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@Node MAIN "Chapter 12: EDUCATION AND THE NET "
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     If you're a teacher, you've probably already begun to see the
potential the Net has for use in the class.  @{" Usenet " link CHAP3/WHATUSENET}, @{" ftp " link Chap7/FTP 0} and @{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0}
have tremendous educational potential, from keeping up with world events
to arranging international science experiments.

   @{" Educational resources           " link EDRESOURCE            }
   @{" Usenet educational resources    " link EDUSENET              }

     Because the Net now reaches so many countries and often stays online
even when the phones go down, you and your students can  "tune in" to
first-hand accounts during international conflicts.  Look at your
system's list of Usenet soc.culture groups to see if there is one about
the country or region you're interested in.  Even in peacetime, these
@{" newsgroups " link Chap3/NEWSGROUPS 0} can be great places to find people from countries you might
be studying.
     The biggest problem may be getting accounts for your students, if
you're not lucky enough to live within the local calling area of a
Free-Net system. Many colleges and universities, however, are willing to
discuss providing accounts for secondary students at little or no cost.
Several states, including California and Texas, have Internet- linked
networks for teachers and students.

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@Node EDRESOURCE "Chapter 12: Education (1 of 2) -- EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES"
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Educational resources

     In addition, there are a number of resources on the Internet aimed
specifically at elementary and secondary students and teachers.  You can
use these to set up science experiments with classes in another country,
learn how to use computers in the classroom or keep up with the latest
advances in teaching everything from physics to physical education.
     Among these resources:

     K12NET:  Begun on the Fidonet hobbyist network, K12Net is now also
carried on many @{" Usenet " link CHAP3/WHATUSENET} systems and provides a host of interesting and
valuable services.  These include international chat for students,
foreign-language discussions (for example, there are French and German-
only conference where American students can practice those languages with
students from Quebec and German).  There are also conferences aimed at
teachers of specific subjects, from physical education to physics.
     The K12 network still has limited @{" distribution " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 63}, so ask your system
administrator if your system carries it.

     SPACEMET:  If your system doesn't carry K12, but has access to
@{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0}, you can reach it through SpaceMet Forum, a bulletin-board
system aimed at teachers and students that is run by the physics and
astronomy department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  The
address is spacemet.phast.umass.edu.  When you connect, hit escape once.
     Like K12, SpaceMet Forum began as a Fidonet system, but has since
grown much larger.  Mort and Helen Sternheim, professors at the
university, started SpaceMet as a one-line bulletin-board system several
years ago to help bolster middle-school science education in nearby towns.
     Today, there is a whole series of satellite SpaceMet BBSs in western
Massachusetts and SpaceMet itself is now linked to Fidonet and Internet.
     In addition to the K12 conferences, SpaceMet carries numerous
educationally oriented conferences.  It also has a large file library of
interest to educators and students, but be aware that getting files to
your site could be difficult and maybe even impossible.  Unlike most
other Internet sites, Spacemet does not use an @{" ftp " link Chap7/FTP 0} interface. The
Sternheims say ZMODEM sometimes works over the network, but don't count
on it.

     KIDSPHERE:  Kidsphere is a @{" mailing list " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 177} for elementary and
secondary teachers, who use it to arrange joint projects and discuss
educational telecommunications.  You will find news of new software,
lists of sites from which you can get computer-graphics pictures from
various NASA satellites and probes and other news of interest to
modem-using teachers.
     To subscribe, send a request by @{" e-mail " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 96} to kidsphere-
request@vms.cis.pitt.edu or joinkids@vms.cis.pitt.edu and you will start
receiving messages within a couple of days.
     To contribute to the discussion, send messages to
kidsphere@vms.cis.pitt.edu.
     KIDS is a spin-off of KIDSPHERE just for students who want to
contact students.  To subscribe, send a request to
joinkids@vms.cis.pitt.edu, as above.  To contribute, send messages to
kids@vms.cist.pitt.edu.

     HEALTH-ED:  A @{" mailing list " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 177} for health educators.  Send a request
to health-ed-request@stjhmc.fidonet.org

     Hemingway:  PAPA is a @{" mailing list " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 177} about Hemingway and his work.
To get on the list, send a request to dgross@polyslo.calpoly.edu.

     NASA SPACELINK:  This system, run by NASA in Huntsville, Ala.,
provides all sorts of reports and data about NASA, its history and its
various missions, past and present.  @{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0} spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov or
128.158.13.250.
     When you connect, you'll be given an overview of the system and
asked to register. The system maintains a large file library of @{" GIF " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 138}-
format space graphics, but note that you can't @{" download " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 84} these through
@{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0}. If you want to, you have to dial the system directly, at (205)
895-0028.  Many can be obtained through @{" ftp " link Chap7/FTP 0} from ames.arc.nasa.gov,
however.

     NEWTON:  This is another BBS-like system, run by the Argonne
National Laboratory.  It offers conferences for teachers and students,
including one called "Ask a Scientist."

     @{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0}: newton.dep.anl.gov.
     Log in as: cocotext

You'll be asked to provide your name and address.  When you get the main
menu, hit 4 for the various conferences.  The "Ask a Scientist" category
lets you ask questions of scientists in fields from biology to earth
science.  Other categories let you discuss teaching, sports and computer
networks.

     @{" ftp " link Chap7/FTP 0}:  To get a list of ftp sites that carry astronomical images in
the @{" GIF " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 138} graphics format, use ftp to connect to nic.funet.fi. Switch to
the /pub/astro/general directory and get the file astroftp.txt. Among the
sites listed is ames.arc.nasa.gov, which carries images taken by the
Voyager and Galileo probes, among other pictures.


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@Node EDUSENET "Chapter 12: Education (2 of 2) -- USENET EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES"
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MORE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ON THE NET

     There are numerous @{" Usenet " link CHAP3/WHATUSENET} newsgroups of potential interest to
teachers and students.
     As you might expect, many are of a scientific bent. You can find
these by typing l sci. in rn or using nngrep sci. for nn. There are now
close to 40, with subjects ranging from archaeology to economics (the
"dismal science," remember?) to astronomy to nanotechnology (the
construction of microscopically small machines).
     One thing students will quickly learn from many of these groups:
science is not just dull, boring facts.  Science is argument and standing
your ground and making your case.  The @{" Usenet " link CHAP3/WHATUSENET} sci. groups encourage
critical thinking.
     Beyond science, social-studies and history classes can keep busy
learning about other countries, through the soc.culture newsgroups.
     Most of these newsgroups originated as ways for expatriates of a
given country to keep in touch with their homeland and its culture.  In
times of crisis, however, these groups often become places to disseminate
information from or into the country and to discuss what is happening.
From Afghanistan to Yugoslavia, close to 50 countries are now represented
on Usenet.
     To see which groups are available, use l soc.culture. in rn or
nngrep soc.culture. for nn.
     Several "talk" newsgroups provide additional topical discussions,
but teachers should screen them first before recommending them to
students.  They range from talk.abortion and talk.politics.guns to
talk.politics.space and talk.environment.
     There are also a number of Bitnet discussion groups of potential
interest to students and teachers.  See @{" Chapter 5 " link CHAP5/MAIN} for information on
finding and subscribing to Bitnet discussion groups.  Some with an
educational orientation include:



biopi-l     ksuvm.bitnet        Secondary biology education
chemed-l    uwf.bitnet          Chemistry education
dts-l       iubvm.bitnet        The Dead Teacher's Society list
phys-l      uwf.bitnet          Discussions for physics teachers
physhare    psuvm.bitnet        Where physics teachers share resources
scimathl    psuvm.bitnet        Science and math education

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