From: Jack.Crawford@f620.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Jack Crawford)
Newsgroups: k12.chat.teacher
Subject: Why Offline Readers?? 2/2
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 11:40:00 PST
Organization: FidoNet node 1:260/620 - W-FL Teacher Resour, Stanley NY

>>> Continued from previous message
It's 2 a.m. and the phone rates are 60% discounted now. The BBS
computer in the library now "wakes up" and begins a series of
fully automated tasks. First, it looks over the 10,000 or so
messages that are stored on it's hard drive and deletes the oldest
2,000 to make room for new messages from the network. IT also
performs some other routine "houskeeping" tasks. It compresses all
of the new messages that have come from the local students and
teachers (including those from Michael and Sally) into a special
"packet" destined for the network.

Next, the Widmer H.S. BBS computer makes it's one and only outgoing
call for the day. It calls "Mother", a special BBS at TRC which is
part of K12net's North American network distribution "backbone". The
two computers, both equipped with very high speed modems, start by
exchanging passwords to ascertain their identities. Now the highly
compressed mail packet containing all of the mail from Widmer High
School (including that from Michael and Sally) is transmitted to
"Mother" for international distribution. Then "Mother" sends a mail
packet containing messages from K12net, FIDOnet and the Internet to
the Widmer H.S. BBS. These will come from all over the world and
will be well over a thousand in number each night, providing massive
content or "critical mass" to the Widmer H.S. BBS. Then the two
computers hang up. This one long distance phone call, using an
existing phone line, provides a very substantial network feed that
is international in scope. It takes takes only a few minutes in
duration and will cost the equivalent of a few postage stamps and
yet, it will serve the entire student/teacher population of Widmer
High School!

The mail packet just recceived by Widmer H.S. BBS is now being
decompressed and processed by the computer. Just like in a post
office, all messages destined for the Aquarium conference will be
"tossed" into the Aquarium area "mail box". Copies of these will be
loaded on to the K12net disks of the students and teachers who are
signed up for this conference. Same for K12net Science, Social
Studies  and hundreds of other conference areas. Private Email to
individuals is placed in individual "mail boxes". The system now
goes back to "sleep" to wait for another caller..."Z Z z z"

Meanwhile "Mother" is also serving a large number of BBS's in the
northeast U.S. There are a number of other "Mothers" throughout the
world and they all "talk" to each other several times a day,
exchanging the sum total of new email and conference activity that
has been generated in their respective regions. This is the K12net
"backbone". A message written in Australia shows up in France and
everywhere else within a day. Some also provide gateways into other
networks such as the Internet to provide connectivity which is truly
universal in scope.

Michael's message arrives in Australia within a few hours. In Sydney
Barry sits at his computer and logs onto his schools' BBS and
discovers that he has mail waiting from Michael. He replies to
Michael that the Murray River is a fairly clean river but they are
becoming increasingly concerned about the presence of oil coming
from all of the power boats. He saves the message and then logs off.
The system examines the message and then places it in the "out
basket" to go into K12net distribution.

Ken Wetz, in Venice, Florida, has also read Michaels' message to
Barry. Ken is on the "Save the Manatees Committee" and tells Michael
how the power boaters in his area are causing serious maming and
death among the manatees in the Bradenton River. They are trying to
bring about legislation to establish "sanctuary" areas to protect
them. Ken asks if Michael is aware of marine animal sanctuary areas
in any of New Yorks lakes and rivers. Over the next few months this
conversation will evolve to engage dozens of people from all over
the world and address a wide variety of problems and proposed
solutions for saving endagered species and other related threads
Michael had not expected to learn about.

K12net is not an end in itself. It is a beginning. It is a "network
with training wheels" that can provide elemntary and secondary
school students and teachers--even primary school kids-- with their
first exposure to the "global village" of the Age of
Telecommunications in a gentle, nurturing enviroment oriented
specifically to their needs. Yet it also offers massive connectivity
that will affect educational reform as well as provide curricular
substance. As K12net users grow into the "online subculture", they
will become increasingly ready to venture into the highly
sophisitcated, yet highly complex and often very intimidating world
of the commercial and university networks.

The K12net concept of locally-owned BBS's provides five very
distinct advantages to elementary and secondary schools which makes
it separate and distinct from any other commercial, government or
university network:

1. It is ACCESSIBLE.  It provides international network access to
every student and teacher, even in rurally isolated or poorer
schools. It is very feasible and cost effective to give every one of
them his or her very own K12net online account.

2. It is DIRT CHEAP! The equipment to make this possible, for the
most part, is probably already owned by your school. Technical
operations expertise is within the scope of teachers or even
students. These same people also become "in house" trainers
available to the entire school. There is no need to charge anyone
for access. There are no fees of any kind--K12net is "militantly
free"!

3. It is EASY TO LEARN. Simplicity rather than complex
sophistication is emphasized. All operations are menu-driven and
"help" abounds. The system is oriented for first time users.

4. It is PERTINENT. It is owned, driven and populated by elementary
and secondary schools, students and teachers from which all of it's
curricular orientations and content evolve.

5. It is LOCALLY ORIENTED. You own, design and operate your own
system to meet your own particular local needs, not those percived
by some centralized person, bureacracy or for-profit organization in
a distant city. You decide whether you want to keep it closed to
your students and teachers or open it up to serve your local parents
and community. You decide what content will be available and to whom
and when.

These reasons make K12net unlike any commercial, government or
university network available today. They are the reason why K12net
is the fastest growing K-12 educational network in the world!

                                        Jack Crawford, December, 1991


 * SLMR 2.1a * 

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