Tuesday, February 4, 1997
ACS casting Net far and wide
By LESLIE STRADER / Staff Writer
Abilene Christian Schools is casting a wide 'Net in its campus
computer lab, and teachers hope their students will get the scoop
on everything from the Mona Lisa to the innards of a frog.
Last fall, according to Region XIV, ACS became the only public
or private school in the region to have direct Internet access
available to every student through its computer lab.
Steve Woods, ACS high school principal, says kindergartners
through high school seniors are taking advantage of the hook-up
and learning a lot along the way.
"It's exciting to them," he said. "Getting on
the bus and going to the library is pretty much a drag if you
can get on the Internet now and go to the library now. There's
something more exciting about reading articles on the computer.
There's something there that connects to kids."
ACS is online thanks to the resources at Abilene Christian
University. The campus is hooked up with the university's system
through a remote Ethernet connection. The 30 IBM compatible computers
in the ACS lab "communicate" through Ethernet signals,
which networks them with the computers at ACU.
The library can connect to the Internet through the use of
a modem.
ACS charges students a $50 computer fee each year, which covers
the cost of Internet access and the annual update of the lab hardware
and software.
"Our goals with this are to gain access to more information
that we were unable to have before and to develop better research
skills in the kids and create more excitement to learning,"
Woods said.
Secondary students use the Internet in their microcomputers
class and in subjects such as English, foreign language, art and
science. Students have "visited" the Louvre Museum in
France, toured the White House, written in Spanish to pen pals
in Mexico and dissected a frog.
"It's unbelievable the educational spots that are out
there," he said. "We're still trying to find the best
sites out there for educational purposes. It's unbelievable how
quickly web sites come out there and change."
Students are given a good deal of freedom in their Internet
use, which Woods said can be a little "scary." But a
policy is in place to prevent and, if the occasion arose, deal
with any student who might abuse his privileges.
"We do give them a lot of freedom, but we've not had any
problems with students going into (restricted) sites," she
said. "I feel like our kids are very well disciplined, and
they understand it could be taken away from them if they abused
it."
The lab does have filters set up to block some sites, but they
are waiting to see what ACU chooses to do before making a major
censoring software purchase.
Right now, Woods said, monitoring is done through the lab teachers
and through a device that allows teachers to track what a student
on a specific computer at a specific time might have looked up.
Students are not allowed in the lab without a teacher present.
Freshman Jackie Shilcutt was introduced to the Internet at
school and used its research capabilities to find information
and write a report on her grandparents, Fort Worth residents who
received community service awards.
"Before, you had to ask around and see what books and
magazines were in," she said. "With the Internet, you
just search and what you're looking for comes up. I think this
will help a lot of people learn."
Her classmate, Tina Malaer, said the Internet saves a lot of
time in research because there is so much information available.
But she doesn't believe students at ACS will abuse the privilege
because everyone seems to appreciate the access.
"I think everybody here has the same morals; we know what
we're not supposed to do," she said. "I learn more doing
this than just reading in books. It's more interesting to me to
search and find it myself."
Wynetta Blackburn has been teaching computer science at ACS
since the lab was installed. She creates projects for the students
to do using the Internet, always visiting the site first herself
before sending anyone out on their own.
She sees the Internet as an extension of student learning more
than a potential problem.
"This has really broadened the kids' world views. They've
visited sites they'll never be able to visit personally,"
she said. "It has its problems because there are things you
don't want to expose them to, but I see it as being a great improvement.
"We still need to teach the basics, but this can be an
enriching experience. It's a motivational tool. They'll search
for anything just to be on the Internet. And if they want to do
it, that makes a lot of difference."
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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