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March 1, 1998
Telecommunications in Middle Years
by Dianne Yee
Telecommunication projects are "naturals" for middle years students and their teachers. Online projects where telecommunication skills are developed and topics are studied in depth provide a learning experience that is impossible to attain through any other medium (Dyrli & Kinnaman, 1996). The technology is an essential vehicle, but the substance of telecommunications projects comes from individuals dedicated to the enrichment of students' learning (LeBaron & Teichmann, 1989). In 1990, the Swift Current School Public Division pursued funding through the Saskatchewan Futures Corporation and various corporate partnerships in order to develop a technology pilot project. The project, called "Chalk, Chips and Children," focused on using technology to enhance teaching and learning for middle years students. It was implemented over a five year period and cost approximately 1.8 million dollars. Extensive renovations that transformed an existing elementary school into a high-tech middle school. As a result of being principal of this project school, I have been personally involved with a variety of telecommunications projects. Our middle school joined several projects which others had organised, and we also organised several projects ourselves.
Our Telecommunications Sampler
The National Geographic Kids Network has been delivering telecommunications-based projects since 1988. We joined their projects in both 1992 and 1993. These projects were eight-week, structured curriculum units that offered an interdisciplinary approach to studying a specific science topic. Our teacher received technical information about online communication, specific information about the study unit, a welcome letter from the unit scientist, and a calendar outlining the session activities. The class was then assigned to a team of 12 to 14 other classes from around the world. Students were responsible for exchanging letters and data files with their teammates. National Geographic compiled the data from all participants for review by a unit scientist who specialised in the topic of study. The scientist helped students learn to analyse the data, see patterns, and to respond to issues. The teacher who worked with this unit was an enthusiastic teacher who had a very strong science background. She was able to coordinate the Kids Network material with her own wealth of information and with other school and community resources.
Our school participated in the Kids from KANATA computer-conferencing project in 1993. Two hundred schools were selected for the program. Our teachers received classroom materials, a set of historical maps of Canada, a user guide, and membership to the SciLink network. Partially funded by the Secretary of State, the project focused on First Nations or aboriginal schools communicating electronically with two other schools from across Canada on the environment, health, politics, economics, and language and culture.
Participants were also asked to prepare KANATA Exchange Boxes to share personal and community items with their partners. Teachers were able to post information to a public conference or to communicate with private e-mail. There were also regular EN:TAKWA:KO, day-long celebrations, where participants logged in and talked "live" to anyone on the network about their projects. There were a number of high-profile political figures involved in the project: Joe Clark, Ovide Mercredi, Buffy Sainte-Marie... This project was organised as an extracurricular activity at our school because the teachers who coordinated the project felt their teaching assignment was not compatible with integration of the project into their classes.
The Saskatchewan Writers' Guild School Support System located on the Saskatchewan Education, Training and Employment Bulletin Board System provided two telecommunications opportunities for our students in 1994 and 1995. An "Electronic Writer-in-Residence" was available to provide feedback for students and to coordinate sharing of writing among Saskatchewan youth. In 1994, I provided this electronic writing experience as one option for a final project in my grade 8 English course. Because the project was very well received by the students, we continued the project the following year using a writers' club approach. Saskatchewan author Brenda Niskala provided very encouraging, specific, and wise feedback to students in both the English project and the writers' club. Students had the freedom to write in whatever genre they chose. Positive relationships between the students and the writer had a chance to develop during the extended writers' club project; she provided a powerful, colourful female role model for our students. After submitting student writing to Brenda all year and having her return feedback to individual students, our school invited her to present an on-site workshop for students with an interest in creative writing.
Our school was involved with Middle Years Cultural Diversity projects from 1993 to 1995. They began before Internet access was available to our school by using the Saskatchewan Bulletin Board System. The project goals were to provide an understanding of one's own culture and community, to provide an understanding of other cultures and communities, and to promote student exchange of information by mail, fax and e-mail. Students shared letters, stories, photographs, maps, artwork, music, models, and video and audio tapes. These projects were integrated into the culture unit of the grade 8 social studies curriculum. In 1993, six Saskatchewan schools were involved.
Teachers from the culturally diverse schools met in Saskatoon to plan the project with the assistance of Saskatchewan Education personnel. Five topics were to be covered in a three month time span: school and class introductions; origins, spirituality, religion and family life; food, clothing and shelter; politics and economics; and arts, recreation and leisure. Other guidelines were specified, and Saskatchewan Education assisted with technical difficulties, both on-site and via the telephone.
During a follow-up meeting, teachers organised a Cultural Diversity Conference for the 200 participating students and teachers. This conference was hosted by the Arm River Hutterite Colony at the end of the project. Each class presented sessions specific to the cultural background of their school. There were colony tours, communal Hutterite meals, opportunity for the students to play sports in mixed groupings, and a closing ceremony which included presentations to the colony elders.
In 1994, because of the success of the first project, 21 schools were involved. This second project was organised by Saskatchewan Education. The large number of schools eager to participate were divided into two groups. There was no initial face-to-face planning meeting. No Hutterite schools were involved, and many of the schools were from multicultural communities. School participation varied considerably, and there was little interest in a wind-up activity.
In 1995, six schools were involved including one school from Yellowknife and one from Harrisburg, Missouri. The third project was organised by our school. At this time the Internet was available, which allowed for inclusion of a Northwest Territories school and an American school. An urban community school with a large First Nations population, a Hutterite school, a Catholic school and our school were involved. A project planning meeting was attended by the Saskatchewan participants with audioconferencing available for the Yellowknife and Harrisburg schools. In this project three topics were selected by students: school introductions and education, location and environment, and family and culture. The time between submission deadlines was extended to one month. Saskatchewan participants used audioconferencing to organise a wind-up activity for approximately 80 students and teachers which was again hosted by the Arm River Hutterite Colony. Our school was involved with a Jilin Twinning project from 1990 to 1995. Under the Saskatchewan-Jilin Twinning Agreement, ten Saskatchewan schools developed formal linkages with exemplary schools in Jilin, China. Because of the lack of sophistication of telephone and data communications in the Peoples' Republic of China, e-mail communications were not possible during this time. A provincial organisation to promote the twinning projects was arranged through Saskatchewan Education.
In 1992, following several years of exchanging information by mail and telephone, three staff from our system visited our twin school in Jilin. In 1994, a four person delegation from Jilin made a return visit to our school. In order to facilitate communication, we purchased a fax machine to give to our twin school. Presenting this gift required considerable negotiations with the Chinese government. When the fax machine was first installed in our twin school, it was closely guarded by the Communist Party staff member, but when it became evident that we were not engaged in subversive activity, regulations for fax usage were relaxed. We communicated regularly by fax, telephone and mail.
Examples of Student Communications
Middle Years Students
It is widely accepted that middle years learners have unique characteristics that must be considered in planning instructional programs (National Middle School Association, 1997b; Oppenheimer, 1990). "Within a few years, young adolescents undergo rapid physical growth, changes in moral reasoning, the onset of abstract thinking and introduction to a range of social pressures... Simultaneously, the lifelong developmental tasks of forming a personal identity...acquiring social skills, gaining autonomy and developing character and a set of values are begun" (National Middle School Association , 1997a, p. 1). Exemplary middle schools address the distinctiveness of their students with a variety of instructional and organisational features. Interdisciplinary teaming, advisory programs, varied instruction, exploratory programs and transition programs are five key components of middle level education (National Middle School Association, 1997a).
Many telecommunications projects target middle years students (Arakai, 1995; Dolton, 1996; Dyrli & Kinnaman, 1996). Surviving and thriving in any middle years classroom requires that teachers routinely utilise teaching strategies that are evident in successful telecommunications projects (Andres, 1995). The middle years instructional practices of allowing students to learn and express themselves in a variety of ways, of focusing upon real life issues and addressing students' own questions, of actively engaging students in problem-solving, and of emphasising cooperation, collaboration and community were also the basis of the telecommunication projects in which our school participated. Collaborative learning using telecommunications is especially effective at the middle school level (Apple Computer, 1994). The creation of "telecommunities" teaches students to communicate effectively and work cooperatively in an authentic context. In cross-classroom collaboration, students are placed in the role of regional experts. In order to teach other students about their situation, they develop knowledge in a deeper way than usual (Riel, 1991).
Middle years students have a strong orientation towards peers and exhibit many concerns about social acceptance. Learning experiences for young adolescents should promote the value of individual diversity, should involve them in discovering significant knowledge about people around the world, and should help them make sense of themselves and their world through study of social issues (National Middle School Association, 1997c). Our telecommunications projects all promoted social development; however, the Cultural Diversity projects and Jilin Twinning project provided the richest multicultural experiences. The more communication exchanges occur among students of different ethnic or racial backgrounds, the greater the understanding and acceptance of one another; students often learned their similarities outweighed their differences (Andres, 1995; Riel, 1991). Middle years teachers are often very enthusiastic technology users because it supports "their kind" of instruction.
Reflections on Telecommunications Projects
Although each telecommunication project provided positive learning for our students and teachers, our projects experienced varying degrees of success when we considered the quality of social interaction and student learning. Sound pedagogical reasons for using telecommunications often involve developing research skills; publishing and sharing student work and experiences; achieving immediacy and spontaneity of communication; and understanding geographical, cultural and political diversity (Dolton, 1996).
These guiding principles were reflected in our project choices. In successful telecommunications projects a number of factors relate to the pedagogy: having specific goals and a clear educational purpose; integration into existing curriculum; promotion of higher order thinking skills, collaborative effort and active learning; educational benefits for all participants as a result of the project; and inclusion of a product or assessment component (Dolton, 1996; Dyrli & Kinnaman, 1996; Harris, 1995; Riel, 1991). Several factors also relate specifically to the technology: telecommunications makes the project possible or adds a dimension not possible with more traditional learning methods; relatively invisible technology with the educational aspects predominating; easily accessible, easily understood and well-supported technology; and contingencies planned for possible technology equipment or telecommunications system failure (Dolton, 1996; Dyrli & Kinnaman, 1996; Harris, 1995). In addition several factors relate to project management: setting specific timelines with phased deadlines to improve commitment to following through with the project; providing models or examples of data which participants may submit; having students trained as project managers; and following up with summary information and thank-you's (Andres, 1995; Dyrli & Kinnaman, 1996; Rogers et al, 1990; Harris, 1995).
Past experiences prompted our staff to consider additional criteria in selecting from the myriad of good, inexpensive telecommunication projects available or in developing our own projects. Exemplary projects are characterised by a significant amount of input by staff and students into the project design to allow for project ownership (Arakaki, 1995; Harris, 1995). Teachers require the opportunity to negotiate with one another and to identify specific ideas and strategies that will meet the needs of their students and fulfill their responsibilities to their curricula. Our school will avoid over-complicated, inflexible projects which teachers and students will have difficulty completing (Dyrli & Kinnaman, 1996). Projects following a "Learning Circle" approach involve a more intimate grouping of five to 10 classrooms and still allow for the advantage of cultural or regional diversity. These groupings are small enough that individuals feel their contribution is necessary to a successful project yet also allow for a variety of perspectives to be presented even if one or two classes experience telecommunication difficulties (Harris, 1995; Riel, 1991). We are now cautious of large, impersonal projects.
Exemplary projects also put considerable effort into closure of the project (Riel, 1991). "After all of the planning, coordination, collaboration and hard work that project participants have expended and all of the rich learning that took place, opportunities should be available for participants and their associates outside the project group to marvel at what has been accomplished" (Harris, 1995, p. 6). Emotional good-byes and promises to "keep in touch" are hallmarks of successful telecommunication projects. Closing celebrations and interesting, innovative final products will be considered in project selection or development. Human interaction is the substance of a telecommunications experience, not the technology itself (Riel, 1991). Using telecommunications in a collaborative way helps teachers capture the excitement of learning; when teachers also become learners, it makes a difference in what and how middle students learn. It is important to acknowledge the role of social interaction in learning for both students and teachers. We will give priority to experiences that create situations where participants actually have the opportunity to meet the people they have worked with in their virtual classrooms.
Telecommunications, Teaching and Learning
More and more knowledge lies outside of the classroom (Duchastel & Turcotte, 1996). For some teachers, telecommunications expands the walls of their classrooms, opening windows to real audiences and exciting interactive activities from around the country and the world (Rogers, Andres, Jacks & Clauset, 1990). Frequently those teachers will give evangelistic accounts of "life-changing" online communications. Novices who hear them are often frustrated by the learning curve imposed by technology obstacles in the average classroom. In addition to dealing with the technical components of telecommunications, teachers must depend on other people to participate with them in a social realm that may be unpredictable and temperamental (Rogers, et al., 1990). Technology is able to provide a "push" in the direction of rethinking teaching practice (Duchastel & Turcotte, 1996). My experiences with technology, teaching, and learning have created a different view of my competencies; what I perceive as a personal success or failure has changed. After many exhausting hours and frustrating experiences, I have realised that I cannot "know everything and tell it all" in the world of technology and schooling. My limited stories and experiences cannot compete with the rich information students share each other or with adult experts outside my classroom. When I made the shift from being a principal who taught to being a teacher who learned along with my staff and students and also occupied the principal's office, I became less frustrated with technology. What I am learning today regarding educational technology is simply a transition to what I will need to learn tomorrow. Considering my various experiences with educational technology, the telecommunications projects have had the most profound influence on reshaping my views of teaching and learning.
References
Andres, Y. (1995). Collaboration in the classroom and over the Internet [Online]. Available: http://www.gsn.org/teach/articles/collaboration.html
Apple Computer. (1994). Middle school language arts. Apple Education Research Series: Effectiveness Reports [Online]. Available: http://appleclub.com.hk/education/effect7.html
Arakaki. S. (1995). The Global Education Telecommunications Network--criteria for successful e-mail projects [Online]. Available: http://kalama.doe.hawaii.edu/~sharen/GETN.html
Dolton, B. (1996, June). Planning and managing a telecommunications project [Online]. Available: http://mciunix.mciu.k12.pa.us/~mimi96/petc/petc96/petc96.html
Duchastel, P. & Turcotte, S. (1996). On-line teaching and learning in an information-rich context [Online]. Available: http://www.nova.edu/~duchaste/inet.html
Dyrli, O. E. & Kinnaman D. E. (1996). Connecting with the world through successful telecommunications projects. Technology and Learning, 16(6), 57-62.
Harris, J. (1995, February). Organizing and facilitating telecollaborative projects [Online]. Available: http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/Mining/February95-TCT.html
LeBaron, J. & Teichmann, V. (1989). KITES: A middle school environmental science telelink to West Germany. Educational Technology, 29(12), 51-53.
National Middle School Association, (1997a, February). Exemplary middle schools. NMSA Research Summary #4 [Online]. Available: http://www.nmsa.org/ressum4.htm
National Middle School Association. (1997b, February). Middle level curriculum: A work in progress [Online]. Available: http://www.nmsa.org/wip.htm
National Middle School Association, (1997c, February). Young adolescents' developmental needs. NMSA Research Summary #5 [Online]. Available: http://www.nmsa.org/ressum5.htm
Oppenheimer, J. (1990). Getting it right: Meeting the needs of the early adolescent learner. Toronto, ON: Federation of Women Teachers' Association of Ontario.
Riel, M. (1991). Children, learning and computer-mediated communication [Online]. Available: http://bolt.lakeheadu.ca/~facedwww/Kerlin/Riel.html
Riel, M. (1997). Learning spaces in the networlds of tomorrow [Online]. Available: http://www.iearn.org/webtour/2/intern3.html#final
Rogers, A., Andres, Y., Jacks, M. & Clauset, T. (1990). Telecommunications in the classroom: Keys to successful telecomputing. The Computing Teacher, 17(8), 25-28.
E-mail: Dianne Yee
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