Appendix A: Examples of Projects Using the Internet.......... 36
Appendix B: How To Get Documents Electronically.............. 43
Appendix C: Glossary of Terms Used in This Document.......... 47
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1. Introduction
The elementary and secondary school community of teachers, media
specialists, administrators, and students is a growing population on
the Internet. In general, this group of users approaches the
Internet with less experience in data network technology and fewer
technical and user support resources than other Internet user groups.
Many of their questions are related to the special needs of the
community, while others are shared by any new user. This document
attempts first to define the most frequently asked questions related
to the use of the Internet in pre-university education and then to
provide not only answers but also pointers to further information.
For new user questions of a more general nature, the reader should
get FYI 4, "FYI on Questions and Answers: Answers to Commonly Asked
'New Internet User' Questions" [1]. For information on how to get
this document, see Appendix B.
It is important to remember that the Internet is a volatile and
changing virtual environment. I have tried to include only the most
stable of network services when listing resources and groups for you
to contact, which is a good solution to the problem of changing
offerings on the Internet, but by no means a fool-proof one. This
constant change also means that there is a lot out there that you
will discover as you begin to explore on your own.
Future updates of this document will be produced as Internet School
Networking working group members are made aware of new questions and
of insufficient or inaccurate information in the document. The RFC
number of this document will change with each update, but the FYI
number (22) will remain the same.
2. Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank for their help and contributions to this
document the members of the Consortium for School Networking,
Kidsphere, and Ednet electronic mailing lists, Ronald Elliott,
Science and Technology Center; Klaus Fueller, Institute for Teacher
Training of the German federal state of Hesia (HILF), and educator;
Ellen Hoffman, Merit Network, Inc.; William Manning, Rice University;
and Anthony Rutkowski, CNRI. Special thanks go to Raymond Harder,
Microcomputer Consultant, and Michael Newell, NASA Advanced Network
Applications, who not only made contributions but also kept a steady
stream of feedback flowing. Extra special thanks go to the
remarkable Ms. April Marine of the NASA Network Applications and
Information Center for her contributions to the document, her expert
advice, and her unparalleled support.
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3. Questions About the Internet in an Educational Setting
3.1 What is the Internet?
The Internet is a collection of more than 10,000 interconnected
computer networks around the world that make it possible to share
information almost instantly. The networks are owned by countless
commercial, research, governmental, and educational organizations
and individuals. The Internet allows the more than 1.5 million
computers and 10 millions users of the system to collaborate
easily and quickly through messaging, discussion groups, and
conferencing. Users are able to discover and access people and
information, distribute information, and experiment with new
technologies and services. The Internet has become a major global
infrastructure for education, research, professional learning,
public service, and business and is currently growing at the rate
of about ten percent per month.
The Internet Society serves as the international organization for
Internet cooperation and coordination. See Section 9, "Resources
and Contacts".
For a more complete basic introduction to the Internet, see FYI
20, "What is the Internet?" [2]. Instructions on retrieving FYI
documents can be found in Appendix B.
3.2 What are the benefits of using the Internet in the classroom?
The Internet expands classroom resources dramatically by making
many resources from all over the world available to students,
teachers, and media specialists, including original source
materials. It brings information, data, images, and even computer
software into the classroom from places otherwise impossible to
reach, and it does this almost instantly. Access to these
resources can yield individual and group projects, collaboration,
curriculum materials, and idea sharing not found in schools
without Internet access.
Internet access also makes contact with people all over the world
possible, bringing into the classroom experts in every content
area, new and old friends, and colleagues in education. With
access to the Internet, your site can become a valuable source of
information as well. Consider the expertise in your school which
could be shared with others around the world.
The isolation inherent in the teaching profession is well-known
among educators. By having access to colleagues in other parts of
the world, as well as to those who work outside of classrooms,
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educators able to reach the Internet are not as isolated.
A hands-on classroom tool, the use of networks can be a motivator
for students in and of itself, and their use encourages the kind
of independence and autonomy that many educators agree is
important for students to achieve in their learning process.
Because class, race, ability, and disability are removed as
factors in communication while using the Internet, it is a natural
tool for addressing the needs of all students; exactly how this
is done will vary from district to district as schools empower
individual teachers and students.
School reform, which is much on the minds of many educators today,
can be supported by the use of the Internet as one of many
educational tools. See the answer to Question 4.1 for more
specifics.
3.3 How can educators incorporate this resource into their busy schedules?
Most educators learn about the Internet during the time they use
to learn about any new teaching tool or resource. Realistically,
of course, this means they "steal" time at lunch, on week-ends,
and before and after school to explore resources and pursue
relationships via the Internet. Those who do so feel that it is
well worth the rich rewards. It's important that computers used
to access the Internet are readily available and not so far away
physically as to make using the resource impossible for educators
and others.
Many features of the Internet, such as the availability of online
library catalogs and information articles, will actually end up
saving considerable time once an instructor learns to use them,
and there are new tools being developed all the time to make
Internet resources more easily accessible.
As the value of the Internet as an educational resource becomes
more evident, school systems will need to look toward building the
time to use it into educators' schedules.
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3.4 I'm already using the National Geographic Kids Network (or PBS Learning Link or FrEdMail or ______). Does this have anything to do with the Internet? Is the Internet different from what I'm already using?
Since the Internet is a network of many different networks, you
may be using one of the networks which is connected to the
Internet. Some commercial programs for schools use networks and
provide value-added service, such as curriculum software,
technical support, project organization and coordination, etc.
Some provide value-added service, but don't allow for all basic
Internet services. Networks like FrEdMail (Free Educational
Electronic Mail), FidoNet, and K12Net are bulletin board and
conferencing systems linked via the Internet which provide
inexpensive access to some Internet services. If you can use
interactive computer access (Telnet) and electronic file transfer
(FTP), as well as electronic mail, you are probably "on" the
Internet. If you have questions about the specific service you're
currently using, ask its support personnel if you have Internet
access, or call the InterNIC. See Section 9, "Resources and
Contacts" for how to reach the InterNIC, FrEdMail, FidoNet, and
K12Net.
4. Questions About School Support for an Internet Connection
4.1 Where does my school get the money for connecting to the
Internet?
Although school budgets are impossibly tight in most cases, the
cost of an Internet connection can be squeezed from the budget
when its value becomes apparent. Costs for a low end connection
can be quite reasonable. (See the next question.)
The challenge facing those advocating an Internet connection
sometimes has less to do with the actual cost than it has with the
difficulty of convincing administrators to spend money on an
unfamiliar resource.
In order to move the Internet connection closer to the top of your
school's priority list, consider at least two possibilities.
First, your school may be in the process of reform, as are many
schools. Because use of the Internet shifts focus away from a
teacher-as-expert model and toward one of shared responsibility
for learning, it can be a vital part of school reform. Much of
school reform attempts to move away from teacher isolation and
toward teacher collaboration, away from learning in a school-only
context and toward learning in a life context, away from an
emphasis on knowing and toward an emphasis on learning, away from
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a focus on content and toward a focus on concepts [3]. The
Internet can play an integral part in helping to achieve these
shifts.
Second, to demonstrate the value of a connection, actual Internet
access is more useful than words. While this may sound like a
chicken-and-egg situation (I have to have Internet access to get
Internet access), some organizations will provide guest accounts
on an Internet-connected computer for people in schools who are
trying to convince others of the value of an Internet connection.
Contact local colleges, universities, technology companies,
service providers, community networks, and government agencies for
both guest accounts and funding ideas. For alternatives to your
own school's budget or for supplements to it, look for funding in
federal, state, and district budgets as well as from private
grants. Work with equipment vendors to provide the hardware
needed at low or no cost to your school, and consider forming a
School/Community Technology Committee, or a joint School
District/School/Community Technology Committee.
The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) has
information on grants and funding. Ask for the AskERIC InfoGuide
called "Grants and Funding Sources". Two network services, one
maintained by the United States Department of Education's Office
of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) and one maintained
by the US National Science Foundation, also have information about
grants and funding. Grants can be a way for you to acquire the
initial money to demonstrate the value of telecommunications in
the classroom, and since these monies are often awarded on a
short-term basis, should probably be looked at as temporary means
of funding your activities. For information on these
organizations and their services, see Section 9, "Resources and
Contacts". (Note: The funding services mentioned are primarily US
based.)
4.2 How much does it cost to connect to the Internet, and what
kind of equipment (hardware, software, etc.) does my school need in order to support an Internet connection?
The cost of an Internet connection varies tremendously with the
location of your site and the kind of connection that is
appropriate to your needs. In order to determine the cost to your
school, you will need to answer a number of questions. For help in
learning what the questions are and getting answers to them, begin
asking at local colleges, universities, technology companies,
government agencies, community networks (often called "freenets"),
local electronic bulletin board systems (BBS), network access
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providers, or technology consultants.
To give you an idea of possible equipment needs, here are three
sample scenarios, based on possible solutions found in the United
States. Keep in mind that these are very general examples and
that there are many solutions at each level. See also the answer
to Question 5.5.
Low-end: You could subscribe to some kind of Internet dial-up
service. This may be provided by a vendor at a cost, by a local
university gratis, or as a part of a public access service like
a community network. You will need a computer which allows
terminal emulation, terminal emulation software, and a modem
which is compatible with your dial-up service. The approximate
cost, not including the PC or the cost of the phone call, is US
$100 to US $800 plus a monthly fee of approximately US $30.
Mid-range: You could subscribe to a dial-up service that
provides Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) or Point to Point
Protocol (PPP), allowing your computer to effectively become a
host on the Internet. You will need a computer with SLIP or PPP
software, telecommunications applications software (to allow you
to use telnet and FTP - File Transfer Protocol), and a modem
which is compatible with your dial-up service. The approximate
cost, not including the PC or the cost of the phone call, is US
$100 to US $800 plus a monthly fee of approximately US $60.
High-end: Your school or department could subscribe to a service
that provides a full Internet connection to the school or
department's local area network. This allows all the computers
on the local area network access to the Internet. You will need
a router and a connection to a network access provider's router.
Typically the connection is a leased line with a CSU/DSU
(Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit). A leased line is a
permanent high speed telephone connection between two points;
this allows you to have a high quality permanent Internet
connection at all times. A local area network, which may
consist only of the router and a PC, Macintosh, or other
computer system, is also needed, and your computer(s) will need
some special software: a TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) stack, as well as TCP/IP based
communications software such as Telnet and FTP. The approximate
cost, not including the computers, is US $2,000 to US $3,000
plus a monthly fee of at least US $200.
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4.3 What is required in terms of personnel to support an Internet connection? (Will it require extra staff, training, more time of teachers and librarians?)
Any plan for implementing technology in schools must consider
staff development. Training is often the most neglected aspect of
a technology plan, and a lack of training can lead to failure of
the plan. In the case of the Internet, all users will need some
kind of training, whether they are teachers, librarians, students,
administrators, or people fulfilling other roles in the school.
The train-the-trainer model, in which a group of people are
trained in a subject or tool and each individual in turn trains
other groups, is a good model for Internet training. A small
group of motivated teachers can be provided with training and can
then educate their colleagues. One advantage is that the initial
group is able to target the specific needs of the other teachers
in the school.
Depending on the hardware involved, there may be a need for
technical support. Finding this kind of support, which schools
will certainly need because it is not usually in place, may be
tricky. Some districts are beginning to provide it at the
district level. Some schools are able to use volunteers from
business, industry, or government agencies. Much of this type of
support can be done over the network itself, which makes it
possible for someone located off-site to maintain the equipment
with only occasional trips to the school. Additionally, vendors
often provide some support, perhaps a help desk for basic
questions.
4.4 How do I convince the people who do the purchasing in our school system to spend money on this?
Most people become convinced with exposure. One excited
individual in the school who is able to show proof of concept by
starting a pilot program can be the catalyst for a school or an
entire district. If you can get an Internet account (as suggested
above) and use it for instruction in your classroom, you can make
presentations at faculty, school/community, and school board
meetings.
The National Center for Education Statistics in the Office of
Educational Research and Improvement at the United States
Department of Education has released a 17-minute video targeted at
school administrators entitled "Experience the Power: Network
Technology for Education". It uses interview clips of students,
teachers, and policy makers in the United States to educate about
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what the Internet is and to encourage support for the use of
telecommunications in primary and secondary schools. The NASA
NREN (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration National
Research and Education Network) K-12 Initiative has produced an
11-minute video describing the benefits to schools in using the
Internet. The video is entitled, "Global Quest: The Internet in
the Classroom", and it tells the story through interview clips
with students and teachers who have experienced the power of
computer networking. For further information on the two videos,
see "National Center for Education Statistics", and "NASA Central
Operation of Resources for Educators" under "Organizations" in
Section 9, "Resources and Contacts".
4.5 Where do I go for technical support and training?
Much technical support and training can be found by using the
Internet itself. You can send questions to people in the know and
join discussion lists and news groups that discuss and answer
questions about support and training. One such list is Tipsheet,
the Computer Help and Tip Exchange, the purpose of which is to
provide a supportive setting where people can ask questions or
discuss products. Other lists are the education-related lists
mentioned in Question 7.2. All of these are listed in Section 9,
"Resources and Contacts".
Network News, or Usenet News, is a world-wide bulletin board
system with discussion groups on various topics, including
computer science, general science, social and cultural themes,
recreational interests, etc. By sending questions to an
appropriate news group you can receive answers from people
experienced with your particular problem. Specific news groups to
look for are those beginning with "comp", for "computer", and
followed by the type of operating system, hardware, or software
you have a question about. For example, comp.os.unix or
comp.os.msdos.apps. To understand the culture and etiquette of
Usenet News, read the group news.announce.newusers.
Your local community may also have resources that you can tap.
These are again colleges and universities, businesses, computer
clubs and user groups, technology consultants, and government
agencies.
Your network access provider may offer training and support for
technical issues, and other groups also offer formal classes and
seminars. For those schools who have designated technical people,
they are good candidates for classes and seminars.
There are some documents for further reading and exploration that
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you may want to peruse. See Section 8, "Suggested Reading".
There are books on almost every specific subject in the computing
world that may answer your questions. For new books, check your
local library, bookstore, or booksellers' catalogs.
5. Questions About Implementation and Technical Options
5.1 How do I learn about options for getting my school connected?
In the United States, there are a number of state-wide educational
networks, most of them with access to the Internet. To find out
if there is a state education network in your area which gives
accounts to educators and/or students, contact the Consortium for
School Networking. The InterNIC has a list of regional and
national network providers. Both the Consortium for School
Networking and the InterNIC are listed in Section 9, "Resources
and Contacts".
The global regional NICs such as the RIPE NCC in Europe can also
provide a list of service providers. The APNIC in the Pacific Rim
will have a similar list in the near future.
You can sometimes locate a person enthusiastic about the idea of
using networks in schools and willing to help you who works as an
independent consultant, in a local college or university, in a
technology company, for a network access provider, at a community
network, or in a government agency.
There are a number of books about the Internet and how to get
connected to it. A few are listed in Section 8, "Suggested
Reading", and more are being published every month. Check
libraries, bookstores, and booksellers' catalogs.
5.2 How many of our computers should we put on the Internet?
You will probably want to make Internet *access* possible for as
many of your school's computers as possible. If you are using a
dial-up service, you may want a number of shared accounts
throughout the school. If your school has a Local Area Network
(LAN) with several computers on it, one dedicated Internet
connection should be able to serve the whole school.
If you are going to connect a lot of computers to the network, you
will need to make sure your line speed is adequate. Most dial-up
systems available today support speeds up to 14.4 Kbs (kilobits
per second), which is adequate for no more than a couple of
network users, depending upon the network utilities (FTP, etc.)
they are using. If you are planning to connect a large number of
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users, you should probably consider a dedicated line of 56 Kbs or
higher.
5.3 Should we set up a telecommunications lab or put networked computers in each classroom?
A computer lab is an easier maintenance set-up for the person in
charge of keeping the equipment running and allows each individual
(or pair) in an entire class to be using a computer at the same
time; a computer located in the classroom is more convenient for
both the teacher and the class. If you choose the lab option, you
will probably want to get a commitment from specific teachers or
media specialists to use the lab in the course of their teaching.
You might also consider the other labs located throughout your
school. For example, if you have a science or language lab, it
may be the best place for your school to begin to use the
Internet. And finally, remember that the library is a natural
place for people to access network resources!
Networking all computers campus-wide can be expensive. You will
need to consider the options--dial-up access, a dedicated line, or
some other possibility--and weigh them against your school's needs
and priorities. You may want to investigate having one lab, the
library, and a few classrooms with modem access, assuming phone
lines are available. As use of the Internet catches on, it will
be more effective to create a campus-wide local area network that
is routed to the Internet through a dedicated line than to keep
adding modems in classrooms. Or you may want to consider the
other options discussed in question 5.5 below.
5.4 Can people get on the Internet from home?
This depends on your network access provider. It is certainly a
possibility and is probably desirable for the educators at your
school if they happen to have the necessary equipment at home.
You will need to discuss whether you want to make this option
available to students even if it is possible technically. This is
best discussed with the community your school serves in a public
forum such as a school/community meeting. At issue is the shared
responsibility of educators and parents to monitor student
Internet use. (See also Question 6.2.)
5.5 What are some of the options for using Internet services without paying for a full, dedicated-line Internet connection?
It is possible to create a local, store-and-forward network using
various implementations of the Unix to Unix Copy (UUCP) software
suite, available as public domain (free) or shareware (small fee
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which is often optional) software, which can run on many different
platforms including Amiga, IBM, and Macintosh. The connections
are via dial-up phone lines using local phone numbers. Usenet
News and email are "stored" on a computer until the time appointed
for that computer to contact the next one along the path to the
final destination, at which time it is "forwarded" along its way.
Most computers are set up to process outgoing requests at least
every 30 minutes. With this type of system you will have access
to as many Usenet News groups as your site agrees to carry, as
well as email, which includes access to mailing lists and
listservs such as those listed in Section 9, "Resources and
Contacts". Many file servers also offer file transfer and other
services via email.
There are a couple of important advantages to such a system.
First, it is much more affordable since such networks provide more
efficient use of telephone lines, making a connection only while
data is actually being transferred. Second, it allows for
filtering, which gives a school some control over what kind of
information is available to its students.
The disadvantage to this type of Internet access is that you may
be limited regarding the range of Internet applications you can
use.
FrEdMail, FidoNet, and K12Net are store-and-forward systems.
FidoNet, for example, is a network of amateurs and hobbyists which
operates on personal computers and is publicly accessible by
anyone with a microcomputer and a modem. Contact information for
all three organizations can be found in Section 9, "Resources and
Contacts".
6. Questions About Security and Ethics
6.1 Who should have access in the school, the teachers or the
students?
Clearly the answer is that all educators, including administrators
and media specialists or librarians, AND students should have
access to the Internet. There's no reason why support staff
should not also have access. In elementary schools,
