Carolyn J. Guarino Telecommunications: Electronic Network Systems in the Classroom Dr. Terrence O'Donnell Salem State College Leadership Institute for Educators Summer 1991 Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to produce a series of lessons for students to produce work using technology in the classroom. Teachers are still reluctant to use available technology either because they are unaware of the available uses or resources available to them. Many are unfamiliar with telecommunications and the vast capabilities and avenues open to them and their students. With these lessons as a starting point I hope to encourage them to delve into the world of technology with as much excitement as their students will be when given the opportunity to telecommunicate. Assignment #1 Equipment needed: computer, modem, telecommunication software, and a telephone line. Personnel needed: 2 willing teachers, 2 classrooms of students. Project Requirements: Meeting of minds of cooperating teachers about: 1. letter format 2. length of individual letters 3. upload dates 4. student to student assignments 5. grammar, spelling, punctuation 6. anticipated difficulties (reluctant students, less able ones, etc.) 7. number of contacts through telecommunications Curriculum Area(s): Language Arts/Letter Writing Project name: Exchanging Us Process: The host teacher leaves a message with an active telecommunicating teacher on the Educator Echo requesting an exchange of letters between their students in an area that is of interest to the students. Purpose(s): To develop writing skills using the friendly letter format. To become familiar with telecommunications as a means of exchanging information. To practice the skill oforganizing information in a meaningful way. Setting the scene: Students are told that they will be writing to other students in another part of the world/ US. To get to know each other they will write an autobiographical sketch as their introductory letter. Activity #1: Teacher present a friendly letter format lesson. Activity #2: Students write and develop their autobiography using the friendly letter format and using a word processor for their finished copy. They save their finished product on their own disks and also to the teacher's disk. Activity #3: All letters are merged into a single file that is then uploaded to the host bulletin board to await download to the remote classroom. Activity #4: While awaiting the remote classroom letters, as a class the students can brainstorm about the information the expect to receive. After the brainstorming session the ideas can be recorded by category. Activity #5: Download the transmitted file from the remote classroom. Activity #6: Read and discuss with classmates the letters each received. Compare the similarities and differences between the host letters and the remote letters. Activity #7: Students can compare their brainstorming ideas with the actual facts received to determine how accurate they were in their predictions. Activity #8: Various graphs can be made illustrating kinds and/or numbers of pets, family members, ages, sports, hobbies, etc. Follow-up: Reply to letters and continue telecommunicating throughout the year. *********************** Assignment #2: ********************* Equipment needed: computer, modem, telecommunication software, and a telephone line. Personnel needed: 2 willing teachers, 2 classrooms of students. Project Requirements: Meeting of minds of cooperating teachers about: 1. correspondence format 2. length of individual correspondence 3. upload dates 4. student to student assignments 5. grammar, spelling, punctuation 6. anticipated difficulties (reluctant students, less able ones, etc.) 7. number of contacts through telecommunications Curriculum Area(s): Language Arts/Creative Writing Project name: Spying for Information Process: The host teacher leaves a me ssage with an active telecommunicating teacher on the Educator's to participate in an exchange of letters between their students in an area that is of interest to the students. Purpose(s): To develop and expand the students' creative writing abilities. To become familiar with telecommunications as a means of exchanging information. To compile and analyze information. To practice the skill of organizing information in a meaningful way. Setting the scene: Teachers announce to the class that they must visit with the students of the remote classro ey don't know very much about the remote classmates, they will be able to secretly spy on them by becoming an inanimate object (article of clothing, bed, light, pen, etc.). They must choose appropriately in order to be inconspicuous in order to spy without being discovered. They must also choose a room to be in in order to do the spying. Their ability to move about will be limited by the object they choose (or by their ingenuity to get the object moved). Activity #1: Students choose their objects and h old a classroom discussion telling why they chose the item and what they hope to learn by their observation. Activity #2: Students pretend they are in the remote location, (keeping in mind the inanimate object they have chosen to be) begin to write and develop their piece of writing and using a word processor for their finished copy. They save their finished product on their own disks and also to the teacher's disk. Activity #3: All stories are merged into a single file that is then uploaded to the host bulletin board to await download to the remote classroom. Activity #4: While awaiting the remote classroom transmission, as a class the students can brainstorm about the information they expect to receive. After the brainstorming session the class can be placed into cooperative groups to record the ideas by category. Activity #5: Predict and chart which inanimate object their remote counterpart will use to spy on them. Activity #6: Download the remote classroom information and compare both sets of information. Activity #7: Reply to the remote classroom as to: 1. the accuracy of their predictions 2. correcting their misconceptions 3. Inform their counterparts what inanimate object they were in order to spy on them. 4. Inform their counterparts how they moved about if this applies. Follow-up: Respond to stories and continue telecommunicating throughout the year. ********************* Assignment #3 ********************* Equipment Needed: telephone line, thermometer(s), anemometer, barometer, chart paper, logs for data, containers for precipitation, ruler. Personnel needed: 2 or more willing teachers, 2 or more classrooms of students. Project Requirements: Meeting of minds of cooperating teachers about: 1. correspondence 2. length of individual correspondence 3. upload dates 4. student to student assignments 5. grammar, spelling, punctuation 6. anticipated difficulty 7. a number of contacts through telecommunications Curriculum Area(s): Science, Language Arts Project name: Weather Observation Process: The host teacher leaves a message with an active telecommunicating teacher on the Educator Echo requesting his/her willingness to participate in an exchange of letters between their students in an area that is of interest to the students. Purpose(s): To be aware of the similarities and differences of the weather in a variety of locations over a period of time through data gathering that daily weather is not the same throughout the country/world. To compare the accuracy of forecasts with the actual weather. To become familiar with telecommunications as a means of exchanging information. To practice the skill of organizing information in a meaningful way. Setting the scene: Students are told that they will be meteorologists for one week. They are to predict weather, compare with official forecasts, and record actual weather. Activity #1: Teams of students work together to measure, observe, record and log their findings for the day. A log will be kept by each student on the team. A single report will be compiled and posted daily by the team. Each team member will be responsible for one of the following: 1. temperature 2. precipitation 3. cloud cover at time of readings 4. sunshine Activity #2: The teams daily findings will be word processed and saved to student's disks and the teacher's disk and uploaded for transmission to the remote class to await download. Activity #4: While awaiting the remote classroom data, the students can graph their data for further study. Activity #5: Download the transmitted file from the remote classroom. Activity #6: Compare the similarities and differences between the host data and the remote data. Activity #7: Students can compare their pre-conceptions with the actual facts received to determine how accurate they were in their predictions. Activity #8: Various graphs can be made illustrating the different kinds of weather recorded by the participating classes. Follow-up: Respond to data received and continue telecommunicating throughout the year. ******************** Assignment #4 ********************* Equipment needed: computer, modem, telecommunication software, and a telephone line. Personnel needed: 2 willing teachers, 2 classrooms of students. Project Requirements: Meeting of the minds of cooperating teachers about: 1. correspondence format 2. length of individual correspondence 3. upload dates 4. student to student assignments 5. grammar, spelling, punctuation 6. anticipated difficulties (reluctant students, less able ones, etc.) 7. number of contacts through telecommunications Curriculum Area(s): Social Studies, Language Arts Project name: Looking at Our Roots Process: The host teacher leaves a message with an active telecommunicating teacher inquiring about his/her willingness to participate in an exchange of letters between their students in an area that is of interest to the students. Purpose(s): To recognize where the students' roots originate from and the reasons resulting in being located where they are today. To recognize the beauty and value of their ancestry. To appreciate the similarities and differences of a variety of cultures found in their classroom as well as in other parts of the country/world. To compare their data with the data of the remote classroom. Setting the scene: The teacher informs the class that they will be taking a closer look at their families roots, Use the tree as a symbol to help them under- stand what is meant by our roots. Activity #1: Students look at themselves and their family and record what they know. Activity #2: As a class they compile a list of questions they want answered about their families. A second list is compiled to determine who could help them get the information they need. Activity #3: Conduct one or more interviews with the people they believe could help them get the information they need. Activity #4: Word process their gathered information on the computer. Save the information on their own disks and on the teacher's disk. Activity #5: After a single file is made the file is uploaded for transfer. Activity #6: Download remote classroom information. Compare the information to their classroom information and draw conclusions about their findings. Activity # 7: (Optional) Continue telecommunicating throughout the year. ********************* Assignment #5 ******************** Equipment needed: computer, modem, telecommunication software, and a telephone line. Personnel needed: 2 willing teachers, 2 classrooms of students. Project Requirements: Meeting of minds of cooperating teachers about: 1. letter format 2. length of individual letters 3. upload dates 4. student to student assignments 5. grammar, spelling, punctuation 6. anticipated difficulties 7. number of contacts through telecommunications Curriculum Area(s): Social Studies, Language Arts Project name: History at Our Door Process: The host teacher leaves a message with an active telecommunicating teacher on the Educator Echo requesting his/her willingness to participate in an exchange of correspondence between their students in an area that is of interest to the students. Purpose(s): To develop an awareness of local history and its importance in time. To provide/acquire new, and historical information and data about the community we live in. Setting the scene: Your remote classmates and his/her family are planning to visit the community you live in. They are interested in the local history, places they can visit, and the significance they have in the development of the area and the country. Activity #1: Student's are to choose and research a tourist attraction describe it , and tell why it is significant to our area and i ts time and place in history. Activity #2: Word process and transmit their information. Activity #3: While waiting for the remote information to arrive, find the location of the remote classroom on a map. Determine how they will get to your community, how long it will take, how much it will cost, where they will stay, eat and visit. Set up a tentative itinerary. Activity #4: Develop a linear graph showing where local events, people and significant events researched fall on a timeline. Activity #5 Download remote classroom information and disc uss information received. Activity #6: Make a timeline of the remote classroom information received and merge with the host timeline. Activity #7: Determined further information needed for your trip. Send request for more information if needed and the tentative itinerary you have set up for them. Activity #8: Continue telecommunicating as needed or desired throughout the year. *********************************************** Conclusion: Some students come to school more globally aware than others because of their family travels. On the other hand, many students because of economical circumstances are unable and will be unable to experience the world beyond their immediate neighborhoods. Telecommunications for them is especially useful and critical in order to provide them with the opportunity to step through the door to the larger world community. It will also give them the personal touch and involvement they need to provide the hook needed to arouse and keep their interest in their own personal learning. It is hoped that with the use of these lessons the students will become more knowledgeable about themselves and their immediate environment in using telecommunications they will expand their experience to a more global awareness of the larger world community they live in. Credits: I became aware of the use of telecommunications as a tool for the learning and exchanging of student gathered information through the use of the National Geographic Kids' Net program. I was not aware, however, of the use of local bulletin boards for which I thank Jim Downey. Dr. Terrence O'Donnell made me aware of the Regents Network for which I am grateful. Chuck Drayton's lecture made me aware that many of the classroom lessons teacher present can be combined with telecommunications using the Educator Echo to enlarge the students' learning and open their horizons to a global community. My permission is granted for the distribution of this document.