"Electronic Highways and the Classroom of the Future"  

       Electronic highways are the channels used to transport knowledge from  one destination to another.  These channels are rapidly becoming faster  and more reliable and are increasing their capacity.  Communication  satellites, fiber optic lines, Cable TV, microwave transmissions, cellular  phones, computer modems, Fax machines, broadcast television, and radio are  the electronic highways of the 21st century.  These highways are a vital  part of businesses, government agencies, and higher-learning institutions,  but what place do they have in grade-level education?       The problem with grade-level schools is the old paradigm of classroom  learning.  This includes a teacher lecturing to a classroom of students,  who also are expected to learn from textbooks, some of which are written  several years pryor to the class.  Along with this classroom model goes  the idea of a stationary box known as the computer.  This box takes in  information, processes it, and regurgitates it upon command, but cannot  leave the confines of the classroom walls.  Right?  WRONG!  With the use  of the electronic highways mentioned, the computer can become a vehicle  for exploration.  Today's students and teachers can access information in  the same manner large corporations, government agencies and other groups  do in the "working world."  Isn't that what education is all about:   teaching kids what they need to know to live and work as an adult?       Using the electronic highways, students can work on problem-solving  projects addressing concerns of an entire nation, or even the world  population.  For example, students concerned about the effects of polution  on global warming can break up into groups, each with a special task.   Groups can gather various statistics on the earth's temperature, aerial  photos, magazine photos, and video clips displaying the extent of  temperature changees and worldwide pollution, and contact various experts  and citizen's action groups to gather their knowledge.  Put all together,  students can give a fully-researched presentation based on the most  current findings.  Knowing they can reach out and make a difference in  their world by having such astounding power of access at the touch of a  keyboard will give kids the satisfaction of accomplishment that will keep  them motivated to learn.         Today's classroom needs not be that of inactively listening to a  lecture that will soon be forgotten.  Today's students need to be actively  involved in their own education:  learning by hands on participation, with  teachers as their guides, fellow learners and friends, not as  unapproachable figures at the front of the classroom.