No Igloo left behind education
Nov 14th, 2004A nice story at the Los Angeles Times about eskimo children using Internet video links to bridge the distances in their education.
Internet videoconferencing is helping to bridge the tremendous distances between students and the expert educators who are in short supply throughout alaska.
Nearly all of Alaska's 54 school districts have received broadband connections in the last few years, and nine of the most rural ones are using the technology to conduct online videoconferences. Students in secluded villages can take virtual field trips on dog sleds. Administrators can train teachers in far-flung locations.
"Even in the smallest, most remote schools, you can start to provide equivalent academic rigor," said Chick Beckley, president of the Alaska Distance Learning Partnership, an organization of school districts and distance-learning providers. "It helps level the playing field by increasing education opportunities for rural students."
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