Sun, 16 May 1993
Hi Everyone,
It's been just over a year since the "open door" policy for our computer lab has irreversibly taken on a wider meaning, and our learning experience started to include as "normal" visits (invited, expected or surprise) from folks worldwide. This note is to acknowledge and thank all who have made it possible and enriched our concept of "belonging" in the world, by becoming part of our classroom. You may not even have known *you* made a difference to us in West Windsor/Plainsboro, NJ...
The first three weeks were filled with frustration; dialup to a dead end was how it seemed. Then, thanks to Mary Esborn and Michael Strait, log files of an online course for new netters helped us get to Kidsnet, where at once Dan Wheeler and Bob Carlitz helped us distinguish between mailing to the list and to the listserv, and other not so fine points of netiquette, as well as how to get the most out of the universe of lists. Ted Roth (aka AFC TooTer) also provided unknown but invaluable assistance. And if Gleason Sackman doesn't know *everything*, he will soon, and soon after so will we!
Almost immediately the discussions led to projects and rethinking how to help kids learn to communicate effectively in this new realm. Each new turn uncovered more vistas at a dizzying pace. After one note from Joan Winsor, the Chatback, BiCompals, Altlearn, TAG-L lists redefined thinking about learning as a universal, two way street. Meanwhile, Megabyte University turned words from a two dimensional to fractal experience of nuance, artistry, contention and sometimes even resolution! Just reading the good writing that happens there keeps me on track with my youngsters, thru stimulation as well as helping me model a lifelong learner exploring these channels for the spark of an intriguing idea, (that's right, mer).
And in the category of Meta-net, the COSNDISC list permitted (for viewing as well as participation) the unusual spectacle of a network defining its evolution, as the how, when, who, where of school networking danced to the beat of why. Ednet and NewEdu add to the melange of talents, view points and energy, blending discourse and resource, of course! The quality and diversity of discussion, the opportunity for exchange with what we in jazz would refer to as "heavyweights", and the feedback from the same have enhanced my growth along the way.
Our first miraculous moment came serendipitously last May, when I spotted a message from Ken Johnson in Edinburgh about the formation of a new newsgroup for Logo. In replying, I asked Ken if he would mind sending a description of his fair city for my students. It so happened that the teacher of the 5th grade class (in my lab at that moment) had lived there years before and suggested asking if the town's flower clock was in bloom. And 15 minutes later, there it was: Ken's delightful reply included reassurance that the flower clock still heralded spring, (although he seemed a little surprised at the question). The kids were in awe! The next day, 500K of information from New Zealand arrived, courtesy of Richard Naylor. We were on our way!
This posting would expand to massive proportions should I include with any detail the milestones that followed (and continue to do so at an accelerating rate): our initial flurry of exchanges with kids at BSU; the exchange of Logo files and riddles with kids at the NY/Canadian border; our foray into Solar Sailing on Academy One (with help from a NASA physicist); the exchange with Chernobyl Kids (via Tom Holloway); posting student "Festival" Artworks in the KidsArt Gallery; our visit by Gina Higashi of Peru; the weekly Literature contest; and individual students' initiatives to kids in Russia, New Zealand, Australia, the UK...And of course our first participation in BigDays reaffirmed that kids are most interested in each other!
As increasingly "savvy" telecommunicators, we're checking all our options, which have brought us to the exciting Scholastic Online pilot project, BigSky Telegraph, Learning Link, FrEdMail and numerous projects and resources on America Online, of which ScrapbookUSA has been a favorite with students and teachers alike. And that's not counting the resource side, including Spacelink, AskEric, Library of Congress and the rest of gopherspace! It's clear we can never go back inside our four walls, when there are so many students and educators out there to learn with...
Where all of this will lead, none can foresee, but early indications are that students ages 10 to 12 are coming to know their world in a way unimaginable to previous generations. For them, the world is a vast place, to be sure, but there *are* people everywhere, it seems, who care, who give of themselves to create possibilities for increased understanding, and who won't wait until it is easier or more convenient to extend these possibilities to everyone. What seemed idealistic and unattainable in my childhood may very well be necessary to survival before long, and we are growing the worldviews which may make the required understandings possible.
So to all who entered, thanks for dropping in! Together we are helping create a welcoming space for an ever wider web of friends...
Ferdi