<nettime> The Wired Classroom in Canada

["Lessard, George" <GLessard@gov.nu.ca>]

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The Wired Classroom (Canada)

http://cbc.ca/wiredclassroom/

All across the country, teachers, parents and students are trying to
figure out how to use the Internet to help kids learn. Some are
embracing the new technology with fresh and unproven ideas. Others
are baffled. And some wish it would just go away.

On Tuesday April 25, CBC launches a new Radio/Internet series called
The Wired Classroom. You can hear each episode on your afternoon
drive-time show, starting with "How Wired Is Wired?" Most CBC
stations will be broadcasting other interviews and features on the
subject as well. So you will want to check out your own local CBC
website a little closer to that date for more details.

And the whole thing -- and more -- will be on this website. So
anybody can join in at any time and still not miss any episode in the
series, any part of the on-air programming or discussions.

Take a look at the Explore the Issues pages to get some background
and full interviews. See where we're starting from.

http://cbc.ca/wiredclassroom/issues.html

And remember, you're part of this series. It won't work unless you
Join the Discussion.

http://cbc.ca/wiredclassroom/discussion.html

Back in 1997 the federal government announced a plan to make Canada
"the most connected country in the world." Part of that plan was
wiring our schools to the Internet, mainly through a project called
SchoolNet. Today, the government says, every school that wants to be
connected to the Internet, is connected. So what happens next?

There is promise, and also problems:

The hope that technology will be the great equalizer;

the fear that it will widen the gap between rich and poor.

The connections with a new internationalism;

the worry that Canadian content will be overwhelmed.

The prospect that kids will get excited about education;

the concern that fun projects distract from educational basics.

The excitement about having a new wealth of educational materials
just a click away;

the challenge for teachers to figure out what to do with it.

The adventure of a new universe for kids to explore;

the quagmire of on-line trivia, lies, porn and hate literature.

So the simple act of wiring Canadian schools brings with it enormous
challenges. And coping with those challenges has fallen largely on
the shoulders of individual teachers and local school
administrators. We want to find out how they -- and the kids -- are
coping. And we want to find out what the experience is teaching us
about teaching and learning.

To start things off, David Gutnick interviewed a number of people in
Ottawa. Some of their thoughts will be part of his first documentary
"How Wired Is Wired."

Listen to his interviews with Doug Hull, from Industry Canada and
Marita Moll of The Canadian Teachers Federation.

http://cbc.ca/wiredclassroom/i_gutnick-hull-moll.html

CBC Calgary's Romie Christie spent time with Michele Jacobsen, an
assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at University of
Calgary. Prof. Jacobsen specializes in the new skills and
understanding teachers needs today. She'll be featured in Romie's
report in The Wired Classroom series.

Professor Jacobson's own web page

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dmjacobs

Her year-two, masters of teaching class web page

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~mttech/special

To send her an e-mail

dmjacobs@ucalgary.ca

The students in Banded Peaks School are part of a special project in
Alberta called The Galileo Network. It has a website too -

http://www.galileo.org/

As we collect material for our series, we'll post it here, so that
you can hear it and send us your thoughts on it.

http://cbc.ca/wiredclassroom/issues.html

We want to hear from you! Please let us know if there are any other
sites we should add, by sending an email to
wiredclassroom@radio.cbc.ca.

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