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INTERNET DRAFT J. Sellers
[Request for Comments: XXXX] NASA NREN
FYI: XX] September, 1993
draft-ietf-isn-faq-02.txt
FYI on Questions and Answers
Answers to Commonly Asked "Primary and Secondary School Internet User"
Questions
Status of this Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft. Internet-Drafts are working
documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its Areas,
and its Working Groups. Note that other groups may also distribute
working documents as Internet-Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft
documents valid for a maximum of six months. Internet-Drafts may be
updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It
is not appropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to
cite them other than as a "working draft" or "work in progress."
Comments on the following draft may be submitted to Jennifer Sellers
(sellers@quest.arc.nasa.gov).
This Internet Draft expires December 30, 1993.
Abstract
The goal of this Internet Draft, produced by the Internet School
Networking (ISN) group in the User Services Area of the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF), is to document the questions most
commonly asked about the Internet by those in the primary and
secondary school community, and to provide pointers to sources which
answer those questions. It is directed at educators, school media
specialists, and school administrators who are recently connected to
the Internet, who are accessing the Internet via dial-up or another
means which is not a direct connection, or who are considering an
Internet connection as a resource for their schools.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction........................................................2
2. Acknowledgments.....................................................3
3. Questions About the Internet in an Educational Setting..............3
4. Questions About School Support for an Internet Connection...........5
5. Questions About Implementation and Technical Options................8
6. Questions About Security and Ethics.................................9
7. Questions About Educational Collaboration, Projects, and Resources..11
8. Suggested Reading...................................................13
9. Resources and Contacts..............................................14
10. References..........................................................18
11. Security Considerations.............................................19
12. Author's Address....................................................19
Appendix A: Examples of Projects Using the Internet................20
Appendix B: How To Get Documents Electronically....................27
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 draft
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, a good solution but by no means a fool-proof one to the
problem of changing offerings on the Internet. 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 memo will be produced as Internet School
Networking group members are made aware of new questions and of
insufficient or inaccuracte information in the memo. The RFC number
of this document will change with each update, but the FYI number
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(XX) will remain the same.
2. Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank for their help and contributions to this
draft the members of the Consortium for School Networking, Kidsphere,
and Ednet electronic mailing lists, as well as Ronald Elliott,
Science and Technology Center; Ellen Hoffman, Merit Network, Inc.;
William Manning, Rice University; Michael Newell, NASA Advanced
Network Applications; and Anthony Rutkowski, CNRI; all of whom made
contributions to this document. Special thanks goes to Raymond
Harder, Microcomputer Consultant, who not only made contributions but
also kept a steady stream of feedback flowing. Extra special thanks
goes to the remarkable Ms. April Marine of the NASA Network
Applications and Information Center for her expert advice and
unparralleled support.
3. Questions About the Internet in an Educational Setting
3.1 What is the Internet?
The Internet is a series of more than 10,000 interconnected
computer networks around the world that makes 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.
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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 possible contact with people all over
the world, 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,
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
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
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well worth the rich rewards. It's important that computers used
to access the Internet are easily accessible and not so far away
physically as to make using the resource impossible for educators
and others.
As the value of the resource becomes more evident, school systems
will need to look toward building the time to use it into
educators' schedules.
3.4 I'm already using the National Geographic Kids Network (or
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
telnet, FTP, and 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 for help in figuring this out.
(InterNIC stands for Internet Network Information Center.) 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
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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
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 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. See Section 9, "Resources and
Contacts." Ask for the AskERIC InfoGuide called "Grants and
Funding Sources." 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.
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
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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), service providers,
or technology consultants.
To give you an idea of possible equipment needs, here are three
sample scenarios. 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-in
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, a modem which is compatible with your dial-
in service, and terminal emulation software. The approximate
cost, not including the PC, is $100 to $800 plus a monthly fee
of approximately $30.
Mid-range: You could subscribe to a dial-in service that
provides Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) or Point to Point
Protocol (PPP), allowing your machine to effectively become a
host on the Internet. You will need a computer with SLIP or PPP
software, a modem which is compatible with your dial-in service,
and telecommunications applications software (to allow you to
use telnet and FTP - File Transfer Protocol). The approximate
cost, not including the PC, is $100 to $800 plus a monthly fee
of approximately $60.
High-end: You could subscribe to a service that provides a full
Internet connection. You will need a router and a connection to
a service provider's router. Typically the connection is a
leased line with a CSU/DSU (Channel Service Unit/Data Service
Unit). 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,
that is a TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol) stack, as well as telecommunications software. The
approximate cost, not including the computers, is $2,000 to
$3,000 plus a monthly fee of at least $200.
4.3 What is required in terms of personnel to support an Internet
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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.
Train-the-trainer, 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.
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.
4.4 How do I convince the people in our system with the purse
strings 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 video targeted at school
administrators. Its purpose is to educate them about what the
Internet is and to encourage support for the use of
telecommunications in primary and secondary schools. For further
information, See 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
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Internet itself. You can post 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 and listed in Section 9, "Resources and
Contacts."
Specific news groups to look for are those beginning with "comp."
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.
Your local community has resources that you may be able to tap.
These are again colleges and universities, businesses, computer
clubs and user groups, technology consultants, and government
agencies.
Your service 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
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 (Internet Network Information
Center) 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."
You can sometimes locate a person friendly to the idea of using
networks in schools and willing to help you who works as an
independent consultant, in a local college or univerisity, in a
technology company, for a service provider, at a community
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network, or in a government agency.
There are a number of books out on the Internet and how to get
connected to it. Some are listed in Section 8, "Suggested
Reading," and more are being published every month. Check
libraries, bookstores, and book-sellers' 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 may be able to service the whole school.
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. You will probably want to get a commitment from specific
teachers or media specialists to use the lab in the course of
their teaching. On the other hand, a computer located in the
classroom is more convenient for both the teacher and the class.
At the same time, networking all computers campus-wide can be
expensive. You will need to consider both options and weigh them
against your school's needs and priorities. You may also want to
investigate having one lab and a few classrooms with modem access,
assuming phone lines are availble. 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.
5.4 Can people get on the Internet from home?
This depends on your service provider. It is certainly a
possibility. 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.
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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,
often optional, fee) 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 machine until the time appointed
for that machine to contact the next one along the path to the
final destination, at which time it is "forwarded" along its way.
Most machines 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. Second, it allows for
filtering, which gives a school control over what kind of
information is available to its students.
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 teachers AND students should have
access to the Internet. There's no reason why media specialists,
administrators and support staff should not also have access. In
elementary schools, access for students may be more supervised
than in the upper grades.
6.2 I've heard that there are files on the Internet that parents
would not like their children to get. How can students be kept
from accessing this objectionable material?
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Technically, if your school has a direct Internet connection, they
can't. The store-and-forward scenario described in Question 5.5
is one solution to filtering the information to which students
have access. Everyone on the network, including students, is able
to download files from public electronic repositories, some of
which contain materials that just about anyone would consider
objectionable for school-age children. For this reason, it is
important that schools develop clear policies to guide students'
use of the Internet and establish rules, and consequences for
breaking them, that govern behavior on the Internet.
Additionally, schools should consider integrating issues around
technology and ethics into the curriculum. [4]
Although I said that technically students can't be kept from
accessing objectionable material, this is only true if a direct
Internet connection is used. As described in Question 5.5 there
are ways of sending and receiving email and Usenet News using
store-and-forward systems, bulletin board systems, or information
servers. In this case, you are not capable of using some of the
Internet tools. Many of the files and resources available using
these tools can also be acquired via email or news groups (which
can be stored, filtered, and forwarded), but this will not be the
case with all resources available on the Internet. You will have
to decide whether it is worth limiting access to ensure a measure
of technical control. Some find that it is well worth it and
others do not.
Another possibility is to control the times and opportunities that
students have to access the Internet, and only allow access under
supervision. This is a less desirable option than teaching the
ethics of Internet access as a matter of course, but may be used
in combination with other methods to ensure the integrity of the
school, its students, and its educators.
6.3 How do we keep our own and other people's computers safe from
student "hackers"?
In the language of computer folks, a "hacker" is someone who is
excellent at understanding and manipulating computer systems. A
"cracker" is someone who maliciously and/or illegally enters or
attempts to enter someone else's computer system.
Computer security is unquestionably important, both in maintaining
the security of the school's computers and in ensuring the proper
behavior of the school's students (and other who use the network).
In this area, not only school policy, but also state and national
laws may apply. Two sources of information which you can read to
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help you sort through security issues are:
FYI 8: Site Security Handbook
"Ethical Uses of Information Technologies in Education"
The full references for these documents can be found in Section 8,
"Suggested Reading." The pamphlet "Ethical Uses of Information
Technologies in Education" is more applicable to the laws of the United
States than to those of other countries, but several of the ideas are
shared in various cultures.
6.4 How do we keep viruses from attacking all our computers if we
get connected to the Internet?
If you use the Internet to exchange data (such as text or
pictures), virus infection is generally not a problem. The real
concern is when you downlaod software programs and run them on
your own computer. Any program you downlaod over the network and
run could have a virus. For that matter, any program, whether on
tape or a disk, even commercial software still in its original
packaging, might possibly have a virus. For this reason, all
computers should have virus protection software running on them.
Virus checking software is available free over the Internet via
Anonymous FTP from ftp.cert.org. (For information on using
Anonymous FTP, see Appendix B.) Your hardware or software vendor,
your network access provider, your technical support resources, or
your colleagues on network mailing lists should be able to provide
more specific information applicable to your site.
To help reduce the risk of downloading a virus with your program,
try to use trusted sources. Ask someone you know or post the
question to a mailing list or news group to find the most reliable
sites for software access.
6.5 What are the rules for using the Internet?
When your Internet connection is established, your access provider
should acquaint you with their Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). This
policy explains the acceptable and non-acceptable uses for your
connection. For example, it is in all cases unacceptable to use
the network for illegal purposes. It may, in some cases, be
unacceptable to use the netowrk for commercial purposes. If such
a policy is not mentioned, ask for it. All users are expected to
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know what the acceptable and unacceptable uses of their network
are. Remember that it is essential to establish a school-wide
policy in addition to the provider's AUP.
7. Questions About Educational Collaboration, Projects, and Resources
7.1 How can I find specific projects using the Internet that are
already developed?
There are a several resources on the Internet that are directed
specifically at the primary and secondary school communities, and
the number is growing. The InterNIC gopher server has a section
on K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade) Education, the
Consortium for School Networking maintains a gopher server, and
NASA's Spacelink is directed entirely at primary and secondary
school educators and students. NYSERNet's Empire Internet
Schoolhouse is an extension of its Bridging the Gap program. For
access to these and others, see Section 9, "Resources and
Contacts."
Many people on electronic mailing lists such as Ednet, Kidsphere,
and the Consortium for School Networking Discussion List
(cosndisc) post their projects and ask for partners and
collaborators. The K12 hierarchy of Usenet News has several
groups where educators post these invitations as well. For
subscription to these and other electronic lists and for names of
news groups, see Section 9, "Resources and Contacts." For news
groups and mailing lists of special interest to educators, see the
"Ednet Guide to Usenet Newsgroups" and "An Educator's Guide to E-
Mail Lists," both of which are listed in Section 8, "Suggested
Reading."
As you explore the Internet, there are some tools that will help
you find projects that are already developed. A good overview of
many of these resource discovery tools is the "Guide to Network
Resource Tools" written by the European Academic Research Networks
(EARN) Association. It explains the basics of tools such as
Gopher, Veronica, WAIS, Archie, and the World Wide Web, as well as
others, and provides pointers for finding out more about these
useful tools. It is listed in Section 8, "Suggested Reading."
7.2 Where do I go to find colleagues who support networking and
schools willing to participate in projects?
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The electronic mailing lists and Usenet News groups in Section 9,
"Resources and Contacts" are rich with people who want to
collaborate on projects involving use of the Internet.
There are also a number of conferences you may want to look in to.
The National Education Computing Conference (NECC) is held
annually, as is Tel-Ed, a conference sponsored by the
Interntational Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). ISTE
maintains an online server which has a calendar of conferences all
over the world in telecommunications for education. The INET
conference is the annual conference for the Internet Society. See
Section 9, "Resources and Contacts," for contact information for
these organizations and for information on access to ISTE's online
server.
7.3 What are some examples of how the Internet is being used in
classrooms now?
Projects which use the Internet sometimes require sites from all
over the world to contribute data from the local area then compile
that data for use by all. Weather patterns, pollutants in water
or air, and Monarch butterfly migration are some of the data that
has been collected over the Internet. In Appendix A you will find
several examples from the Kidsphere electronic mailing list, each
from a different content area and representing different ways of
using the Internet.
There are a number of specific projects you may find interesting.
KIDS-94 (and subsequent years), managed by the non-profit KIDLINK
Society, is one. It currently includes ten discussion lists and
services, some of them only for people who are ten through fifteen
years old. Another place to look is Academy One of the National
Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN), which usually has between 5
and 10 projects running at a time. The International Education
and Research Network (I*EARN), a project of the non-profit Copen
Family Fund, facilitates telecommunications in schools around the
world. Chatback Trust, initiated to provide email for schools in
the United Kingdom and around the world with students who have
mental or physical difficulty with communicating, and Chatback
International, directed at any school on the Internet, maintain a
network server that you may want to investigate. The European
Schools Project involves approximately 200 schools in 20 countries
and has as its goal building a support system for secondary school
educators. For contact information on these groups and server
access, refer to Section 9, "Resources and Contacts."
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7.4 Is there a manual that lists sites on the Internet particularly
useful for class exploration?
There are a number of resource guides, and so far only a couple
are directed specifically at an education audience. "An
Incomplete Guide to the Internet and Other Telecommunications
Opportunities Especially for Teachers and Students K-12" is
compiled by the NCSA Education Group and is available online. The
"Internet Resource Directory for Educators, Version 2" is also
available online. It was prepared by a team of 46 teachers in
Nebraska and Texas who were enrolled in telecomputing courses at
two universities in 1992 and 1993. Ednet's "Educator's Guide to
Email Lists" is available electronically, as is the "Ednet Guide
to Usenet News Groups." ERIC offers several documents relating to
telecommunications and education, including the ERIC Digest
"Internet Basics," the ERIC Review "K-12 Networking,"
"Instructional Development for Distance Education," and
"Strategies for Teaching at a Distance." Complete bibliographic
information for these documents is listed in Section 8, "Suggested
Reading." For help in retrieving the documents electronically,
see Appendix B.
There are also printed guides to the Internet appearing along with
the new books on the Internet. The problem with paper resource
guides is that the Internet is a changing environment, so they
become outdated quickly. Check libraries, bookstores, and
booksellers' catalogs for these guides.
One answer to the problem of printed Internet guides is the
newsletter. NetTEACH NEWS is a newsletter specifically for
primary and secondary school educators interested in networking.
It contains information on new services on the Internet that are
of interest to educators, projects for collaboration, conferences,
new books and publications, and includes "The Instruction Corner,"
which gives practical tutorials on using network tools and
services. NetTEACH NEWS is published ten times a year, and is
available both hardcopy and via email. Subscription information
can be found in Section 9, "Resources and Contacts."
7.5 How can I add my own contributions to the Internet?
The network server operated by the Consortium for School
Networking exists expressly for the sharing of ideas by the
elementary and secondary school community. Educators are
encouraged to submit projects, lesson plans, and ideas. A gopher
server maintained by PSGnet and RAINet also accepts educator
submissions for addition to the many sections of its menu tree
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devoted to elementary and secondary school interests. See Section
9, "Resources and Contacts" for information on reaching CoSN or
submitting materials, and for access to the server maintained by
PSGnet and RAINet. It is important to remember that anything you
create should be updated for others as you make changes yourself
in the course of your learning by experience.
The electronic lists and news groups mentioned are also places to
share your knowledge and yourself as a resource, and as you gain
experience you may find you have the knowledge to put up an
electronic server at your site. A group of schools in Pittsburg
shares one such server, and there you could recently find and
download to your own machine photographs and notes from an exhibit
on the architecture of one of the elementary schools.
8. Suggested Reading
Those items marked with an asterisk (*) are available free online.
For information on retrieving documents electronically, see
Appendix B.
Dearn, Daniel. The Internet Guide for New Users
Washington, DC: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.
*Ednet Guide to Usenet Newsgroups
online:
nic.umass.edu
pub/ednet/edusenet.gde
*Educator's Guide to E-Mail Lists
online:
nic.umass.edu
pub/ednet/educatrs.lst
*ERIC Digest, Internet Basics
*ERIC Review, K-12 Networking
"Ethical Uses of Information Technologies in Education" by Jay P. Sivin
and Ellen R. Bialo. 1992. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of
Justice.
To order, call 1-800-851-3420 from within the United
States or 1-301-251-5500 from outside of the United States.
Or write to:
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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
National Institute of Justice
Washington, DC 20531
Fraase, Michael. The Mac Internet Tour Guide. Chapel Hill,
North Carolina: Ventana Press, 1993.
*FYI 4 "FYI on Questions and Answers: Answers to Commonly asked "New
Internet User" Questions," Malkin, G.S., A. Marine
(fyi4.txt or rfc1325.txt)
*FYI 5 "Choosing a Name for Your Computer," Libes, D.
(fyi5.txt or rfc1178.txt)
*FYI 8 "Site Security Handbook," Holbrook, J.P. (fyi8.txt or
rfc1244.txt)
*FYI 16 "Connecting to the Internet: What Connecting Institutions Should
Anticipate," ACM SIGUCCS Networking Taskforce (fyi16.txt or
rfc1359.txt)
*FYI 19 "Introducing the Internet--A Short Bibliography of Introductory
Internetworking Reading for the Network Novice," Hoffman, E.,
L. Jackson (fyi19.txt or rfc1463.txt)
*FYI 20, "What is the Internet?" Krol, E., E. Hoffman (fyi20.txt or
rfc1462.txt)
The FYI series is online in the following locations. Choose
the site nearest you from which to download the files:
United States East Coast
ds.internic.net (198.49.45.10)
fyi/fyi##.txt
United States West Coast
ftp.nisc.sri.com (192.33.33.22)
fyi/fyi##.txt
Pacific Rim
munnari.oz.au (128.250.1.21)
fyi/fyi##.txt
Europe
nic.nordu.net (192.36.148.17)
fyi/fyi##.txt
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*"Guide to Network Resource Tools," EARN Association. May 1993. 64 pp.
online:
naic.nasa.gov
files/general_info/earn-resource-tool-guide.ps and
earn-resource-tool-guide.txt
*"Incomplete Guide to the Internet and Other Telecommunications
Opportunities Especially for Teachers and Students K-12," NCSA
Telnet Group. January 1993. ~300 pp.
online:
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu
Education/Education_Resources/Incomplete_Guide
To order a hardcopy, contact:
Chuck Farmer
NCSA Education Group
605 E. Springfield Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820
cfarmer@landrew.ncsa.uiuc.edu
or:
Lisa Bievenue
NCSA Education Group
605 E. Springfield Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820
bievenue@ncsa.uiuc.edu
*Internet Resource Directory for Educators
online:
tcet.unt.edu
pub/telecomputing-info/IRD/IRD-telnet-sites.txt,
IRD-ftp-archives.txt, IRD-listservs.txt, and
IRD-infusion-ideas.txt
Kehoe, Brendan. Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1992
(An earlier version is also available free online.)
Krol, Ed. The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog
Sebastopol, California: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 1992
LaQuey, Tracy. The Internet Companion: A Beginner's Guide to
Global Networking. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, 1992
Marine, April, Susan Kirkpatrick, Vivian Neou, and Carol Ward. Internet:
Getting Started. Englewood-Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentic Hall, 1993.
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*Internet Resource Directory for Educators
online:
tcet.unt.ede
pub/telecomputing-info/IRD/IRD-telnet-sites.txt, IRD-ftp-archives.txt,
IRD-listservs.txt, and IRD-infusion-ideas.txt
*RFC 1480 "The US Domain," Cooper, A., J. Postel. June 1993.
(rfc1480.txt)
This document will also be useful to people not in the United
States. See the sites listed under the FYI documents for the
location nearest you from which to download the file.
rfc/rfc1480.txt
9. Resources and Contacts
------------
CONFERENCES:
------------
NECC and Tel-Ed
International Society for Technology in Education
1787 Agate Street
Eugene, Oregon 97403-1923
USA
phone: 503-346-4414 or 1-800-336-5191
fax: 503-346-5890
email: iste@oregon.uoregon.edu
(Compuserve: 70014,2117)
(AppleLink: ISTE)
Electronic accss to a calendar of conferences all over the world
and other information is available on the ISTE server. See "Network
Servers" in this section.
INET
Internet Society
1895 Preston White Drive
Suite 100
Reston, Virginia 22091
USA
phone: 703-620-8990
fax: 703-620-0913
----------------------
ELECTRONIC MAIL LISTS:
----------------------
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Cosndisc (Consortium for School Networking Discussion List)
To subscribe, send a message to...
listerv@bitnic.educom.edu
Leave the Subject field blank, and in the first line of the body of
the message enter...
subscribe cosndisc YourFirstName YourLastName
To post, send a message to...
cosndisc@bitnic.educom.edu
Ednet
To subscribe, send a message to...
listserv@nic.umass.edu
Leave the Subject field blank, and in the first line of the body of
the message enter...
subscribe ednet YourFirstName YourLastName
To post, send a message to...
ednet@nic.umass.edu
Kidsphere
To subscribe, send a message to...
kidsphere-request@vms.cis.pitt.edu
Type any message asking to be added to the list.
To post, send a message to...
kidsphere@vms.cis.pitt.edu
KIDS-95/KIDLINK
To learn about KIDLINK projects, subscribe to the news service by
sending a messgage to...
listserv@vm1.nodak.edu
Leave the Subject field blank, and in the first line of the body of
the meesage enter...
subscribe KIDLINK YourFistName YourLastName
K12admin (K-12 Educators Interested in Educational Administration)
To subscribe, send a message to...
listserv@suvm.syr.edu
Leave the Subject field blank, and in the first line of the body of
the message enter...
subscribe k12admin YourFirstName YourLastName
To post, send a message to...
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k12admin@suvm.syr.edu
LM_NET (A list for school library media specialists worldwide.)
To subscribe, send a message to...
listserv@suvm.syr.edu
Leave the Subject field blank, and in the first line of the body of
the message enter...
subscribe LM_NET YourFirstName YourLastName
To post, send a message to...
LM_NET@suvm.syr.edu
SIGTEL-L (List for the Special Interest Group for Telecommunications,
a service of the International Society for Technology in Education)
To subscribe, send a message to...
SIGTEL-L@unmvma.unm.edu
Leave the Subject field blank, and in the first line of the body of
the message enter...
subscribe SIGTEL-L YourFirstName YourLastName
To post, send a message to...
SIGTEL-L@unmvma.unm.edu
Tipsheet (Computer Help and Tip Exchange)
To subscribe, send a message to...
listserv@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu
Leave the Subject field blank, and in the first line of the body of
the message enter...
subscribe tipsheet YourFirstName YourLastName
----------------
NETWORK SERVERS:
----------------
Chatback Trust and Chatback International network server
via telnet...
telnet rdz.stjohns.edu
login: student
(Follow login instructions on screen.)
via gopher...
sjuvm.stjohns.edu (port 70)
Choose "Rehabilitation Resource Center" from first menu.
Choose "SJU Unibase Bulletin Board and Conference System" from
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menu which then comes up.
Consortium for School Networking gopher server
via gopher...
cosn.org (port 70)
via telnet...
telnet cosn.org
login: gopher
(no password)
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Digests Archives are
available
via FTP...
ftp ericir.syr.edu
login: anonymous
password: your_email_address
cd pub
via email...
mail askeric@ericir.syr.edu
via gopher...
ericir.syr.edu (port 70)
Empire Internet Schoolhouse
via gopher...
nysernet.org (port 70)
via telnet...
telnet nysernet.org
login: empire
(no password)
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) gopher server
via gopher...
gopher.uoregon.edu (port 70)
via telnet...
telnet gopher.uoregon.edu
login: gopher
(no password)
Once connected via either of these two methods, use the menu item
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"Search Titles in This Gopher Server" and enter ISTE when asked
what to search for.
InterNIC gopher server
via gopher...
is.internic.net (port 70)
via telnet...
telnet is.internic.net
login: gopher
(no password)
KIDS Gopher, a KIDLINK service
via gopher...
kids.duq.edu (port 70)
via telnet...
telnet kids.duq.edu
login: gopher
(no password)
NASA Spacelink
via telnet...
telnet spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov
login: newuser
password: newuser
(Follow registration instructions on screen.)
via FTP...
ftp spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov
PSGnet and RAINet gopher server
via telnet...
telnet gopher.psg.com
login: gopher
(no password)
via gopher
gopher.psg.com (port 70)
------------
NEWS GROUPS:
------------
alt.education.distance
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alt.kids-talk
comp.security.announce
k12.chat.elementary
k12.chat.junior
k12.chat.senior
k12.chat.teacher
k12.ed.art
k12.ed.business
k12.ed.comp.literacy
k12.ed.health-pe
k12.ed.life-skills
k12.ed.math
k12.ed.music
k12.ed.science
k12.ed.soc-studies
k12.ed.special
k12.ed.tag
k12.ed.tech
k12.lang.art
k12.lang.deutsch-eng
k12.lang.esp-eng
k12.lang.francais
k12.lang.russian
k12.library
k12.sys.projects
misc.education
misc.education.language.english
misc.kids
misc.kids.computer
pubnet.nixpub (where a list of open access Unix sites is often posted,
for those looking for access to Usenet News and email only)
--------------
ORGANIZATIONS:
--------------
Chatback International
Dr. R. Zenhausern, Executive Director
Psychology Department
St. Johns University
SB 15, Marillac
Jamaica, NY 11439
USA
Phone: 718-990-6447
Fax: 718-990-6705
Email: drz@sjuvm.stjohns.edu
The Chatback Trust
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Tom Holloway, UK Director
25 Clemens Street
Royal Leamington Spa
Warwickshire, CV31 2DP
Phone: +44-926-888333
Fax: +44-926-420204
Email: t.holloway@warwick.ac.uk
The Chatback Trust is the organization which was originally concerned
primarily with school children with various types of language
disorder. Chatback International is the expansion of that project
onto the Internet and is concerned with the use of networks to
educate all children.
Consortium for School Networking
P.O. Box 65193
Washington, DC 20035-5193
USA
Phone: 202-466-6296
Fax: 202-872-4318
Email: cosn@bitnic.educom.edu
According to a recent brochure, "The Consortium for School Networking
is a membership organization of institutions formed to further the
development and use of computer network technology in K-12
education." To join CoSN, request an application at the above
address. To contribute your ideas, lesson plans, projects, etc., for
others to access over the Internet, send to email to:
ferdi@digital.cosn.org
ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources
030 Huntington Hall
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York 13244-2340
USA
Phone: 315-443-9114
Fax: 315-443-5448
Email: askeric@ericir.syr.edu
According to a recent electronic brochure, "The Educational Resources
Information Center (ERIC) is a federally-funded national information
system that provides access to an extensive body of education-related
literature. ERIC provides a variety of services and products at all
education levels."
Another portion of the electronic brochure states, "AskERIC is
an Internet-based question-answering service for teachers, library
media specialists, and administrators. Anyone involved with K-12
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education can send an e-mail message to AskERIC. Drawing on the
extensive resources of the ERIC system, AskERIC staff will respond
with an answer within 48 working hours. If you have questions about
K-12 education, learning, teaching, information technology, educational
administration - AskERIC at: askeric@ericir.syr.edu"
FidoNet
1151 SW Vermont Street
Portland, OR 97219
USA
Phone: 503-280-5280
Contact: Janet Murray
Email: jmurray@psg.com
FidoNet is a dial-up, store-and-forward messaging system which takes
advantage of late night phone rates to send and receive email and
conferences.
FrEdMail Foundation
P.O. Box 243,
Bonita, CA 91908
USA
Contact: Al Rogers
Phone: 619-475-4852
Email: arogers@bonita.cerf.fred.org
International Education and Research Network (I*EARN)
c/o Copen Family Fund
345 Kear Street
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
USA
Contact: Dr. Edwin H. Gragert
Phone: 914-962-5864
Fax: 914-962-6472
E-mail: ed1@copenfund.igc.apc.org
According to Dr. Gragert, "The purpose of the I*EARN Network is to
create low-cost telecommunications models to demonstrate that
elementary and secondary students can make a meaningful contribution
to the health and welfare of people and the planet. We want to see
students go beyond simply being "pen-pals" to use telecommunications
in joint student projects as part of the educational process."
I*EARN works with international service and youth organizations to
add telecommunications to existing partnerships.
KIDLINK Society
4815 Saltrod
Norway
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Phone: +47-370-31204
Fax: +47-370-27111
Email: opresno@extern.uio.no
Contact: Odd de Presno
KIDLINK is the organization that runs the yearly KIDS projects,
KIDS-94, KIDS-95, etc. For information on getting files related to
KIDS-NN/KIDLINK, see "Electronic Mail Lists" in this section. For
access to the KIDS Gopher, see "Network Servers" in this section.
K12Net
1151 SW Vermont Street
Portland, OR 97219
USA
Phone: 503-280-5280
Contact: Janet Murray
Email: jmurray@psg.com
K12Net is a collection of conferences devoted to curriculum, language
exchanges with native speakers, and classroom-to-classroom projects
designed by teachers in K-12 education. The conference are privately
distributed among FidoNet-compatible bulletin board systems on five
continents and are also available as Usenet Newsgroups in the
hierarchy "k12." More information about K12Net is available from
gopher.psg.com.
via telnet...
telnet gopher.psg.com
login: gopher
via gopher...
gopher.psg.com (port 70)
National Center for Education Statistics
555 New Jersey Ave N.W., R.410 C
Washington DC 20208-5651
USA
Phone: 202-219-1364
Contact: Jerry Malitz
Email: gmalitz@inet.ed.gov
InterNIC Information Services
General Atomics
P.O. Box #85608
San Diego, California 92186-9784
USA
Phone: 800-444-4345
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619-455-4600
Fax: 619-455-3990
Email: info@internic.net
The InterNIC is a (United States) National Science Foundation funded
group tasked with providing information services to the United States
research and education networking community. The Reference Desk is
in operation Monday through Friday, from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Pacific Time.
Internet Society
1895 Preston White Drive
Suite 100
Reston, Virginia 22091
USA
phone: 703-620-8990
fax: 703-620-0913
The Internet Society is the international organization for Internet
cooperation and coordination.
10. References
[1] FYI 4 "FYI on Questions and Answers: Answers to Commonly
Asked 'New Internet User' Questions," Malkin, G.S., A. Marine
(rfc1325.txt)
[2] FYI 20, "What is the Internet?" Krol, E., E. Hoffman
(rfc1462.txt)
[3] "Restructuring Schools: A Systematic View" in Action Line, the
newsletter of the Maryland State Teachers Association, a
National Education Association Affiliate. Roger Kuhn, Editor.
No. 93-6. June, 1993.
[4] Sivin, Jay P. and Ellen R. Bialo (1992) "Ethical Uses of
Information Technologies in Education." Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National
Institute of Justice.
[5] FYI 19 "Introducing the Internet--A Short Bibliography of
Introductory Internetworking Reading for the Network Novice,"
Hoffman, E., L. Jackson (rfc1463.txt)
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11. Security Considerations
General security considerations are discussed in Section 6 of this
document.
12. Author's Address
Jennifer Sellers
NASA NREN
700 13th Street, NW
Suite 950
Washington, DC 20005
USA
sellers@quest.arc.nasa.gov
(202) 434-8954
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APPENDIX A: EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS USING THE INTERNET
The following examples of projects using the Internet appeared on
the Kidsphere electronic mailing list during the 1992-93 school
year. The messages ahve been edited in the interest of space and
because many of the details about how to participate are dated,
but the information presented can give you a feel for the types
and range of projects that happen today.
=========================================
Example One, "Middle School Math Project"
=========================================
This is the official invitation to participate in "Puzzle
Now!". "Puzzle Now!" is an interdisciplinary project using
educational technology as a tool to integrate the curriculum.
"Puzzle Now!" provides teams of mathematics and language arts
teachers and students with thematic puzzle problems via VA.PEN.
PROJECT : Puzzle Now!
SUBJECT AREA : Mathematics/Language Arts
GRADE LEVEL : 6 - 8
DURATION : This project will consist of eight - one week
cycles.
PROJECT GOALS : -to increase student motivation for math
problem solving;
-to emphasize the importance of addressing
problems in a clear, concise, and logical
manner;
-to provide students with opportunities for
developing skills in written expression;
-to familiarize students with computer and
modem as tools for problem solving projects.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The puzzles presented in this project are no
mere entertainment. These puzzles will help
the student reason logically, develop thinking
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skills, and will assist in the understanding of
many practical disciplines, such as geometry.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT to remember that getting
the correct answer isn't as important as
figuring out how to find it.
DO THE SOLUTIONS HAVE TO BE SUBMITTED IN A
PARTICULAR FASHION? Yes, the solution format
requires that the group/team/individual first
1)restate the puzzle/problem; 2)explain the
strategy, or strategies used in finding the
answer; 3)state the answer.
Your team/class may turn in only one solution.
That means you must work together to develop one
solution to be examined by the "Puzzlemeister".
==========================================
Example Two, "Poetry Contest, Grades 9-12"
==========================================
National Public Telecomputing Network
--
Academy One Project Announcement
FIRST ANNUAL INTERNET POETRY CONTEST
FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS GRADES 9-12
***FEATURED FORM: THE SONNET***
***First Place Award: $50.00***
***Second Place Award: $25.00***
***Honorable Mentions: $10.00***
The first annual Internet Poetry Contest invites entries from
students in grades 9-12 for original sonnets written within the
last 3 years. The purpose of the contest is to encourage young
creative writers to practice the discipline needed to
write in a particular poetic form, in this case, the sonnet form.
(The sonnet is defined and examples are given below.) Sonnets
may be submitted in any recognized sonnet form including
Petrarchan, Shakespearean, Miltonic, or Spenserian.
Students submitting entries must include a form (given below)
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certifying that each sonnet entered in the contest is original
and written within the last 3 years. The deadline for
mailing entries is April 30, 1993. Winners will be notified
individually and winning entries will also be announced via
Academy I on the Internet.
Judges for the contest are current or retired English instructors
throughout the United States.
==============================================
Example Three, "Tracking Monarch Butterflies"
==============================================
Our school has begun a study of monarchs using Nova's Animal
Pathfinders. After working through these lessons, which
will give us the necessary background information, we will
design the format for collecting the data on sighting
monarchs. We will send information on the format to any
school who wishes to participate in the project. Our fifth
grade students will begin this project and we hope that
students from kindergarten through twelvth grade will get
involved. We hope that schools from south to north along
the migratory flyways will be interested in joining and
collecting data about first sightings and population counts.
We still have not foundt the lepidopterists who did the
initial research but will keep looking. Hope to heaar from
you soon.
=======================================
Example Four, "Simulated Space Mission"
=======================================
National Public Telecomputing Network
--
Academy One Program Announcement
SPECIAL EVENT: NESPUT 24-HOUR CENTENNIAL SPACE SHUTTLE
SIMULATED MISSION ON APRIL 27, 1993
SCHOOLS, TEACHERS, STUDENTS, SPACE ENTHUSIASTS:
The April 27 simulated and telecommunicated space shuttle mission
is a mostly real-time 24 hour mission involving numerous
activities in space. Your school could be involved for an entire
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24 hour period or for a much lesser amount of time (say just your
school day or even a few hours). During that 24 hour period,
schools will be linked to share information via telecommunications
and a variety of activities will be going on via
telecommunications and in the classroom--most of them created by
the schools and students involved. The space shuttle Centennial
at University School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a real and permanent
simulator, will act as itself and use its mission control area as
Houston. Reports on the progress of our real student astronauts
will be posted on the listserv and via the menus on NPTN affiliate
systems carrying Academy One. Your school can act as any one of
the
following:
A second American shuttle.
A second Russian shuttle.
A weather reporting station for your area.
One of NASA's alternate landing sites.
A science station posing questions and problems for all
astronauts in simulated space.
An information station, posting interesting information of
interest about the space shuttle and the space program.
A graphics station, sending GIF files to other schools
(especially good if you have a scanner for your computer).
Any other type of space related station or activity you can
imagine.
==================================================
Example Five, "Equinox Experiment and Calculation"
==================================================
ATTENTION - MARCH 20, l993 IS THE EQUINOX
A WORLDWIDE SCIENCE AND MATH EXPERIMENT
ERATOSTHENES EXPERIMENT
Eratosthenes, a Greek geographer (about 276 to 194 B.C.), made a
surprisingly accurate estimate of the earth's circumference. In
the great library in Alexandria he read that a deep vertical well
near Syene, in southern Egypt, was entirely lit up by the sun at
noon once a year. Eratosthenes reasoned that at this time sun
must be directly overhead, with its rays shining directly into
the well. In Alexandria, almost due north of Syene, he knew that
the sun was not directly overhead at noon on the same day because
a vertical object cast a shadow. Eratosthenes could now measure
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the circumference of the earth (sorry Columbus) by making two
assumptions - that the earth is round and that the sun's rays are
essentially parallel. He set up a vertical post at Alexandria
and measured the angle of its shadow when the well at Syene was
completely sunlit. Eratosthenes knew from geometry that the size
of the measured angle equaled the size of the angle at the
earth's center between Syene and Alexandria. Knowing also that
the arc of an angle this size was 1/50 of a circle, and that the
distance between Syene and Alexandria was 5000 stadia, he multi-
plied 5000 by 50 to find the earth's circumference. His result,
250,000 stadia (about 46,250 km) is quite close to modern meas-
urements. Investigating the Earth, AGI, l970, Chapter 3, p. 66.
The formula Eratosthenes used is:
D A d=distance between Syene and Alexandria
_____ = _____ A=360 degrees assumption of round earth
a=shadow angle of vertical stick
d a D=to be determined (circumference)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Are you interested in participating?
All you need to do is place a vertical stick (shaft) into the
ground at your school and when the sun reaches it's highest
vertical assent for the day (solar noon), measure the angle of
the shadow of the stick.
- - stick -> - - a a=shadow angle
-
-
ground___________________-___________________________________
By doing this experiment on the equinox we all know that the
vertical rays of the sun are directly over the equator, like the
well at Syene. Using a globe or an atlas the distance between
your location and the equator can be determined and the circum-
ference can be calculated.
*****************************************************************
But how about sharing your shadow angle measurement with others
around the real globe.
******************************************************************
Send your measurement of the shadow angle____________degrees
Send your location city ____________________________________
Send your location country _________________________________
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Send your latitude _________________________________________
Send your longitude ________________________________________
We will compile all the data and send you a copy to use in your
classroom to compare the various locations and angles.
If you're interested send us your data. We will compile and return
it to you.
=====================================
Example Six, "Famous Black Americans"
=====================================
Project Name: Who Am I?: Famous Black Americans
Subject Area: Social Studies, Research Skills
Grade Level: Grades 4-12
Project Description: The goal of this project is to assist students
in increasing their knowledge of American
black history. Each week, on Monday Morning,
a set of three or four clues will be sent to
your account. The same will occur on
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings.
At any time, through the end of the day on
Friday, your students may send their answer
(the name of the famous American identified
by the clues) to the following online
address:
whoami@radford.vak12ed.edu
A class should send only one answer each
week. If two are sent, the sponsors will
assume that the first of the answers is the
one intended to be submitted.
The sponsor will collect all answers, compile
a listing of classes who send the correct
answers, and will forward this list to all
participants via email by early on the
following Monday morning. On that morning,
in addition, the sponsor will send all
classes a new problem.
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This project lasts five weeks, with clues
each week being given for a different famous
person in American history.
Project Length: Five Weeks
Awards: Every Monday morning, participating classes
will receive an online message from the
sponsor congratulating those who have sent
correct answers during the previous week. At
the end of the five weeks, attractive
certificates will be awarded to all
participating classes (sent by way of the
Postal Service). In addition, classes which
have participated in each of the five weeks
will receive a separate style of certificate
for their school or class.
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APPENDIX B: TRANSFERRING FILES
The traditional way to access files available online on the
Internet is via a program based on the File Transfer Protocol
(FTP). Many information sites have hosts that allow "anonymous"
FTP, meaning you don't need to already have an account on the host
in order to access the files it makes public.
For example, the online files sited in Suggested Reading can all
be retrieved via anonymous FTP. In most cases, when you see a
reference to a file available for FTP, the reference will give you
both a hostname and a pathname. So, for example, the ASCII text
version of the EARN Resource Tool Guide is on the host
naic.nasa.gov in the /files/general_info directory as earn-
resource-tool-guide.txt.
Many online files are mirrored on more than one host. RFC files,
for example, are so popular that several hosts act as repositories
for them, so when they are cited, rarely is a hostname given. To
find out all about getting RFCs, send a message to
rfc-info@isi.edu and in the body of the message,
type 'help: ways_to_get_rfcs'. RFCs are available both via
electronic mail and via FTP.
Here is some information about transferring files based on text
from the access.guide file referenced in FYI 19 [5] and written by
Ellen Hoffman.
If you are on a machine connected to the Internet and can use FTP
(file transfer protocol), you can access files online. If your
VM/CMS, VAX/VMS, UNIX, DOS, Macintosh, or other system has FTP
capability, you can probably use the sample commands as they are
listed. If your machine doesn't work using the sample commands,
you may still have FTP access. You will need to ask your system
administrator or local network consultant. If you don't have FTP,
you may be able to get files via electronic mail.
If you are using a UNIX machine, you can use FTP directly from a
system prompt. For other machines, there are commercial and
public domain programs that will allow you to use FTP. (For the
Macintosh, a very easy-to-use shareware program is called "Fetch";
for DOS machines you can use a program such as NCSA Telnet.)
Once you establish that you have FTP access, you will need to send
a series of commands to reach the host machine with the file you
want, connect to the appropriate directory, and have the file
transferred to your machine. A typical FTP session is described
here, but not all software is exactly alike. If you have
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problems, check your software's documentation ('man' page) or
contact your local help-desk.
This session uses the EARN Guide to Network Resource Tools in its
naic.nasa.gov home as an example file to be transferred.
Here's what you can do:
(1) Tell your computer what host you are trying to reach:
ftp naic.nasa.gov
(2) Log in to the machine with the username "anonymous". You
will be prompted for a password; often the host will suggest
which password it prefers, often your email address.
(3) Navigate through the directory to find the file you need. Two
useful commands for doing so are the one to change directories
('cd'), which you can use to step through more than one directory
at a time:
cd files/general_info
and the command which shows you the files and subdirectories
within a directory:
dir
(4) Give a command to have the file sent to your machine:
get earn-resource-tools.txt
(5) Quit FTP:
quit
RFC Repositories:
Following is a list of hosts are primary repositories for RFCs,
and, for each host, the pathname to the directory that houses
these files:
- ds.internic.net rfc
- ftp.nisc.sri.com rfc
- nis.nsf.net internet/documents/rfc
- nisc.jvnc.net rfc
- venera.isi.edu in-notes
- wuarchive.wustl.edu info/rfc
- src.doc.ic.ac.uk rfc
- ftp.concert.net /rfc
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RFCs are in the file format you see in the Suggested Readings
section, e.g. rfc####.txt, with #### being the number of the RFC.
To retrieve an RFC, then, you would FTP to a host above, log in as
anonymous, cd to the directory noted, and retrieve the RFC you
want. The file ways_to_get_rfcs, mentioned above, explains which
sites make RFCs available for electronic mail retrieval, and
provides directions for doing so.
Internet Draft Expires: December 30, 1993
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