Con Ed Helps to Globalize New York City Public School

--A pioneering model of cooperation in education--

Students at Washington Irving High School in Manhattan will start working on global telecommunications projects as part of an innovative collaboration with Con Edison and I*EARN (the International Education and Resource Network). "I think that this can serve as a model for helping other schools in New York City and around the country," said Joe Petta, Public Affairs officer at Con Edison. "For a relatively small amount of money (under $500 per year), a company can sponsor an I*EARN account at a school, and thereby enable them to take advantage of the international projects on I*EARN."

At Washington Irving students will work on science projects with Edward Susse, Coordinator of the Computer Center, and on humanities and social studies projects in the ESL House under Heather True LaValle, a literary arts teacher at the school. Through their work on I*EARN, Washington Irving students will work with students in 30 other countries and gain first-hand experience with collaborative and cross-cultural interactions. "All too often such experience is out of the reach of urban schools," pointed out Mr. Petta. "I*EARN has placed a priority on bringing such opportunities to students and teachers in New York City and other metropolitan areas in the United States."

I*EARN projects focus on "making a difference in the world" and are integrated into a wide range of curriculum areas. Through I*EARN, students and teachers communicate via electronic-mail, on-line conferencing, World Wide Web, video-speaker telephones and student exchanges to implement educational projects. Students and teachers gain experience with the Internet superhighway, cross-cultural communication skills and awareness, as well as an enhanced motivation for learning about their world.

I*EARN, a low-cost, non-profit educational network, works in collaboration with such organizations as the New York State Education Department, China National Institute for Educational Research in Beijing, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Argentina Ministry of Education, Alberta Global Education Project, ORT Israel, Onderwifs Computercentrum ABC in Amsterdam, the Copen Family Fund, Sister Cities Interna-tional, Soros Foundation and many other organizations in the United States and abroad.

"I*EARN builds on an existing base of over 1,500 schools in over 30 countries," notes Dr. Edwin Gragert, Director of I*EARN. "More importantly, this partnership with Con-Ed allows students in New York City to join thousands of other K-12 students and teachers around the world in global interaction and learning through meaningful projects using telecommunications," Dr. Gragert added.

Countries participating in this I*EARN project include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, United States (40 states) and Uruguay.

Examples of joint international-student projects include a deforestation treaty,

literary anthologies, bringing clean water to Nicaraguan communities, environment measurement studies and activities, news magazines, science projects, Holocaust studies with a study tour to Poland and Israel, cultural studies of heroes, rainforest preservation, a guide to US/Russia joint business ventures, and many others. Schools work through one-on-one partnerships or in small cluster groups. They can use suggested "Hello" and "Student Project" outlines which are provided to them in order to to facilitate a structured learning and project development process.

"Telecommunications enhance the language arts, science, math and social studies curricula presented at schools and makes learning real," points out Delia Susarret, a New York City District Four public school teacher who is helping I*EARN reach out to city students and teachers. Students and teachers in I*EARN use the global APC Network for both electronic mail and teleconferencing on projects initiated by students and teachers worldwide. All I*EARN participants have direct access to Internet e-mail, gopher, telnet and other research tools. Telecommunications are enhanced by exchanges and by the use of slow-scan video-speaker telephones, giving students and teachers a chance to talk to and see their counterparts in the partnered schools abroad.