___ ___ ______ ________ _________ _______ __________ /\__\ /\__\ /\_____\\_______\ /\________\\______\\_________\ / / / / / \/__ //_____ / / / ____ // ____//___ ___/ / / // / / / / ___\/ / / / // / // /_\ / / / / / ( / / // _____/ / / // / // ___/ / / / / / /^\ \ / / // /____\ / / // / // /____\ / / / \/__/ \___\ \/__//________/ \/__/ \/__//________/ \/__/ 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 --==The Vision of K12net==-- by Jack Crawford Most of us have come to realize that telecommunications-based "Computer moderated communications" (CMC) in the schools is something "whose time has come". It is the last of the "big four" computer applications (word processing, spreadsheet, database and telecommunications) to be developed--and used in our elementary and secondary schools. Until now, online fees and long distance phone charges out of the reach of typical classroom budgets have held any significant growth in the educational uses of CMC in check. A "grassroots" movement called K12net may be the final, "missing link" to make this "final frontier" become truly accessible to the teachers, kids and parents of our world. Let me explain the vision.... Tom Jennings and his friends started to tinker with the initial concept of networking home microcomputers back in 1985. Their "FIDOnet" began as two computers which were programmed to "call" each other across the country in the middle of the night (when phone rates are lowest) to exchange highly compressed messages for maximum economy. The concept worked well! Within a few months, hundreds of others had joined this "network". Now, a mere five years later, FIDOnet consists of some 10,000 "electronic Bulletin Board Systems" (BBS's) in 50+ countries throughout the world. It is growing at a mind-boggling, ever-accelerating rate because more and more individuals and schools are beginning to discover just how easy and inexpensive it is to set up and operate their very own "grassroots" BBS which can share a "critical mass" that is international in scope. As a result, there may already be dozens of NO-fee FIDOnetBBS's accessible to you RIGHT NOW in your local calling area with more coming every week! Perhaps what is most significant about this "revolution" is that Tom Jennings and his friends never "planned" on this size, diversity or dynamism. (They probably never dreamed this would happen!) Their contribution was the basic technical concept of FIDOnet and, of course, the "early" system software to get it all started. It was the "market forces"---the vast numbers of sysops and users subsequently joining and using the network---that caused its structure and content to "evolve" to what it has today. The international scope, sophistication and complexity of the FIDOnetwork as well as the plethora of inexepensive and (mostly) free state-of-the-art FIDOnet-standard system software and utilities available now is the result of the collective "tinkering" of thousands of minds over tens of thousands of man-hours--without any centralized planning or control other than a subscription to a basic set of technical standards. The forces of supply and demand have been the only real governing factors! Tom and his friends "planted a seed" which has grown into an immense "forest" of vast diversity and energy that has evolved its own "ecology". FIDOnet has changed the world! Using Tom Jennings' FIDOnet as a model, K12net is an attempt to "plant some seeds" which we hope will grow into a large, SELF-PERPETUATING "forest" of INDEPENDENT school-based/oriented BBS's that has already become international in scope. K12net should be regarded as a decentralized, open-ended "grass roots movement" which will evolve, self-perpetuate and govern itself as the direct result of the "no nonsense" forces of supply & demand. It should NOT be thought of as a "project" with predefined objectives, structure, membership and time table designed and regulated by some centralized bureacracy or a "service" offered from a centralized computer. The intent of K12net's founders is to "get the ball rolling"--to whet some appetites--to get educators far and wide "tinkering" with the concept of a decentralized "school network" of independently owned nodes governed solely by market forces. Tom and his friends have provided the model for this--we have seen that it works well. Now we're trying to give the concept some wings so that it can "fly" on its own...... 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 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 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 --==WHAT IS K12NET?==-- K12net is a decentralized network of school based/oriented "electronic bulletin board systems" (BBS's) throughout North America, Australia, Europe, Asia (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 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. --==WHAT CAN K12NET DO FOR YOU AND/OR YOUR CLASSROOM?==-- K12net is a "window to the world." It allows you to transcend rural isolation and community colloquialism by freely, conveniently and inexpensively conversing with people in Canada, Hawaii, Sweden, or Australia. You will develop friendships, explore other cultures, gather insight and exchange opinions with other people all over the world. You will become a bona fide member of the "Global Village". K12net provides a vehicle for wide area collaborative classroom projects using telecommunications. Use K12net to jointly gather data and draw conclusions about the distribution of acid rain across North America. Publish a classroom-based "electronic newsletter" for immediate international distribution. Compare fast food prices in a multitude of different currencies throughout the world and develop theories as to the economic reasons for their variations. K12net lets you "rub professional elbows" with other professional educators throughout the world. Find out how educators in the next school district, state or nation are using technologies, materials and methodologies to improve education. Discover why the "movers and shakers" in the educational world meet here to gather and explore new ideas and concepts. K12net is a "great equalizer". Online discussions transcend social stigmas based on age, learning disabilities or other handicapping conditions which might otherwise tend to limit dialogue. No one needs to know that you may be 12 years old or in a wheel chair or have dyslexia. All anyone else will see is your words..... K12net is an information-gathering facility. The online world is particularly well suited for asking "Say, does anyone know...." questions to large groups of people who converge in a wide variety of topic areas. --==K12NET CHANNELS - THE PROJECT ECHOS/NEWSGROUPS==-- One of the most exciting things that telecommunications can provide is contact and exchange with persons far away. Teachers have known this for years, conducting all kinds of exchanges via the regular mail - i.e., "Pen Pals". The K12 PROJECT ECHOES provide teachers and their students with the means of conducting projects with other students and teachers throughout the K12 Net - all over the North American continent - using the exciting medium of computer telecommunications! The project echoes take advantage of the existing K12 net architecture- if you have access to a BBS in K12 net, then the project echoes are available to you. Projects are conducted in one of ten "channels", with an eleventh channel available for teachers to work "behind the scenes" to administer projects. Projects can occur between only two schools, or among many at the same time - everyone participating gets all the messages, no matter who entered them where. Try that with regular mail! To take advantage of the project echoes, you first need to have a link to the K12 net. Once you are able to call in, teachers only need to do the following: 1. Come up with an idea for a specific project. Be imaginative- there are not many precedents for this kind of activity, so you needn't be constrained by previous failures... 2. Find one or more other teachers in the K12 net who might want to join in your project. You might find them in K12.TCH_CHAT, K12.PROJECTS, or any one of the other conferences. All of these conferences should be available to you at your K12 Net node. Once you make contact with interested parties, move your preliminary discussion to K12.PROJECTS, to iron out the details. What can you do with the Project Echoes? Lots of things! In its first year, K12Net projects have included a Holiday Cookbook, a Weather Project, a "Top Ten" List, a Rivers Project, and the Physics Olympics. Other ideas have included acid rain studies across the continent, market comparisons (how much for a Big Mac in your town?), role playing games, and many others. Andy Vanduyne, Channel Coordinator; Sysop: 260/375 --==THE K12NET LIBRARY SYSTEM==-- The K12Net Library was begun in January 1991 by a number of sysops who had files that directly related to education. They desired to pool them so that they would be available to everyone on K12Net. Eventually all the files which these sysops had were exchanged. Later more sysops contributed their educational files to the K12Net Library. In May 1991 the K12Net Library's holdings totaled just over 200 megs and there are 19 K12Net Library (FidoNet) sites located on 3 continents. The files in the K12Net Library cover virtually the whole spectrum of education. The majority of program files are designed to run in an MS DOS environment. The future goal of the K12Net Library involves securing files which will run on various types of computers. There are a few thousand ASCII text files which cover lesson plans in specific areas, NASA space lesson plans, physics, articles from magazines, curriculum guides, US Department of Education reports on all aspects of education, special education reports, ERIC outlines, telecommunications tech articles, and on, and on, and on. FidoNet: The file libraries can be downloaded or FREQed for any one of 19 regional K12Net Libraries. The K12Net Files listing is available from all the K12Net Libraries via FREQ. You can also FREQ 1:321/218 and request K12FILES.ZIP (which is the K12Net Library listing). USENET: We do not yet have the K12Net Library available for FTP yet. We will secure a USENET site which will house the complete K12Net Library so that it will be available via FTP, UUCP, or download. Rob Reilly K12Net Librarian 1:321/218 FidoNet rob@k12net.org --==K12NET ECHO TAG NAMES (FidoNet side)==-- Our weekly traffic is from about 70-90K which is roughly 700-1000 messages. GENERAL TAGNAME CONVENTIONS: *ALL* echoes with the "K12_" (underscore) prefix are "public" which means they are to be fully accessible to the general public. Those with the "K12." (period) prefix are "private" and access is to be restricted as described below. K12Net "CORE" ECHOES: General comments: The "core" echoes are meant to approximately correspond with traditional subject areas typically found in Kindergarten thru senior high schools. We have combined some areas in anticipation of a lack of "critical mass" in the early stages of the development of K12Net. As sufficient traffic develops, additional echoes with more specific topics may become feasible. A "topic sentence" for ALL of these "core" echoes is as follows: tagname Suggested menu description (in upper case) ------- ----------------------------------------- K12_ART_ED ARTS & CRAFTS EDUCATION (excluding music) K12_BUS_ED BUSINESS EDUCATION K12_COMP_LIT COMPUTER EDUCATION: Technical assistance and exchange for computer educators and students. K12_HLTH_PE HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION K12_LIF_SKIL LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION; Home economics, career skills, legal issues, safety education. K12_LANG_ART LANGUAGE ARTS EDUCATION: reading, writing, literature, grammar, composition, etc. K12_MATH_ED MATHEMATICS EDUCATION K12_MUSIC_ED MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS EDUCATION K12_SCI_ED SCIENCE EDUCATION K12_SOC_STUD SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION: History, Civics, Social Sciences, etc. K12_SPEC_ED COMPENSATORY EDUCATION: learning disabled, etc. K12_TAG TALENTED & GIFTED EDUCATION: challenges specific to educating intellectually and/or artistically gifted students. K12_TECH_ED TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION: Robotics and engineering, industrial & manufacturing technologies, drafting, design, CAD/CAM, and Vocational Education. --FOREIGN LANGUAGE ECHOES-- ASCII only for all echoes--keyboard characters only: emphasis on communication in non-native language. K12_FRANCAIS French-only discussion for level 1 students. K12_SPAN_ENG Spanish-English "practice" echo. Native Spanish speakers are urged to correspond in English and native-English speakers are urged to write in Spanish providing exciting, interactive "practice" for beginning and intermediate-level students. K12_GERM_ENG Same format as K12_SPAN_ENG but for German language K12_RUSSIAN Same format as K12_SPAN_ENG but for Russian language --ANCILLARY PUBLIC ECHOES-- K12_NEWS K12Net NEWS (all should read): A place for announcements at the network level. Should be designated ReadOnly. K12_ELE_CHAT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHAT: All-purpose chat echo for K-6 K12_JR_CHAT MIDDLE SCHOOL CHAT: All-purpose chat echo. Grades 7&8 K12_SR_CHAT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CHAT: All-purpose chat echo. 9-12 --RESTRICTED ACCESS ECHOES-- K12.SYSOP K12.SYSOP: **This is for sysops-ONLY**. For discussion of network operation, coordinating echo installation and distribution, technical problems with system software & hardware, etc. K12.TCH_CHAT TEACHER CHAT: **For ALL professional educators ONLY** This is an all-purpose CHAT echo with emphasis on the design and evolution of K12net. K12.PROJECTS TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROJECTS: **for ALL professional educators.** For the discussion of various curriculum-driven, classroom projects, advertising for "partners" for specifc projects, etc. Suggest user account level access. Note that K12.CH0 is for administration of projects currently in progress. Currently there are 12 Project Channels available for online curricular projects, classes, discussions, etc. --==K12NET NOW AVALIALE ON THE INTERNET THOUGH UUNET==-- 20 conferences of 20/20 vision in education Several people have expressed an interest in "gating" the K12 Net echoes to OtherNet systems. Randy Bush has offered us an opportunity to experiment with a connection to Internet through UUNET. This will result in the establishment of USENET Newsgroups in the following categories: FidoNet Echo Usenet newsgroup ------------ -------------------- K12.TCH_CHAT k12.chat.teacher K12_ELE_CHAT k12.chat.elementary K12_JR_CHAT k12.chat.junior K12_SR_CHAT k12.chat.senior K12_ART_ED k12.ed.art K12_BUS_ED k12.ed.business K12_COMP_LIT k12.ed.comp.literacy K12_HLTH_PE k12.ed.health-pe K12_LIF_SKIL k12.ed.life-skills ** refer to "echotags.k12" K12_MATH_ED k12.ed.math above for a short K12_MUSIC_ED k12.ed.music description of each K12_SCI_ED k12.ed.science newsgroup ** K12_SOC_STUD k12.ed.soc-studies K12_SPEC_ED k12.ed.special K12_TAG k12.ed.tag K12_TECH_ED k12.ed.tech K12_LANG_ART k12.lang.art K12_GERM_ENG k12.lang.deutsch-eng K12_SPAN_ENG k12.lang.esp-eng K12_FRANCAIS k12.lang.francais UUNET is currently sending the K12 Newsgroups to the following systems: bellcore.bellcore.com Bell Communication Research bbn.com Bolt, Beranek and Newman bonnie.concordia.ca Concordia University decwrl.dec.com Digital Equipment Corp dove.hist.gov US National Institute of Standards & Technology csus.edu California State Univ at Sacramento europa.asd.contel.com Contel Federal Systems fernwood.mkp.ca.us gateway.sequent.com Sequent Computer ieee.org. Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers infonode.ingr.com InteGraph Corporation jhereg.osa.com Open System Architects lll-winken.llnl.gov Lawrence Livermore National Labs news.tcs.com Teknekron Communication System noc.sura.net SURAnet Southeastern Universities Research Net USA piccolo.cit.cornell.edu Cornell University pmafire.inel.gov Idaho National Engineering Lab seka.scc.com Contel SPACECOM spool.mu.edu Marquette University vuse.vanderbilt.edu Vanderbilt University world.std.com Software Tool & Die sendit.nodak.edu North Dakota Higher Educ Computer Network m2xenix.psg.com Pacific Software Group uunet.uu.net UUNET Technologies This is a very short list that was generated during the first week of the our gating to USENET. We have not attempted to update the list since then. --==K12NET INFORMATION PACKAGE ON UUNET==-- The K12 info is now in UUNET's archive. There is a package containing several files available. This archive is updated regularly and is available as noted below. The archived package (k12net.tar.Z) contains the following files: FILE Description of the FILE ---- ----------------------- README.1ST ....... description of the files in this package channels.k12 ...... description of the project channels echotags.k12 ...... list of the newsgroups/echo areas library.k12 ....... overview of the K12Net Library uunet.k12 ........ USENET newsgroups description vision.k12 ........ philosophy statement about K12Net what_is.k12 ....... quick & dirty outline of K1Net why_use.k12 ....... use our product propoganda accessible via uucp as uunet!~/doc/k12net.tar.Z or via ftp as ftp.uu.net:/doc/k12net.tar.Z There are several ways to access the files in uunet's archives: . Via anonymous FTP to "ftp.uu.net". You will need interactive access at an internet or IP connected host with a PTR resource record to do this. If we can't take your IP address and turn it into a hostname, we will deny you access via anonymous FTP. eg: ftp ftp.uu.net mget /doc/k12net.tar.Z . Via uucp. UUNET subscribers should use the "uucp" command to transfer files. Wildcard expansions in uucp commands may not work since we don't allow remote execution of the uucp command (some versions of uucp are broken in this regard). Uucp transfers through UUNET from one uucp host to another will not work for the same reason. eg: uucp uunet!~/doc/k12net.tar.Z /usr/spool/uucppublic . Via anonymous uucp. Any site running UUCP may call +1 900 GOT SRCS and use the login "uucp". There is no password. The phone company will bill you at $0.40 per minute for the call. Your may retrieve any file in our archive under the same restrictions as normal uucp. Note that UUCP transfers to UUNET are not allowed so you can't send mail, post news, or upload files over the 900 line. The 900 number only works from within the US. Some organizations block 900 access.