Plugged Into Long Island's
Future
Students all over Long Island are plugged into
the Internet and the future, thanks in part to a major effort by C.W. Post's
Department of Educational Technology (ET) and a grant from the NYNEX Foundation.
Dr. Michael Byrne and Dr. Bette Schneiderman of ET have spearheaded the
Electronic Educational Village, a new project involving hundreds of secondary
schools, teachers, libraries, museums and business leaders working together
to promote communication and networking through both new and old technologies.
Participants use a computer network, the Internet and teleconferencing to
discuss and design theoretical models of what Long Island will be like in
the future by focusing on the area's economy, culture and natural resources.
As part of the project, the students are creating interactive pages on the
Internet's World Wide Web.
The Village, the only project of its kind, according to Dr. Schneiderman,
is funded by a $50,000 award from the 1996 NYNEX Foundation Excellence in
Education program. The grant is the largest amount awarded in New York state
from the 1996 NYNEX Foundation's Excellence in Education program.
"We expect the Electronic Educational Village model to transform learners
and learning systems in the participating schools and organizations,"
said Dr. Byrne, who co-authored the grant proposal with Dr. Schneiderman.
"There are many electronic activities and programs running in schools
across the country, but we don't think there is another collaboration that
has so powerfully combined face-to-face interactive projects with community
resources," said Schneiderman.
For example, a teacher in Bridgehampton, who also is a graduate student
in Post's educational technology department, has set up an elaborate teaching
module based on the life and work of William Henry Johnson, an important
African-American artist with ties to both Long Island and Harlem. His students
learned to use World Wide Web resources to locate remnants of Johnson's
family, his burial site on the grounds of the old Central Islip State Hospital,
and other African-American artists willing to talk about their concerns.
Students visited the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, where they talked to
the curator of an important exhibit of Johnson's work and saw, first hand,
what goes into putting together such a collection.
"This is a great example of how community resources can work together
with technology to produce a rich learning experience for students and others
in the electronic village," added Schneiderman.
For more information call the C.W. Post Public
Relations Office at (516) 299-2333 or e-mail cwpostpr@aurora.liunet.edu
October 1996 |
