARS ? Lego T.C. Logo and Telecomputing Team up for Classroom Excitement. by Denny Hanley Students learn Science best when they are actively engaged doing "real" Science. Using Lego T.C. Logo and telecommunications with young scientists in your classroom can provide "real" excitement to solve "real" problems related to one of NASA's most exciting projects; "The Mars Mission." The Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy led the American people and NASA to re-examine the risks of manned space exploration. A new emphasis on unmanned probes, satellites, data collecting devices, and surface rovers emerged. It is not surprising that research and development in these areas has increased dramatically with promising results. Although humans in space will be necessary, under certain circumstances we can still "boldly go where no one really needs to." The JPL, (jet propulsion laboratory) has been working on an exciting project for the Mars mission. Their objective is to construct a "Mars Rover" vehicle that will enable scientists to explore, collect samples, survey and map the surface of Mars by remote control from the Earth. The vehicle is called "Robby" The objective of this lesson is exactly the same as the scientists at JPL with one exception; the vehicles will be constructed using Lego T.C. Logo kits. For this project you will need : 1) A telecomputing connection with access to the Internet. 2) The Lego T.C. Logo program. 3) Plenty of imagination, (student provided). Step 1: Research The current research and possibilities of the future in space can be explored in a very dynamic and exciting way right in your classroom using an array of resources on the Internet. The type of site and their addresses are listed below. In addition, Telnet sites are briefly described as to their relationship to the project. FTP sites containing files specifically supporting the research phase of this project are discussed in greater detail. Telnet Sites 1) NASA Spacelink Address: Spacelink.MSFC.NASA.GOV or: 128.158.13.250 This is an interactive site in which students are able to research the current status of every NASA project, including the Mars mission. 2) SpaceMet Address: SpaceMet.PHAST.UMASS.EDU or: 128.119.50.48 This is an interactive site with a wide variety of information on space exploration and space history. The information on the lunar rovers of the Apollo missions will be applicable to this project. 3) Lunar Planetary Institute Address: LPI.JSC.NASA.GOV or: 192.101.147.11 This site has general information on astronomy and specific information on planets. Read information on Mars. FTP Sites 1) NASA Archives Address: ftp AMES.ARC.NASA.GOV or: 128.102.18.3 This FTP site has many documents that you can download on space and related topics. Articles on JPL's research on "Robby" can be located using this file sequence; SPACE/MARS.ROVER/mr10.26.90. Download all files beginning with "mr", which stands for Mars rover. 2) Washington University Address: ftp WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU This ftp site has a wonderful collect of Gif graphics that can be downloaded. Detailed NASA photos of Mars taken by Viking 1 from a distance and on the surface of Mars are available. Additionally, there are photos of lunar rovers on the moon and surface landers on Mars. The directory sequence for each is listed below. 1) Mars: Gif / astronomy / L / lander2 2) Lunar Rover on the Moon: Gif / astronomy / L / lunarrover 3) Lander on Mars: Gif / astronomy / M / mars These files and telnet research will be very helpful and exciting for your students to get an idea of the task and the objectives facing scientists in their endeavor. It will also set the stage for this project. Step 2: Brainstorming It is important that students get a clear understanding of the problems facing them and other scientists in trying to put a "human presence" on the planet Mars. Students will need to brainstorm on the human qualities that can manifest themselves in machine form. Such as: mobility, sight, sound, communication, grasping and retrieving objects, and the ability to act, react, and interact with the environment. The students should not be concerned with the limitations of the Lego/Logo equipment at this point. The important thing is to let the ideas flow. The students will need to make value judgements as to which attributes would be essential to a Mars Rover. Those that are deemed necessary would be kept while the others would be discarded. After finalizing the list of attributes, the students are ready to enter the construction and testing phase of the project. Step 3: Construction and Testing As the students begin to experiment with different designs that will meet the necessary attributes they felt were important, they will also be constantly testing their ideas. Some possible areas that could be tested and measured are: 1) Maneuverability - forward, backward, turn. 2) Speed - m/sec 3) Strength - (Incline test) What is the greatest angle the Rover can climb a 1 m incline. 4) Durability - (Cliff test) What is the highest cliff, (in cm) that the Rover can drive off while remaining intact and mobile. 5) Special Features - Ability to measure distance in cm or m. Ability to "feel" objects and react. 6) Programming - The extent and quality to which categories 1-5 are controlled by the computer. Of course these are only a few possible ideas. Your students will supply variations of their own that only they as "real" scientists would think of. Step 4: Sharing the Data Students need to share their test results and descriptions of their Rovers with their peers within the class, and possibly with colleagues from another class for comparison. Using Electronic mail they could quickly share testing results and basic designs. They could also be encouraged to suggest improvements to each other and offer programming advice. They might even exchange programming codes. The results of the entire project could be electronically mailed to JPL scientists for their examination and comments. They would be interested, supportive, and grateful for the student efforts. Step 5: GO TO MARS If the proof is in the pudding then there will have to be a "Mars Mission" in your classroom. Students would build a Mars landscape and operate their vehicles without being able to actually see them. After all isn't that what "real" scientists do? THE EARTH DAY TREASURE HUNT: UTILIZING ONLINE RESOURCES AS RESEARCH TOOLS by Kim Burry I have never seen my students as motivated, excited, and on task as they were when they performed the research needed to solve the Earth Day Treasure Hunt (Douglas,C., & Levin,S., 1992) on April 22, 1992. The Earth Day Treasure Hunt is a networking project that involves students in history, math, map reading, geography and writing. Participating classrooms were asked to submit clues by electronic mail describing a geographical place. All clues from across the country were compiled and sent back to participating teams prior to Earth Day. Students were asked to conduct the hunt on Earth Day if possible. My kids had so much fun compiling clues for their geographical place and sending them on to the treasure hunt headquarters that I knew that the actual day of the hunt would be especially motivating and so I decided to plan for it to be a special day. I met with my building principal and made arrangements to work with my students for a four hour block of time. (I work with G/T kids in a pull-out situation. Students from grades 4-6 signed up to write clues and work on the hunt.) In preparation for the day, I collected maps, globes, and a variety of reference materials and familiarized my students with the Geographic Name Server and the Cleveland FreeNet. (My students were familiar with the Geographic Name Server because they had utilized it in their clue writing.) I accessed the Geographic Name Server for my students (martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000) and they were able to type in U.S. cities and states as well as some mountains, rivers, lakes, and national parks. This proved to be very valuable to my students particularly as a checking device. Many of the clues submitted contained latitudinal and longitudinal clues. My students were able to type in their chosen place and check this information relating to elevation, time zones, telephone area codes, postal zip codes and pop- ulation. I also switched back and forth and had my students utilize the services from the Cleveland FreeNet (telnet 129.22.8.75). At the main menu, we chose the Library section, proceeded on to the Electronic Bookshelf, then chose #5, Read the World Factbook. This section contains information on Nations, Oceans and the World. My students utilized this section when searching for answers to clues in countries other than the U.S. The atmosphere in my classroom on Earth Day, 1992, was one of excitement. I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive, particularly with the way the kids would handle the use of the on-line resources. I was afraid of the congestion I might have with students wanting to use the computer resources above all other sources. However, my students utilized every source and took turns using the computer. (Which I might add was extremely popular.) We had a visit from our local newspaper when we were in the heighth of our clue searching. The kids were so excited that they couldn't stop giving him information for his article. Needless to say, an article and a picture of some of my students appeared in the next "Gretna Guide." My students have already asked if we could do this again next year. Of course, the answer was "yes." Seeing students have so much fun and learning at the same time, how could you refuse? References Douglas,C.,& Levin,S.(1992). The Earth Day Treasure Hunt. A project designed at the University of Illinois Department of Curriculum and Instruction. "Small World" Telecomputing Infusion Idea: TELECOMMUNICATIONS TO AID FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISTION by Jane Couture and Sharon South How often have you, as a teacher, heard "Why do I need to learn this?" In order for students to see the relevancy of a course of instruction, they need to see some immediate use or practical applications of the subject. Learning is easier, more enjoyable and successful if the learners can directly relate information to their lives. Foreign language is one of those subjects that is difficult to persuade students to take because they cannot foresee using it in the immediate future. Transportation and technology seems to have shrunk the world. Ours is truely a global community. People travel from continent to continent as easily as they do from state to state. Even though they may witness the Berlin Wall coming down or watch the Olympics from Albertville, France and Barcelona, Spain live on television via satellite, it is still difficult for students to see themselves as part of this picture. We want to find a way for students to speak and write to people throughout the world without leaving their classroom. We want them to discover that communication is not possible without a common language; then they will realize the need for the study of foreign languages. Like "The Man of La Mancha", we dared to dream the impossible dream and make the dream come true with telecommunications. MOTIVATION Getting students online with a computer, a modem and a telephone line puts the world at their fingertips. By entering a few simple commands on the computer keyboard, they can talk to anyone around the world, but only if they speak the same language. At last, we have found our motivating force. The desire to communicate with others, whether they are around the corner or half way around the world is so strong that all we have to do is gently guide the students in the right direction. PROJECT To introduce your students to telecommunications we suggest our Small World project. Students choose a country where the target language being taught is spoken. They research the country through online telecommunications skills using the foreign language. EMAIL AND BULLETIN BOARD Two different site schools (perferrably one in the country being researched) exchange information, ask and answer questions and prepare a report all in the foreign language through email. A student bulletin board such as KIDSnet (KIDSnet-Request@VMS.CIS.PITT.EDU) or Kidcafe (Listserv@ndsuvm1.bitnet) can be used for this purpose. LISTSERV GROUPS Several listserv groups will be used to retrieve and send information. We chose MCLR-L (MCLR-L@SMU.BITNET), MEXICO-L (MEXICO- L@TECMTYVM.BITNET) and EUROPE-L (EC@INDYCMS.BITNET). Here the students will read and write messages in the target language to acquire information needed about their country. TELNET AND INTERNET SITES Students will also access a variety of telnet and internet site to locate reference material on their country. SERVICES (WUGATE.WUSTL.EDU or 128.252.120.1) for example gets them into libraries where they can actually do research online and in the target language, much like ERIC. Telecommunications can also provide exposure to ASCII Art which in turn gives the students a chance to be creative, humorous and self-expressive. NEWS GROUPS There are also many news groups like Soc. Culture Mexico, Soc. Culture Spain, Soc. Culture French, Soc. Culture German etc. which the students can use to post questions and retrieve information for their project in the foreign language. CONCLUSION The use of new technologies and telecommunications will help the students acquire writing, conversational and social skills in a foreign language enthusiastically and successfully while actively participating in real communications with others. Learning a new language is now meaningful and motivation is no longer a problem. All telecommunications addresses were correct at publication time, but could change in the future. We urge you to explore with your students the new and ever-changing world of communication, whether it be a new language, new telecommunications or both! REFERENCES Roberts, N., Blakeslee, G., Brown, M., et al. Integrating Telecommunications Into Education. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1990. KEEPING CURRENT WITH FREEWARD AND SHAREWARE APPLICATIONS by Emil Biga Audience: k-12 mac-lab care-takers and teachers with some knowledge of the internet Lead: I am a teacher sitting at my desk wondering where I would find the time to write an application that would help me in my classes. I also know that others are probably thinking the same thoughts, and that one of those people might actually write a similar application, but how would I find time to find out? Or I am a network supervisor and the users of the Mac-lab are loading on and removing applications from the hard drives on the networked computers. Someone could and should write shareware applications to help me manage the network. Where could I find time to find such resources? Establishing section: You will now find out by to teaching your students how to access a newsreader to find the availability and brief descriptions of new applications. These applications range over the entire spectrum of applications that creative Mac programming minds can produce. Many are just what you may be looking for-- even if you do not realize that now. Your students will also be taught where to get the applications, and then store the applications in the hard drives of the computer lab. Development: The two newsgroups that I frequent are comp.sys.mac.announce and comp.sys.mac.digest Both groups are moderated so the information is current and stays in the newsgroup for only a few days. The comp.sys.mac.announce newsgroup contains announcements that are of interest to the Mac community as interpreted by the moderator. The latest virus released on the Mac community will be announced here, and in a few days, the updated virus protectors will be posted. For those virus protection applications which need only to have a few lines of information changed, that information will appear in this newsgroup. With those virus protection applications that are redone, the ftp site will be given. For a particular example, on 27 Apr 1992 13:43:58, Peter Dodd from the University of Texas at Austin posted a note that a free Laboratory Administration Utilities package was available from Western Australia University CS- Department. One of the utilities was called BootPass. BootPass is a simple password protection system extension which can protect certain applications from tampering. The other newsgroup, comp.sys.mac.digest, contains zero to five daily digests of Mac-related questions, comments, thoughts, and new applications. Every digest is less than a week old. They are also archived at SUMEX- AIM.Stanford.EDU, in the info-mac directory, if you miss them in the comp.sys.mac.digest newsgroup. SUMEX-AIM.Stanford.EDU is one of the ftp sites that you can download virus protection applications, especially the freeware Disinfectant. The following is the list of the many subdirectories in the info- mac directory, each of may contain hundreds of applications. Monitoring this list is a time- consuming task, which students could enjoy doing. info-mac app(lications) art gif (compressed pictures and applications to view them) qt (quick time movies) card (HyperCard stacks) comm(unication applications) cp (computer programs) da (desk accessories) demo(nstrations of applications) digest csmp (com-sci mac programmers digest) im (general questions and answers digest with newlistings of files added to info-mac archives) tb (tidbits archive) (new additions to the above digests are available on comp.sys.mac.digest newsgroup) vapor (vaporware archive) ex(tras applications that don't fit any where else) fkey font (fonts) tt (true type fonts) game help lang(uages computer languages) misc(cellaneous) report sound source c pascal tech(niques) tips unix util(ities) ad (after dark files) virus One of the comments posted on Mon, 27, Apr 92 22:03 EST by Jerome A. Levin, from the Medical College of Ohio, describes Hard Drive Updating software. He wrote that there is an application called RevRDist that will compare every file on the Hard Drive with a reference folder, when the Mac starts up. If any extra files are found, they will be placed in a Junk Folder, which can be placed anywhere and will be discarded at specified intervals. If any extensions or control panels are replaced, the client Mac will reboot when the process is done. This can also be used to add or update any files on the client Macs by placing them in the reference folder. Of course the caveat is that this will slow the initial startup process and put heavy traffic on the network when the Macs are turned on at the beginning of each day, but this application will save the Lab staff (us) time. How can this all be accomplished? Pick a group of students who enjoy working in the Lab. Have them monitor the newsgroups and keep electronic notes on the applications and announcements that are current for that week. At weekly meetings of these various students (sooner if there is a virus alert), an agreement will be made as to which applications look inviting. Let the students go to a ftp-site and download the applications to an account at your cooperating university. From there, the students will download the application for distribution. They will play with the application and return to the group with comments on its use. These comments will lead to an evaluation as to the usefulness and appropriateness of the application, and the application will be put on your network or it will be saved for more thought, or you will decide not to put it on the network. Not only will students be learning a process, they will be freeing you from the monitoring and acquisition of applications. This time can be spent on the less mundane tasks we all have to do. INTERNET TO THE STARS by Becky Larson, Jody McQuillan, & Barb Andersen The study of astronomy is found in upper elementary through middle level science classes. Through interdisciplinary activities within science, language arts and telecommunications, astronomy may be enhanced. Telecommunications can be used to enhance the scientific method approach to learning because of its motivational interactive platform. Not only can we measure, predict, hypothesize and communicate within our own class, but we can also do the same with distant classrooms. Language arts and telecommunications enhances astronomy by allowing the learner to ask, seek and find, and interact with his/her own ideas on what astronomy is. SCIENCE Within the science classes, the students, using the scientific method, will observe and measure the location of the constellations or specific planets at their own site and through analysis and computations predict the location of the constellations and planets at a different site school. Students will be using email, telnet, and ftp internet resources to accomplish these activities. To find a school to collaborate with, a posting can be placed on SpaceMet, an internet telnet resource, KidsNet, or KidProj, both Kids are listserv groups. To connect to SpaceMet, use the telnet address, spacemet.phast.umass.edu. When at the SpaceMet main menu, choose the Bulletin submenu, within this submenu choose (B)ulletin Boards in Massachusetts, within this submenu choose SpaceMet/Physics Forum, within this submenu choose the file educator.lst. At the beginning, there will be directions as to posting in this list or you can scroll through the list looking for schools you might contact yourself. To subscribe to KidsNet use the address, request-KidsNet@vms.cis.pitt.edu, leave the subject line blank and in the body type, Subscribe KidsNet Your full name. To send correspondence use the address, KidsNet@vms.cis.pitt.edu, type your request in the body of the message. To subscribe to KidProj use the address, listserv@ndsuvm1.bitnet, leave the subject line blank and in the body type, Subscribe KidProj Your full name. To send correspondence use the address, KidProj@ndsuvm1.bitnet, type your request in the body of the message. Science students using email will communicate their astronomy predictions to other students from at least one other school. Since weather can be a limiting factor, students can access current weather data and conditions from Weather Underground, a telnet resource site, or WX-TALK: Weather, a listserv group. To connect to Weather Underground use the address, madlab.sprl.umich.edu 3000 or 141.212.196.79 3000. To subscribe to WX-TALK use the address, listserv@uiucvmd.bitnet, leave the subject line blank and in the body type, Subscribe WX-TALK Your full name. To send correspondence use the address, WX- TALK@uiucvmd.bitnet, type your request in the body of the message. To access information concerning the different planets, Spacelink can be used. To connect to Spacelink, use the telnet address, spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov or 128.158.13.250. When it asks for user-id type: newuser. Password is also newuser. When at the NASA Spacelink main menu choose Classroom Materials, within this submenu choose Astronomy Information, within this submenu choose Our Solar System at a Glance, within this submenu choose the file Mercury. This file describes Mercury's attributes and location on the horizon at dusk and dawn. Currently, information on the constellations has not been found at telnet or ftp sites on the Internet. Astronomy textbooks and reference books from your own library or the public library may be of assistance. Another possible contact may be your local university physics department and/or local planetarium. To implement and verify the predictions of this activity the students will need a protractor, sextant and a compass. Use the compass to locate magnetic north. For the lower to middle level grades, a giant protractor can be made. By placing it on the ground, the students will stand in the middle facing magnetic north and turn clockwise to obtain the location, in degrees, of the planet or constellation in reference to magnetic north. To find the location, in degrees, of the constellations and planets above the horizon, students will utilize the sextant. Predictions can be obtained by determining the longitude and latitude of the sister site, as well as time of observation and inserting these figures into a software application such as Voyager 1.0 or MacAstro. These figures will render the right ascension and declination of the particular constellation or planet under investigation. If weather conditions do not allow synchronous viewing by participating schools, a factor of .986 degrees per day needs to be added to the initial right ascension figure. LANGUAGE ARTS The study of astronomy will cross discipline lines using the language arts curriculum to enhance the science curriculm. While learning about astronomy, the student will have the opportunity to gain insight into astronomers of the past, and some possible origins of the constellations. A character online, through email, would be a sounding board for students to communicate their ideas to and be a disseminator facts and information. We felt the idea of our students being able to ask questions, share ideas about constellations and planets, and explore possible mythological origins of the solar system is a very powerful way to initiate discussion and aid in student communication and language skills. THE PLAN: for Language arts integration Your online character could be recruited from a planetarium, university physics department or interested high school students. Third-Fourth grades : Galileo Project After being given the initial lessons on the solar system, and being introduced to Galileo, one the first astronomers, the students would be asked to write a letter to him. They could brainstorm in small groups some "important" questions they could ask Galileo. The teacher could direct them toward questions like : "Where did your ideas come from? What did you to make your telescope?" During this time the student's questions could be compiled and through group consensus and electronically mailed to him. Use groups of three students per "letter" to compose, edit, and scribe (Type in this case). The students then will receive messages back from Galileo that may contain a few old english terms, and of course as accurate information compiled by our team. We will continue to "communicate" in this way through out the year building our writing, spelling, editing, and collaboration skills. The discussions will increase in information exchange as we learn more about the solar system and planets from our other electronic sites. Fifth and Sixth Grades: Ask Starmann After being given the initial lessons on the solar system, and being introduced to a fictional character named Starmann. The students would be asked to write letters, asking questions about their most recent learning about the stars and planets. They could brainstorm "important" questions in small groups. The teacher could direct them toward concepts and ideas that need further exploration. Starmann may ask them more questions than they ask him. He would communicate in a very sci-fi futuristic tone. The language arts infusion would incorporate the writing skills and highlight the use of clear communication and character development. Seventh and Eighth Grades: Mythology and the Stars After being given the initial lessons on the solar system, and being introduced to mythological Greek characters that are found in the sky, the students would be asked to write a letter to their favorite astrological cluster. They could agree upon the possible character to discuss for the week and then write a letter to that character at a Heavenly address. IE: Zeus at Hera's Palace, Mount Olympus. The students would be asked to compose possible myths about why the stars were placed in the sky. They could also ask for possible hints. This could be used with word bank lists from actual myths about a particular firmament placed in the sky. IE: The story of Icarus which contains these words: wax-wing- melted-ocean-flew-wishes-warning-sun-capture- chariot-Zeus. Now construct a story using these words about the creation of the constellation Icarus. The main goal of this extension to the stars, would be for short story fiction writing, again incorporating skills of communication, editing and writing into science and space exploration. These activities can be adapted to a variety of grade levels with minor alterations. The thrust of our ideas focuses on the students' realization that information is no longer a limiting factor in our experiences. The advent of telecommunications has allowed for the expansion of interactive learning, cooperative thinking and global awareness. Students are now able to tread where no student has trod before. BRINGING THE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS INTO THE MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM: BY CAROL A. WALDRON 5 MAY 92 Our society is entering the Information Age, a time in which information is the raw material and communication its means of production. The transition from an industrial to an information society is being attributed to the increased availability of affordable technology such as computers, VCRs, and Video Cameras. The effects of technological innovation on business, government, and industry are paralleled by dramatic changes in the physical, social, and life sciences. More than many other areas of study and application, mathematics is being taken in new directions. Modern technology has caused a shift in what mathematics a person needs to know. Yet, in the midst of this change, the teaching of mathematics has remained relatively unchanged. We can not continue relying on rote memorization of rules as enough to prepare students for productive, fulfilling lives in the Information Age. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics have noticed the need for change and have developed the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. The following lesson plan, is an idea I had that is aimed at accomplishing at least two of the five goals. The first goal states that students should learn to value mathematics through numerous, varied learning experiences that illuminate the cultural, historical, and scientific evolution of mathematics. The second goal states that students should become confident in their mathematical abilities. The following lesson plan involves the study the evolution of mathematics with emphasis on the various people and cultures that shaped it. Students need to be aware of the variety of contributions each culture has made to mathematics, especially the non-European cultures such as Africa or Asia. Our history texts frequently leave out the contributions of non-European cultures and women. Racial barriers are hard to break down; blacks, Hispanics, and women are often led to believe they can't succeed in mathematics, so why even try. By giving all students a chance to study the contributions of past cultures, I believe students will not only learn to value mathematics and its relationships to other disciplines, but become confident in their own mathematical abilities. By understanding how mathematics evolved through the different disciplines, students will develop an appreciation for mathematical skills in today's world. CONTENT AREA/TOPIC: Mathematics History: The study of mathematicians and their cultures with the use of telecommunications GRADE LEVEL:7-10 OBJECTIVES: Students will... 1. Learn how to research facts related to a historical period, culture, or topic. 2. Learn how to collect, organize, store, and retrieve information using telecommunications. 3. Discuss the information obtained on past mathematicians and their contributions. 4. Learn how to communicate with a distant audience via telecommunications. 5. Learn how to engage in electronic transfer of information. 6. Develop descriptive writing skills. 7. Broaden cultural experiences by learning about people and cultures from other geographic locations. 8. Learn how to upload and download text files. 9. Learn how to create and enter information into a data base. 10. Practice their word processing skills. PREREQUISITES: Prefer some previous experience with using database and word processing software. Otherwise, the teacher should allow another week for developing basic skills. MATERIALS Software: Word processing software such as FrEdWriter or WordStar that can be used for uploading and sending to other computers. It is easier though to use integrated softare that includes word processing, data base, and telecommunications capability all in one such as Apple Works or Microsoft Works. This would be better since you will be using all three applications. Hardware: Internal or External modem, a telephone line, access to Internet (contact your local college or university for access), an IBM PC, Apple II, or Macintosh microcomputers. COMPUTER ACCESS: 1. During the research and data collection phases of the lesson, students will need intermittent access to the computers to perform online searches of libraries. These libraries should be in the local area, if your school does not have access to online libraries or services such as BRS or Dialog Information Services, Inc. which provide downloading of full text. 2. Students will need access to computers for development and transmission of electronic messages to the Cleveland Free-Net (telnet to 129.22.8.75, 129.22.8.76, 129.22.8.82, or 129.22.8.44). PREPARATION: 1. Gather software and resource materials. 2. Make group assignments. Suggest groups of four. 3. At least 4 weeks before starting the project, you will need to contact the Cleveland Free-Net and register as a new user. Once you have received approval, your ID and password, you will need to go to the Academy One directory and enter your class as an Academy One school. Next, print a list of the non-US partners identified in the Academy One Directory. DISCUSSION: 1. Motivating Activity: As a whole class, have students pretend they live in an Indian village like the one in the movie "Dances With Wolves". Have the students discuss how or why they would use math. For example, how would they barter with other people or villages. How would they calculate time. Who are these people who devise theories or methods about numbers. Ask the students to think about how people became involved in mathematics hundreds of years ago. Were there any mathematicians who were women? Did other cultures such as Africa or Latin America have mathematicians like Einstein? 2. Introduce the lesson by stating that the object of the project is to collect information on mathematicians from around the world throughout history. To prevent duplication, you may want to provide a list of possible mathematicians and let them choose those individuals they want to research. The students will first start by researching information about mathematicians that we have in our Libraries. The children will collect preliminary information by accessing Online Library Catalogs to develop a list of books or other references that have information on mathematicians. Remind the students that many mathematicians don't have books written about them, so they will have to research books on mathematics history or mathematicians in general. Encyclopedias and magazines may even have some information. The teacher can either obtain the books for the students or let the students get the necessary books/information on their own. This depends on the age of the students. 3. After the students have collected preliminary information on the mathematicians, have them discuss what information they want to include in the data base. Here is a selection of data base fields you might list on the chalkboard for your students to consider: Last Name, First Name, Date of Birth, Date of Death, Place of Birth, Nickname, Nationality, Occupation(s), Known for, and Interesting Facts. When your students have decided what fields the data base should include, have each group design and sketch out possible data record layouts on the chalkboard. Once the design of the data base is chosen, set it up on the computer for them using your data base software. Print out a blank data record, and make photocopies for the students to use for information gathering. 4. After the groups have filled in their data records, print out the records and have each group quality check the other groups' records. Once the data base is complete, have each team brief what interesting information they found and what, if any, difficulty they had finding information about certain individuals. Pinpoint on a map where each mathematician was from and discuss any cultures such as Blacks or Asians that they did not have any information about? If so, discuss why there is no information on these cultures? 5. The next step is to separate the list of Academy One schools among the groups. Their task is to send an email message that explains their project and outlines what they discovered during their research and the class discussion. They are to ask the school for information on mathematicians from their country to be added to the data base. A copy of the data base information will be sent to them once all the information has been compiled from around the world. Each student in the group should write at least one of the email messages. 6. Once all the international information is added to the data base, have each group discuss what additional information they found. What conclusions can they draw? 7. Have each of the groups compose email messages expressing their appreciation for the additional information and the findings/reactions of the class about the project. Each group should send a copy of the data base to each school they corresponded with during the project. EXTENSIONS/ADAPTATIONS: 1. A follow on project could be to publish the information for other mathematics classes. 2. You might want the students to interview professionals in other disciplines such as business, medicine, arts, agriculture, crime control and prevention, and science use mathematics. The students can interview professionals found in the professional Online Discussion Groups (often found in services such as USENET and LISTSERV) that are available on the Internet or Bitnet. This will impress on the students the importance of math in the future as well as the past. USING TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAN HELP TEACH AT-RISK STUDENTS by Shirley Hasche Jolene Langan Barbara Renkenberger The number of students that are not graduating from traditional schools is increasing. We, as educators, need to find a way to make these at risk students become contributing members of society. As the computer becomes a vital part of the future job market, we need to make sure that at risk students are empowered with the knowledge of computers so that they may join the next generation of productive thinkers. SCANS Goals According to the Department of Labor, SCANS (Secretary's Commission of Achieving Necessary Skills), there is a three-part foundation that students need to have in order to find and hold jobs. The first one is the need for Basic Skills which deals with reading, writing, performing arithmetic and mathematical operations, listening and speaking. The second one is Thinking Skills which deals with thinking creatively, making decisions, solving problems, visualizing, knowing how to learn, and reasoning. The final part is Personal Qualities that display responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, integrity and honesty. Infusing telecommunications into the education of at risk students will help achieve SCANS goals. The Project The at risk students attending two high schools will be involved in telecommunicating with each other as they learn to use the computer skills needed for their future. Computers will be integrated into every class that the at risk students attend and will be used for homework, extra credit projects and classroom work. The introduction to computer use will start with these different levels. Level 1: One-Way Electronic Mail Level 2: Online - Participative (Bulletin Board) Level 3: Online - Full Interactive Communications Level 4: Online - Interactive and Planning E-Mail and Bulletin Boards There will be a bulletin board and E-mail system set up so that both schools can link up. Students will start by sending surveys to each other about cars, sports and other topics of interest. They will be required to report in their English and Speech classes the results. The bulletin board will be designed as a place where they can relax, chit chat and compare problems. By using the bulletin board, the students will be improving their listening (reading) and speaking skills as well as learning proper social skills (avoid flaming) and relating to peers in a positive ways. This will also improve their self-esteem. File Transter Protocal Sites (FTP) The fine arts will be the FTP Archives site Lyric and Discograph (FTP cs.uwp.edu) where the students will be able to get information about music, it's lyrics, and information about the classical and popular musicians. The students will be assigned a song, composer or band and will have to research and gather data about that time period. The students will have to do a report about their topic for Social Studies about the mood of society in that time frame. The use of computers in this area will aid in the development of reading, writing, gathering data, decision making, and creative thinking. Telnet Sites The students will work on the computer for math class by developing story problems. The students will be given zip codes for the 24 cities that contain professional football leagues. Each school will receive 12 zip codes. The students must create two step word problems that have the zip code as the answer. They will exchange the problems and then solve the ones sent to them. They will have to use the Geographic Name Server (telnet martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000 or telnet 141.212.100.9 3000) to discover the teams that they had correct. This will help in the acquisition of such skills as performing arithmetic and mathematical operations, problem solving, reasoning and cooperative learning. The spinoff from this Level 3: Full Interactive Communication will be to use other telnet sites for a host of integrated activities that the at risk students can identify with as relevant to their lives. For example, in the area of Science, the students will be able to use telnet sites to: find out the weather in all parts of the world (Weather Underground: telnet hermes.merit.edu or telent 35.1.48.150), to check natural disasters that are happening, to get updated on ecology, and to do comparison shopping of staple food items of our global village. The at risk students also need to have the experiences of art and P.E. Telecommunications will provide exposure to ASCII Art which will provide humor, creativity, and positive self-expression. the P.E. experience will include building manipulative dexterity, improving left and right brained crossover activities, and eye/hand coordination. Conclusion The use of telecommunications by at risk students will help them to change from being possible dropouts to becoming positive, enthusiastic members of society. By including telecommunications within the education of at risk students, we are adding to their education, the goals that SCANS demands for productive members of society. The addresses given were current at the time of writing, but could change in the future. Teachers need to use their own experiences to explore other sites and develop other uses of telecommunications. They need to expand the suggestions above to teach students in a new way which is exciting to both the teacher and students. References Drucker, P.F., (1992). Performance, accountability, and results. The American School Board, March. A4-A11. Frymier, J.R., (1989). The phi delta kappa study of students at risk. Phi Delta Kappan, October. 142-146. Gross, B. (1990). Here dropouts drop in and stay! Phi Beta Kappan. April. 625-627. Kagan, D.M., (1990). How schools alienate students at risk: a model for examining proximal classroom variables. Educational Psychologist, Vol.25, 2: 105-125. Kagan, D.M., (1988) How do teacher define students at risk? The Clearning House / AEIS / ASU. Vol.61, 7: 320-324. Mailing address Arizona Educational Information System Bureau of Educational Research and Services Tempe College of Education Arizona Stat University Tempe, AZ 85287-2611 U.S. Government Department of Labor. (1991). What work requires of schools / a scans report for america 2000. U.S.Government Printing Office. Telephone 1-800-788-SKILL for a free publication. TELECOMMUNICATIONS: YEAR ONE...a BEGINNING by Arlene Haynes and Karen Spellman Telecomputing began at Oak Valley School as a result of receiving a classic Macintosh from a school community promotion in partnership with a local adopt-a-school partner. The capabilities of the computer were quite limited and little appropriate software was available to meet the needs of the students. In addition, the staff was not familiar with the Macintosh and would need training. Utilizing the site-based management budget monies, the necessary hardware was ordered to make the low functioning Classic Macintosh into a 21st century telecommunication center for our school of 290 students. Thus the be- ginnings of telecomputing at Oak Valley School. Knowing that the equipment would be in the building and in place some- time during the first semester of the school year, plans were needed for the training and implementation of this system. The principal and a second teacher decided to take a course and learn more in-depth about telecommunication. As a result of the university course, the train- ing, and research that was done, the implementation of telecomputing became a reality through the following projects. The second graders began preparing early in the school year for tele- communications. They became familiar with the keyboard and a few basic programs. It did not take long for the children to become comfortable using the computer every day to practice and extend the skills they were learning. Portable, battery-operated keyboards were used to familiarize the children with the keyboard. The use of these keyboards allowed the students to practice locating the main keys with- out monopolizing the computer for keyboard instruction. The computer itself remained available for work on assigned programs. The children quickly learned the location of the keys needed to type their names and to run a basic program. Practice on these keyboards was assigned to the students as a learning center activity. After the students had a chance to become familiar with the keyboard, the concept of telecommunications via a computer was introduced. A public domain program, KidMail, simulated an actual telecommunications situation. This simulated program required account names and pass- words. Another class of second graders became involved. Partners were assigned and the children began corresponding. Each child typed their own letters, with some help from the teacher. The letters were short reflecting their age and writing ability. Instead of sending these messages over the phone lines, the disks were exchanged by hand (sneaker mail as it is called) and the children read their partners letters and responded. This correspondence continued for several months. As a culminating activity, a sixth grade teacher, second grade teacher and principal began collaborating on how the students could write and answer "Dear Santa" letters using KidMail. The project was well re- ceived by the sixth graders. The second grade students were thrilled that their letters were answered via the computer. Santa has gone hi-tech! The sixth graders expanded their knowledge and expertise of telecom- munications through instruction by the principal and sixth grade teacher. A compatible telecomputing program was installed which al- lowed the students to correspond with a local magnet classroom. An ex- change of mail between the schools began. Through the use of telecommunications a group called Kids-92 was discovered. This listserv group enabled the second graders to lo- cate a fourth grade classroom in Juneau, Alaska who wished to corre- spond via EMail. This correspondence was conducted as a class project. Group letters, rather than individual messages, were preferred, espe- cially when working with primary children. With the EMail penpals in Juneau, the children compared weather conditions, averaged the growth of daylight as the seasons changed, offered suggestions for a problem with bears on the school playground, measured distances, shared cre- ative writing, compared local grocery store prices, learned of local traditions such as the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, and shared experiences about a field trip to a local rain forest. The children were always anxious to receive a new message and were eager to respond. The benefits of this type of correspondence are limitless. The study of Alaska became real to the students. They actually learned about the people and the land in a meaningful way. The second graders have learned more about Alaska than they ever could from a textbook. They have conversed with real people and have discussed real situations. They have been doing projects with a real purpose and have been very excited about sharing their work with their new friends. Our world is indeed becoming smaller and the students are realizing the benefits from sharing knowledge and ideas with others. Another project has been the exploration of SpaceMet, an FTP site. Ex- citing lesson plans and activities for a space exploration unit have been found. The class of sixth graders used some of the information when studying about rockets. The sixth grade teacher has been intro- duced to a wealth of complete lesson plans available to educators. These lesson plans can be utilized at all grade levels. These files have been accessed and downloaded so they maybe presented to the staff for infusion into the science units. A final project involved work with a small group of gifted and talented students. These students were highly motivated and extremely eager to undertake this challenging task. This project involved the use of a telnet site called Cleveland Freenet. (Telnet 129.2.8.75 or 129.22.8.786 or 129.22.8.82) This telnet site offered a plethora of knowledge. The challenge for the students involved being able to make decisions concerning how to locate the desired information. A scaven- ger hunt activity designed by Sue Anderson, an assistant professor at Texas Christian University. (ag941@Cleveland.freenet.edu) was used. The scavenger hunt was modified to make it appropriate for the interest and abilities of the students. Eight students were divided into two teams. Each team was given five questions and timed to see how long it took to locate the answers. The teams worked on identical questions, but on different days since there was only one dedicated phone line for computers. The students were astounded by the information available. When the time came to return to the classrooms, they begged for time to do more research! One team required thirty-three minutes to locate the answers, while the other team completed the assignment in twenty-five minutes. It was interesting to listen to their reasoning concerning the choice of submenus. The children learned not only facts, but more importantly they learned how to locate answers quickly and efficiently. As we move into the Information Age, the ability to locate, analyze, and use information will be invaluable. The telecomputing activities were truly an experience in probing the future for the students and adults involved. After all, the future is where we will be spending the remainder of our lives! Arlene Haynes wins % "AHaynes @ odin.unomaha.edu Karen Spellman wins % "KSpellman @ odin.unomaha.edu A SNIGLET!! A WHAT?? A SNIGLET!! by Nancy Paben Have you ever wondered how a language develops? Well I have and I thought it would be a wonderful project for the students to investigate. Just in talking with my own children, who are now in their teens, I will be snickered at because of some outdated use of our language. They may even ask me to interpret, like I was speaking a foreign language. GEE WHIZ!! There are several different avenues one could take the students down in this venture. Interviews with grandparents, parents, and other teachers could give them a list of words and phrases that have changed meaning and possibly even become extinct. Another avenue would take the students to a large library where they could browse through some really "old" literature to add to the list of "outdated" words and phrases. Yet another group will wander down Report Lane and write on how the English language originated. Did it start at the Tower of Babel? What's its history? The project would come to life if several classes around the country would connect through E-mail. As an interested teacher you could telnet to the Cleveland Freenet. This tel- net site can be accessed from: telnet freenet-in- a.cwru.edu or telnet 129.22.8.44. Once at the Main Menu select the Arts Building. Now that you are in the Arts Building you will choose Literary Arts from the menu. Read about the area and then choose the appropriate Bulletin Board for your age students. (This area may also be accessed under Academy One, Kid-Lit menu.) Exchanging funny phrases and word meanings over the Bulletin Boards would keep the students excited and more than likely entertained. The grand finale will be the SNIGLET PROJECT. These are words that appear to be words but are not found in the dictionary--yet. Examples: an informary - The place where you keep the piles of stuff that you have accumulated while down-loading files off your computer. a snipit - an "R" rated sniglet. How to implement. This will more than likely be a 4 - 6 week project. You will want to make sure that you have enough time to complete it. Recruit at least one other class to collaborate with through telecommunications. Once this is done you need to break up into teams or units each with a different assignment. Team one - - interviews. Team two - - browse through "old" literature. Team three - - brainstorm for ideas on why words change meaning and where new words come from. Team four - - a report on the history of the English Language. At least once a week the classes need to get on line and share some of the interesting items they have discovered and chuckle together. The age of the students will determine the level of telecommunications involvment. Older students would be able to use nationwide library searches in their reports, etc. Once all team assignments have been completed the information would need to be compiled and put into a unified report. The instructors involved could best determine how to do this. This report will be so enlightening that the participants will want to place it in one of the Journal sections back at the Cleveland Freenet. Now for the icing on the cake. Make up your own SNIGLETS. Have each class come up with say ten to twenty sniglets (words that look like words but are not found in the dictionary - - yet!) These will be exchanged with the other participating classes. If the students have a definition in mind do not pass this along, as part of the fun will be to see what the other class thinks the meaning is. My guess is that your meanings for the words will not even come close to what the other students come up with. You will be doing the same with the SNIGLETS you are given. Be sure to end with the TOP 10 list and post them for others to see and "use". Now wait and see if any of these SNIGLETS show up in a dictionary 20 years from now!! ELEMENTAL SEARCHES by Cece Schwennsen Every year I get a new group of chemistry students. At first, these students feel that they have no use for chemistry in their daily lives. They believe that there has been no new information gathered on elements and chemical bonding since before their parents were born. I have tried in the past to have them do a library search on an assigned element. One of the questions I ask them to answer is: What is a common and/or interesting use for your element? Invariably , one generally overachieving student discovers the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. I end up ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ with 92 paragraphs paraphrased from this resource. Not only is that boring to read but it is perpetuating the notion that chemistry is unchanging. What would it be like for them to talk to a chemist? To find research on new findings? To discover the wonders of telecommunication while doing some investigation work? With the help of the computer teacher in the school I plan to provide just that experience. BACKGROUND RTRAININGS Using several resources on the Internet, students will do on-line searches to include but not be limited to following appropriate Newsgroups, telneting to sites where they can obtain information, and emailing contacts I have gained on the Net. Once they have what they consider to be comprehensive information on their assigned element, they will transfer thatknowledge to a card or cards in a Hypercard stack. These cards may be rearranged to present the material in any order I like. Before we begin the students will need some background on: 1. How to access the Internet resources. 2. Appropriate *behavior* (students forget that they are talking to professionals). 3. Types of information that should be included. 4. Basics on designing a card. To introduce the students to the Internet we will have a class scavenger hunt. Working in teams, the students will search for information given clues and instructions. (This hunt will include mostly Telnet sites.) This will take a day or two. It should be designed to be short, fun and interesting. THE TASK Once students are familiar with the Internet, they will be assigned an element to research. (Because of the limited number of phone lines, each student will be given a limited amount of time in class to do this.) The sites they will search include: Telnet and FTP sites (access address listed): Archie (archie.unl.edu) (archie.rutgers.edu) (quiche.cs.mcgill.ca) User name: archie Terminal type: vt100 Services (wugate.wustl.edu) (128.252.120.1) Login: services MacSciTech (ra.nrl.navy.mil) (ftp) (128.60.0.21) Login: anonymous Science Education Archives (ftp) (Bio.Indiana.Edu) (129.79.224.25) Login: anonymous Newsgroups (follow postings): K.12 Science Education Chemed-L Science Education K.12sci.chem Email resources (access through email addresses will be given in class): University of Wisconsin University of Ontario SAIS-L BIOPI-L CHEMED-L Chemistry Students are asked to include basic information on the card(s) like: atomic weight, density, reactivity, general characteristics and a brief description. They are also requested to include uses the element has in their daily lives and some information or discovery about their element that has occurred recently. After students have gathered the information, they will create one card in a Hypercard stack. The class will only receive basic training on writing and building a Hypercard stack. (Some students are more knowledgeable about Hypercard than others and may include graphics and interface with our Periodic Table laserdisc. Others may have text only.) The only assessment I will make is whether or not they have worked up to their respective abilities. I will use the stack to present the class information on the periodic table, as the cards can be arranged in numeric order or realigned to demonstrate periodicity with relative ease. OTHER APPLICATIONS Although this is topic specific, many of the same sites can be used for a variety of subjects. With a small amount of modification, the plan can be used for students to research endangered species in my Zoology course. Using the same idea but different sites this would be a way for social studies teachers to keep up with the political and geographic changes in Africa and Europe. (When a card is outdated it can be thrown away and replaced with current information.) Students enjoy interacting with others across the Net and most finished products exceed my expectations. UPDATING INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY by Joan Miller Computer Science, as most of you know, is an exciting, everchanging field of study. One of the most challenging parts of being a computer science teacher is keeping informed of new technological breakthroughs, and in turn, relaying these findings to the students in the classroom. In the past, I have made an attempt to keep students abreast of new knowledge by dedicating part of every other Friday to the sharing of "new technologies." The students were required to bring in an article from a magazine, book or newspaper and report their findings to the class. The class then discussed the technology, and how it may affect them. Next year, I plan to update this part of the Introduction to Computer Science curriculum through the use of a Bulletin Board System, Internet sites, file transferring, newsgroups, a scanner and mail messages. In the following article, I will discuss how I plan to infuse this into a first semester high school computer science classroom. THE HEART OF THE SYSTEM-- THE BULLETIN BOARD The Bulletin Board will contain two sections: a message section and a file section. The message section will be an open forum for discussion among class members about the information they have found. The second section of the Bulletin Board will be used for storage of files. The file portion will contain graphics as well as text files. The text files will include articles that have been found on the Internet, in Newsgroups, FTP sites or scanned in from print. The Bulletin Board will be on twenty-four hours a day. Those students who have access to modems at home will be able to access the board any time they choose. Members of the class who do not own a modem, will complete their work during school time. Although Bulletin Board maintenance can be done by the instructor, I recommend selecting two or three students to oversee these duties. These students will be known as the System Operators or SYSOPS. Training should be given to these students on how to maintain the board. As the semester progresses, these students will be responsible for showing other students how to run the board. By the end of the semester, each student in the class should have had the opportunity to act as the SYSOP of the board for at least one week. SET UP REQUIREMENTS Hardware-- Computer with Hard Drive-- (to run the Bulletin Board) Phone Line(s) Modem(s) Software-- Bulletin Board Shareware Telecommunications Software File Decompression Shareware (Optional) WHAT WILL THE STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW Every student in the class will be given a one week mini course on how to use the Bulletin Board, scanner, newsgroups and selected Internet Sites. The curriculum time invested in this week of instruction, will pay off over the semester, as the students will be using it on a daily basis. As the students' abilities with telecommunications increases, additional Internet and FTP sites can be introduced. Although many Internet sites, FTP sites and newsgroups may contain information about recent technologies in the computer industry, the sites and groups mentioned below are excellent sources of information. Information in newsgroups is the most easily accessible source of information for new telecommuters. At the beginning of the semester, the students will read the postings in the newsgroup of their choice, and write short summaries of their findings. The summaries will be stored in the file section of the BBS. As the semester progresses, additional instruction may be provided to the students on how to download the postings from the newsgroup, and transfer them directly to the BBS. There are hundreds of suitable newsgroups that are available. Below are listed some of the groups I plan to use in my classroom. POSSIBLE NEWSGROUPS acm.forum.macintosh comp.compilers comp.patents comp.robotics comp.research.japan news.software.anu-news The first Internet site I plan to use in the classroom, is the SERVICES site. SERVICES is one of the largest and easiest telnet sites to use. Through SERVICES, nearly one hundred other sites may be accessed through the use of a menu system. Although most of the sites in SERVICES are not strictly computer related, updates in technology may be found through careful searching. After the students are comfortable using the menu system in SERVICES to access other telnet sites, they may begin telneting directly to the sites of their choice. A couple of sites, along with SERVICES, I would recommend are listed below with their Internet address, and a brief discription of what is stored at that location. SITE NAME INTERNET ADDRESS WHAT TO EXPECT ISAAC isaac.engr.washington.edu Provides information about IBM computer technology. MicroMUSE michael.al.mit.edu Provides a 24th century Science Fiction Environment students can communicate in. SERVICES wugate.wustl.edu Provides access to a menu system from which other sites can be accessed. STIS stis.nsf.gov Provides access to National Science Foundation Publications. UNCOVER uncover.carl.org Provides article summaries from 10,000 journals. The third source of online information can come from FTP sites. FTP sites are the most difficult, yet most rewarding sites to use. The downloading and decompression of files can be a confusing process to experienced computer users let alone high school students. I would recommend using FTP sites only after the students have had lots of success with telneting. Below are listed three FTP sites, their addresses, and a short description of the type of information they may contain. SITE NAME INTERNET ADDRESS WHAT TO EXPECT Computers and fftp.eff.org General information Academic Freedom (then: cd pub/academic) about computers Archive Macintosh Software sumex-aim.stanford.edu Macintosh software. (then: cd info-mac) Washington U. Public wuarchive.wustl.edu Collection of freeware Domain Archives and shareware for various computers. PARTING THOUGHTS The destiny of computers in education has not been set. We as educators have a responsibility to provide students with the types of computer experiences that will make them computer literate members of the 21st century. I feel the use of a BBS in a high school classroom is one small step in the right direction. INFUSE YOUR SCHOOL WITH THE CLEVELAND FREENET by Nancy Lyman Library/Media Specialist Platteview Central Junior High Since teachers in my school seemed too busy "winding up the year" with their curriculum but interested in telecommunications, I decided to try and whet the appetites of those who showed interest. Even though they were busy I thought if I started a project for them and let them see it, some would like to try this new method of learning. To start at a very basic level and build up a program is the key to getting people started in telecomputing. If teachers new to this kind of communication wanted to try any of these projects, they would need to acquire an account on a computer that has Internet access. These accounts are most frequently available through a University, a registered educational service center or if they belong to a large school district. Upon acquiring an account, the teachers would type at the prompt Telnet> c freenet-in-a.cwru.edu or try c freenet-in-b.cwru.edu or try c 129.22.8.82 Teachers can enter as a visitor to browse for 1 hour or set up a permanent account by registering. It is strongly suggested that users not register unless they plan to use CFN frequently. NPTN Student News Network The reading department is the most closely linked to the media center in their activities in my school. I work well with the teacher. She is very creative and we share a love of innovative projects. She assists the students in making a school newspaper each quarter and expressed interest in the NPTN Student News Network under Academy One of the Cleveland Freenet. I plan to submit their last paper on the freenet with her permission and see what kind of feedback we get. When we see just exactly what this entails, we can make more definite plans as to how to use this. It will be interesting to show the students when they return over the summer. EMail and KID-LIT The English department is a very friendly and risk-taking group. E-mail would be a very logical place to start. Since it would be more interesting to converse with students from another country, we could establish groups with a Great Britain contact I made over the Freenet thru my own email. This may be exciting to contact another country, but I would have to monitor how long my answers come from him this summer before I would attempt this in the fall. Once comfortable with telecommunications commands, I would have them begin KID-LIT on Academy One of the Cleveland Freenet. The seventh graders produce a booklet of stories, poems and written science experiments, they have done during the first quarter. Classes could decide which stories should be sent or each one could be sent. I plan to try sending a few from this spring's booklet to KID-LIT over the summer so I can show the English teachers what happens in this group when entries are submitted. One of the teachers helped me pick four to send so I know she's interested. Later we could co-write stories with a middle school in Texas I have contacted thru E-mail on the Cleveland Freenet. Scavenger Hunt using CFN The seventh grade math department has been teaching students how to log on to a site using the modem. Using their problem solving skills, I would like to use a modified program of a scavenger hunt on the Cleveland Freenet I searched in my college telecommunications class. I would add some questions so each group of four could have three questions for which to look. At the end they could share their data and devise a new scavenger hunt for the group next year. ListServ, WX-TALK and Weather Underground on CFN The science department loves to gather data and do group-drawn graphics. With the way our weather changes in Nebraska, their charts could be very dramatic. They could use information from the listserv, WX-TALK. The address from email at the To: would be LISTSERV@UIUCVMD. I would subscribe to this and could download the information for them to use. We could also use Weather Underground in the Government section of The Cleveland Freenet. They could spend about a week gathering the data before charting their findings. I would teach one of my student library aides, how to download this information in the morning as one of their daily duties. It would be fun as an ongoing project to get seasonal and climatic comparisons from the Great Britain penpals. KIDS-INTERNATIONAL on CFN A language link would be an easy link to incorporate by using KIDS- INTERNATIONAL from Academy One of the Cleveland Freenet. Each quarter, the students do reports on topics such as holidays, foods, sports, favorite places, and other aspects of life. This is the kind of information exchanged in this group. Since I'm not sure of the teachers receptiveness, I would leave this until last so that the interest generated from other classes would draw the teacher. CONCLUSION Even though no single department knows each part of telecomputing, as they discuss their experiences over lunch different ways of using material might be generated. Those with no experience will want to be included in the excitement. The students will talk about what they are doing. All will want to see what new things can be done thru the modem. Currently we only have one phone line connected to a modem and the board office does not support the cost of any more lines. Once this ball of telecommunications gets rolling, we will be able to more than justify the need for the extra lines and modems. BIBLIOGRAPHY "Academy One: A Natinal Online Educational Community," Telecommunications in Education News," II, 2 (Spring, 1991) 9-11. Anderson, S.E. [The Cleveland freenet scavenger hunt]. Unpublished electronic document. 1991. Roberts, N, Blakeskee, G., Brown, M., & Lenk, C."Integrating Telecommunications into education". Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. SCAVENGER HUNT FOR INFUSION PROJECT by Nancy Lyman adapted from Sue Anderson's hunt On-line Scavenger hunt on the Cleveland FreeNet At the YOUR CHOICE ===> give number commands or letter commands. For example, p go back to previous menu h help q leave this menu x exit from CFN Each "hunt" question has one word that is a hint about the answer to the question. The word is *starred* in the sentence. 1. What is the first line of the Koran? (hint: Where can I *find information electronically*?) 2. What is the name of the drummer from the *musical* group "Genesis" and what is he doing today? 3. Give me a rule of puppy training? (hint: What expert will answer your *question*?) 4. How much did Mozart charge for his Requiem? It is a *music* piece and considered in the *art* section. 5. Where would you look for a new law about grandparents in our *government*? 6. What is the name of the virus that causes *Feline* Leukemia? Is it contagious? 7. What is the weather like today on the West Coast, especially Los Angeles? (hint: Check in *government) 8. Where can I get a recipe for Peanut Butter Pie? I want one that will be a culinary *art*. 9. In what year was Christopher Columbus born? How old was he when he died? (hint: He discovered America: the land of the *free*.) (extra clue if needed: Info in the *library*) 10. How many calories in 1 French artichoke? (hint: any mention of *food* makes me hungry) 11. What is the phone number for President George Bush? (hint: he works for the *government*.) 12. What is the name of a test used to diagnose HIV (the viral organism that causes the malfunction of the immune system in *AIDS*)? 13. How long is the Atlantic Ocean coastline? (hint: find a book in the *library*) VERY DIFFICULT!!! 14. What is today's news message on energy prices? (hint: Energy is taught in eighth grade *science*) 15. Name the dangerous flea spray for your pet? (hint: Your *animal clinic* can give you some answers.) 16. What is the cost of addmission to the Museum of *Natural History*? (hint: Lots of neat *science* stuff here) 17. What year did Eric the Red colonize Greenland? (hint: You need some *information* from Academy One) 18. Tell me the first *headline* of yesterday's news? 19. What is the first question seen in space by *NASA*? 20. What is the telephone number for the central office of Alcoholics Anonymous in your area? (hint: This is a *community* service) 21. Would you be considered a solid waste criminal if you threw some away? (hint: You would not be a friend to the *science* environment) 22. What is the remedy if your pet eats antifreeze ? (hint: Question your *veterinarian*) 23. You get to go with dad on his *business trip* to Anaheim CA. There's a place to visit with a famous ship. Name the ship. 24. Will X-raying a recorded *music* video tape affect it? 25. Who made the news as the first american woman to fly in *space*? ====> NUMBER 20 USED AT THE JUNIOR HIGH LEVEL MAY RAISE ANOTHER QUESTION. ONE SUBHEADING LISTED IN THE QUESTION AREA COULD POSSIBLY BE CHALLENGED IN MY RURAL COMMUNITY.