Duckett, 'GENII Project: Giving Classroom Teachers "A Ticket To Ride" On The Information Superhighway', Arachnet Electronic Journal on Virtual Culture v3n03 (August 31, 1995) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/aejvc/aejvc-v3n03-duckett-genii Electronic Journal on Virtual Culture ________________________________________________________________ ISSN 1081-3055 August 31, 1995 Volume 3 Number 3 EJVCV3N3 DUCKETT The GENII Project: Giving Classroom Teachers "A Ticket To Ride" On The Information Superhighway By George Duckett Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia gduckett@deakin.oz.au Marty Gay Port Townsend School District, Port Townsend, Washington martini@olympus.net Terry Lee Moore Environmental Research Laboratories, Boulder, Colorado tmoore@erl.noaa.gov Katherine B. Wallet Courtland High School, Spotsylvania, Virginia kwallet@pen.k12.va.us ABSTRACT Group Exploring the National Information Infrastructure (GENII) has been established to facilitate the training of classroom teachers in skills that are necessary to use the latest digital communications protocols. This paper describes the development and goals of the GENII Project from the standpoint of the development team made up of in-service trainers, interested parents and the teachers that intend to use it. This is a very diverse group who have agreed upon a common need and recognize that there is a way they can work together to fill that need. Project GENII is in the spirit of the Internet, to communicate, share and build on the work and experiences of everyone. Applications for grant funding have been submitted in the US but at the writing of this paper none has come forth. The current sites are temporary and may be withdrawn at any time. Nevertheless the Genii project is developing strategies and philosophies so when a permanent home is found it will be able to give assistance to its clients from the very beginning. PREFACE Keeping in mind the differences between material presented in the U.S. as compared to the subjects taught in Australia only portions of what is available in the U.S. would be useable here. With that in mind this paper is presented as a model for developing an Australian Chapter of the Genii Project. The concept would allow for an exchange of ideas and teaching material in common areas and a cultural exchange in areas not compatible for general learning. The project as described in the following pages outlines its goals in the first phase of development. The concept of the GENII project has originated in the United States but has had input from Australia and presently has a temporary home on a Gopher There is no doubt this project is an ambitious one and at this stage it is unknown as to how much further it will get without some support from an educational body. Regardless, there is no doubt, by the people taking part in the development of the project they will certainly gain much knowledge and experience from it. The Project Server at the University of Tasmania. In addition to the Gopher Server in Australia a mirror site is in place in the U.S. Directions for retrieval of documents will be provided at the end of the paper. GENII is a volunteer consortium of networked educators made up from Teacher Trainers, K-12 Teachers and knowledgeable Parents who are currently implementing key initiatives to assist the K-12 community in developing skills to use the internet and related resources. Goals For GENII (Phase One) Create a Virtual Faculty GENII has been established to facilitate the training of classroom teachers in skills that are necessary to use the latest digital communications protocols; that is, teach teachers how to utilize the myriad resources of the Internet so that they can incorporate the technology into their curriculum. The Virtual Faculty is intended to be a networked group of educators dedicated to "being there" for the K-12 Teacher when they are ready to learn the new skills associated with accessing the Internet. This Faculty will be an ongoing resource for teachers as they become more familiar with the workings of cyberspace and begin the process of learning and introducing the tools/resources to the classroom. The Virtual Faculty is to be made up of people who can be asked the "dumb" question. They are the ones that adopted technology early in the game and have become 'experts' in the implementation of it, especially as it relates to schools. Their Emphasis will be on "USER FRIENDLY" explanations and lessons that utilize a minimum of "techno-talk." They have developed a sensitivity to the difficulty of the skills that must be mastered. Examples will be paramount to the training and instruction will always include ways the internet can be integrated into the regular classroom. Develop The Curriculum The Virtual Faculty will research, write, and publish a manual(s) that covers the basic information necessary to: a) Achieving Net access b) The How-To's of common Net protocols c) Resources/Pointers d) Lessons for Integration into regular coursework e) Netiquette and Acceptable Use of the InterNet Should, during the course of the research, any material that meets these needs be discovered, utilization and dissemination of it will be negotiated with the Copyright Holder and made available via FTP or mail order. Develop a Pointer Repository The Virtual Faculty will establish pointers for: a) Net-Training b) Technology Implementation in Schools/Communities c) Subject-oriented resources d) School restructuring ideas, etc. e) GENII-generated online instructional materials A front door will be established to the cyberspace world for the K-12 Community. This will give the classroom teacher the tools needed to incorporate the wealth of information available on the Internet into his lesson plans. It will provide an easily accessible starting point. A World Wide Web (WWW) home page or a Genii-gopher will be the entrance that provides the most up-to-date links to the tested resources. GENII is well aware that there are many well-established and vital online sites that have a successful history delivering K-12 specific resources to the knowledgeable and connected teacher. These include, but certainly are not limited to: Educational Online Sources (EOS), The Computer Literacy Project, AskERIC, The U.S. Department of Education, Scholastic Network, KidsNet, Academy One, just to mention a few. The goal of this project is not to duplicate services and data available elsewhere, but to point to existing knowledge and only develop new material when it is necessary to do so. With an estimated 350 Mb of information coming online daily, it is folly to reinvent and restate. GENII's goal is to help to organize the access by first teaching the basic skills necessary to achieve a connection, then to provide a First Site for entry into the Internet jungle. Once inside, the Virtual Faculty will be there to be the friendly, knowledgeable guide. How it's being done The adoption of high technology tools for information retrieval and manipulation has come very slowly to public education for many well-documented and thoroughly discussed reasons. First and foremost there is a significant shortage of expertise in the school districts. Even when expertise is available, lack of funds and time for teacher training is a real concern. There is also the very real hurdle of "technology refusal and anxiety" that exists within many districts today. Currently the members of the Virtual Faculty are people that have experienced the problems as stated above and are very tuned in to them. The groups members come from a myriad of educational backgrounds and localities in the United States and Overseas. A database is being established that includes vital statistics on the members (e.g. location, experience with communications applications, availability, etc.) and Curriculum Vitaes are currently being archived on Gopher and WWW. The Mission Initially the term "warm body" was used to describe the Virtual Faculty. It didn't actually mean a physical presence, although it could be. It would represent a friendly, non-threatening helper, mentor, or guide, how-so-ever you may see the role. We recognize that teacher training will not be one of the biggest problems in implementing Internet use in the classroom, but getting it into the curriculum will be. Teachers must first gain skill and confidence in using Internet applications, then gain expertise in integrating the use of Internet in the classroom. How was that to be accomplished? Reading a book or attending a workshop doesn't always mean that a teacher will master the use of Internet or know what to do with it in the classroom. Things are very different when you are sitting in a workshop with an instructor looking over your shoulder ready to help, compared to when you go home and sit in front of your computer and try to remember what you need to do. Those who have gained computer skills will experiment and figure it out for themselves. Internet trainers find most teachers do not have enough experience with computers and find it very frustrating when they return to their school and try to do what they learned in class. When they encounter problems, they quit. Who do they ask for help? Some of them will contact the instructor and ask questions, however, experience shows most don't. That is what GENII is intended to be...that warm hand of encouragement on the shoulder when it is needed. It is help given by real people who understand that not all teachers will take easily to using new technology. At this juncture, we are experimenting, trying to decide how best to accomplish the goal we have set, but in the end, it will probably be done in many ways. Nevertheless, our mission must be to reach out and offer a helping hand when it is needed and provide a warm presence, if not a warm body, to instruct and to encourage. In addition, as the Internet is so massive, finding sources that are appropriate for the K-12 classroom can be very time consuming. It is confusing to sort through the maze of information and then attempt to integrate it into the curriculum. We can help by giving them the benefit of our experience in locating resources and model how to best amalgamate them into the classroom. We consider the genesis and development of the "Virtual Faculty" as a fascinating and successful example of the potential of digital communications. What began as a "What if..." scenario on the internet mail list NII-TEACH, struck a nerve with a substantial number of educators and others who were obviously ready to take a proactive stance in regard to getting the K-12 community online. The Internet Community has been built on a tradition of volunteer and helpful guidance. When someone makes an inquiry to a Newsgroup or to a Listserv, invariably several other users will provide answers, pointers or advice directed to that query. Often these responses will be thoughtful and extensive; well beyond what one would expect to experience in off-line life. True to Internet tradition, the GENII Project has become a cooperative volunteer group of dedicated and knowledgeable individuals, who understand that training of teachers in the use of tools and resources of digital communications and data retrieval, is one of the most important outcomes that can be achieved if the National Information Infrastructure (NII) is to become something more than some 'giant digital shopping network'. The speed in which this effort was first organized, regardless of the above considerations, is noteworthy. Discussion on the NII-TEACH list had been going on for less than two weeks when a suggestion was posted, by Marty Gay, regarding the possibility of applying for grant funds to provide training for K-12 teachers in the skills necessary to utilize the resources of the internet. The original posting by Marty Gay to NII-TEACH follows: Since the lack of tech/net training for instructors (K-12+) seemed to have struck a resonant chord with so many on this list (as a top priority that needs to be addressed to get Education really online) and since there seems to be a dearth of materials, tested curricula and delivery schemes dedicated to helping the classroom teacher achieve even a minimal level of comfort with NII related skills, perhaps funding should be sought to administer a "Grading the Roadbed" program [Hey! I'm creating here! You try to stay on the "SuperHighway" analogy...] wherein: 1. A network of resource people (recruited from members of this list and related K-12 lists?) with various skills and experiences will be established to create a Project Team (Survey Crew?) that meets and works via the tools of telecomputing. 2. Members will be affiliated with school districts and higher Ed facilities from around the country. (world?) Total numbers should be sufficient to provide input from a broad demographic sampling of communities. 3. Projected Outcomes: A. Develop a curriculum and related resources for teacher training in skill areas critical to the integration of minimal technologies for accessing the resources available on the NII. (the internet now) B. Study and report on the most effective method to deliver this training to current classroom teachers. C. Promulgate information and support materials on the need for, and desirability of, stepping toward the changes that the Communication Age is about. D. Establish a series of shared servers in strategic spots on the Net that would act as the Onramps for educators accessing K-12 specific resources. (using WWW, Gopher, FTP, Wais) 4. Time period to establish outcomes of this project should be 12-18 months. 5. Funds would be allocated for Crew member stipends for participating and contributing to the project, some equipment and software, possibly network connection fees, printing and distribution costs, administration, etc. The 50% matching money requirement might best be made with in-kind commitments from the Crew members' affiliated institutions (release time? office services?) and from commercial concerns that have traditionally benefited from their association with K-12. (Gay, M. 1994) In short order, Terry Lee Moore and Tice Deyoung offered to take leadership roles in the organization of the initiatives that had been proposed. To get traffic off the NII-TEACH list, Moore set up a mail reflector to facilitate the development of what had become known as "The Virtual Faculty" and Deyoung created the name "GENII." He also made contacts with his connections at the Advanced Research Products Agency (ARPA) [a U.S. Defence Department agency dealing in cutting edge technology] and the Department of Education to see if GENII could get a home server address at an "official" site. Some seventy members subscribed to the reflector and they became the core of the Virtual Faculty. With the addition of George Duckett, the key lead personalities for the project were on board. Time period for this initial phase was less than a week. We have made substantial progress since then in four key areas. First is the development of a database of members' Curriculum Vitaes, skills, interests, etc. which will provide the basis for tapping into a knowledge base as we proceed toward the accomplishment of our other stated goals; an important one being the development of instructional materials, which is number two on the progress list. Katie Wallet has taken the lead as Head of the Instructional Team, developing a manual that will be the main reference work for GENII members as they seek to teach other teachers how to use the internet. The third area is in the establishment of a temporary "Home" Gopher Server, through contacts made by George Duckett. And fourth is the writing of a preliminary proposal seeking funding for the overall Virtual Faculty initiatives. Bonnie Bracey, the only K-12 educator on the NII Advisory Council has provided counsel in this area. Three MegaProjects are currently being considered by the NII Advisory Council and Bracey is aiding us in getting a hearing for our ideas within that group. Marty Gay puts into words what most of us have felt when first entering into the maze of the internet: When I first got on the internet, I was as confused about the procedures, the protocols, as the possibilities and any other "newbie." Within a short time, I became more comfortable and more convinced that the potential for doing great things through this wonderful communications medium was very real. (Gay, M. 1994) Gays' reaction to the response of his original posting points to just what power the written word has on the internet and to what extent an idea can flourish is stated below: When the GENII Project just exploded out of a well distributed idea, I was awestruck. I saw the power of one voice, being joined by many to accomplish a worthwhile goal. If we can help other educators experience a little of this power for themselves and then for their students, maybe the world has a chance. (Gay, M. 1994) With this in mind, we of the GENII Project hope to add more expertise to our ranks enabling us to give more tickets to ride On The Information Superhighway. If you wish to be part of the GENII Project as a member of the Virtual Faculty or just as a student, contact any of the following: By E-Mail ask to be put on the GENII List contact Terry Lee Moore,at By Post Write to G. Duckett at: Deakin University Faculty of Education School of MSEE 221 Burwood highway Burwood, Victoria, 3125 E-Mail The project can be viewed at the following sites: Dana College in Blair, Nebraska is a mirror site for the Project. The address is For those who don't have access to gopher the files are via FTP accessible at: Host: ftp.dana.edu User ID: anonymous Password: Your email address eg. Directory: educ/genii GENII Project URL: The New South Polar Times URL: Computer Literacy Project URL: http://www.deakin.edu.au/edu/MSEE/CLP/CLPArticles/CLPHomePage.html> Reference: Gay, M. 1994, E-Mail correspondence ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ George Duckett Deakin University, Burwood Campus Voice WH: 03 244 46445 AH: 03 889 4377 FAX: 03 889 4790 ----------------------------------------- GENII Project URL: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++= _________________________________ Articles and Sections of this issue of the _Electronic Journal on Virtual Culture_ may be retrieved via gopher to refmac.kent.edu 70 or via anonymous ftp to byrd.mu.wvnet.edu or via e-mail message addressed to LISTSERV@KENTVM.KENT.EDU (instructions below) http://www.marshall.edu/~stepp/vri/ejvc/ejvc.html or GOPHER refmac.kent.edu Articles may be submitted at anytime by email or send/file to: Diane K. 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