New Horizons for Learning: Social Studies Teachers Join I*EARN

Social Studies Technology Trainers Join I*EARN

Reposted from the September 1995 edition of Interaction, the official newsletter of the International Education and Resource Network (I*EARN), a global network of teachers and students for collaborative online projects.

by John Anderson and Larry Strickland

Building Excellence for Social Studies Through Technology (BESST) is a group of twelve social studies teachers in Washington State who have been trained as trainers in technology. They have been working together since 1990, designing a variety of projects that integrate social studies and technology, and decided to focus their 1995-96 efforts on global interaction and learning. Although several of them have been members of I*EARN, with their students participating in projects, they recently joined I*EARN as a team.

BESST's first project was "Social Studies and Technology: Here's the Fit" in 1990, followed a year later by "Linking At Risk Students Through Social Studies and Technology." BESST teachers also designed a technology-based curriculum for the Legislature's Page School, created a regional geography laser disc for Washington teachers, and played key roles in OSPI sponsored statewide curriculum projects It Ought to Be a Law and Making History Real. One became the technology teacher for the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Fellows program; two have become adjunct professors assigned to teach technology/social studies methods; most of provided inservice instruction for buildings and districts; and all twelve have signed a contract committing them to twenty hours of training with their respective educational service districts.

BESST is a teacher-based association. It is unique in that the group has evolved from grants "that just didn't go away." Besides initiating projects and creating products, its members provide training to social studies teachers in telecommunications-based projects and activities. BESST teachers are also involved with other key organizations, such as the Holocaust Resource Center, the Washington Alliance for Geographic Education, the Northwest Council of Computer Educators, the Washington State Council for the Social Studies, the Washington Center for Law Related Education, the Washington Historical Society, the Commission on Student Learning, and the Center for the Improvement of Student Learning.

Several of the BESST teachers are well known to the I*EARN family. The current list includes: Julie Rosenoff, Spokane Valley Alternative School; Gary Cressman, Enumclaw Junior High; George Thornton, Oroville Junior/Senior High; Dave Barber, Ft. Vancouver High School; Ken Bischoff, Eisenhower High School in Yakima; Mark Gale, Coupeville High School; Ricki Peto, Pasco High School; Jay Young, Wenatchee High School; Barbara Folsom, West High School in Chehalis; Doug Perry, Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor; Jim Pfieffer, Whitman High School in Port Orchard; and Fred Matteucci at Shorecrest High School in Seattle. Larry Strickland, supervisor of international education at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, is the project facilitator while Dennis Small, supervisor of technology at OSPI, offers technical support. John Anderson represents the Center for the Improvement of Student Learning, which provided the grant for the I*EARN accounts to the BESST participants.

For more information, contact Gary Cressman at enumclaw.igc.apc.org.

John Anderson is coordinator of the Pacific Northwest Center of I*EARN and Director of the Center for the Improvement of Student Learning (CISL). John is also a member of New Horizons for Learning's Board of Directors.
Larry Strickland is supervisor of International Education for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) in the State of Washington. He can be reached at larrys@inspire.ospi.wednet.e du

For more information about I*EARN, contact Ed Gragert, program director, at ed1@igc.apc.org or tourthe I*EARN home pages, beginning at http://www.igc.apc.org/iearn/