Background
In 1992 the Mendocino Unified School District (Mendocino) began an initiative designed to bring network connectivity to their K-12 schools and the surrounding community.
Located in a small, isolated, rural district, Mendocino staff recognized that in this age of ever-increasing information, the Mendocino library resources were, by their very definition, destined to be limited and dated. Similarly, staff found through its research that the Internet provided the most cost effective and efficient means of providing unlimited information to learners of all ages.
The Mendocino district is home to "Windows to the Future," an innovative, state and locally funded restructuring initiative designed to incorporate the use of technology meaningfully across an integrated core curriculum. In order to see the connections between their learning and "real-world" problems, juniors and seniors in the Windows project seek connections with working professionals and experts in various fields. The Internet dramatically expands the ability for students, who otherwise would be isolated by virtue of their remote location, to make contact with professionals not only nationally but globally as well.
The district believes that the Internet provides an excellent vehicle for imparting to students many of the skills they will need to prosper in the information age, such as: the ability to gather, analyze, and synthesize information from a variety of resources; the ability to communicate effectively with diverse colleagues; and the ability to use technology as a tool for solving problems.
The Internet links the economic and social prosperity of Mendocino schools to that of the community. Internet access is provided to individuals and businesses at a minimum charge through the Internet business, The Mendocino Community Network. This access is particularly valuable in attracting new small business to the area and enhancing the viability of existing businesses and state and county government agencies.
Collaborative partnerships were formed by the district with the Autodesk Foundation, NASA Ames Research Center, and Pacific Bell which have supported the technical installation of the network and the training of teachers in the use of the Internet. The partnerships empower school districts in the county to connect to the Internet with minimal expense. An Internet accessible Mendocino County Wide Area Network (WAN) is in the planning stage.
Goals/Vision
Access to the Internet is one area of development which complements and supports Mendocino's overarching goal of creating a learning community which provides opportunities for students and teachers to become lifelong learners. The district has developed a strategic restructuring plan and views the Internet as an important tool for enhancing curriculum, creating opportunities for collaborative learning, breaking down the artificial walls between schools and the broader society, and creating opportunities for teachers to participate in dialogues with peers regarding their work, curriculum, new research, etc.
The district's specific goal for the network is to create a system which will allow learners of all ages in the community to enjoy access to the node. The first step in that direction was ensuring that Mendocino staff become well trained in the use of the network and that curriculum incorporates meaningful opportunities for students to use the network in as many aspects of their learning as possible.
A total of 24 units of Internet infused curriculum has already been created and the teachers are now developing "living curriculum" which will allow teachers from across the globe to access and add-to curriculum created by teachers in Mendocino (see Support and Development of Curriculum).
Technical Solution
Mendocino's network solution was to become an Internet node. By establishing itself as a node, the district is able to tailor its connectivity to its unique needs and, in the long run, anticipates great benefits, including cost savings as a result of its independence. Because its location is remote (approximately 100 miles from the nearest state university), the node eliminates the expense associated with the toll call to the local state university and CSUNet. Teachers, parents, and students are able to access the Internet at no charge.
Currently, the district owns and operates primarily Macintosh computers and the majority of the computer-using staff are trained in Mac applications. The node has a Macintosh interface which includes point-and-click tools for FTP, telnet, Gopher, WAIS, World Wide Web, newsgroups, and electronic mail. In addition a World Wide Web server (www.mcn.org) has been established, and plans have been made to establish a Gopher and World Wide Web server.
The network node currently consists of three UNIX machines donated by Silicon Graphics Incorporated (SGI). These SGI machines are housed in the Regional Occupational Program Technology Center which adjoins the district's one high school. A SunSparc 2 server will be added to assist with mail management. There are three Macintosh labs in the high school/ROP center (a total of approximately 50 Macintosh computers), connected with a combination of AppleTalk and Ethernet Local Area Networks(LANs) which share access to the Internet node.
The elementary and middle schools are located adjacent to one another, two miles from the high school. The schools have two labs on a common LAN, each with 25 computers networked via AppleTalk or Ethernet. Approximately 50 additional Macintosh computers are distributed throughout the classrooms, each also connected to the LAN. This network of 100 computers is connected by ISDN phone lines, donated by Pacific Bell, to the node at the high school allowing each computer at the elementary/middle school campus seamless access to the Internet.
Funding
The process of seeking funding for Internet access began with a meeting between the district technology mentor teacher and a representative from the Autodesk Foundation. Following that initial meeting, a task force was formed consisting of the superintendent, the district technology coordinator, the district technology mentor teacher, two staff members from the Windows to the Future program, and two members of the Autodesk Foundation staff.
The primary work in finding a funding source was done through a collaboration between the district and the Autodesk Foundation. The search began with the exploration of grant possibilities from BARRNet (the Bay Area Regional Research Network). The task force also explored a possible collaborative with a junior college in nearby Ukiah. A third funding attempt was to form a partnership with the county library. However, none of these solutions led to successful funding, primarily because all of these organizations are "grantees" themselves. In January 1993 Andrea McCurdy, the Networking Technology Manager for the Autodesk Foundation, spearheaded what came to be a very successful partnership between NASA, the Autodesk Foundation, and Mendocino. Through this partnership NASA has provided the district the hardware required to establish an Internet node and the circuit needed to connect the district to the Internet for two years. Andrea McCurdy is now employed by NASA and continues to provide technical consulting to the district. The district is providing staff release time and district resources to ensure that the project is successfully integrated into the district's overall restructuring plans.
The Autodesk Foundation awarded the district a grant for teacher enhancement in 1994. In addition, individual teachers write grants on an ongoing basis seeking funds to maintain and upgrade the technical resources, expand and improve teacher enhancement, and provide more efficient support services to the community.
A 56K line and its ongoing maintenance were donated to the district through partnerships with the Autodesk Foundation and NASA Ames. This line is being increased to 384K in the spring of 1995 and will grow as needed to maintain a well-engineered network. Grants are currently being sought to address the ongoing expense of maintenance of the 384K or larger phone line and the salary of a full-time systems operator.
Training
Extensive training in the use of the Internet has been provided to district staff by the district technology mentor teacher. Workshops have been provided to cover Internet skills and the basic concepts of browsing with Internet tools and using addresses, icon structures, and hypertext mark-up language to master using the network. Because teachers need to have a variety of issues addressed in using the Internet and demonstrate a variety of levels of competence, many of the workshops are informal and drop-in.
One-on-one assistance, a critical component of Internet training, is provided during the summer, after school, and on weekends so that teachers can achieve competency with network tools before and as curriculum development takes place. Ongoing staff development is critical to the district's success with the Internet. Advanced network questions are answered by a representative from NASA.
In addition to providing staff development in cutting-edge methods for teachers, the district offers basic workshops on all aspects of telecommunications on a monthly and/or weekly basis. These workshops are available to all staff members in the district as well as teachers in surrounding districts.
Support and Development of Curriculum
Staff at all levels and administration embrace the use of technology, and specifically the use of the Internet, enthusiastically. Prior to the Internet initiative, the district had developed a K-12 technology plan based on its philosophy that technology is an invaluable tool which must be used as one component of a plan to enhance learning and teaching for all staff and students. In line with this philosophy, over 90% of the district's teachers have access to some kind of computer at home which they use to support their school work. Teachers have been very receptive to inclusion of networking, and specifically the Internet use, as part of the district's commitment to technology. Although the district sees itself as having a long way to go before technology is truly integrated across all curriculum, it has taken several successful steps toward its goal. Listed below are highlights of the accomplishments in the development of curriculum and its implementation in the classroom and administration of the district:
- In late 1993 the district was accepted as a full partner in the Department of Education's telemation project. Mitchell Sprague of Mendocino was selected as the state telementor. In January of 1994, 24 teachers from across K-12 curriculum and grade level areas were selected as local telementors. Each teacher identified a specific unit of study as a focus for the telemation project.
- A week-long workshop was held in June of 1994 at which teachers wrote units using telemation curriculum format. Prior to the workshop, teachers met several times with the state telementor in small groups or as individuals to discuss their units and possible resources to assist them. Each teacher examined a disk of Gopher bookmarks, World Wide Web sites, and newsgroups which had been prepared by the state telementor. The workshop resulted in the production of 24 curriculum units, 20 of which are now on-line at NASA's Quest Gopher server (quest.arc.nasa.gov) and the Telis location.
- In the fall of 1994, Mendocino Unified was identified as a model site by Pacific Bell's Education First program.
- Mendocino is one of the leading schools in the nation in developing
"living curriculum." Living curriculum moves the dissemination
of curriculum away from just text-based material and includes
the following:
- Hypertext version of the unit
- Email interaction with the teachers who created the unit
- Materials created by teachers to enhance curriculum
- Students' work that shows final products and the process of creating those products
- Accumulated correspondence from experts in the field
- Links to servers of all kinds on the Internet
- Ongoing revision process to include the update of all materials connected with the unit and to add new materials and resources from the original teacher and others using the unit
- Teachers who successfully completed their Telemation units will be participating in Mendocino's third summer of workshops during the summer of 1995. Using the living curriculum concept, teachers will be preparing their units for dissemination on the World Wide Web via Mendocino's WWW server provided by Apple Computer. Teachers will also be exploring the uses of video conferencing to support the development and dissemination of curriculum. An alpha version of such a unit, created by fourth grade teachers Claire Skilton and Deena Zarlin, can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.mcn.org/MenComNet/Education/MUSD/CUR/FLI/Flyhome.html (Address is for documentation purposes)
- Students across the grade levels and curriculum are using
Internet resources as the 24 units mentioned above are implemented.
These projects range from first graders studying birds with
scientists and bird experts worldwide to high school students
studying critical thinking skills in cause-and-effect research
assignments.
- In 4th and 5th grades students spend 45 minutes a day in the computer lab learning word processing, Hypercard, and a variety of computer applications. They are encouraged to use the technology to help them complete their language arts assignments. The district's goal is to find ways to relate time spent in the lab with project-based learning in the classroom so that eventually there will be a seamless connection in the children's minds between time spent on the computers and time spent solving problems.
- In the middle school, 6th graders participate in a 6th grade technology class as part of an elective wheel. The technology class includes use of the Internet, video production skills, and Clarisworks instruction. Elective classes are offered in hypermedia-Internet and video production. Teachers across the curriculum use the Internet as a viable and ongoing part of instruction in all curriculum areas.
- In the "Windows to the Future" project, computers, video, and related technologies are integrated into a language arts/social sciences curriculum for students in grades nine through twelve. Students and teachers in the 11th and 12th grades are encouraged to develop projects which integrate science and mathematics into this interdisciplinary curriculum as well. In addition, a variety of advanced specialized technology courses are available for students in the high school. Throughout the Windows project, the goal of integrating the technology is to give students opportunities to learn to use technology as a tool for increasing productivity and the ability to express views both verbally and graphically. Further, the project aims to enable students and teachers to spend most of the day working on interdisciplinary projects that integrate technology, academic, and vocational skills. As a part of this goal, apprenticeships are being sought for students at local technology companies. Some of these apprenticeships may be conducted via the network.
- Several science teachers are part of C-SCIN, a statewide network of science mentor teachers. They plan to use the Internet to enhance communication between teachers and to create a clearinghouse of science curriculum materials at World Wide Web sites.
- Across the grade levels language arts teachers are participating in email exchanges with students and teachers across the country who are studying similar literature. Students are being taught to use the Internet as a research tool and are working on collaborative writing and literature projects.
- Mathematics teachers in the middle school are participating in a demonstration grant provided by the state. As a part of the grant, they hope to work with the Autodesk Foundation to discuss how mathematics teachers can incorporate Internet connectivity into the mathematics curriculum and discover mathematics tools on the Internet.
- The middle school has Tuesday Project Days. On these days teacher-designed projects related to various core curriculum areas are worked on by all students for a three-hour block. For example, last year, for five of the project days, 6th graders designed and created their own technology projects. The projects were displayed at a technology fair. Among the projects were: connections to the NASA Spacelink computers, using CNN guides to study the conflict in Bosnia, using Gopher to study plant growth factors, and the exploration of Micromuse, an artificial intelligence environment at MIT. A similar project will be conducted this year. Plans continue to maximize the three hour block of time on Tuesdays for Internet use, thus giving students an extended opportunity to access the network.
Technology has been integrated into the District's administration for over 10 years. The high school was one of the first schools to use computers for student records and attendance. This led to an advisorship program where each staff member advises a group of 12 students. The computerized student information system facilitates the advisorship process. District counselors will be trained in using the Internet to access college and university information.
Security
The district's approach to security is two-pronged. Its first concern is that students and teachers are versed in the proper and improper uses of the network. The second aspect of security is ensuring that the integrity of the node is not jeopardized by unauthorized remote or local users.
Initially students were not allowed access to the Internet login procedures so that the Internet accounts provided by NASA could be used only for proper educational purposes. As the node came on-line and students and teachers received accounts, security procedures were instituted to ensure the integrity of the network.
The part-time systems operator has met with systems operators at NASA to discuss security. The collaboration with NASA is ongoing and employees at the NASA's Network Operations Center are available to assist those operating the node if problems arise. In addition, the node itself is located in a secure room away from other work stations. Log files are checked regularly and suspicious activity investigated. Security software is run on the system at regular intervals.
Prior to students using the Internet, the district requires that they participate in workshops that includes lessons on appropriate use of the network and "netiquette." The district emphasizes to teachers and students that they are entering a professional environment and their continued use of the Internet is dependent upon responsible behavior and ethical use. Students interested in using the Internet have attended meetings and have helped develop policies regarding ethical use of the network. Students and their parents must sign a form agreeing to proper use of the system prior to receiving system access. Infractions of the policies result in immediate revocation of accounts.
Mitchell Sprague Email mitch@mhs.mendocino.k12.ca.us 707-937-0564
Mark Morton EMail mark@mhs.mendocino.k12.ca.us 707-937-0515