[1176] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
K-12 Net
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Janet Murray)
Tue Aug 13 08:20:08 1991
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 91 04:48:37 PDT
From: Janet.Murray@f23.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Janet Murray)
To: com-priv@psi.com
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I N T E R N A T I O N A L E D U C A T I O N A L N E T W O R K
--==WHAT IS K12NET?==--
by Jack Crawford and Janet Murray
K12net is a decentralized network of school based/oriented "electronic
bulletin board systems" (BBS's) throughout North America, Australia,
Europe, and the USSR, which share curriculum-related conferences
or "echo forums", making them available to students and educators at no
cost and usually on a local phone call. We currently have 150+ FidoNet
nodes. The weekly K12Net traffic is about 70-90K which is roughly 800
to 1100 messages.
K12Net provides millions of teachers, students and parents in
metropolitan and rural areas throughout our planet with the ability
to meet and talk with each other to discuss educational issues,
exchange information and share resources on a global scale.
Unlike other school-oriented networks, K12Net's explosive growth since
its founding in September, 1990, can be attibuted to several factors
which make it separate and distinct:
1) K12net provides students, teachers and community members
with access to FREE international telecommunications capabilities
with an educational orientation on a local call. This frees up
classroom, student and home budgets for other things.
2) It is relatively easy and inexpensive to set up a K12net BBS. The
only equipment required is an MS-DOS or Macintosh computer, modem
and phone line which may already be available. System software
is very low in cost if not free and technical operation skills
are developed in-house. Students may act as system operators.
3) It is decentralized. Each participating BBS is locally owned,
controlled and operated. It can be oriented to serve the needs
of the local school and is an excellent vehicle for developing
community relations.
4) It is a superb vehicle for providing students, teachers and
parents with a gentle introduction to global telecommunications
as a classroom tool to promote literacy, a global perspective
and competency in 21st Century information technologies.
Selections from:
--==The Vision of K12net==--
by Jack Crawford
There are three basic approaches to implementing K12net.
The first is to promote the widespread installation of school-based
/oriented K12net (and FIDOnet) BBS's to provide no-fee, local-call
computer moderated communications capabilities to as many teachers,
kids and parents as possible. In addition to providing immediate
benefits to users, the schools and communities involved will begin
to develop a base of technical "sysop" expertise to further promote
tinkering and experimentation with telecommunications capabilities
at a local level.
A second component is to develop and nurture echo conferences
specifically oriented to K-12th grade curricular areas to a point
where they are eventually welcomed into any suitable distribution
channels which become available including private distribution
from school to school, or, ultimately, a government-funded "K12net
'Backbone'" which may evolve from the demand created. The idea here
is to send a clear message to teachers, kids and parents that "there
IS something here for YOU" and that access is FREE--to give them
a REASON to get a modem and phone line in their homes and
classrooms. The forces of supply and demand will make it happen.
Our hope is to START building some of that demand. The FIDOnet model
is that starting point.
A final aspect is a "utilize resources wherever you find them"
approach. As K12net is currently entirely compatible with
FIDOnet (it's actually more like a subset of it), nearly any school
with access to a "low end" MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, or Macintosh
computer, modem, phone line and a suitably motivated student or
teacher to act as sysop may set up their own node with very little
further investment. Furthermore, any NON-educator FIDOnet BBS
operator who wants to "help the schools" may do so very easily by
simply offering K12net echoes on his/her BBS. (You may be surprised
just how many are willing--even anxious-- to do so!! They may even
come looking for you!) Any one (or all) of those 10,000 FIDOnet nodes
could provide local-call, no-fee access to educational echoes to
their local community. Each individual school can determine the
structure, content, orientation and usage of its BBS according to
its own, individual academic and community needs while still
benefitting from membership in the larger group. This "grass roots",
decentralized approach is the key to the success of the whole
thing--it's open ended and will generate its own momentum. While
there have been several attempts to join students and teachers on
the commercial networks, their efficacy has been directly affected
by:
CRAWFORD'S FIRST LAW OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS:
"If it costs anything AT ALL--if there are ANY online fees or
long distance charges involved--90% of potential users won't
even consider buying a modem, 6% will use it only sparingly
and the remaining 4% will be charging it to someone else.
Of course, the first Corollary to this is:
"If there are any online fees or a long distance call involved AT ALL,
most K-12 school adminstrators (understandably) won't consider
installing an outside phone line in a classroom."
A "school-net" based on the FIDOnet concept is the solution to the
problem posed by this "first law" above (and its corollary). The
cost of owning and operating a FIDOnet BBS is sufficiently small that
it is VERY feasible to provide our teachers, kids and parents with
full access to computer moderated communications which are international
in scope with virtually NO online fees and, in most cases, on a LOCAL
call. We can create a useful educational telecommunications tool
which administrators will recognize as inherently affordable and,
at the same time, have community-oriented public relations applications.
We'll also be creating an environment which will train thousands of
teachers and local community people in the fine art of "sysoping".
We can provide a communications tool with incredible versatility and
which promotes a global perspective. We can help usher our teachers,
kids and parents into the 21st century and DO IT INEXPENSIVELY!
Inexpensive telecommunications in the elementary and secondary
schools is something "whose time has come"!! Why not join
us in our vision and share some of our excitement! Contact any of the
following K12Net Council (board of directors) for further information:
Gordon Benedict
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Voice phone: 403/228-0975; 229-9731
Sysop of 1:134/49 (403/228-9525 HST 403/229-0477 2400)
UCAEDU.BITNET!BENEDICT
K12Net Zone 1 Backbone
Jack Crawford, W-FL Teacher Resource Center
3501-K County Rd. 20,
Stanley, NY 14561 USA.
Voice phone: 716/526-6431
Sysop of 1:260/620 (716/526-6495)
Internet: jack@k12net.org
K12Net Zone 1 Backbone
Ben de Goey
Monster, Holland
Sysop of 2:28/6 (31-1749-44958)
Voice: 31-1749-46528
K12Net Zone 2 Backbone (Europe)
Janet Murray, Wilson High School
1151 S.W. Vermont St.
Portland, OR, 97219 USA.
Voice phone: 503/280-5280
Sysop of 1:105/23 (503/245-4961)
Internet: jmurray@psg.com
K12Net Zone 1 Backbone
Rob Reilly, Lanesboro School
188 Summer St.
Lanesboro, MA 01237 USA.
Voice phone: 413/443-0027
Sysop of 1:321/218 (413/443-6725)
Internet: rob@k12net.org
K12Net Files Library
Gleason Sackmann, Bottineau High School
301 Brander Street
Bottineau, ND 58318 USA
Voice phone: 701/228-2266
Fax: 701/228-2021
Sysop of 1:288/5 (701/228-2908)
K12Net Echo Moderator Coordinator
Mort Sternheim, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003 USA
Voice phone: 413/545-1908 (W)
413/253-2252 (H)
Sysop of 1:321/109 (413/256-1037)
K12Net Zone 1 Backbone
Barry Taylor, Townsville Grammar School
45 Paxton Street
Townsville
Queensland 4810
Australia
Voice phone: 61-77-224900
Fax: 61-77-722340
Sysop of 3:640/702 (61-77-726052)
K12Net Representative in Australia (Zone 3)
Andy Vanduyne, Norwood Elementary School
Norwood, NY 13668 USA
Voice phone: 315/353-6674
Sysop of 1:260/375 (315/353-4565)
K12Net Channel Coordinator
--
uucp: uunet!m2xenix!puddle!23!Janet.Murray
Internet: Janet.Murray@f23.n105.z1.fidonet.org
