Opportunities for students to work collaboratively while
 learning about Texas history and culture will reach new heights
 this school year through a program called "Lone Star Modem
 Amigos."  This project will link students from around the state
 via computer modem on the K12 Network.  This innovative program
 will enable students to establish a personal e-mail account on
 an educational computer network they can use from home or school
 to make friends with other Texas students.
 
 Kathie Christensen, 4th grade teacher at Glen Cove Elementary
 School in El Paso, received a grant from the Ysleta Independent
 School District to direct the Modem Amigo project.  Each 4th
 grade classroom at Glen Cove will be equipped with a computer,
 modem, and phoneline.  Glen Cove students will be able to use
 their new classroom computer to call into the K12 Network and
 exchange electronic mail, scanned pictures, digital music, and
 hypermedia projects with other students in Texas.  The content
 of electronic exchanges will centered around social studies
 essential elements, information gathering techniques, and
 problem solving activities within a computer-mediated learning
 environment.
 
 One of the goals of the project is to encourage Texas schools to
 provide students direct access to telecommunications technology.
 Over 5,000 students in the El Paso region are participating in
 educational networks designed specifically for use by children.
 Jack Crawford, founder of the K12 Network, says "this is a
 network with training wheels."  The K12 Network is easy to use
 and it teaches students the fundamentals of using a computer as
 a communications device.
 
 The K12 Network operates as a part of FidoNet, a 23,000 member
 computer network, which started 10 years ago.  The K12 Net was
 formed by an international group of teachers in 1990, and during
 the last three years its has grown to some 500 sites in a dozen
 countries.  In Texas, there are over 1,000 Fidonet sites
 participating in over 100 Texas cities.  Teachers wanting to
 join the Lone Star Modem Amigo project simply need to connect
 with a local FidoNet site and request a link to the K12 Network.
 There are no fees to join the K12 Network and use of the network
 for special projects linking children is absolutely free of
 charge.
 
 Christensen's Modem Amigo project is one of several modem
 projects being conducted by YISD teachers.  Last school year,
 Carol Hooper, 8th grade mathematics teacher at Indian Ridge
 Middle School, linked her students with kids from 8 countries
 to discuss math problem solving strategies in the "MathMagic
 Project."  More than 50 schools from all over the world
 participated in MathMagic by calling into the K12 Network to
 exchange ideas on solving a variety of math problems.  Hooper's
 students' TAAS scores were among the highest in the district
 which prompted the school's principal to install 30 telephone
 lines during the summer so more students can participate in this
 year's MathMagic program.
 
 The French language teacher at Desert View Middle School, Toy
 Wong, received a grant from the district to direct a
 telecommunications project between students in El Paso and
 students in Canada and France.  Local students are able to
 practice their French language skills with native speakers
 through modem exchanges.  During the summer months, Ms. Wong
 attended district-sponsored HyperCard programming training and
 developed HyperCard stacks using French audio sequences.  These
 "stack programs" will be made available on the K12 Network for
 download to any teacher requesting them.
 
 Other telecommuncation projects are taking place between schools
 within the Ysleta I.S.D.  High school honors students are
 serving as peer tutors to younger students on the local Academy
 Virtual School.  Additionally, high school programmers are
 writing TAAS software, uploading it to the Del Valle High School
 Math & Science BBS and making it available to all teachers
 within the district.
 
 The Modem Amigo project is the lastest extension of educational
 uses for cyberspace.  Students are learning how to use
 computers, how to access international networks, how to create
 digital portfolios, and how to make new friends.  Schools
 interested in how to join the K12 Network and make the Lone Star
 Modem Amigo project available to their students should contact
 Ken Blystone at one the the numbers below.  Thanks!

 Ken Blystone, Educational Technologist
 Ysleta Independent School District
 9600 Sims
 El Paso, Texas  79925
 Voice: 915-595-5676
   Fax: 915-595-5930
 Data1: 915-598-3080
 Data2: 915-598-1987
 Data3: 915-595-6806