Internet and Instruction

Pageiii

TheInternetandInstructionActivitiesandIdeasSecondEdition

AnnE.Barron

UniversityofSouthFlorida,Tampa

KarenS.Ivers

CaliforniaStateUniversity,Fullerton

Pageiv

Forourparents:DelwinandFrancesBorhartformylifetimeinvestmentineducation,JohnandBettyIversformycreativity,strength,andwilltosucceed.

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Pagev

Contents

Preface xi

1TheInternet:AnEducator'sPerspective

1

GuidelinesforUsingtheInternetintheClassroom 2

BenefitsofUsingtheInternet 2

BenefitsforStudents7 2

BenefitsforTeachers 5

BenefitsforMediaSpecialists 5

BenefitsforAdministrators 6

BenefitsfortheCommunity 6

Conclusion 7

References 7

2GettingStartedwiththeInternet

9

GettingConnected 11

InternetServiceProviders 11

DialUpConnections 11

DirectConnectionsThroughLocalAreaNetworks 14

AllAboutBandwidth 16

ISDN 16

T1andT3Lines 16

ADSLModems 17

CableModems 17

SatelliteDelivery 18

WebTV 18

Conclusion 19

References 19

3NavigatingtheInternet

21

ElectronicMail 22

UsingEmail 22

EmailSystems 23

CreatingEmailMessages 23

Listservs 24

EducationalListservs 26

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WorldWideWeb(Web) 27

UniformResourceLocators 28

Browsers 28

CreatingDocumentsontheWeb 30

FindingaWebServerforYourSchool 30

MultimediaontheWeb 31

FileTransferProtocol 31

DownloadingFiles 31

UploadingFiles 31

Conferencing 32

InternetChat 32

AudioConferencing 33

VideoConferencing 33

Conclusion 33

BlacklineMasters 34

4InternetActivitiesforStudents:CommunicationandResearch

37

AsynchronousCommunications 38

ElectronicPenPals 38

ElectronicTutoringandMentoring 39

AppearancesandImpersonations 39

CollaborativeStories 39

StudentGalleries 40

PublishingWebPages 40

SynchronousCommunication 40

IdeaExchanges 42

ForeignLanguagePractice 42

InteractiveMentoringorInstruction 42

Research 42

ThingstoConsiderBeforeGoingOnline 42

TheInternetResearchCycle 43

InformationSkills 44

ResearchLevels 45

SearchingtheWeb 47

SubjectDirectories 47

SearchEngines 47

SearchTechniques 49

SearchEnginesforChildren 49

MetasearchEngines 49

Conclusion 49

References 49

BlacklineMasters 51

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5TeachinginaClassroomWithoutWalls:StrategiesandResources

57

ImplementationTechniques 58

ClassroomManagement:GroupingStudents 60

IndividualProjects 60

SmallGroupProjects 61

WholeClassProjects 61

FindingCollaborativeProjects 63

Listservs 63

OnlineConferencesandDiscussionGroups 63

WebSitesDevotedtoOnlineProjects 63

GuidelinesforSuccessfulOnlineProjects 65

FindingLessonPlans 66

SubscriptionBasedInstructionalResources 66

Conclusion 66

References 69

6ScienceResourcesandActivities

71

Astronomy 72

AdditionalSitesforAstronomy 74

BugsandWorms 75

AdditionalSitesforBugsandWorms 77

EnvironmentalScience 78

AdditionalSitesforEnvironmentalScience 81

GeologyandPaleontology 82

AdditionalSitesforGeologyandPaleontology 83

Health 83

AdditionalSitesforHealth 86

Meteorology 87

AdditionalSitesforMeteorology 89

OtherAnimals 90

AdditionalSitesforOtherAnimals 92

GeneralScienceResourcesontheWeb 93

OnlineMagazinesandNewsletters 93

OtherSites 93

EmailExchanges 95

ScienceActivities 97

ScienceLessonPlans 101

7MathematicsResourcesandActivities

105

AlgebraandCalculus 106

AdditionalSitesforAlgebraandCalculus 107

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BasicSkillsandVocabulary 108

AdditionalSitesforBasicSkillsandVocabulary 110

DecimalsandFractions 111

AdditionalSitesforDecimalsandFractions 112

MeasurementandGeometry 113

AdditionalSitesforMeasurementandGeometry 114

ProbabilityandStatistics 115

AdditionalSitesforProbabilityandStatistics 117

ProblemSolving 118

AdditionalSitesforProblemSolving 120

GeneralMathematicsResourcesontheWeb 121


OtherSites 121

EmailExchanges 125

MathematicsActivities 127

MathematicsLessonPlans 131

8LanguageArtsResourcesandActivities

135

Children'sAuthorsandBookCharacters 136

AdditionalSitesforChildren'sAuthorsandBookCharacters 139

CreativeWritingandPoetry 139

AdditionalSitesforCreativeWritingandPoetry 142

Folktales,Fables,andFairyTales 143

AdditionalSitesforFolktales,Fables,andFairyTales 146

GrammarandMoreWritingIdeas 146

AdditionalSitesforGrammarandMoreWritingIdeas 149

LiteratureClassics 150

AdditionalSitesforLiteratureClassics 152

ReadersTheatre,Storytelling,andDrama 153

AdditionalSitesforReadersTheatre,Storytelling,andDrama 154

WritingandReferenceTools 155

AdditionalSitesforWritingandReferenceTools 157

GeneralLanguageArtsResourcesontheWeb 158


OtherSites 158

EmailExchanges 162

LanguageArtsActivities 163

LanguageArtsLessonPlans 167

9SocialStudiesandGeographyResourcesandActivities

171

AncientCivilizations 172

AdditionalSitesforAncientCivilizations 175

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MulticulturalEducation 175

AdditionalSitesforMulticulturalEducation 178

U.S.Government 179

AdditionalSitesforU.S.Government 182

U.S.History 183

AdditionalSitesforU.S.History 186

WorldHistory 187

AdditionalSitesforWorldHistory 190

GeneralSocialStudiesandGeographyResourcesontheWeb 191


OtherSocialStudiesSites 191

EmailExchanges 196

SocialStudiesActivities 197

SocialStudiesLessonPlans 201

Art,Music,andTheaterResourcesandActivities 205

Animation 206

AdditionalSitesforAnimation 209

ArtandMusicHistory 210

AdditionalSitesforArtandMusicHistory 212

TheCinema 213

AdditionalSitesfortheCinema 216

Music 216

AdditionalSitesforMusic 218

PerformersandMusicoftheEarly1900s 219

AdditionalSitesforPerformersandMusicoftheEarly1900s 221

Theater 222

AdditionalSitesforTheater 224

GeneralArt,Music,andTheaterResourcesontheWeb 225


OtherArt,Music,andTheaterSites 226

EmailExchanges 228

Art,Music,andTheaterActivities 229

Art,Music,andTheaterLessonPlans 233

Index 237

IndexofInternetSites 241

Pagex

FiguresandTables

Figure2.1TheInternetconnectsusersaroundtheworld

10

Figure2.2Hardwareconfigurationforadialupconnection

11

Figure2.3ComputernetworkwithadirectconnectiontotheInternet

15

Figure2.4ISDNconnectiontotheInternet

16

Figure2.5SatelliteconnectiontotheInternet

18

Figure3.1Pineemailinterface

24

Figure3.2NetscapeMailinterface

25

Figure3.3Pathofmessagespostedtolistservs

26

Figure3.4Pathofmessagespostedtonewsgroups

27

Figure3.5Webpageforafictitioushighschool

28

Figure3.6AnatomyofaURL

29

Figure3.7HTMLcodeforaWebpage

30

Figure3.8UploadingafileusingFetch

32

Figure3.9Internetchatscreen

32

Figure4.1Communicationandresearchactivities

38

Figure4.2DDayinformationfromPatchAmericanHighSchool

41

Figure4.3Internetresearchcycle

44

Figure4.4SubjectdirectoriesinYahoo

48

Figure5.1IECCinterface

65

Table2.1ComparisonofTransferRatesandCostsforTelecommunications

17

Table3.1DomainsandCountryCodes

23

Table3.2SampleUniversalResourceLocators

29

Table4.1OnlineExperts

40

Table4.2WebSitesThatPublishStudentProjects

41

Table4.3FactorsRelatedtotheValidityofInternetInformationSources

43

Table4.4AddressesforSearchPrograms

48

Table4.5SearchToolsforStudents

50

Table4.6MetasearchTools

50

Table5.1LevelsofInternetSkills

59

Table5.2FilteringSoftware

59

Table5.3CooperativeLearningTechniques

62

Table5.4TeacherResourceSites

64

Table5.5SourcesofLessonPlans

67

Table5.6OnlineLessons

68

Table5.7EducationalNetworksAvailablebySubscription

69

Pagexi

Preface

Throughtelecommunications,thetypicalclassroomisnolongerboundbyfourwallsitisopentoincludestudents,experts,andlearningexperiencesfromaroundtheworld.Telecommunicationsischangingthewaystudentslearn,whentheylearn,wheretheylearn,andwhoteachesthem.Informationabouttelecommunications,theInternet,andtheWorldWideWebisappearingeverywhere.Thequantityofeducationalresourcesavailablethroughthesesourcesisoverwhelming,anditmaybedifficultforteachersandstudentstofindthetimetoexploretheseresourcesandintegratethemintotheircurricula.

ThesecondeditionofTheInternetandInstruction:ActivitiesandIdeasisdesignedforK12educatorswhoareinterestedintappingtheInternet(particularlytheWorldWideWeb)forinstructionalpurposes.Itseekstodemystifythetechnologyandproviderelevant,feasible,andeasytoimplementactivitiesandideasfortheclassroom.Thebookisdesignedforteachers,mediaspecialists,andadministratorswhoarecurrentlyemployedintheeducationalfield,aswellasforthosewhoareplanningacareerineducation.

Theoverallpurposeofthisbookistoimprovetheinstructionalprocessthroughtheappropriateintegrationoftelecommunications.ItaccomplishesthispurposebyprovidingbasicinformationaboutthebenefitsoftheInternetforteachers,students,mediaspecialists,andadministrators.Inadditiontoanoverviewofthehardware,software,andnavigationalissuesinvolvedintelecommunications,amajorfocusofthebookistheideas,activities,andlessonplansdesignedtoencourageexplorationandintegrationofInternetresourcesforinstruction.Althoughmanyoftheactivitiesareinterdisciplinary,theyarecategorizedintothefollowingmajorsubjectareas:ScienceMathematicsLanguageArtsSocialStudiesandArt,Theater,andMusic.

OrganizationandUse

TheInternetandInstruction:ActivitiesandIdeascanbeusedasaresourcebook,asaguideforinserviceeducation,orasatextbook.Asaresource,thisbookprovidesawealthofinformation.Eachchapterbeginswithascenarioilluminatingtheimplementationoftelecommunicationsinaneducationalsetting.Detailedgraphicsprovideconfigurationsandillustrationsofhardwareandsoftware,andreproducibleblacklinemastersareprovidedforactivitiesandlessonplans.Inaddition,thebookcontainsreferencestomanyeducationalInternetaddressesandadetailedindexforeasyaccesstospecifictopicsandinformation.

Thebookisalsodesignedforuseinconjunctionwithinservicetraining.Tofacilitateinserviceworkshops,eachchapterwaswrittentobeindependentoftheothers,althoughrelevanttopicsarecrossreferenced.Inaddition,severalchaptersincludecamerareadyactivitiesandlessonplansthatenhancethetopic.Theseactivitiesandlessonplansmaybecopiedanddistributedinaccordancewiththecopyrightstatementonpageiv.

Asatextbook,TheInternetandInstruction:ActivitiesandIdeasisappropriatefortechnologycoursesatboththeundergraduateandgraduatelevels.Throughoutthebook,emphasisisplacedontheeducationalapplicationsoftelecommunicationsandrelevantexamplesareincludedforteachertraining.Theactivitiesandlessonplansaredesignedtofocusonseverallevelsofresearchandcommunicationsskillsforavarietyofgradelevelsandcontentareas.

1TheInternet:AnEducator'sPerspective

Ms.RamirezwatchedasCindypinnedthepostcardfromNovaScotiaonthebulletinboard.ThepostcardhadbeensentbyastudentnamedJohn,whowroteaboutgoingicefishingandhunting.Afewweeksago,Ms.Ramirez'sthirdgradeclasshadbegunacollaborativeprojectthatinvolvedsendingpicturepostcardsto150elementaryclassesaroundtheworld.Now,astheresponsesarrived,thestudentspinnedthecardsonthebulletinboardandusedapieceofyarntoconnectthemtothecorrespondinglocationsonalargemap.

Ms.Ramirezmarveledathowthisrelativelysimpleprojecthelpedtomakeeducationmorerelevantandauthenticforthestudents.Theyhadenhancedtheircommunicationsskillswhentheysentthepostcards,andnow,aspostcardsarrived,theylearnedaboutgeographyandculture.Thisprojectwouldnothavebeenpossible,however,withouttheInternet.ItwasjustoveramonthagowhenMs.RamirezhadseentheCallforParticipantsonanemailexchange.TheprojectwascalledPostcardGeography,anditinvolvedteacherswhoexchangedaddressesviaemailsostudentscouldsendandreceiverealpicturepostcards.Itwasaperfectprojectforathirdgradeclasswithonlyonecomputer!

AsMs.RamirezreflectedaboutthisandotherInternetprojects,onethingwascleartheInternethadexpandedherclassroomandmadetheeducationalprocessmoreauthenticandexciting.HerclasshadparticipatedinseveralInternetprojects,includingGeoGame,theJasonProject,andJourneyNorth.

GeoGameinvolvedusingmaps,atlases,andotherresourcestodeterminethelocationofparticipatingschoolsbasedontheirlatitude,weather,andotherfactors.ThestudentsalsoenjoyedtheJasonProject,whichprovidedongoingdialogwithresearchersaroundtheworld.AndtheJourneyNorthprojectengagedstudentsintrackingbutterfliesandstudyinginsects'habitats.

Ms.RamirezhadwitnessedtremendousbenefitsfromusingtheInternet,andstudentslovedit!Shewasconvincedthattheactivitiesprovidedherstudentswithculturalawarenessandinformationgatheringskills.Theprojectshelpedmotivatestudentstowrite,challengedtheiranalyticalprocessesandcuriosity,andopenedtheirmindstothefactthatlearningwasnotconfinedtotheclassroom.

AsCindyreturnedtoherdesk,thediscussionabouticefishingbegan.ThiswascertainlyabetterwaytolearnaboutCanadathanreadingachapterinatextbook!

GuidelinesforUsingtheInternetintheClassroom.

TheInternetofferstremendouspotentialforeducation.Usedappropriately,itcanenhanceinstruction,stimulatethinking,andfacilitatecommunicationamongstudents,educators,scientists,researchers,andothersaroundtheworld.However,givenaspecificsituation,educatorsmustask,Istelecommunicationsthemostefficientandeffectivemediumtoreachtheinstructionalgoals?Itisaconstantchallengeforteacherstodifferentiatebetweenactivitiesthatprovidehighlevelcognitiveengagementandcontrivedactivitiesthatprovideonlyexposuretotechnology(Ross1995).Onewaytoensureatelecommunicationsexerciseisrelevantandmeaningfulinagivensituationistoask:

CanIteachthegoalsorconceptsofmylessonjustaseffectively(ormoreeffectively)throughanothermedium?

IsthereamoreefficientmethodforobtainingtheinformationIplantoobtainthroughtheInternet?

AmItakingadvantageofthedistance,multipleresources,andspeedofferedbytheInternet?

Willthisactivityincreasestudents'abilitytoconductinformationsearchesandretrieverelevantresources?

Willthisexerciserequirestudentstosynthesize,analyze,andevaluatetheinformation?

Inadditiontobeingappropriate,Internetactivitiesshouldbeinstructionallysignificantandsystematicallydesigned.Designisanimportantconsiderationwhenonlinetimeneedstobeoptimized,whentherearehardwareconstraints,orwhentimeofdayisasignificantfactor.ManyInternetsiteshavebusypeaksorperiodicallycloseformaintenance.Thisbookpresentsguidelines,templates,andideasforcapitalizingontheeducationalpotentialoftheInternet.ActivitiesarealsoincludedtohelpfamiliarizestudentsandteacherswiththeInternetresources.

BenefitsofUsingtheInternet

Beforeinvestingtime,money,andresourcesinanewtechnology,itiswisetoquestionthepotentialbenefits.Ineducationalenvironments,telecommunicationsusuallyreferstousingmodemsorcomputernetworks(liketheInternet)tosendandreceiveinformationthroughtelephonelinesordatalines.Advantagesofusingtelecommunicationsincludetheconvenienceofsendinginternationalmessagesatanytimeofthedayornighttheeliminationoftelephonetagtheabilitytosavemessagesthebenefitofsendingmessagestomanyreceiverssimultaneouslythereductionoflongdistancetelephonechargesandaccesstoenormousquantitiesoftext,computerprograms,andmultimediaresources(Barron1998).ResearchhasdemonstratedthattelecommunicationsspecificallytheInternetcanbenefiteducationinmanyways.

BenefitsforStudents

TheInternetcanprovidestudentswithnew,exciting,andchallengingresources.Itopensdoorstomulticulturaleducationestablishesrealworldlearningexperiencesencourageshigherorderthinkingskillshelpstoimprovewritingskillsandincreasesmotivation,achievement,andpositivebehavior.

SampleClassroomProjects

TheInternetofferstremendousopportunitiesforeducation.Teachersindistantlocationscanexchangeideasandinformation,andstudentscaninteractwithpeersandexpertsinvariouscultures,countries,andlanguages.Inaddition,internationalresources,includinggovernment,commercial,andeducationalsites,canbeaccessedquicklyandinexpensivelyfromschoolcomputers.ThissectionprovidesabriefoverviewofseveralongoingInternetprojectsthatarebeingimplementedinclassroomsaroundtheworld.

JourneyNorth

http://www.learner.org/jnorth

WiththeJourneyNorthproject,studentstrackmigratingbutterflies,caribou,whales,andotherspeciesthroughreportedsightings.JourneyNorthismorethanapassiveexhibit,withstudentssimplyviewingaWebpageinstead,theyareencouragedtobecomeactivelyinvolvedthroughvariousendeavors.IntheMonarchButterflyproject,studentsareencouragedtokeeparecordofthemonarchsightingsneartheirschool,tocalculatehowfarthebutterfliesmustflytoreachMexicoCity,tocreateapaperbutterflytosendtoMexicoCityfordisplay,andtobuildamonarchhabitatintheircommunity.

ManyteachersuseJourneyNorthprojectsasplatformstodiscussgeography,weather,instinct,andotherrelatedtopics.Challengequestions,providedontheWebpage,helpintegratetheprojectintothecurriculum.TheJourneyNorthprojectissponsoredbytheAnnenberg/CPBMathandScienceProject.

Seethehomepageformoreinformation([email protected]).

GeoGame

http://www.gsn.org/project/gg/index.html

TheGeographyGameisaverypopularInternetactivitydesignedbyTomClauset,WinstonSalem,NorthCarolina.Inthisproject,participatingclassesprovideinformationabouttheirlocation,includinglatitude,weather,geography,timezone,andpopulation.Afacilitatorshufflestheinformationandthenpresentsthedataasasetofclues.Studentsusemapsandotherreferencematerialstoidentifythecities.

GeoGamebeganseveralyearsagoasanemailactivity.NowitisavailableontheGlobalSchoolNetWebsite.Thisactivityhasbeenusedbymanyteacherstoteachgeographytermsandmapskillsandtoincreaseawarenessofculturaldiversity.

JasonProject

http://www.jason.org

TheJasonProjectprovidesinteractionstohelpstudentsexplorethefollowingquestions:Whataretheearth'sphysicalsystems?Howdothesesystemsaffectlifeonearth?Whattechnologiesdoweusetostudythesesystems?

ThroughinteractionswithresearchersledbyDr.RobertBallard,studentsreceivelivevideoandaudiofromexpeditionsitesaboveandbelowtheearth'ssurface.Inaddition,studentsareencouragedtoparticipateinlocalresearchstudieslocaterelevantinformationandexpandtheirknowledgeofgeology,chemistry,physics,mathematics,geography,art,literature,andhistory.

HeadboneDerby

http://www.headbone.com/derby

HeadboneDerbyprovidesstructuredInternetresearchadventuresforstudentsingrades48.EachDerbyisastorywithsevenepisodesandapuzzleattheend.Tosolvethepuzzle,studentsmustconductresearchontheWebandsubmittheiranswers.Eachpuzzletakesabout45minutestosolve.

HeadboneDerbyisafreeservice.Afteryouaccessthesite,thereisasignonprocess(forindividualsorteams),andthenthefunbegins!Studentsareencouragedtoconductthoughtfulsearches(speeddoesnotcount),askforhintsifneeded,andsubmitanswerstothequestions.Forteachers,thereareadvancepreviewsandateacher'sguidewithextensionactivitiesandrelatedofflineprojects.

MulticulturalEducation

ThedemographicsofU.S.societyaccentuatetheneedforunderstandingandtoleratingculturaldiversity.Banks(1994)states,teachingfromarangeofperspectiveswillpreparestudentsfromdiversegroupstoworktogetherinatrulyunifiednation(p.4).OnepowerfulbenefitoftheInternetisthatitoffersstudentsopportunitiestoexchangeideasandinteractwithstudentsfrombackgroundsdifferentfromtheirown.

TheInternetalsooffersstudentsopportunitiestoincreasetheirunderstandingandrespectforculturaldifferences(Gersh1994).Telecommunicationsremovesthefacetofacebiasesthatstudentsmayhaveormayencounterwheninteractingwithsomeoneofadifferentrace,age,gender,orabilitygroup.Itprovidesstudentswiththebenefitsofriskfreeexpression,greaterselfesteem,andincreasedselfconfidence(Collis1992).

RealWorldLearningExperiences

Kinnaman(1993,86)states,schoollearningismuchmoreusefulwhenitisgroundedinauthenticactivitiesthatemphasizethelinkbetweentheacquisitionofknowledgeanditsapplication.TheInternetprovidesstudentswithsuchactivitiesbyengagingthemininteractive,realworldcommunicationsanduptodateinformation.Whencomparedtotraditionalmethods,telecommunicationsoffersstudentsamorerealisticopportunitytobroadentheirperspectivesonglobalissues(U.S.Congress1995).

HigherOrderThinkingSkills

Oneofthemosthighlyratedincentivesforusingtelecommunicationswithstudentsisincreasingstudents'inquiryandanalyticalskills(HoneyandHenriquez1993).TheInternetprovidesanaturalsettingforinquiryskills,includingcollectinginformationforanalysisandcommunicatingwithexperts.

WritingSkills

Studieshavedemonstratedthattelecommunicationsexperiencescansignificantlyincreasethequalityofstudents'writing(CohenandRiel1989Wright1991GalliniandHelman1993).Inaddition,theactivitiescanprovidestudentswithpurposefulwritingexperiencesandcanincreasestudents'motivationtowriteandsharetheirknowledgeandexperienceswithpeers(AllenandThompson1994).TheInternetvastlyextendstheaudienceforstudentmultimediapublishing(D'Ignazio1997,23).

Motivation.

Recentresearchstudiesindicatethatcomputerbasedtelecommunicationscanpositivelyaffectstudentattitudesandmotivation.Forexample,intheevaluationofacollaborativeprojectbetweenstudentsinNewYorkstateandstudentsinMoscow,apositiveeffectwasnotedonstudentinterestininternationalissuesandcurrentevents(MAGIEducationalServices,Inc.1992).Likewise,Chiu(1996)foundthattenthgradestudentswhousednetworkresourcesinsciencedemonstratedsignificantlymorepositiveattitudestowardbothschoolandscience.

Achievement

Variousstudiesthathaveanalyzedstudentachievement(asmeasuredthroughprojects,interpretationskills,andknowledge)havenotedsignificantincreaseswithregardtotheintegrationoftelecommunications(Weir1992).AstudyconductedbytheCenterforAppliedSpecialTechnologycomparedtheworkof500studentsinfourthgradeandsixthgradeclassesinsevenurbanschooldistrictshalfwithonlineaccessandhalfwithout.Experimentalgroupswithonlineaccessattainedsignificantlyhigherscoresonmeasurementsofinformationmanagement,communication,andpresentationofideas(Follansbeeetal.1996).

PositiveStudentBehaviors

Inastudythatexaminedstudentparticipationinanelectronicdiscussiongroup,Karayan(1997)foundthatapproximately50%ofthestudentsweremorelikelytoexhibitdesiredbehaviorsasaresultofparticipatinginelectronic

discussions(p.71).Thepositivebehaviorsincluded:thinkmorebeforeanswering,developapositiverelationshipwiththeinstructor,learnclasscontent,andanswerpeeraskedandteacheraskedquestions.Inanotherstudy,Riel(1992)reviewedresearchontheuseofnetworkingforcollaborationandfoundevidenceofimprovedsocialskills.

BenefitsforTeachers

TheInternetprovidesteachersinstantaccesstoeducationalresearch,curriculumsources,lessonplans,onlineexperts,discussioncenters,andteacherforums.Thiswealthofinformationopensdoorsforcollaboration,encouragesalternateinstructionalstrategies,andenhancesthecurriculuminamannerthatbenefitsboththeteacherandthestudent.

TeacherCollaboration

AccordingtoHoneyandHenriquez(1993),teachersreporttheyhavegrownprofessionallybycollaboratingandcommunicatingwiththeirpeers.Forexample,electronicforumsandconferencesdesignedforteachersoffereducatorstheopportunitytodiscusscurrentissuesandtopics.Thesetopicsmayincludealternativeassessment,schoolbasedmanagement,technologytrends,andequityissues.TheInternetalsooffersopportunitiesforcontinuingeducationforteachers.

AlternateInstructionalStrategies

Telecommunicationsisbeginningtochangethewayteachersteach.HoneyandHenriquez(1993)report,conductingtelecommunicationsactivitieswithstudentsenablesteacherstospendmoretimewithindividualstudents,lesstimelecturingtothewholeclass,andallowsstudentstocarryoutmoreindependentwork(p.79).Similarly,Follansbeeetal.(1996)foundthatteacherswhointegratedtelecommunicationsintotheircurriculaweremorelikelytousecomputerswiththeirstudentstoenhanceachievementthroughgathering,organizing,andpresentinginformation.

EnhancedCurriculum

Telecommunicationsalsoinfluencesthecurriculum:Topicsareofamoreglobalsignificance...andapplyhigherlevelthinkingskillsofanalysisandsynthesis(HoneyandHenriquez1993,79).TheInternetprovidesaccesstoinformationthatwouldnototherwisebeavailableinclassrooms.Itisanidealtoolforinvestigativeactivitiesandcollaborativewritingprojects.TheInternetmakesitpossibletocollectglobaldataforanexperimentandtoelectronicallysharethedatawithstudentsandexpertsaroundtheworldmuchmoreefficientlythantraditionalmethods(Donlan1998).Inaddition,teachersandstudentshaveaccesstoatremendousamountandvarietyofresources,includingonlinedatabases,experts,dictionaries,encyclopedias,educationalsoftware,books,andjournals.

BenefitsforMediaSpecialists.

TheInternetcanprovidemediaspecialistswithaccesstodataresources,timelyinformation,andusefultoolsforteachingresearchskills.Enhancedcommunicationsreducegeographicalandemotionalisolationfromcolleagues.

DataResources

TheInternetoffersanabundanceofresources,includingonlinebooks,journals,searchabledatabases,surveys,polls,graphics,sounds,digitalmovies,andsoftware.Fortunately,informationacquisitioncanbeconductedelectronically,andtheresourcestakeuplittlestoragespace!LadnerandTillman(1993)notedthatusingtelecommunicationsisavastlymoreefficientwayoflocatinginformationthanothermethods(p.49).

TimelyInformation

TheInternetgivesmediaspecialistsaccesstouptodateinformationaboutcurrentissuesineducation.Onlinediscussionswithexpertsmakeitpossibletoreceivefirsthandinformation,answerstospecificquestions,andinputfromavarietyofperspectives.Inaddition,theInternet

allowsmanylibrariestolinktoasinglemastercatalogorcirculationsystem,enablingeducatorsandstudentstolocateresourcesoutsideoftheirownlibraries(Kline1994).

ToolsforTeachingResearchSkills

TheInternetisawonderfultoolforteachingresearchskills(Caputo1994).Studentscanpracticelocating,analyzing,andreportinginformationwithoutexpensiveconnectcharges.ManyoftheonlinesystemsalsofeaturekeywordandBooleansearches.Studieshaveshownasignificantincreaseinthevarietyofsourcesusedandcitedinstudentbibliographieswhenstudentsuseonlinesearching(Mancall1984Follansbeeetal.1996).

Collegiality

InasurveyconductedbyLadnerandTillman(1993,50),themajorreasonmediaspecialistsusedtheInternetwasthatitprovidedaconvenient,timely,nondisruptive,andinexpensivemechanismforcommunicationwiththeircolleaguesthroughouttheworld.Itcanhelptoreducetheisolationfeltbymanymediaspecialistsinruralorremoteschools.

BenefitsforAdministrators

Attheadministrativelevel,telecommunicationsoffersflexibilityandenhancesthepreparationanddeliveryofdocuments.Italsoprovidesanefficientandeffectivemethodforreceivinguptodateinformationandmaintainingexternalcontacts.

DocumentManagement

Telecommunicationsoffersoverallcostreduction,reducedpaperhandling,fastercommunications,improvedcommunicationeffectiveness,andintegrationofdatacommunicationwithrecordsmanagement(D'Souza1992,22).Inaddition,withfeweropportunitiesforhumanerrorintheelectronictransfers,documentstendtobemoreaccurate(PalmerandWei1993).Anotheradvantageofelectronicdatacommunicationistheabilitytotransmitinaninterchangeableformat.Forexample,aPCcanretrieveanddisplayinformationsentbyaMacintoshcomputerandviceversa.

CommunicationwithFacultyandCommunity.

Throughemailanddistributionlists,administratorscancommunicatewithallofthefacultymembersatthesametime.Forexample,itiseasytosendnoticesformeetings.Likewise,administratorscanquicklyandeasilyinteractwithcommunitymembers.

ExternalContacts

Telecommunicationsprovidesadministratorswithaccesstoimmediate,uptodateinformationabouteducationalresearch,conferences,andstateinitiatives.Inaddition,requestsforbusinesspartnerships,grants,andotherfundingmaybeinitiatedusingtheInternet(Cheely1995).Forexample,grantinformationisavailableonTeachNetathttp://www.teachnet.org.

BenefitsfortheCommunity

Telecommunicationsisanexcellentwaytoinvolvethecommunityinschoolissues,fundraisers,classprojects,specialevents,andvolunteeractivities.Itisalsoaviablemeansofcommunicatingwithlocalbusinessleaders,experts,andcommunityofficialswhoareaccessibleonline.Inaddition,manycommunitymembersmaywishtoparticipateinsomeoftheonlineinstructionalprogramsthataredesignedforK12students.

CommunicationwiththeSchool

Telecommunicationsoffersparentstheopportunitytobecomeinvolvedelectronicallywiththeirchildren'shomeworkassignments,anditoffersaforumforteacher/parentconferences(Golub1994).Itispossibleforparentstotouraschool,toviewstudentprojects,andtoconversewithteachersallonline.

StudentCommunityActivities

TheInternetmakesitpossibleforseniorcitizensandpeoplelackingmobilitytosharetheir

knowledgeandexperiencewithstudents.Manystudentsobtainvaluabletutoringfromseniorcitizensthroughonlinecommunication.

DistanceLearningOpportunities

VirtualhighschoolsandotherdistancelearninginitiativesproduceinstructionalprogramsaccessiblethroughtheInternet.Althoughtheseprogramsmaybedesignedprimarilyforhighschoolstudents,communitymembersmayalsobenefitbyenrollinginorauditingtheprograms.

Conclusion

Morethanadecadeago,Shea(1984)statedthatsomeindustrysourcespredicted,within10yearswe'llbetelecommunicatingalmostasregularlyaswenowuseatelephone(p.34).Inmanycases,thepredictionwasrightinfact,somepeopleusetelecommunicationsmorethantheyusethetelephone.

Theuseoftelecommunicationsisincreasingintoday'sschoolsanduniversities.Recentreportsnotethatroughly40percentofU.S.schoolshaveatleastonelinetotheInternet(Jacobson1997).Telephonecompanies,localcorporations,andgovernmentofficeshavetakenstepstoensurethattheuseoftelecommunicationswillbecomeintegraltoeducation.NetDay,aninitiativeinwhichschoolsworkwithlocalcorporateandcommunityvolunteerstowireschools,wasresponsibleforconnecting20percentofCalifornia'sclassrooms(Hickox1997)and75percentofConnecticut'sclassroomsinasingleday(Jacobson1996).

PresidentBillClintonandthefederalgovernmentarealsopromotingplanstoconnecteveryclassroomtotheInternetbytheyear2000(Riley1997).TheTelecommunicationsActof1996andaplanapprovedin1997bytheFederalCommunicationsCommissionresultedinerates:telephoneratesandotherchargesdiscountedupto90percentforschools.(SeetheU.S.DepartmentofEducationWebsiteathttp://www.ed.gov/andtheFederalCommunicationsCommissionsiteathttp://www.fcc.gov/learnet/formoreinformationaboutgovernmentinitiatives.)

Throughappropriateprojects,themultiplebenefitsoftelecommunicationswillberealizedbystudents,teachers,mediaspecialists,administrators,andthecommunity.Telecommunicationsandotherinformationtechnologiescanempowerpeopleofallages,bothinsideandoutsidetheclassroom,tolearnmoreeasily,enjoyably,andsuccessfullythaneverbefore(Gates1996,208).

References.

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Caputo,A.1994.Sevensecretsofsearching:Howandwhentochooseonline.MultiMediaSchools1(1):2933.

Cheely,C.1995.Search&seizure:Usingyourmodemtofindgrants.MultimediaSchools2(3):2228.

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Cohen,M.,andM.Riel.1989.Theeffectofdistantaudiencesonstudents'writing.AmericanEducationalResearchJournal26(2):14359.

Collis,B.1992.Supportingeducationalusesoftelecommunicationinthesecondaryschool:PartI.Anoverviewofexperiences.InternationalJournalofMedia19(1):2344.

D'Ignazio,F.1997.YoungauthorsathomeontheWeb.MultiMediaSchools4(3):2228.

Donlan,L.1998.Visionsofonlineprojects.MultiMediaSchools.5(1):2125.

D'Souza,P.V.1992.Electronicmailinacademicsettings:Amultipurposecommunicationstool.EducationalTechnology32(3):2225.

Follansbee,S.,N.Gilsdorf,S.Stahl,J.Dunfey,S.Cohen,B.Pisha,andB.Hughes.October1996.Theroleofonlinecommunicationsinschools:Anationalstudy.

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Gallini,J.K.,andN.Helman.1993.Audienceawarenessintechnologymediatedenvironments.PaperpresentedattheAnnualMeetingoftheAmericanEducationalResearchAssociation,Atlanta,Georgia.

Gates,B.1996.TheRoadAhead.NewYork:PenguinBooks.

Gersh,S.1994.Theglobaleducationtelecommunicationsnetwork:Criteriaforsuccessfulemailprojects.TelecommunicationsinEducationNews5(4):1011.

Golub,J.N.1994.Activitiesforaninteractiveclassroom.Urbana,IL:NationalCouncilofTeachersofEnglish.

Hickox,K.1997.5trendsyourjobdependson.ElectronicLearning16(4):3238.

Honey,M.,andA.Henriquez.1993.TelecommunicationsandK12education:Findingsfromanationalsurvey.NewYork:CenterforTechnologyinEducation,BankStreetCollegeofEducation.

Jacobson,S.1997.Stateeducationnetworksspread.ElectronicLearning16(6):8.

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Ladner,S.J.,andH.M.Tillman.1993.UsingtheInternetforreference.Online17(1):4551.

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2GettingStartedwiththeInternet

Forthepasttwoyears,Mr.CronbachhadbeenusingamodeminhisclassroomtoconnecttotheInternet.Herememberedhowexcitedhewastogetitupandrunning.AtfirstallofhisinteractionsontheInternetwerethroughemail(textbased),anditseemedlikeamiraclethathecouldconnectwithotherteachersandstudentsinfarawaycountries.Recently,however,hehadbecomeacquaintedwiththeWorldWideWebandreallylovedthegraphics,links,andmediaelementshewasabletoaccess.Therewasonlyoneproblemitwassooooslow!Sometimeswhenheclickedonalink,aminuteortwowouldgobybeforehecouldseetheWebpageonhisscreen.Thiswasdefinitelyineffectiveformiddleschoolstudentstherehadtobeabetterway!

Atthenextfacultymeeting,Mr.Cronbachmentionedhisfrustrationtotheotherteachers.Ms.Alpha,thetechnologyspecialist,respondedthatasolutionwasontheway.AtfirstMr.Cronbachthoughtshewastalkingaboutoneofthefastermodemshehadseenadvertised,butshesaidthesolutionwasevenbetterthanthat.TheschoolwasinstallingaLAN(localareanetwork)thatwouldconnectallofthecomputerstoacentralserver.That'snice,saidMr.Cronbach,butIwanttobeconnectedtotheInternet,notjustaserverinthisbuilding!

Ms.AlphawentontoexplainthatbyinstallingaLANandserver,alongwithdatalinesconnectingtheLANservertoanInternetserviceprovider,allofthecomputerscouldhavedirectaccesstotheInternet.Thatwouldmeanthatallofthecomputerscouldbeonlineatthesametime,andtheywouldnothavetoworryabouthavingaphonelineforeveryroom.Thatsoundsgood,saidMr.Cronbach,butitwillprobablybeevenslowerthanbeforewithallofthecomputerssharingonelinetotheInternet!Ms.Alphacalmlyexplainedthatalthoughtheywouldsharealine,

Figure2.1TheInternetconnectsusersaroundtheworld.

thelinewasmuch,muchfasterandhadmorebandwidth(capacity)thantheregulartelephoneline.Theeternalpessimist,Mr.Cronbachsaidhewouldbelieveitwhenhesawit.

Twomonthslater,theLANwasconnected,theInternetsoftwarewasinstalledoneachcomputer,andahighspeeddatalineconnectionwasestablished.Theteachers,includingMr.Cronbach,couldnotbelievethedifference.Filesandpagesthathadtaken10minutestotransfernowappearedonthescreeninamatterofseconds.Yes,thelinewasmoreexpensivefortheschooldistrict,butwiththespecialdiscountsforeducation,itwasaffordable.This,thoughtMr.Cronbach,isthewaytheInternetshouldoperate!Hecouldn'twaittosendhisstudentsexploringontheWebforprojectsandresources.

TheInternetisaworldwidecommunicationssystemthatisreferredtoasanetworkofnetworksbecauseitconnectsthousandsofcomputernetworksallovertheworld.Thebackbone,ormainpart,oftheInternetconsistsofdatalinesthatcantransmitcomputerinformationatextremelyhighspeeds.

TheU.S.portionofthebackbonewascreatedbythefederalgovernmentinthe1960sformilitaryandresearchpurposes.Inthe1980s,itwasupdatedbytheNationalScienceFoundation,andintheearly1990s,itwasexpandedtoallowcommercialuse.Sincethen,thenumberofpeopleusingtheInternethasincreaseddramatically,makingitacommoncommunicationtoolforschools,homes,andbusinesses.TheU.S.backbonenowconnectswithsatellitesanddatalinesinothercountriestoproviderapidexchangeofinformationallovertheworld.

ThroughtheInternet,ateacherwithamodematherhouseinOrlandocanconnecttoanInternetserviceproviderthatinturnconnectstotheInternet.Likewise,ateacheronacomputernetworkinJerusalemcanconnecttoanIsraeliserviceproviderthatconnectstotheInternet.Inthisway,theInternetprovidestheconduittotransferinformationfromthehomeinOrlandototheschoolinJerusalem(seefig.2.1).

TheinterstatehighwaysystemoftenservesasananalogyfortheInternet.Bothsystemsaredesignedforhighspeedtravel(ofcarsordata),andbothhaveamultitudeofinputsandoutputs(onrampsandofframps)toorfromsmallernetworksorroads.NeithertheInternetnorthecountry'ssystemofroadsiscontrolledorownedbyasingleentity,andbothofferavarietyofroutestogetfrompointAtopointB.Expandingonthisanalogy,thefeethatmustbepaidtotheInternetserviceproviderforaccesstotheInternetissimilartothetollrequiredtoentercertainhighways.Inasimilarsense,theInternethassomerestrictedareas(whereasubscriptionorpasswordisrequired),justassomegatedcommunitieshaveprivateroads.AmajordifferencebetweenthehighwaysystemandtheInternetisthattheInternetisglobal,whereastheinterstate

Figure2.2Hardwareconfigurationforadialupconnection.

highwaysystemisconstrainedbygeography(Barronetal.1997).

GettingConnected

InternetServiceProviders

InordertoconnecttotheInternet,youmusthaveanInternetserviceprovider(ISP).ThefunctionofanISPistoprovidetheconnection(onramp)forInternetaccess.ISPsmaintaincomputerserversandpayforhighspeedlinkstotheInternet24hoursaday.Yourserviceprovidermaybeaverylargecompanywithmanycomputers(suchasAmericaOnline),aneducationalagency(suchasauniversity),orasmalllocalcompany.

Inmanycases,educatorscanobtainaccesstotheInternetthroughastateorregionaleducationalorganization,suchastheFloridaInformationResourceNetwork(FIRN)ortheTexasEducationNetwork(TENET).IfyourstatedoesnotprovideaneducationalsystemwithInternetconnections,youmaybeabletoobtainInternetaccessthroughalocaluniversity,schooldistrict,orlibrary.AnotheroptionforInternetaccessistolocateaFreeNetinyourcommunity.AFreeNetisacomputernetworkthatisrunbyacommunityorganization,suchasacollegeorpubliclibrary.Thesenetworksusuallyofferavarietyofcommunitybasedservices,suchaslocaldatabases,classschedules,andpublicactivities.ManyFreeNetsalsoofferfullorpartialInternetaccessformembersatlittleornocost.

IfyoucannotlocateaneducationalsystemorFreeNetinyourarea,yourbestoptionmaybetojoinacommercialonlineservice,suchasAmericaOnlineorCompuServe.TheseonlineservicesofferaccesstotheInternet,aswellaselectronicdiscussionforums,publicdomainsoftware,onlinecatalogs,andotherresources.TherearealsomanynationalInternetproviders(whichmaybetelephoneorcablecompanies),suchasSprintLinkandWorldNet.Inaddition,thereisaproliferationoflocalserviceproviders.Mostoftheseproviderschargeabout$20permonthforunlimitedaccesstotheInternet(seehttp://www.celestin.com/pocia/foralistofISPs).

MostschoolshavetwooptionsforconnectingtotheISP'sserver:

Dialupconnectionswithamodemandaregulartelephoneline

Directconnectionsthroughlocalareanetworksandaleaseddataline

Eachoptionrequiresadifferentsoftwareandhardwareconfiguration.

DialUpConnections

EducatorscommonlyuseadialupconnectiontogainaccesstotheInternetbecausethehardwareandsoftwareareinexpensivetoobtainandmaintain.Thehardwarerequiredforadialupconnectionconsistsofacomputer,modem,andtelephoneline.Theseareusedtoconnecttoaremotecomputer(seefig.2.2).

AdvantagesofDialUpConnections

Freeorinexpensiveconnectioncharges.Manyuniversitiesoreducationalsystemsofferfreedialupconnectionsforschools.Dialupaccountswithcommercialservicescostabout$20permonth.

Inexpensivesoftware.Dialupconnectionsarerelativelyeasytomake.Sharewaretelecommunicationssoftwareisavailable,orthesoftwaremaybesuppliedbytheISP.

Inexpensivehardware.Aregulartelephonelinecanbeused,andnospecialarrangementsarerequiredwiththetelephonecompany.Modemsarerelativelyinexpensive,andeitherMacintoshorWindowscomputerswillworkfine.

DisadvantagesofDialUpConnections

Maygetbusysignals.Dialupconnectionsrequireamodematthereceivingendtoansweryourcall.Mostsystemshavealimitednumberofmodemstherefore,youmayhavetocompetefortimeonthesystem.ItcanbeveryfrustratingtoplanalessonaroundtheInternetandthenreceiveabusysignalwhenyoutrytodialin.

Slowerthanadirectconnection.Inmostcases,adialupconnectionisnotasfastasadirectconnectionthroughaleaseddataline.

Requiresafastmodem.Althougha14.4Kbpsmodemwillworkforadialupconnection,fastermodems(atleast28.8Kbps)speedthetransferofgraphics,files,andotherelements.

Computer

Acomputerandmonitorareessential.ItdoesnotmatterwhetheryouuseacomputerwiththeMacintosh,UNIX,Windows,orotheroperatingsystemallcancommunicatewitheachotherthroughtheInternet.IfyouplantosavealotoffilesandinformationfromtheInternet,alargeharddrivewillbenecessary.Inaddition,afastcomputerprocessorwillspeedaccessanddisplayoftheinformation.Finally,atleast8(preferably16or32)megabytes(MB)ofrandomaccessmemory(RAM)arerecommended.RAMservesasabuffertoacceptandholdontoinformationfromtheInternetwithoutsavingittotheharddiskifyouhaveinsufficientRAM,youwillnotbeabletoaccessordisplaythemanylargemultimediafilestheInternetoffers.

Modem

ModemstandsforMOdulate/DEModulateitisadevicethattranslates(modulates)computerdatatoaformthatcanbesentoverregulartelephonelines.Computerinformationisstoredindigitalform(bitsandbytes),butmosttelephonelinestransmitsoundinanalogform.Themodemtakesthedigitalcomputerinformationandchangesittoanalogformsoitcanbesentthroughthetelephonesystem.Amodematthereceivingenddemodulatestheanalogsignalbacktobitsandbytessothereceivingcomputercandisplayit.

Modemscanbeexternalperipherals,ortheycanbeinternalcomputercards.Externalmodemsusuallyincludesmalllightsthatindicatethestatusofthemodem,thatis,whetheritisreceivingorsendingdata.ExternalmodemsconnecttothebackofthecomputerthroughamodemportonMacintoshcomputersorthroughaCOM(communications)portonothertypesofcomputers.Atelephonelineconnectstothebackofthemodem.Insomecases,anoptionaltelephoneportisalsoavailableonthemodem.

Internalmodemsareinstalledinacomputer.Generally,theyarelessexpensivethanexternalmodems,andtheydonothavestatuslights.Anadvantageofinternalmodemsisthattheydonotrequireaseparatepowersourcetheyderivetheir

powerfromthecomputer.Thetelephonelineconnectsdirectlytothebackofthemodemcard.

Modemstransmitdataatvariousspeeds.Inthepast,modemsof2,400bitspersecond(bps)werecommon.Now,modemscapableof28,800bps(28.8Kilobitspersecond[Kbps])arecommon,andmodemsupto56Kbpsareavailable.Purchasethefastestmodemyoucanafford,becausefastmodemsdecreasethetimeittakestotransmitfiles.Beforepurchasingamodem,checkwithyourISPtofindoutwhatspeedmodemsarebeingused,becausetwomodemsofdifferentspeedswillcommunicateattheslowerspeed.

TelephoneLine.

Dialupconnectionsrequireatelephonelinethathooksintothemodem.(Atelephonehandsetisnotnecessary,justthetelephoneline.)IfyouareconnectingtoanISPfromhome,thesamelinethatisusedforyourtelephonecanbeusedforthemodem.Obtainingatelephonelineisoftenthemissinglinkforusingtelecommunicationsintheclassroom.Manyteachersfindthatenlistingtheaidoftheparentteacherorganizationorseekingassistancefromthelocaltelephonecompanycanbringtelephonelinesintotheclassroom.Ifallelsefails,youmayhavetosettleforonetelephonelineinthemediacenteroranothercentrallocationuntilyoucandemonstratethebenefitsoftelecommunicationsandgenerateenthusiasmamongstudents,faculty,parents,andadministrators.

Atschool,itisbesttohaveatelephonelinededicatedtotelecommunications.Thatmeansyouneedatelephonelinethatdoesnothavecallwaitingandisnotsharedbyseveralclassrooms.Ifthetelephonelineisnotdedicated,youmayrunintoproblemswithinterruptionsanddisconnections.Theseinterruptionsareespeciallyfrustratingifyouaretryingtotransferlargefilesorconductanonlinelesson.

TelecommunicationsSoftware

Inadditiontothebasichardware,youwillneedtelecommunicationssoftwaretouseadialupconnectiontotheInternet.Thissoftwaredialsthetelephonenumberandformatsthedataon

AdvantagesofDirectConnections

Nobusysignals.Becausemodemsarenotrequiredfordirectconnections,youwillnotreceiveabusysignal.

Simultaneousconnections.AmajoradvantageofconnectingaLANdirectlytotheInternetisthatallofthestudentcomputerscanaccesstheInternetatthesametime.Unlikearegulartelephoneline,theleaseddatalinecantransmitdatafrommanycomputerssimultaneously.

Lessinterference.Thereislessinterferenceonhighspeedleaseddatalinesthanthereisonregulartelephonelines.

DisadvantagesofDirectConnections

Expenseofhardware.InadditiontothecomponentsofaLAN,directconnectionsinvolvethepurchaseofspecialhardware,suchasarouterandothercommunicationdevices.

Expenseofleasedlines.TheexpenseoftheleasedlineisamajorconsiderationinlinkingaLANtotheInternet.Inmostareas,leasedlinesareavailableatseveralspeedsandprices.Forexample,alinethattransmitsdataat56Kbpsmaycostabout$50permonth(dependingonthelengthoftheline).ATllinethatoperatesat1,544Kbps(1.544Mbps)maycosthundredsofdollarseachmonth.

Complexity.ObtainingandinstallingadirectInternetconnectioniscomplex.InadditiontotheLAN,router,andhighspeeddataline,youmustcontractwithanISP,assignInternetProtocol(IP)numberstoeachcomputer,andconfigurethedirectconnectionsoftware.Beforeenteringthisarena,seektheadviceofnetworkingexperts,contactotherschoolsinyourarea,checkwithyourstateeducationaldepartment,andcallyourlocaltelephonecompany.

thescreen.IfyouareconnectingtotheInternetthroughacommercialISP,itwillprobablyprovideallofthesoftwareyouneedatlittleornocharge.Ifyouneedtosupplyyourownsoftware,therearemanyproductsonthemarket.Someofthem,suchasFreePPPforMacintoshandWindowsTerminalforWindows,areavailablefreeorassharewareprograms.

Whenallofthecomponents(computer,modem,telephoneline,andsoftware)areinplace,dialupconnectionsaremadebytypingthetelephonenumberintothesoftwareprogramandclickingonDial.

Atthispoint,youwillheardialtones(ifyourmodemhasspeakers),followedbyascratchynoisethatsignifiesaconnection.Whentheconnectioniscomplete,followtheproceduresuppliedbyyourISPtoenteryourloginnameandpassword.Initially,theloginnameandpasswordwillbesuppliedbytheISP.Afteryourfirstconnection,youwillbeencouraged(orrequired)tochangethepassword.

ConsiderationsforDialUpConnections

Whenyouareinvestigatingaserviceproviderthatoffersdialupcapabilities,therearesomeimportantconsiderations.Firstofall,atollfreeorlocaltelephonenumberisimportant.Ifyoumustpaylongdistancephonecharges,thebillcanquicklymount.Second,findoutexactlywhatthechargeswillbeforaccessorconnecttime(theamountoftimeyouareconnectedtothesystem,usuallymeasuredinminutes).Thebestoptionistofindaneducationalnetwork,university,orFreeNetthatprovidesfreeconnectiontime.Ifthatisnotpossible,findoutwhethertheconnectionfeeischargedperminuteorasaflatmonthlyfee.SomeISPschargeanextrafeeforstoringfiles(suchasemailmessagesandWebpages)orforusingspecialcomponentsandservices,suchasencyclopediasorairlinereservationsystems.

DirectConnectionsthroughLocalAreaNetworks

ManyschoolsareestablishingdirectconnectionstotheInternetthroughlocalareanetworks(LANs).LANsconsistofseveralcomputersequippedwithnetworkinterfacecardsthatarelinkedtogetherwithcables.Usually,afileserveronthenetworkstoresalltheprogramsandfilesthatcanbeshared.Otherperipherals,suchasprinters,scanners,andCDROMplayers,mayalsobeconnectedtothenetworkforalltouse.

LANsareverypopularinschoolsbecausemoneycanbesavedbypurchasingnetworkversionsofsoftwareprogramsratherthanseparateprogramsforeachcomputer.Also,expensiveperipheralscanbeshared.Anadditionalbenefitofschoolnetworksisthattheyallowstudentsandteacherstocommunicateelectronically.Forexample,ifastudentishavingtroublewhileworkingonacomputer,heorshecansendanelectronicnotetotheinstructor.Inaddition,therearesoftwareprogramsdesignedforstudentcollaborationthroughaLAN.Forexample,thenetworkprogramWagonTrain1848byMECCallowsseveralstudentsatseparatecomputerstoviewthesamescenarioandtointeractthroughthenetwork.

InstallingaLANrequiresinstallingcablesfromacentralservertoallofthecomputers.Itcanbeatimeintensiveprocess,butitpaysoffwitheaseofmaintenanceandspeedofaccess.NetDays(specifieddaysonwhichcommunityvolunteershelppullwiresinschools)havebecomepopularinthelastfewyears.FormoreinformationaboutschoolLANs,seetheEducator'sGuidetoSchoolNetworksathttp://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/network.

ConnectingaLANtotheInternet

LANscanprovideeachworkstationwithdirectconnectionstotheInternet.AschoolcanconnectitsLANdirectlytoanISPbyleasingahighspeeddatalinefromatelephoneorcablecompany.Whenadirectconnectionisestablished,youdonotneedmodems,andallofthecomputersontheLANcanconnecttotheInternetsimultaneously(seefig.2.3).

Thehardwarerequiredforadirectconnectionisconsiderablymorecomplexthanthatrequiredforadialupconnection.Thebasiccomponentsconsistofcomputers,anInternetserver,arouter,

Figure2.3ComputernetworkwithadirectconnectiontotheInternet.

andaleaseddataline.Consultatechnicalexperttodeterminethebestconfigurationforyourschool.

Computers

ALANcomprisesseveralworkstationsconnectedtoacentralserverbycables.Atypicalworkstationisastandardcomputerthathashadanetworkinterfacecardaddedtoit.TheLANcableplugsintothenetworkinterfacecardthroughthebackofthecomputer.ManynewcomputersinbothMacintoshandWindowsenvironmentsnowcomewithnetworkcardsalreadyinstalled.Withthecorrectsoftwareandcables,bothMacintoshandWindowscomputerscanshareaLAN.

InternetServer

MostLANshaveatleastonecomputerthatactsasthefileserver.Thisverylarge,veryfastcomputerservesasthetrafficdirectortokeepallofthecomputersandprintersworkingtogether.IfyouwanttoconnectyourLANtotheInternet,youcanusethisfileserverasanInternetserverbyinstallingadditionalsoftwaredesignedforInternetaccess.

Router.

AnInternetrouterisasmallpieceofhardwarethatisplacedbetweentheInternetserverandtheleasedline.TheroutercontrolsthemessagesthataregoingouttotheInternetandreceivesincomingmessages.Anotherpieceofhardware(CSU/DSU)isusedinconjunctionwiththeroutertoconvertthedatafortherouter.

LeasedDataLine

DirectconnectionsgenerallymakeuseofaleaseddatalinetoconnecttotheISP.Theleasedlineisusuallya56KbpslineoraT1lineoperatingat1.54Mbps(seeAllAboutBandwidthformoreinformationaboutleasedlines).ThelinesaregenerallyleasedfromthelocaltelephonecompanyandarededicatedtoInternetcommunications.Thecostoftheleasedlinescanrangefromafewdollarstoseveralthousanddollarspermonth.ThecurrentinitiativesbytheU.S.governmentandtelecommunicationscompaniestoestablishadiscountederateforschoolsaredesignedtomakeleasedlinesaffordableforschoolsandschooldistricts(Brooks1997).

Figure2.4ISDNconnectiontotheInternet.

SoftwareforDirectConnections

ThelanguageoftheInternetisoftenreferredtoasTCP/IP(TransmissionControlProtocol/InternetProtocol).TooperateadirectInternetconnection,thissoftwaremustberesidentonallofthecomputersontheLANandontheInternetserver.Fortunately,becauseofthepopularityoftheInternet,thissoftwareisnowinstalledonallMacintoshandWindowscomputerswhenyoupurchasethecomputers.

InadditiontotheTCP/IPsoftware,specialInternetserversoftwaremustbeinstalledontheInternetserver.ThereisawiderangeofInternetserversoftwarethatcanbepurchased,includingNetscapeserversandMicrosoftservers.FormoreinformationaboutsettingupanInternetserver,seehttp://web66.coled.umn.edu.

AllaboutBandwidth

Bandwidthreferstohowfastatelephoneline,dataline,orotherconnectioncantransferinformation.Forexample,a28.8Kbpsmodemcantransmitdataat28,800bitspersecond,andaT1linecantransmit1,544,000bitspersecond.AconstantcomplaintabouttheInternetisthatitistooslow.Althoughthebackbone(mainpart)oftheInternetconsistsofextremelyhighspeeddataconnections(atminimum,T3linesthatcantransmitat44,736,000bitspersecond),theinformationmayhavetobefunneledtoyourhomethroughaslowmodem.

SeveraloptionsavailablenoworinthenearfuturewillhelptoexpandbandwidthandincreasethespeedofinformationtransferviatheInternet.TheseoptionsincludeISDNlines,T1lines,ADSLmodems,cablemodems,satellitedelivery,andWebTV.

ISDN

ISDNstandsforIntegratedServicesDigitalNetwork.Itisadigitalsystemdesignedtotransmitinformationfasterthanstandardmodems.AsingleISDNlinewithtwochannelscantransmitdataat128Kbps(aboutfivetimesfasterthana28.8Kbpsmodem).ISDNtelephonelinesuseinterfacedevices(calledISDNterminaladaptersorISDNmodems)toconnecttothecomputers(seefig.2.4).

ISDNhasgreatpotentialfortelecommunicationsbecauseitcanusesomeofthecoppertelephonewiresystemthatiscurrentlyinplace.ToimplementISDNonalargescale,however,telephonecompaniesneedtoupgradetheirswitchingequipment,andhomesandschoolsneedtoupgradetheirtelephonewiringandcomputerinterfaces.

Atpresent,ISDNavailabilityandcostsvarydramatically.Insomeareas,ISDNlinesareavailableforalmostthesamecostasstandardvoicelines,butinotherareastheyareeitherveryexpensiveorunavailable.BeforepurchasinganISDNterminaladapter,checkwithyourISPtobesurethatitiscompatiblewiththeservice.Also,whencheckingonthepriceofanISDNconnection,beawarethatsomesystemsrequireaconnectionfee,amonthlyfee,andaperminutecharge.

T1andT3Lines

AstandardT1line(alsoreferredtoasDS1)allowsdigitalinformationtobetransmittedat

Table2.1ComparisonofTransferRatesandCostsforTelecommunications(Feeley1997)

Technology Speed MonthlyCost

28.8modem 28.8Kbps $25

ISDN 128Kbps $80

Satellite 400Kbps $40

T1 1.5Mbps $1,500

ADSL 9Mbps $40

Cablemodem 10Mbps $45

1,544Kbps(1.544Mbps).Thistransmissionspeedisalmost54timesfasterthana28.8Kbpsmodem.BecauseT1linescanbequiteexpensivetolease,manyschoolsleaseafractionalT1lineinwhichtheyhaveaccesstoaportionofthebandwidth.

T3linesareevenfasterthanT1lines.T3linescantransmitdataat44.736Mbps.Thisisroughlyequivalentto29simultaneousT1lines.T3linesareextremelyexpensive.Inmostcases,T3linesareusedtoconnectpartsoftheInternetbackboneortoconnectsupercomputersatgovernmentandresearchsites.

ADSLModems

ADSLstandsforAsymmetricDigitalSubscriberLine.Theselinestransmitdataattwodifferentspeeds:afastspeedforincomingdataandaslowerspeedforoutgoingdata.ADSLmodemscantransmitdatatousersatupto9Mbpsabout12timesfasterthanISDNmodems.Thereturnrate(outgoingdatatransmittedbacktotheISPorInternet)isnotquiteasfastonly640Kbps.Inmostcasesthedifferenceinthetransferratesisacceptable,becausewearemostlikelytoreceivelargefilesfromtheInternet(suchasgraphicsandvideo).Ontheotherhand,wegenerallydonotsendbackasmuchdatatotheInternetperhapsanemailmessageoracommand(aclickonahyperlink).Thereforetheslowerrateonthereturnsegmentisnotdetrimental.

AmajoradvantageofADSListhatitusesstandardcoppertelephonelineshowever,thetelephonelinesinmanyareasneedtobeupgradedtoallowtherapidtransmissionofdata.Severalcompanies,includingBellAtlantic,PacificBell,andGTE,arepromotingADSLandplantochargeapproximately$100permonth(Feeley1997).

CableModems.

Insomeareas,cablecompaniesofferInternetaccessthroughthesamecablethatdeliverstelevisionsignalstoyourhome.Ifyourareahasbeenconfiguredforthisservice,youcanconnectacablelinetoanetworkcardonyourcomputer.Theadvantageofcablemodemsisthespeed.Cablemodemscanbringdatatoyourcomputerroughly400timesfasterthana28.8Kbpsmodem(Salvador1996).Ifyouhavea10Mbpsnetworkcardinacomputer,youmaybeabletoreceiveinformationatthatspeed.AsillustratedinTable2.1,cablemodemsofferoneofthefastesttechnologiesavailableforInternetaccess(Feeley1997).

Althoughcablemodemsarefasterthanmostothertechnologies,theyarenotthemostexpensive(seetable2.1).However,touseacablemodemyoumusthaveacomputerwithanetworkcardandyoumustpurchaseacablemodem(about$500).Inaddition,thetransferratemaybeslowedifmanypeopleinyourneighborhoodconnecttotheInternetatthesametime.Although

Figure2.5SatelliteconnectiontotheInternet.

thistechnologyisnewandthestandardsforcablemodemsarenotfirmlyestablished,cablemodemsoffergreatpotentialforhighspeedaccesstotheInternet(LiRon1998).

SatelliteDelivery

ItispossibletoreceiveinformationfromtheInternetfromasatellite.DirectPCisonetechnologythatoffersInternetaccesstosatellitedishesonhomes,schools,andbusinesses.Satelliteaccessisrelativelyfast,doesnotrequiretheinstallationoftelephoneordatalines,andisnotaffectedbythenumberofusers.

Satellitedelivery,however,isusuallyonewayyoucannotsendinformationbackuptothesatellite(notonaschoolbudget,anyway).Inmostcases,atelephonelineisusedtosendinformationtotheInternet,andthesatelliteisusedtoreceiveinformation(seefig.2.5).Thisconfigurationworkswellinmostcases,becausetheinformationyousendtotheInternetisgenerallyverysmall(acommandoranemailmessage),whereastheinformationyoureceivecanbequitelarge(audiofiles,Webpages,andsoforth).

WebTV

ItispossibletoaccesstheInternetanddisplayitonatelevisionset.WebTVconsistsofasmallboxthatattachestoatelevisionandatelephoneline(forabout$300).TologontoWebTV,

youmustsubscribetoaWebTVserviceproviderandpayamonthlyfee.

WebTVisagreatwaytoaccesstheInternetifyoudonothaveacomputer.However,theresolutionisnotasgoodasacomputer,causingtheimagesandtexttoappearblurry.Inaddition,youmustpurchaseaninfraredkeyboardtoentertheWebaddresses.

Conclusion

Comparedtoothernewtechnologies,telecommunicationshardwareandsoftwareareinexpensive.Thebestoptionforyoudependsonthehardwareavailableinyourschool,theamountoftechnicalsupportavailable,andtheservicesofferedbyyourInternetserviceprovider.

References

Barren,A.E.,K.Ivers,D.Hoffman,andL.Sherry.1997.Telecommunications:Ideas,activities,andresources.Tampa,FL:FloridaCenterforInstructionalTechnology,UniversityofSouthFlorida.

Brooks,S.Summer1997.Theinsandoutsofgovernmentfunding:TappingintothenewErate.Technology&Learning,16.

Feeley,J.August1997.WidebandWeb.DigitalVideo,4248.

FloridaCenterforInstructionalTechnology.Educator'sguidetoschoolnetworks.http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/network(January17,1998).

LiRon,Y.1998.Theneedforspeed.TheWebMagazine2(1):3840.

Salvador,R.1996.What'snewinnetconnectivity?ElectronicLearning16(1):14.

Web66:AK12WorldWideWebproject.UniversityofMinnesota.http://web66.coled.umn.edu(January17,1998).

3NavigatingtheInternet

MarkandJulianahadfinishedtheresearchfortheirsocialstudiesreportandwereconsideringoptionsforpresentingittotheclass.TheonlyrequirementMr.Littlehadmentionedwasthatithadtobepresentedelectronically.TheyconsideredusingPowerpointoranotherpresentationprogram,butJulianasuggestedtheycreateaWebpageinstead.Butwedon'tknowHTML,saidMark,andI'vehearditsquitecomplicated.

Wedon'tneedtoknowHTML,saidJuliana.Thereareprogramsthatwilldoallofthecodingforuswecansimplyentertheinformation,almostlikePowerPoint,Markwasskeptical,butheagreedtogiveitatry.Afterall,mostoftheirresearchhadbeenconductedontheWebanditseemedlogicaltocreateaWebpagethatcouldincludethelinks.

Fortunately,Mr.LittlehadjusthelpedthemtodownloadthelatestversionoftheNetscapebrowser.ThenewbrowserincludedacomponentthatalloweduserstocreateWebpageswithoutenteringanyHTMLcodes.Markwasastonishedbyhoweasyitwastoimporttheirtext,addhyperlinkstootherWebsites,andembedgraphics.Theyevenaddedalinkthatwouldallowpeopletosendthememailmessages.

Whenthepagewasfinished,theycalledthetechnicalsupportpersonatthehighschoolto

findouthowtouploadthefilestotheInternetserver.ShetoldthemtheywouldhavetoFTPthefilestotheWebserver,andexplainedtheproceduretothem.AftertheFTPsoftwareprogramwasinstalled,itturnedouttobeveryeasytouploadthefilestotheserver.

Whenitwastimefortheirpresentation,MarkaskedMr.LittleiftheycoulduseacomputerwithanInternetconnection.Theclasswasamazedastheydemonstratedtheirproject,withactivelinkstotheWhiteHouseandotherrelevantWebsites.Youwereright,MarkadmittedtoJuliana.IwouldneverhavebelievedthatcreatingaWebpagecouldbesoeasy!

Therearetwobasicinterfaces,orlooks,totheInternettextbasedandgraphical.TextbasedinterfacesdominatedtheInternetuntilabout1994.Theseinterfacesdisplayedtextonthe

screen,withanoccasionallineofasterisksordashes.Textbasedinterfacesworkedwellwithmodemsofanyspeed.Withtextbasedsystems,telnet(remoteaccesstoothercomputers)andgopher(menubasedsystems)werepopular.

Graphicalinterfaces,inwhichyoucanpointandclick,nowdominatetheInternet.TheseinterfacesrequireeitherafastmodemoradirectconnectiontotheInternet.(Chapter2discussesconnections.)GraphicalinterfacesmakeusingtheInternetmucheasier.Inaddition,graphicsandcolorscanbedisplayeddirectlyonthescreenandyoucanplaythesoundfilesorviewdigitalmovies.

EducatorsandstudentscanusetheInternetto

Collaborateandsendmessagesusingemail

Participateinelectronicconferencesandnewsgroups

AccessWebpagesanddocumentslocatedoncomputersaroundtheworld

CreateWebpagestosharetheirinformation

Transferfilesfromremotecomputerstotheirlocalhostcomputer

Interactwithvideoandaudiothroughmediafilesoronlineconferences

Thischapterfocusesonthebasictoolsthathelpusersfind,view,andtransferinformationontheInternet.Thetoolsincludeemail,listservs,newsgroups,WorldWide,Web,filetransferprotocol,andconferencing.

ElectronicMail

Electronicmail(email)messagesarecreatedbyapersonusingacomputerthemessagesaretransmittedtoothercomputersandreadbyoneormorepersonsusingcomputers.EmailmessagescanbeexchangedonaworldwidebasisstudentsintheUnitedStatescancommunicatedirectlywithstudentsinGermany,China,andothercountries.Internetemailisaninexpensiveandexpedientmethodforglobalcommunicationbecausethecostofsendinganemailmessageisusuallythesame,regardlessofwhere(thatis,howfar)youaresendingit.

Whenemailmessagesaresent,theydonotgodirectlyfromthesender'scomputertothereceiver'scomputerinstead,theyaretemporarilystoredonaremotecomputerserver.Inotherwords,ifMoniqueinFrance(whohasanaccountwithauniversityinParis)sendsanemailmessagetoAlexinMontana(whohasanaccountwithAmericaOnline),themessagewillbestoredonalargecomputeroperatedbyAmericaOnlineuntilAlexsignsontoreadhisemail.ItdoesnotmatterwhereorwhenAlexsignsontoreadhisemailmessageatthatpoint,themessagewillbesenttowhatevercomputerheisusing.

Emailcommunicationsbenefiteducationbecausetheyareinexpensiveandfast,andmessagescanbesentatanytime.Timedifferencesarenotimportantbecause,regardlessofwhenthemessageissent,itwillwaitfortherecipienttocheckformessages.Emailismakingtelephonesandfaxmachineslessimportant,anditisprovidingfinancialsavingsforschools.

UsingEmail.

TosendemailthroughtheInternet,youmusthave

anInternetaccountwithanISP

anInternetemailaddress

asoftwareprogramtoaccesstheemailsystem

Inmostcases,yourISPprovidesyouremailaddress.AnInternetaddressmaylooklikethis:

[email protected],barronisthenameofthepersontyphoonisthenameofthecomputerheraccountisoncoeduisthebuilding(CollegeofEducation)inwhichthecomputerislocatedusfistheinstitution(UniversityofSouthFlorida)andedu,thedomain,indicatestheinstitutionisaneducationalorganization.

Internetaddressesforotherorganizationsandcountrieslookslightlydifferent.Forexample,anInternetaddressforagovernmententityendsingovandtheaddressforamilitaryentityendsinmil.Addressesforaccountsincountriesother

Table3.1DomainsandCountryCodes

Extension DomainsbyInstitution Extension DomainsbyCountry

.edu Education .au Australia

.com CommercialOrganization .ca Canada

.mil Military .de Germany

.gov GovernmentSites .fr France

.net SpecialNetworkResources .uk UnitedKingdom

.org NonprofitOrganizations

thantheUnitedStatesusuallydonotindicatethetypeofinstitution.Insteadacountrycodeisused,forexampleukfortheUnitedKingdom.Table3.1listscommondomainsandcountrycodes.

Thelengthofaddressesmayvary.Forexample,theU.S.president'saddress([email protected])andaccountsonAmericaOnline([email protected])haveonlytwocomponentsafterthe@.

Emailaddresses,likepostaladdresses,mustbeunique.Themostefficientwaytoobtainsomeone'sInternetaddressistocallthepersonandask.

EmailSystems

MostISPssupplyemailsoftware.Althoughemailsoftwarevaries,mostaremenubasedandeasytouse.Forexample,Pine,bytheUniversityofWashington,isapopulartextbasedsystem(seefig.3.1).Thispublicdomainsoftwareprogramoffersspellchecking,sendingtomultiplerecipients,andautomaticforwardingofmessages.Pineisaserverbasedsystem,meaningthatallofyourmessageswillremainonyourISP'sserverafteryoureadthem(untilyoumanuallydeletethem).

Someemailsoftwareusesagraphicalinterface,meaningthatyoucanpointandclicktosendamessage.ExamplesincludeNetscapeMail(seefig.3.2),InternetExplorerMail,andEudora.Graphicalemailsystemsaregenerallyclientbased,meaningthatyourmessagesmaybe

downloadedtoyourcomputerwhenyoureadthem,ratherthancontinuallystoredontheremotecomputer.

CreatingEmailMessages

Studentscancreateemailmessagesusingemailsoftwareorwordprocessingsoftware.Whenstudentswritetheirmessageusingwordprocessingsoftware,theycancutandpastethemessageintotheemailsoftwareinordertosendit.Inmostcases,whenthemessageispastedintotheemailsoftware,allofthetextisconvertedtoASCIIcharacters(basictextwithoutstyles,suchasboldoritalic).Thus,studentscancreateamessageinawordprocessorthatcontainsboldcharacters,varioussizes,etc.However,whenthemessageispastedintotheemailsystem,itwillbeconvertedtobasictext(withoutbold,sizes,etc.).Toproduceanemailmessagethatwillbeeasytoreadonthecomputerscreenaswellaseasytoprint,certainguidelinesshouldbefollowed.

Writeclearlyandconcisely.Encouragethestudentstosendseveralconcisemessagesratherthanonelong,ramblingmessage.

Useadescriptivephraseinthesubjectline.Mostemailprogramsdisplayonlythesenderandsubjectlineofeachmessageintherecipient'sinbox.Indicatingthetopicofthemessageonthesubjectlineallowstheusertosortmail,eithermanuallyorwiththehelpofasearchandretrievefeatureintheemailsoftware.

Figure3.1Pineemailinterface.

DONOTUSEALLCAPS.Thisistheequivalentofshouting.

Useofadefaulttextstyle.Remindthestudentsthatfancyfontsortextstylesmaynotbelegibleonallrecipients'computers.

Usenarrowmarginsandshortline.Keepthelinelengthunder65characterstoavoidinappropriatelinebreaksandwordwrapswhenthedocumentisread,printed,orforwarded.

Doublespacebetweenparagraphs.Tabsandindentsarelostinmostemailprograms.Puttinganextraspacebetweenparagraphs(andcapitalizingheadings)helpsrecipientsseethestructureofthemessage.

Eliminatetablesandcolumns.Theformattingwillbelostandthetextmaybejumbled.

Convertsmartquotestoregularinchandfootmarks.SmartquotesmaybeconvertedtoASCIItextcharacters,suchasRorS.

Classroomprojectscenteredonemailmessagesarecommon.Studentscansendmessagestopeersaroundtheworldtodiscussfood,entertainment,sports,andothertopics.Theycancommunicatewithexperts,workwithtutors,orinteractwithotherstoinvestigateglobalissues.Chapters610providesuggestionsforemailactivitiesforvarioussubjectareasandgradelevels.

Listservs

Alistservisacomputerprogramthatautomaticallyposts,orsends,emailmessagestoalistofpeoplewhosubscribetotheservice(seefig.3.3).Ifyousubscribetoalistserv,youreceiveeverymessagethatispostedtothelistservaddress,andeverymessageyouposttothelistservaddressissenttoalloftheothersubscribers.

Listservmessagesappearasincomingemailmessages.Becauseyoureceiveallmessagesposted

Figure3.2NetscapeMailinterface.

tothelistservaddress,youmayreceivehundredsofmessagesinashorttime.ThiscancreateproblemsifyourISPlimitsthenumberofmessagesitwillstoreforyouorifitchargesformessagespace.

Tosubscribeto(orjoin)alistserv,yousendasimpleemailmessagetothelistservadministrator.Computershandlemostlistservmanagementfunctionsforthisreason,theformatofsubscribemessagesisfairlystandardandmustbetypedcorrectly.FollowingisasubscribemessageforHILITES,apopulareducator'slistserv.Notethatthesubjectlineisblank.

To:[email protected]

Subject:

MessageText:subscribehilites

Withinafewdays,listservmessageswillbegintoarrive.Afteryoubegintoreceivemessages,youcancontactotherpeopleonthelistandcollaborateonprojects.Tocontactotherpeopleonthelistdirectly,usetheperson'sprivateemailaddress,whichusuallyappearssomewhereinthemessageheader.Remember,ifyousendamessagetothelist,everyonewillgetacopy!

Listservshavetwodifferentemailaddresses.Oneaddresssendsmessagestothelistadministratorthisistheaddressyouusetosubscribe,unsubscribe,oraskquestionsofthesystemadministrator.Theotheraddressistheoperationaladdressthisistheaddressyouusetosendmessagestoothersubscribers.

Ifyoudecidetodiscontinuethelist,youmustunsubscribe.Thisprocedureisverysimilar

Figure3.3Pathofmessagespostedtolistservs.

tosubscribingsimplysendamessagetotheadministrativeaddressandtypeunsubscribeinthebodyofthemessage.

Mostlistservssendashortintroductorymessageoruser'smanualtonewsubscribers.Keepthismessage.Itremindsyouhowtocontactthesystemadministrator,howtounsubscribe,andhowtosendspecialcommandsthatcanhelpyoumanagemessages.Forexample,thedigestcommandcollectsorsummarizesallmessagesforaday,sothatyougetonlyonemessageperday,ratherthanmanyothercommandsallowyoutoputyoursubscriptiononholdwhileyouareonvacation.

EducationalListservs

TwoofthemostpopularK12listservs,HILITESandKidsphere,provideaconvenientwaytoconnectwithhundredsofeducatorswhousetelecommunicationsintheclassroom.

HILITESistheoldestlistservdevotedtoclassroomprojects.Itisamoderatedlist,whichmeansthatallofthemessagesarescreenedtoensuretheymeetcertaincriteriabeforetheyaresenttosubscribers.TosubscribetoHILITES,sendamessage

tomajordomo@gsn.org.Leavethesubjectlineblank.Inthebodyofthemessage,typesubscribehilites(seeexampleonpage25).

Kidsphereisaverypopulareducationallistserv.Mostofthesubscribersareclassroomteachers,andithasmanyinternationalparticipants.TosubscribetoKidsphere,sendanemailmessagetokidsphererequest@vms.cis.pitt.edu.Enterthefollowing:

To:[email protected]

Subject:

MessageText:subscribeKidsphereyourname

Newsgroups

Newsgroupsaresimilartolistservsinthattheyconsistofemailmessages.However,newsgroupsdonotsendmessagestoyou.Instead,newsgroupsactasacentralrepositorywherepeoplecanleavemessages,askquestions,andrespondtoinquiries.Messagesarepostedforanyonetoaccess,likebulletinboards(seefig.3.4).

Newsgroupsarestoredontheirsponsors'computers.Youdonotsubscribetonewsgroupsyou

Figure3.4Pathofmessagespostedtonewsgroups.

accessthemusingnewsgroupreadersoftware(whichisprovidedbyyourISPorincludedincommercialInternetsoftwaresuites,likeInternetExplorerorNetscape).Whenyouaccessanewsgroup,youwillhaveoptionstoread,print,replyto,orpostmessages.Inaddition,youcansendaprivatenotetotheauthorofanymessagebyusingtheauthor'sreturnaddressinthemessageheader.

AccesstonewsgroupsisregulatedbyyourISP

itmayprovideyouwithrestrictedaccess(tosomenewsgroups)orfullaccess(toallnewsgroupsontheInternet).Tofindoutwhichnewsgroupsyoucanaccess,contactyourISPorconnecttoyourISPandopenyournewsgroupreadersoftware.

Newsgroupsareorganizedintocategories.Someofthemainareasare:

alt Specialinteresttopics

comp Varioustopicsrelatedtocomputers

k12 Elementaryandsecondaryeducation

rec Recreationalactivitiesandhobbies

sci Relatedtothesciences

soc Socialissues

talk Debatesandconversations

Manynewsgroupsfocusondevelopmentsineducation.Youcouldjointhemisc.education.multimedianewsgrouptokeepupwithdevelopmentsandactivitiesinmultimedia,oryoucouldsubscribetoK12.lang.artfordiscussionsoflanguageartscurricula.Thek12.chat.juniornewsgroupfacilitatesconversationsamongmiddleschoolstudents.

Participatinginnewsgroupsisanexcellentwaytostaycurrentandexchangeinformation.However,ifstudentsusenewsgroupsforresearchandinformation,besuretocautionthemtocheckthereliabilityofthesource.Newsgroupsareopentoall,andtheinformationmustbetakenwithhealthyskepticism.Also,beawarethatmanynewsgroupsarenotmoderatedandmaybeinappropriateforclassroomuse.

WorldWideWeb(Web)

In1991,researchersatCERN(theEuropeanLaboratoryforParticlePhysics)conceivedtheideafortheWorldWideWeb(Web)anInternetenvironmentinwhichdocumentsarelinkedtootherdocumentsorfilesbycommandsembeddedinthe

Figure3.5Webpageforafictitioushighschool.

filesthemselves.AWebdocument(oftenreferredtoasapage)isillustratedinfigure3.5.

Theoptionsthatareunderlined(andusuallyhighlightedincolor)arelinkedtootherdocuments.Byclickingonthelinks,theuserisimmediatelytransportedtothecorrespondingpage,file,ordirectory,whichmaybeonacomputerinanotherpartoftheworld.Inmanycases,graphicsalsocontaininvisiblebuttons(calledimagemaps)thatcanlinkyoutoanewpagewhentheyareclicked.

UniformResourceLocators.

EachpageorresourceontheWebhasauniquelocation.Theselocations(includingtheaddress,pathname,andfilename)arewrittenasURLs(UniversalResourceLocators).SomesampleURLsareshownintable3.2.Notethattheaddressmaybeaseriesofnumbersratherthan

lettersandthatalthoughmanyURLsbeginwithwww,somedonot.

URLsforWebsitesbeginwithhttp(HypertextTransferProtocol)followedbyacolon,twoslashes,andtheaddressfortheWebpageorsite.(NotethatthedomainsusedinURLsarethesameasthoseusedforemailaddresses:org,gov,andsoforth.)Followingtheaddress,anotherslashmayappear,followedbyapathandfilename(seefig.3.6).Forexample,http://www.jason.org/expedition.htmlwilltakeyoutoadocumenttitledexpedition.htmlattheJasonsite.

Browsers

ToviewWebdocuments,youmusthaveabrowser.AbrowserisasoftwareprogramthatdisplaysWebdocumentsandnavigatestheInternet.Severalgraphicalbrowsers,suchasNetscape

Table3.2SampleUniversalResourceLocators

WebSite UniformResourceLocator

JasonProject http://www.jason.org/expedition.html

Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/

NASAHomePage http://www.nasa.gov/

FloridaCenterforInstructionalTechnology http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/

CreateYourOwnNewspaper http://crayon.net/

PatchAmericanHighSchool http://192.253.114.31/

Figure3.6AnatomyofaURL.

Navigator/CommunicatorandInternetExplorer,havebeendeveloped.ThesebrowsersarefreetoeducatorsandcanbedownloadedfromtheWeb.MostISPssupplyabrowsertogetyoustarted.Youcankeepthatbrowseroruseittodownloadanotherbrowseryouprefer.

GraphicalbrowsersrunonMacintosh,PC,andUNIXcomputers.Likemostgraphicalinterfaces,theyprovideapointandclickenvironmentbuiltaroundamenubar.Thesemenusallowyoutoperformvariousoperations:backuptothelastWebpageyouviewed,returntothehomepage,setabookmark,typeaURL.MostbrowsersalsoprovidealinktoInternetsearchenginesthatallowkeywordsearchingofInternetresources.

PlugInsforBrowsers

Pluginsaresmallprogramsthatexpandthecapabilitiesofyourbrowserbyallowingittodisplayorplayfilesinvariousformats.Pluginsareoftenneededtoviewvideofiles,displayfilescreatedusingAdobeAcrobat,andplaygames.

Youcandownloadsomepluginswhenyoudownloadyourbrowser.Forexample,whenyoudownloadNetscape,youcanalsodownloadaplugincalledLive/Audiothatenablesthebrowsertoplaysoundfiles.Anotheroptionistodownloadpluginsastheneedforthemarises.IfyouconnecttoaWebpagethatrequiresyoutohaveaplugin,anotewillappearontheWebpage,alongwithalinktotheappropriatepluginfile.Inmostcases,yousimplyclickonthelinkandthepluginisdownloadedtoyourcomputer.Aftertheyaredownloadedandinstalled,pluginsarestoredinaspecialfolderonyourharddrive.

TextOnlyBrowsers

Graphicalinterfacesdonotworkwellforuserswithslowmodemsortextonlyconnections.Fortheseusersatextonlybrowser,suchasLynx,providesaccesstoWebdocuments.WithLynx,youwillnotseegraphicsorhearsounds,butyoucanreadthetextandlinkto

Figure3.7HTMLcodeforaWebpage.

otherdocumentsandsites.Insteadofamouse,textbasedbrowsersarecontrolledwiththekeyboard.

CreatingDocumentsontheWeb

AllWebdocumentsarecreatedinacommonformatcalledHTML(HyperTextMarkupLanguage).HTMLconsistsofsimpletextdocumentswithembeddedcommands.Thecommandsareplacedwithinanglebrackets.Thecommandswithinbrackets,calledtags,areusedtoformattheWebpage.Forexample,tomakeawordappearinbold,thetag>isplacedinfrontofthewordandthetag>aftertheword.>Thisiseasy!>displaysasThisiseasy!Thefirsttagturnsthestyleon,andthesecondtagturnsthestyleoff.

HTMLdocumentscanbecreatedwithastandardwordprocessorwithHTMLeditorsavailableasfreewareorsharewareorwithcommercialpackages,suchasAdobePageMill.Figure3.7showsHTMLtextandtheresultingWebpage.

About50HTMLtagsarecommonlyusedinWebdocuments.HTMLcodesmayappearconfusingatfirst,butstudentsandteacherssoondiscoverthatcreatinganHTMLdocument

isnotmuchmoredifficultthanwritingapaper.SomesampleHTMLtagsandguidelinesforWebdesignappearattheendofthechapter.TolearnmoreaboutHTMLandcreatingyourownWebpage,visitoneofthemanytutorialsontheWeb,suchasABeginner'sGuidetoHTMLathttp://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimer.html.orHTMLTutorialathttp://www.coedu.usf.edu/inst_tech/publications/html.

FindingaWebServerforYourSchool

AfteryouhavecreatedaWebpage,youmustplaceitonaWebserver(acomputerwithspecialsoftwarethatisrunning24hoursaday)inorderforinteresteduserstoaccessit.ManyschoolsorschooldistrictshaveaWebserverforclassandstudentprojects,oralocaluniversityorcollegemayprovidethisserviceforK12schools.YourISPmayprovidealimitedamountofserverspace,oryoumaybeabletogetspaceonacommunity(cityorcounty)server.Remember,theserverdoesnotneedtobelocalifyouarebuildingasmallWebsite,youmaybeabletofindafreeservertohostit.AlistoffreeserversappearsintheResourcessectionattheendofthischapter.

ThousandsofK12schoolsnowhavetheirownWebpages.Someprovideextensivesiteswithschoolnewspapersandinformationaboutcommunityeventsandschoolfunctions,aswellasclassprojects.ForalistofschoolsontheWeb,visitWeb66athttp://web66.coled.umn.edu/.

TheWorldWideWeballowsstudentstoreadinteractivestorybooks,tourmuseums,controlremoterobotarms,andtakepartininstructionallessons.Chapters610containinformationaboutWebsitesusefultoK12educators.

MultimediaontheWeb

Itisquiteeasytocreatealinktoanaudioorvideofile.Theproblemisthatthesefilesaregenerallyquitelargeandcantakeseveralminutestodownloadandplay.Forexample,a1MBfilethatplaysa20secondvideoclipcantakemorethan10minutestodownload.Onesolutionistostreamthefiles,thatis,toplaythemastheyaretransferring.Amediafilethatcontainsastreamingformatwillbegintoplayalmostimmediatelyandwillcontinuetoplayasittransfers.Inthisway,youcanlistentoradiostationsorconcerts,oryoucanhearalivepresidentialaddress(withashortdelay).

Toplaystreamingfiles,youneedapluginthatcandeciphertheformat.Severalpluginsdesignedtoworkwiththemostcommonbrowsers(NetscapeandInternetExplorer)areavailableforfree.Forexamplesofstreamingfiles,visittheRealAudiositeathttp://www.realaudio.comortheVDOlivesiteathttp://www.vdonet.com/.

FileTransferProtocol.

OntheInternet,softwareandotherfilescanbetransferredquicklyandinexpensivelyfromonecomputertoanother.Aprocesscalledfiletransferprotocol(FTP)wasdevelopedmanyyearsagotoallowuserstoexamineremotedirectoriesandmovefilesandprogramstoorfromaremotecomputer.Withagraphicalinterface,FTPisveryeasy.Yousimplypointandclick,andthefilesaretransferredtoyourcomputer.Withatextbasedinterface,afewbasiccommandsachievethesameresult.AlistofeducationalFTPsitesappearsattheendofthischapter.

DownloadingFiles

TouseyourWebbrowsertodownloadfilesfrompublicFTPsites,firstaccessthesitebytypingthesite'sURLintheLocationareaofyourWebbrowser.Forexample,toaccessthefilesattheUniversityofSouthFloridaFTPsite,youwouldtypeftp://typhoon.coedu.usf.edu.Whenyouareconnectedtothatsite,youwillseeaseriesoffilesandfolders.Atthatpoint,yousimplyclicktodownloadthefilesyouwantandselectafolderonyourharddriveforthetransfer.

Largefilesusuallyarestoredincompressedformandmustbedecompressedbeforetheycanbeused.Somefilesdecompressautomaticallyothersmustbedecompressedmanually,usingdecompressionsoftware.Sharewaredecompressionsoftwareisavailablefordownloading.VisitShareware.comathttp://www.shareware.comtolocatesoftware.

UploadingFiles

Uploadingfiles(sendingthemtoaremotesite)generallyrequiresspecialFTPsoftware,aswellasaccess(viaapassword)totheremotesite.Forexample,ifyouhavecreatedafileforyourWebsiteandwanttotransferittothedistrictserver,youcoulduseFetch(Macintosh),CuteFTP(Windows),orseveralotherFTPprogramstotransferthefile.

TouseFetchtouploadafile,beginbyconnectingtotheInternet.ThenopenyourFTPsoftwareandentertheaddressfortheremotesite.Notethattotransferfilestoanothersiteyouwillneedapasswordandloginforthatsite.(Somesitesallowyoutologinasanonymous).Afteryouareloggedin,youwillbeabletoseethefilestructureoftheremotesite(seefig.3.8).Selectthefolderontheremoteserverthatyouwanttotransferthefileinto,thenselectthefileonyourcomputerthatyouwanttotransfer,andclickPutfile...

Figure3.8UploadingafileusingFetch.

Figure3.9Internetchatscreen.

Conferencing

MostcommunicationsontheInternettakeplaceinasynchronousmode,forexample,youcansendanemailmessageanditwaitsuntiltherecipientreadsitatalatertime.Itisalsopossibletocommunicateinsynchronousmode,inwhichallpartiesareonlineatthesametimeandcommunicateinrealtime.ThebasicformsofconferencingontheInternetincludeInternetchat,audioconferencing,andvideoconferencing.

InternetChat

ChattingontheInternetreferstoaninteractivemessageexchangeamongremotecomputeruserswhoareonlinesimultaneously.Alltheparticipantsinthechatseewhatyoutypeasyouaretypingit,andyouseewhattheytypeastheyaretypingit.Figure3.9showsthetextualexchangebetweentwopeople(oneinAlaskaandoneinFlorida).

Manyonlineservices(suchasAmericaOnline)providechatroomsforsubscribers.Chatisalso

availableonsomeeducationalWebsites.Forexample,Cyberkidsofferschatareasthatarerestrictedtostudents.Toparticipate,accesshttp://www.cyberkids.comandfillouttheregistrationform.

TherearealsochatroomsopentoalmosteveryonewhohasanemailaccounttheseareaccessedusingIRC(InternetRelayChat).Caution:

Alwayscloselysupervisestudentsparticipatinginonlinechats.Unfortunately,unscrupulouspeoplespendagreatdealoftimeinchatrooms,oftenimpersonatingsomeoneelse.

AudioConferencing

Ifyouhaveafastconnection(atleast28.8Kbps),itispossibletoparticipateinlimitedaudioconferencingtheInternetequivalentofatelephonecall.Usingaudioconferencingsoftware,acomputer,andamicrophone,itispossibletomakeinternationalcallsforafractionofthecostofalongdistancephonecall.Bothpartiesmusthavearelativelyfastconnection,andbothmustlogontotheInternetataprearrangedtime.AftertheyareconnectedtotheInternet,theycandialeachotherbyenteringtheIP(InternetProtocol)numberoftheircomputerortheiremailaddress.Atthatpoint,theycantalktoeachother,almostasiftheywereconnectedbytelephone.Thistechnologyforaudioconferencingisnew,butitholdsgreatpromise.Youcandownloadtrialversionsoftelephonysoftwareathttp://WWW.vocaltec.comorhttp://WWW.emagic.com.

VideoConferencing

ThemostpopularsoftwareforvideoconferencingontheInternetisCUSeeMe,whichwasdevelopedatCornellUniversity.CUSeeMemakesitpossibleforyoutoseeandtalktoasmanyassevenpeopleatonetime.Thesoftwareisstillindevelopment,theimagesaresmall,andthesoundsometimesbreaksup,butitisfreeanditworks!

AnotherpopularvideoconferencingprogramisNetMeetingbyMicrosoft.Thisfreesoftwareincludesachatboard(tosharewrittennotes),asharedwhiteboard(todraworcutandpaste

objectsandtext),andacollaborationfeature(toshareacomputerapplicationthatisavailableononeofthecomputers).

CUSeeMeandNetMeetingaregenerallyusedtoconnecttwopoints,asinaoneononeteleconference.Toparticipateinavideoconference,youneedadirectInternetconnection(usuallythroughaLAN),andyourworkstationmusthaveamicrophoneandavideodigitizingdevice.Ifmorethantwositesaretobeinvolvedinaconference,anadditionalcomputerwithsoftwarecalledareflectorisneeded.ThereflectorsoftwareusuallyrunsonapowerfulUNIXworkstationthatcoordinatesthestreamsofdatafromandtothemultiplesites.

Conclusion.

TheprimaryusesoftheInternetincludeemail,newsgroups,listservs,filetransfers,andtheWorldWideWeb.Thesefeaturesvaryslightly,dependingonthesoftwareandtypeofconnectionyouusetoaccesstheInternet.AlthoughtheInternetmayseemoverwhelmingatfirst,withpracticeyouwillsoonbesurfingthe'Netlikeapro!

Resources

WebPageDevelopmentTools

AdobePageMill.8008336687http://www.adobe.com

ClarisHomePage.8005448554http://www.claris.com

MicrosoftFrontPage.8004269400http://www.microsoft.com

NetscapeComposerhttp://www.netscape.com

PersonalWebPageDesigner.8007559036http://www.pacificasoftware.com

Sunburst'sWebWorkshop.8003217511http://www.nybsunburst.com

Webmaster.8006381639http://www.wentwortb.com

WebPageWizard.8009998911http://www.web2000.com

WebPublisher.8004486543http://www.asymetrix.com

WebWorkshop.8884848438http://www.vividus.com

WebSitesThatWillHostWebPagesforSchools

ClassroomConnecthttp://www.classroom.net/classweb/

SchoolsontheWebhttp://www.gsh.org/fetc/design.htm

ViveWebConnectionshttp://www.vive.com/connect/

Geocitieshttp://www.geocities.com/

AmericaSchoolDirectoryhttp://www.asd.com

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