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8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
1/17
NETWORKING &
THE INTERNETSPONSORED BYAPPLE COMPUTER INC.
Why Schools Need
to Network and Go Online
Explore and Learn:10 Great Internet Sites
Teachers Speak Out:
Why We Use the Web
Managing Networks:Models You Can Follow
Explore and Learn:10 Great Internet Sites
Teachers Speak Out:Why We Use the Web
Managing Networks:Models You Can Follow
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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Research has shown that effective learning involves students in an active role
working on authentic tasks. Students connect with what theyre learning as
they collaborate, communicate, and build knowledge from many sources of infor -
mation. Thus, the Internet, as one teacher puts it, is a perfect arena for making
education relevant t o real l ife. (See page 7.)
This special supplement on Networ king and the Internet sponsored by Apple
Computer takes you inside the classrooms, buildings, and districts where stu-
dents and teachers are discovering and creating the information world. There
are high school students using e-mail to collaborate with one another on a pro-
ject within their school buildings network (see page 11), and fourth graders
learning geography via the online travels of their class mascot (page 4). And
weve surfed the Web to identify 10 must-visit sites (page 6).
Apple Computer continues to be the leading choice for educators
who want high-power, high-value technology, combined with state-of-
the-art Workgroup servers, and software that offers ready access to
the Internet and the World Wide Web.
From the Editor
Jon Goodspeed
The GlobalNeighborhood
Photography
by
DanutaOtfinowski
Editorial Director
E-mail addresses:
America Online (JGoodspeed);
Internet ([email protected])
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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Networking &
the Internet
1Sponsored Supplement
Contents
March/ April 1996
Supplement t o Electronic Learning
Sponsored by Apple Computer, Inc.
How Students Benef it . . . 2Using the network fundamentally improves
formal education
We Use the Int ernet . . . 4Educators speak out about how the Web is
lighting up their classes
Eye on the Sit es . . . . . . 6Heres a Top Ten list of educational sites to
explore on the Web
Tour of t he WWW . . . . . 7This teacher couldnt wait to let the revo-
lut ion begin by taking his students online
Networking Success . . . . 8Class, building, and district networking sto-
r ies you can use as a blueprint
Minds Onl ine . . . . . . . 11
Students track weather, create a Web page,and express themselves online
Apple Solut ions . . . . . . . 13Cost-effective, easy to use products
Communit y Buil ding . . 15Networking is the key to the future
Studentscollaborate
online,
fromdifferent
computersta
tions.
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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based topics such as science, math, or social studies.
Accessing information in this way is both exciting and
motivational, and its raising their level of thinking.
Tapping into t he Internet . One of the most powerful
networks is the Internet. Education leaders across
the countr y are working to gather the resources to
br ing this tool into the schools. There is tremen-
dous energy going into how to get i t, who gets to
use it, how to restrict port ions of it, and how to
manage it. Theres an explosion of publishing taking
place on the World Wide Web, and students,
schools, and districts are publ ishing their own
home pages. (The Internet is basically text-oriented;
the World Wide Web has graphics, sound, and
video.) Yet few of us have had sufficient experience
to fully document the genuine educational benefits.
The student with access to the Internet can literal-
ly watch world events unfold before his or her eyes.
Our students have done projects in which they con-
versed with other students in Israel during the
Middle East War, had online classroom discussions
with survivors of the
Holocaust, and collabo-
rated with students
from 150 schools repre-
senting 50 countries.
Via the Internet, stu-
dents can share experi-
ences, collaborate on
group projects, and even conference directly with
experts. This type of learning challenges the student
to be fully at his or her best. Weve seen improved
writing, research, and study skills, as well as a deep
conscientiousness as students collaborate with peers
in distant locations.
The Teachers Role. It is critical that our students
become full members of this learning community.
Allowing students to explore and create content
will instill in them confidence in their own ability
to direct inquiries, locate and evaluate new
sources of information, and contr ibute original
work to the global community of learners.
A teachers skill in helping students to select a
meaningful topic to research, analyze, and resynthe-
size is needed now more than ever. It takes a litt leflexibility, and its going to take initiative to break
this new ground. s
Al Morasch is director of instructional services at the
Shoreline School District in Washington.
3Sponsored Supplement
We took our goals forbecoming a technolo-gy-infused school district toour community when werecognized that the benefitsto teaching and learningwith technology were real.They said, Go for it and theyapproved bond issues total-
ing over $32 million.The State of Washington,
through its InformationProcessing Cooperative,pro-vides access to the Internetfor 10,000 students and1,000 teachers for a mere$4,500 for an entire year.Thats 45 cents a child.
Funding the Network
Primary Functions of Networks
Shoreline Schoo l District, just north of Sea ttle, is a
suburban district of 9,500 students. The district is
fully networked with Apple products using fiber optic
cabling for voice, video, and data.
Communications: Allowing students, teachers, and fac-ulty to communicate with others in classrooms, schools,communities, states, or countries.
Information Access: Allowing students to reach be-yond the physical limitations of the classroom to obtaininformation relevant to their learning. This includesaccess to school library systems, CD-ROM databases,and information vi a the Internet stored on computers atany other networked location on the planet.
Share Resources: Allowing students t o accessremote files, share and publ ish t heir cl assroom proj ects,
access to pri nters, share files for collaborative projects,and use network modems or connections to online ser-vices and the Internet.
BenefitBenefit
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The Internet is shining
a new light on educational
resources. In this ne xt sec-
tion, teachers tell you how
its lighting up the ir classes.
Going Online
Koalaty LearningKameron Conner,
Rankin Elementary School, Tupelo, MS
E-mail: [email protected] lo.k12.m s.us
As a fourth-grade teacher, Kameron Conner was sur-
prised to discover that her students didnt know
much about Alabama, the sister state to theirnative Mississippi. Conner, who now teaches second
grade, started using her Macintosh LCII and the
Internet to link her students to
real people and places in the
United States via the online
travels of the class mascot, a
vir tual teddy bear named
Koala. Koalas hosts are
asked to send e-mail describ-
ing their state, city, school orworkday before sending Koala
to another state.
Conner says the Internet
gives her another way of
teaching her students geog-
raphy, and it reinforces for
me that I can teach, and my
students can and do learn, in different ways.
Making learning personal is an impor tant tactic with
far-reaching potential. Maybe if this generation of stu-
dents can get to know more people, Conner asserts,
some of the barriers in the world will dissolve.
Creating Critical ConsumersStanley Johnson
Jefferson Jr. High School, Washington, DC
E-mail: Under construction, along with his house.
Were still at the ooh and the aah stage, says sci-
ence teacher Stan Johnson, but the bottom line is,
you still have to read when you get to that Web site.This is one of many messages Johnson delivers to
his students as they learn research skills and use the
schools 15-Macintosh Inter-
net lab about once a week as
another tool in the arsenal.
The nice thing about the
Internet, he adds, is it allows
them access to current infor-
mation; it s not dead.
Beyond init ial access, hesays, Im teaching them to
be critical consumers of
information, Im tr ying to get
them to the point where
they can discriminate the
information they need from
everything else.
Johnson keeps it simple, but he doesnt take it
light ly. He says, If our ro le is to help kids
assume leadership roles in a global setting, we
need t o empower them to be literate in the tools
theyll be using.
Why We Use the Internet
4 Sponsored Supplement
Johnsons student s use the NBC News sitebecause its easy and graphical.
Stans Favorit e si te:
NBC News
http:/ / www.nbc.com
Kamerons Favorit e si te:
Rainforest
http:/ / mh.osd.
wednet.edu/
Photography
byGregPease
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Educators Speak Out
About the Web
Educators Speak Out
About the Web
5Sponsored Supplement
by I.B. Smith
Joyces Favorite sit e:
Yahoo! http./ / www.yahoo.com
Less Favorit e si te:
Ireland http:/ / www.rmii.com/ mckinley/ irish.html
Close-up on t he WorldLes Morse
Juneau-Douglas High Schoo l, Juneau, AK
E-mail: morse [email protected] .us
Comparing the government of the United States to
those of other countr ies is nothing new in high
school history classes, but the shifting world climatemeans that the governments described in textbooks
are not always the governments currently in power.
No matter. Social Studies teacher Les Morse and his
students use Macintosh computers to access the
Internet and tap into governments worldwide. Morses
seniors use the Internet to research a countrys consti-
tution, and political and economic systems.
It s quite a challenge, Morse says. Many consti-
tutions and much information is available, but stu-
dents sometimes run into language barr iers. If stu-dents are unable to find an interpreter on the
schools campus, they might turn t o the CIA World
Fact Book Internet site for a translation (although it
is sometimes hard to access).
Up-to-date information i s the main reason Mor se
encourages his students to get online. Although
they still rely on t raditi onal research t ools such
as periodicals, almanacs, and art icles, Morse
says, the Internet is a great source. s
I.B. Smith is a Senior Associate at the National Alliance
for Restructuring Education in Washington, D.C.
Bull ish on t he NetJoyce Perkins
Hardin-Jefferson High School, Sour Lake, TX
E-mail: [email protected]
Joyce Perkinss high school business students
received $100,000 to play the stock market for 10
weeks last fall, and it probably would not have hap-pened without the Internet. Perkins, a 1991 Christa
McAuliffe Fellow and self-proclaimed Internet
junkie, went online to ask if other educators had
participated in the local stock market simulation,
sponsored by theHouston Chronicle . One school
responded with advice on the game.
The Chronicle supplied daily newspapers for
each of the nine t eams in Perkinss class, and the
students used the Internet t o get t he most recent
stock quotes, research companies, and check outthe latest business headlines.
Its relevant information and more exciting, says
Perkins. We watched one stock go from 60 to 80 to
100 to 160 over a couple of days. With the
Internet, students who are choosing to buy and sell
stock as part of the simulation can keep a closer
track of that stocks performance, she says.
It s amazing, says Perkins, for business stu-
dents to get these stock quotes minute by
minute. They can do all types of math and futures
calculations, and t hese are skill s they are going to
need for their future.
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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1 NASA, t he National Air and Space Administrat ion(htt p:/ / www.gsfc.nasa.gov/ NASA_homepage.html)
The ult imate site for anyone fascinated by space explo-rat ion! During shut tl e missions check out Today@NASA,or visit Space Science, Mission to Planet Eart h, orGaller y, w ith it s searchable archiv e of photos plusmovie and audio cl ips. Also check out the Project Galil eoHome Page (www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/) to get the latestinformati on, includ ing images, from t he unmanned space-craft Galileo now orb it ing cloud-shrouded Jupiter, hun-dreds of milli ons of miles from Earth .
2 The Smithsonian Institution(http:/ / www.si.edu)
Now celebrating 150 years dedicated to the increase anddiffusion of knowledge the Smithsonian Institution is aworld-class collection of museums, galleries, and other facil-it ies worth a special visit t o Washington, D.C. The HomePage provides an overview of 18 different museums and gal-leries, a listing of new exhibit s at each, and just about any-thing else you want to know about the Smithsonian.
3 Nati onal Air & Space Museum(http:/ / www.si.edu/ organiza/ museums/ nasm/ start.htm)Make a virtual visit to the most popular of theSmithsonian museums. View a clickable floor plan of themuseum, learn about Einstein Planetarium shows andLangley Theater films, and find out about t he museumseducation activities.
4 Dinosaurs at Chicagos Field Museum of Natural History(http:/ / rs6000.bvis.uic.edu:80/ museum/ Dna_To_Dinosaurs.html)
Kids love dinosaurs, and this site is not just a Jurassic- butalso a Triassic- and Cretaceous-Park with lots of sounds andanimation. There are also links to other dinomite sites for
further prehistoric exploration.
5 ExploraNet: The Exploratoriums World Wide Web Server(http:/ / www.exploratorium.edu/ )
Why is the sky blue and the sunset r ed? Visit t his sitesScience Snackbook to get answers to this perennialquestion and to find instructions for replicating over 100experiments from San Franciscos famed hands-on sciencemuseum. You can also check out current Explor atoriumexhibit s, order from the Explor atorium Store, or experi-ment with online exhibits.
6 The Franklin Inst it ute Science Museum(http:/ / sln.fi .edu/ tfi / welcome.html)
Interactive exhibits like The Heart: A Virtual Exploration,a QuickTime movie tour of th is famed Philadelphia muse-um, and inQuiry Almanack, the online magazine devoted toinquir y-based learning, all make this site a must-visit forboth teachers and students.
7 Virtual Frog Dissection Kit(http:/ / george.lbl.gov/ ITG.hm.pg.docs/ dissect/ info.html)Students can explore frog anatomy without that nastyformaldehyde smell. After removing skin and internalorgans and viewing onl ine movies of actual dissections,they can click on Reset and put the lit tl e hopper t ogeth-er for a fresh start. And r emember, by sparing a real fr ogyou could be saving a prince!
8 Weather Photos f rom Space(http:/ / vortex.plymouth.edu/ usamap.html)Clicking on th is map of t he United States, Canada, andMexico brings up actual satelli te weather photos showing
weather distur bances and weather data for t hat area.Students can see why some regions are wet and othersdr y, and understand the sett lement patterns.
9 The Weather Underground(http:/ / groundhog.sprl.umich.edu/ )
Radical! Not for any 60s political agenda but for its beliefthat the Web should be interactive and parti cipatory, thisUniversity of Michigan-based site allows students to entertheir own weather observations and compare them to thosefor any other place in the world. Besides its cli ckable weath-er maps and hot links to all sorts of weather-related sites, itmaintains a k12weather l istserver for educators involvedin teaching weather-related and environmental issues.
10 Megamath(http:/ / www.c3.lanl.gov/ mega-math/ )
Wonderfully intriguing clickable titles like: Machinesthat Eat Your Words, Algor it hms and Ice Cream forAll, and Welcome to the Hotel Infinit y are designedto appeal to th e elementary-school users of this LosAlamos National Laboratory site which believes thatmathematics is fascinating.
Stan Solomon is a New York City school teacher.
Keeping an Eye on the Sites
6 Sponsored Supplement
by Stan SolomonGoing Online
There are so many resources to mine on the Web, weve brainstormed with Stan Solomon, one of the
original Web-explorers, to narrow the field for educators who want to get started. The following sites are cer-
tainly eligible for any teachers Top Ten Sites list. Theyre interesting, useful, and definitely educational.
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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Five years ago, I hooked up a modem to the
Mac in my classroom and took my students
online. I couldnt wait to see the looks on their
faces when they were instantly connected to NASA,
university libraries, and classrooms in far-off places.
Exchanging e-mail wi th people in other countries,
downloading space pictures, and retr ieving articles
from gopher sites was heady stuff. I couldnt wait tolet the revolution begin.
The revolution started quietly with Kelly, a
fourth grader, who was researching
life in Israel. She was taking
most of her information from
reference books and ency-
clopedias. I suggested she
post a help request for
information online.
Within a few days,Kelly met Max, a retired
Israeli mil itary officer in
Tel Aviv. Max provided
Kelly with a vir tual visit to
Israel, offering insights into local
customs, daily activ it ies, and perspec-
tives on Israel that she never would have found
through conventional resources. Kelly s research
suddenly came alive and became relevant to
her. A deep connection was made.
Now, as the Internet is increasingly used to tap
into the myriad of treasures on the World Wide Web,
the links and sources of direct learning have explod-
ed. Even the most casual browsing reveals scads of
great resources. This is the perfect arena for making
education relevant to real life.
Of course, not all of my experiences have been
as smooth as Kellys e-mail exchange with Max.
There are some bumpy roads in t his revolution:
s I designed an introductor y lesson in which the
class and I together would explore some of
NASAs rich sites, only to receive a cordial mes-
sage that the site was currently too busy. Would
we p lease tr y again l ater.
s Students are not always amazed at what Im
amazed about. I eagerly shared a few Civil
War sites, and the feedback con-
sisted of complaints that t he
sites were mostly t ext and
the photos were only in
black and white.
s After an introduc-
tor y lesson on how tocreate home pages,
students showed much
more interest i n finding
cool icons than in the actu-
al contents of the page.
Theres so much to mine on the Web that a
teachers primary task is to help students sift
through the glitz, steering them away from the
Whats cool? The Web has the resources to
engage students with compelling information and
qualit y contents. Its not as tidy as we teachers
might l ike, but it is both real and here to stay. It
remains for us, and our students, to craft the
learning we can do t here. s
Jim Golubich is a elementary school teacher at the
Shoreline School District in Washington.
by Jim Golubich
7Sponsored Supplement
of the World Wide Web
One Teachers TourOne Teachers Tour
Illustrati
onbyStanislaw
Fernandes
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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Workgroup technology is manageable and affordable, and its he lp-
ing to enrich both the learning experiences of students and the profes-
sionial development of teachers through easy access to information.
Students are twice as interested in and enthusiastic
about doing research since we installed the Library
Research Server Bundle, says Kenneth Collins, com-puter lab teaching assistant. Presentation skills and
the quality of student reports and research projects
have all markedly improved. Using the networked CD
resources, students now routinely incorporate higher
quality con-
tent and visu-
als into their
reports and
papers and
classroom
projects.
Before the
school in-
stalled a CD-
Tower, students had to take turns using the CD soft-
ware. If one student was searching through a
research program, every other student had to wait,
and wait, and wait. What Channon Quillen, the dis-
tr ict technology specialist, wanted was some way to
turn those waiters into users. Even though Cedar
Ridge is a small school375+ students and 60+
computer workstationsQuillen says he knew we
could make better use of the schools CD software
resources by putt ing in some kind
of network.
The CD-Tower enabled the com-
puters in the research lab/library
Losing Some Wait
Classroom Networking:
Cedar Ridge Elementary
School (Waco Independent
School District, Waco, TX)
8 Sponsored Supplement
Networking
Networking Success Stories:
Outlines You Can Follow
No more taking (slow) t urns on t he CD-soft ware.
one
Apple Workgroup Server linkscomputer l ab wit h librar y, and a CD-Tower all ows CD-ROM t it les t o beshared by many students at once.
IllustrationsbySta
nislaw
Fernandes
Photography
by
ShellyKatz
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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and the computer lab to access the schoolss CD
collection simultaneously. For the students, the
new networked technology means a much more
product ive usage of research time. A number of
students can plug into the same encyclopedia,
and simultaneously explore completely different
routes to get the information they need.
Our next project wil l be to extend the network
into every classroom in the building, says
Colli ns. Weve already knocked down the walls
between the research lab/lib rary and the com-
puter/product ion lab. Our goal now is to knock
down t he walls separating the classrooms from
our onl ine CD-ROM resources. s
9Sponsored Supplement
Were bent on networ king every single class-
room in t he build ing, says Bob Tri kakis,
Wachusett Regional High Schools network man-
ager. Meantime, all our Mac labs are networked
on a fiber-optic backbone int o our media center,
and from there out t o the Internet. These labs
include a math/science lab, a writ ing center, a
graphics lab, a curri culum l ab, a teachers l ab,
and even an office network. From any of t hefive labs, students can call upon the resources
of th e media center, or use the media center to
get onto the
Internet
where they
gather the
resources of
the Worl d
Wide Web.
A student
in the writing
lab can use
the network
to call down
to the math/science lab and pull up a science report
he may be working on, says Trikakis. Then, if heneeds additional data, he can go to the media cen-
ter and tap into any CD-ROM.
When everythings online and interconnected,
collabor ation i s the name of the game. Many
times my graphics art s kids will assist ot her stu-
dents with th eir multimedia projects, Trikakis
says. Therell be some sort of query on e-
mail-and pretty soon a number of students are
working t ogether online, on the same project,
from different computer stations. Its sort of vi r-
tual collaboration.
That includes the teachers. Their lab has
developed into what Trikakis calls a hive of
interconnectivit y. You have teachers helping
teachers develop better
lessonsor just working
together on new curriculum
ideas, he says. s
Building Networking:
Wachusett Regional High
School (Holden, MA)
by Robert McCarthy
Not in a Class by Itself
Students eagerly await the extension of e-mail.
two
The media center is the hub of themultilab network, which uses an Apple
Workgroup Server, online car d catalog, andApple Internet Solutions.
Photo
graphy
by
SethResnick
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
12/17
This rural district of 11 schools with just 4,500 stu-
dents spans an area of 43 square miles. It would take
a full day to walk across the district . Thats a lot of
open space in between schools. To close those dis-
tances, we networked all 850 computers in all the
schools, says Chris Richardson, superintendent.Then we took the schools and networked all of
them. The district suddenly seems a lot smaller.
Each school building is serviced by a local area
network; and each building is linked to all of the oth-
ers by means of a wide area network. Teachers and
administrators can share files, access data sources,
and exchange e-mail from practically any Macintosh
workstation at any locationand the networks also
open a route to the Internet. Students can tap into
online resources held in their own schools, or in anyother school across the distr ict, or go right out on to
the World Wide Web.
Already all of the districts teachers and administra-
tors have
been assigned
addresses and
can easily
communicate
via internal e-
mail. With e-
mail, commu-
nication
begins to
occur more often and gets much easier to accom-
plish, Richardson says. Instead of pursuing each
other with paper, or playing protracted telephone tag,
teachers can use the e-mail system to hold virtual fac-
ulty meetings, or do curriculum-building online.
This is not just the world of theory, either. Our
teachers have used that application to collabo-
ratein vir tuality, as it wereon various curr icu-
lum documents. Its all accomplished without paper,
or messengers, or having to pick up the telephone,
or even having to schedule times to meet face toface. The increases in efficiency and productivity,
and teacher satisfaction, too, have been significant.
Across the district, the network is fast becoming
an integral part of the curriculum for language arts,
math, social studies, and even home economics.
Students in chemistry classes, for instance, have
been using the network to help each other conduct
experiments, share results, store lab notebooks
online, and even surf the Internet to do research.
What were looking at now is a burgeoningdemand for computer accessespecially as more
and more students obtain e-mail addresses, Richard-
son observes. We see students as needing, and ben-
efiting from, access to technology almost all of the
time theyre in the school building. s
10 Sponsored Supplement
Networking
System-Wide Networking:North Platte Public Schools
(North Platte, NE)
Shrinking the Dist rict
Students share chemistry notesacross the district.
three
Robert McCarthy is a freelance writer
based in West New York, New Jersey.
All schools linked together viaApple Workgroup Servers and software.
Internet access is easy using AppleInternet Solutions.
Photography
by
GeorgeHipple
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
13/17
Weather may be one of the most common projects
undertaken in a general science class, but for tenth-
grade students at Smoky Hill High School who are
networked and on the Internet, a project on weath-
er changed the way they viewed the wor ld.
You could feel the power of the network immediate-
ly from the very first class I taught where the kids
had the access, says Rich Maginn, Smoky Hill s
computer/science teacher. As we worked on our
weather project, I could really see the changes in thekids. Their perspectives altered. For the first t ime,
they got a real sense that they were living on a planet
and that every part affected every other part.
Weather Watch. Maginns students took part in a
world weather watch, where they tr acked weather
formations as it moved across the globe. Because
they were networ ked to each other, and out into
the Internet, each student could t rack different
terrestrial locations, and call up photographic
images from many of the Earths different satel-
lit es. They also learned about weather forecasting,
interpreting barometr ic pressure readings and iso-
bar symbols, and t racking satellit es in geosyn-
chronous orbits. They checked in daily with the
National Weather Service to observe storm fronts
shifting, captured and downloaded satellit e pic-
tures of the Earths surface, and sent messages to
each other over the network with enthusiastic
missives such as, Hey, check out what s happen-
ing in the South Pacific!
ONE TEACHERS SCHOOLWIDE SUCCESS
11Sponsored Supplement
Students at Smoky Hill High School (Aurora, Co.) havean online forum for discussion and project-sharing.
by Robert McCarthy
A building-wide network turns this
sprawling high school of 3,000
students into one big (happy) classroom
Photography
by
MichaelPeck
Minds OnlineMinds Online
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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At Home on the Network . One of the best advan-
tages to firing kids up about what theyre learn-
ing, Maginn says, is that t he classroom projects
cont inue on after class most of the time.
Thats what happened when Maginn and 25 of his
students decided to use their schools interconnec-
tivity to create a Home Page on the World Wide
Web (http://www.smoky.ccsd.k12.co.us). In the best
examples, a home page exhibits the personality of
its address. Smoky Hill High School students creat-
ed a home page that includes lists of students and
teachers, the school newspaper, an act ivit ies calen-
dar, and a parent newsletter. Anyone who logs onto
the home page can submit questions, view a mapof the school building, take a virtual tour of the
school, or call up specific information about each
of the schools academic departments.
This was a collaborative effort , where we worked
together for months, Maginn says. The students
own this Web page, and that has a lot to do wi th its
outstanding quality.
Using various forms of media is nothing new to
the students. Their Macintosh environment
enabled them to use multimedia in their presenta-
tions and report s long before they went online.
Maginn says thats why they knew how they
wanted it to look.
Forum of Expression. But nothing is more popular
on the Smoky Hill network than the school-wide
e-mail system, known as SmokyNet. The system
was no sooner installed than 700 or 800 kids
wanted immediate access and e-mail addresses,
Maginn says. For a $5 fee, students got the go-
ahead to express themselves online.We had an awful lot of interesting ideas being gen-
erated. Kids were defining their positions, then
defending or modifying them based on how they
challenged each other, Maginn says. In its first 50
days of operation, the Apple e-mail server delivered
23,513 pieces of e-mail to the network. Not even one
glitch or crash. Thats pretty phenomenal reliability.
Classes have set up virtual conference areas
and chat rooms. And Smoky Hill faculty has set
up a three-session e-mail t raining class to ensure
that the canons of good behavior stil l hold, even
in cyberspace.
These interschool, online forums include every-
thing from wr iting projects on current events to
describing the techniques of snowboarding. One
of the most popular and hotly attended of the
SmokyNet conference rooms features a dialogue
on the role of religion in ci vic li fe. Topics under
discussion include abor tion, public pr ayer, big-
otr y, and religious freedom.
We have nearly 3,000 students. There are lots ofwings, and floors, separate department areas,
each wit h it s own resource rooms....but with our
interconnectivit y it s like were all in one big class-
room, says Maginn. And nobodys excluded.
Part icipation can come from anywheremaybe
from the kid at the next computer, or maybe from
someone on the other side of the world. s
12 Sponsored Supplement
Networking
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
15/17
Powered by a new generation of servers,
the Apple Workgroup Server 7250 and
8550, Apple Comput er is leading the
way with easy-to-use Internet and Networking
solutions for schools. These new pr oducts
offer outstanding network perfor-
mance that allow a school t o maxi-
mize their server investment and
take advantage of new t echnologiesto assist in the learning process.
The introduction of these servers
represents Apples commitment to the
PCI (Peripheral Component Inter-
connect) standard, which offers more
flexibilit y and expansion capabili ty
than was previously possible. The PCI model lets
users add on cards that allow enhanced capabili-
ties in graphics, telecommunications, or storage.
And these servers are Power Macintosh-based,
the next generation of personal computers; how-
ever, they work wi th your existing software
applications as well as applications designed for
the Power Macintosh.
In addit ion to t he new
hardware enhancements,
the new ser vers also
include a Workgroup ServerSolut ions CD that offers a
broad range of management
and administrative software
to help schools efficiently operate their net-
works. If purchased separately, thi s software
bundle would cost over $4,000, demonstrating
Apples Newest Internet & Networking
by Jane Albertson
13Sponsored Supplement
CUPERTINO, CAMore educators use Macintosh computers to publish to
the Internet than any other platform. And, Apples new servers provide a cost-
effective, easy link for creating a presence on the Web.
News fromApple
Solutions Put Schools FirstSolutions Put Schools First
Apple Workgroup Servers:In addition to t he existing, af fordableWorkgroup Server 6150 (right), Apple intr oduces the 7250(left) and the 8550 (middle).
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
16/17
Apples commitment to high value and high per-
formance in the new server line.
Apple Networking Software Solutions
The new servers wil l be available with all
Apple Education Networking Software
Solut ions. These include the Apple Internet
Server Solution for publish-
ing content on the World
Wide Web; AppleShare for
sharing files, pr inters, and
applications; the Library
Research Server
Solution for access-ing CD-based
resources, and the
Communications
Solut ion for e-mail
and elec-
tronic bul-
letin board
exchanges.
Two of
these software solut ions have been enhanced
to better meet the needs of education.
Apple Internet Solution for the WWW
The newest version of this software bundle
includes Adobe Systems PageMill program,
which lets schools create their own Web page,
and then automatically translates that material
into Web code (HTML text) wi th a touch of a
but ton. Teachers need not spend time program-
ming in HTML in order for their home pages tobe seen on the World Wide Web.
The latest Internet Server Solut ion also fea-
tures a RealAudio Server, allowing for audio
publishing on the Web. Audio can be down-
loaded from the Internet, saved, and used in
other applications. Addit ional software includes
WebStar, NetScape Navigator, Acrobat Pro,
MacDNS, AppleSearch, Server Stat, and more.
AppleShareApple has also launched AppleShare 4.2.1, the
most up-to-date enhancement of the AppleShare
software. This easy-to-use network operating
software provides seamless communication inte-
gration into the school network and allows users
to share files, printers, and/or applications.
AppleShare 4.2.1 allows as many as 250 concur-
rent users, compared to 150 allowed by the pre-
vious version. Additionally, AppleShare 4.2.1 sup-
ports up to 3,000 open files, nearly a tenfold in-
crease above the 346 open files possible using 4.1.
For more information on Apple products,
call 1-800-800-APPL or on t he Int ernet at :
http://www.info.apple.com/education s
Jane Albertson is a NY-based technology writer.
14 Sponsored Supplement
The Apple Int ernet Server Solut ionincludes all the software needed toallow your school to easily publishon the World Wide Web.
The Workgroup Server 7250 combines fast connectiv-ity and a processor speed of 120 MHz, and is config-ured with 16MB of RAM, 1.2GB on the hard disk, anda quad-speed CD-ROM drive. Three PCI slots are stan-dard, and the new industrial design makes expansioneasy. Designed for use in classrooms, small adminis-trative networks or libraries, this low-cost PCI serveris Apples most versatile Workgroup server.
For networks requir ing greater power and perfor -mance, Apple offers t he Workgroup Server 8550,running on the RISC-based 604 (PowerPC) proces-sor at a speed of 132 MHz, with 24MB RAM, threePCI slots, a quad-speed CD-ROM dr ive, and a ful l2GB on the hard disk for greater storage capacity.Apples 8550 Server also offers automatic backupcapabili ties, with bui lt -in DAT dr ives.
News fromApple
The 7250 The 8550
Server Specifics
8/14/2019 Scholastic Supplement
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15Sponsored Supplement
Theres nothing more compelling to me t han
helping a student learn. Thats my motiva-
tion for teaching, learning, using technology,
surfing the Internet....whatever.
My first project with students online in 1988
hooked me right from the start . A student of mine
wrote an essay as part of a project on KidsNetwork,
and won my first Macintosh for me. This child waserroneously classified in special ed. What
empowerment the computer gave
him, and how it helped me to
identify his part icular style
of learning! Since then,
Ive made it my busi-
ness to take my stu-
dents online. But not
enough of us have
access to this greatestof level playing fields.
First t hings first. We need
leadership in our districts to lay
the groundwork for our connectivity.
Thus far, only a mere 3 percent of classrooms in our
country have Internet access. The National
Information Infrastructure Advisory Council has identi-
fied electronic networking as the link to creating the
school of the future. They are lobbying to provide
teachers access to a broad array of online curricular
materials and innovative instructional approaches. The
technology for providing schools access already exists.
The costs of installing and supporting interconnectivity
would represent a small portion of the education bud-
get; roughly 1.5% to 3.9% of the total K-12 budget dur-
ing the initial installation. By comparison, 1.3% of the
public K 12 budget is spent on technology today.
Next, we need to learn together. When you learn t o
download text, photos, graphics, video clips, doc-
uments, lessons, and sample software, you will
understand why linking all classrooms across the
countr y has become a national pr ior ity. Last sum-
mer, more than 200 teachers from around the
countr y talked, laughed, and learned t ogether
online at sites ranging from New Mexico to NewJersey as part of the Online Internet Institut e.
This is not just one workshop, but
comfortable sustained learning
with real teachers who know
teaching and technology.
Join our virtual faculty and
let us take you through
the learning process.
Looking ahead. We keephearing about how in the
next millenium, information
will be a pri mary product of
value. Well, its not just i nforma-
tion t hats a primary p roduct of value.
Its education. Knowing how to learn is at a pre-
mium, and the students who are learning how t o
build knowledge using vast r esources of informa-
ti on are way ahead of the game. We need t o set
our national agenda to establi sh equal and
affordable access for all chi ldren to the wealth of
information in existence. We need to build th is
community together. s
Bonnie Bracey is an Arlington ( Va.) schoolteacher,
and a member of the National Information
Infrastructure Advisory Council. Contact her at:
BBracey @aol.com
Weve seen some compelling reasons for networking our schools and using
the Internet. But how do we break out of the isolation of our ill-equipped class-
rooms and take advantage of the vast resources available to us?
Building the Community
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by Bonnie Bracey