September 1997 — Features
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The Boulder Valley Internet Project: Lessons Learned
The staff development program of the Boulder Valley Internet Project changed rapidly as the technology evolved and became more user-friendly. Old tools were dropped as the new graphical interfaces became more widespread.
Creation of the first district Web pages and a revitalized set of training sessions quickly followed the introduction of graphical browsers like Netscape Navigator. Some of the structured classes were replaced by hands-on, open-lab sessions where new users could bring specific questions to the facilitators. These sessions emphasized the simplicity and usability of Netscape for accessing relevant information on the Web that could then be used to enrich instruction. User perceptions became more positive as the project evolved.
Expansion of Communication Networks
Originally, the Internet was considered to be a tool for research; its use for communication was only recognized later on. As a result, administrators and teachers were on different networks. Administrators used a secure, local area network, while teachers used the Internet, its e-mail and the usual set of Internet-based tools.
As newly trained teachers became adept at using the Internet, their peer network slowly expanded beyond their building and their district to include new colleagues. These came from listservs and mailing lists, Usenet newsgroups, experts such as Ask Dr. Math and Ask A Scientist on Web sites, fellow teachers from as far away as Antarctica and Sweden, and even their own students.
One interviewed teacher mentioned that whenever she ran into a problem with the network, she would get online, find out which of her students were also online, and then send a query to whichever one she felt might be able to answer her questions. Thus, students became not only co-explorers with their teachers, as one might expect in collaborative ventures; they became a vital part of their teachers' support network as well.
Experimentation and Re-invention
Since the optimal uses of the Internet in education were undetermined at the beginning of the project, its leaders were flexible and allowed the system to define and be re-invented by the teachers who used it. "Re-invention is the degree to which an innovation is changed or modified by a user in the process of its adoption and implementation."[1]
Since Web-based browsing was originally perceived as a new tool for research, it soon became an important facet of student research projects. Teachers noted that the new projects presented by their students in fulfillment of class requirements took on an air of originality that was lacking in traditional library-based research. One teacher commented:
