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


                         K12net ON A DISK!
                         -----------------
                      an illustrative scenario

                       (c) Jack Crawford 1991
                         FIDOnet: 1:260/620
                  Internet: j35@nysaes.cornell.edu

Michael is an 8th grade student in the Widmer H.S. in the heart of New
Yorks wine making country. While his reading and writing abilities are
about average for his age, he will tell you that he would rather do
something else.... Michael is studying rivers in science class and is
particularly interested in water quality around the world. He wants
to become involved in telecommunications, but there are no phone
lines in his classroom.......

A K12net "electronic Bulletin Board System" or "BBS" has been recently
installed in the library of Michael's school. It is housed in an old
microcomputer that was not being used for anything else. It is
equipped with special software that allows every student in Widmer
HS to have his or her own account providing access to international
telecommunications networks without fees of any kind nor requiring
access to phone lines or modems. Sam Shama, a media specialist, is
the local System Operator (or "Sysop") and has been working with
the teachers in the district to show them how to use the BBS as a
classroom information resource and literacy tool.

"Michael, why don't you ask the people in the networks to tell you
what they know about the rivers in their countries", say Sam.

Sam takes a new floppy disk from a box, writes Johhny's name on it
and slips it into the computer that houses the BBS. He creates an
account for Michael and sets him up to receive Email as well as
participate in several science and other related conferences in
K12net, FIDOnet and other networks. One of Michael's hobbies is
raising exotic fish, so Sam also gives him access to the Aquarium
Conference as well. All of the day's conversation in these
conferences is then loaded onto Michael's disk. The entire process
takes only a few minutes.

Sam hands Michael the disk and a little booklet which provides
instructions in how to use the system. "Here you go, Mike, take this
with you. This disk contains a program called an 'offline reader'
and also your mail for the day. Here's how you use it..." They walk
over to the other side of the library where there several computers
available for student use. They are not equipped with modems or
phone lines.

Sam sets Michael down in front of one of them and turns the machine
on.  He puts the disk into the slot and presses a key. The computer
springs to life, immediately involving Michael interactively. He is
presented with a menu asking him to select a conference area. There
are a dozen or so to choose from. Local and international Email are
also offered. Michael chooses the K12net Science Echo Conference
because it international in scope. Maybe he can find some
information about rivers....

Michael is now presented with a menu offering a number of options
relating to reading or writing messages in the K12net Science
conference. He presses the "H" key for "Help". A new screen explains
how he can read the full text of messages one-by-one or search for
keywords in them or view multiple listings to get a "birds eye"
view.

Michael selects the "birds eye view" option and is now presented with
a listing of hundreds of messages from all over the world relating to
K-12 science. The "To:", "From:" and "Subject:" headers to each
message are presented. He sees one with the word "frog" in it and
selects it to read. (Michael has always had a fascination for
frogs nad toads...) The message appears. It is from Bill Beuchler in
Massachussetts to Jean Schultz in Oregon. Apparently Bill is a
biologist who has been monitoring local frog populations as a
measure of environmental quality. Jean has asked how this is done.
"Hmmm, I never realized that frogs were so susceptible to toxins in
the environment....", Johhny thinks to himself.

Now Michael goes back to the K12net Science menu and tries his hand
at a full-text keyword search on "river". The system presents a
listing of candidates. Michael selects a message from Australia relating
to the Murray River. Its' author, Barry Taylor from Sydney, talks
about the size of the river and how there are "too many pleasure
boats" on it. This is not exactly the kind of information Michael
wanted. Michael presses the "R" key to "Reply" to Barrys' message.
The screen goes blank for a moment and "To: Barry Taylor" and "From:
Michael Smith" appears at the top. Now Michael types a message to
Barry asking him what effects all those "pleasure boaters" have had
on the quality of the water. Unlike email which is for private
conversation between individuals, a conference is deliberately
public in nature. Michaels reply in this conference will be "echoed"
to every other BBS on Earth that is carrying it where anyone may
read and respond to it. This allows for open discussion on a truly
international scale. Consequently, Michael is very careful to spell
each word correctly and use proper English becasue he doesn't want
to look like a "dummy" to his peers in this conference! Michael then
presses the "S" key to "save" the message on to his disk and then
returns to the Conference menu where he continues to read and reply
to a number of other messages. The bell rings. Michael puts the disk
in his pocket and goes off to his French class. He'll try to read
some of the Aquarium conference using the computer in his study hall
later on today....

At the end of the day, Michael stops by the library again and hands
his disk to Sam for an "update". All of the replies that Michael has
written during the day and saved on his disk are now loaded into the
BBS. Any new "mail" that has come in from the network since Michael's
last update is loaded on to his disk. Michael stuffs the disk back
into his shirt pocket and heads home for the day. Maybe tonight
he'll get a chance to read the Aquarium conference on his dad's
computer at home.....

It's 4:00 p.m. and time for Sam to close up the library for the day.
As his last act, he connects the the library's only phone line,
which has been used all day long for routine library business, to
the modem in the BBS computer and goes home. Now any incoming calls
to the library will be answered by the computer. At 8 a.m tomorow
morning, Sam will disconnect the phone from the computer so he can
use it for other things.

At 5:25 p.m. Sally Johnson calls from her computer at home. She is a
Social Studies teacher and did not have a chance to stop by the
library to get her K12net disk updated during the day. Her home
computer and the BBS computer "talk" to each other, sending her
"mail packet" over the phone lines to her K12net disk at home.
Sally's home is long distance from the school, but since this
"conversation" between the computers only takes three minutes during
a time when the 40% discounted evening rates apply, her cost is
quite minimal. Now she can continue her discussion about some new
teaching methodologies with several other teachers around the world
in the K12net social studies conference. After she's read and
replied to what the other's have said, she'll probably call the BBS
later tonight to transmit her replies into the network.

At 8:30 p.m. Adrian Keupker calls for the first time using his
father's computer. Adrian has left his K12net disk in his locker at
school. He downloads a new copy of his K12net "mail packet" and also
a copy of the offline reader software so he can read his mail and
participate in his conferences at home.
>>> Continued to next message

 * SLMR 2.1a * 

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