Conference to introduce results from the 100-School Networking Project (Phase II)
Elementary school meeting

Educational Use of the Internet at Our School

Tadao Furukoji, Kitakyushu Komorie-Nishi Elementary School

1. Introduction

Introduction to our school

2. History of computer education at our school

We have focused on information education as a research theme since FY 1994.

3. Planning for FY1997

Research on efficient computer use, so that children can reach the goals established for each lesson

4. Practice 1. Second Grade, Class 1 Subject: life science Teacher: Usukine Unit: "Let's explore Itozu Yuen (a zoo)"

(1) Preparatory work before class

(2) Correlate actual experiences with computer use

1) Research on transportation to the zoo: using Nishitetsu Bus's home page to find out what bus we should take, where we get board the bus, and how long the trip will take

2) Creating a course
Autonomous, diversified activities (each group decides on a course for what they need to accomplish)

(3) After doing the field work, the children are more interested in animals, asking new questions about them.

• Creating a trip report
• Using e-mail
• A short lecture given over the telephone

(4) Summary

5. Practice 2. Fourth Grade, Class 2 Subject: Japanese Teacher: Nakai Unit: "Let's produce a play in our own dialect"

(1) Interest in dialects

The teacher in this class often reads books to children. Children tend to like stories written in unique dialects and folk tales from various regions. Many children first became interested in dialects when they learned about "Kicchomu's stories" in the first term, and they began talking about words their grandparents use. Already familiar with using the Internet, the children suggested using it to find out more about dialects from various regions.

(2) What the children wanted, and creating the unit

(3) Cooperation by e-mail

Children separated into four groups, each group assigned one dialect to research. The dialects of the Osaka, Miyazaki, Toyama, and Yamanashi prefectures were chosen for the study.

• We asked for help using the mailing list of the 100-School Networking Project.

In doing the research, the children became more aware of where they live.

Some people wrote e-mail in their own dialect, as well as in standard Japanese. By reading the e-mail, the children learned that the words they usually use are not standard Japanese, but a unique dialect. We would like to sincerely thank the many people who helped us.

(4) Conclusion

We presented the play to the children's parents.

Many people were glad to help children study during this activity, further motivating both teachers and children.

6. Summary and future goals

One result of this activity was that the children learned what networking means: a coming together of people. I feel that little by little, schools are becoming more open to the outside world. I want to continue this research so that in the future, we'll have the capacity to help others.

Eventually, every school in our city will be part of the network, although this is not the case now. I think our school should deepen its connections with schools in the city and nearby areas, based on the experiences we've had so far, and create a system that allows schools to use and share information and materials.

The Internet is a great tool for children. It gives them a chance to find out more about where they live, and a chance to learn how to exchange their thoughts and feelings with others.

Our future research will focus on the following:

• Creating a home page for each classroom, based on student's unique ideas, and providing information
• Everyday use of the Internet by teachers (collecting and exchanging information)
• Use of e-mail in lessons