THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 13, 1994 TAG: 9410130519
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
No walls, no halls, no bells: That's the promise from organizers of Virginia's first ``virtual school,'' announced Wednesday from the campus of Virginia Tech.
Students from six schools in Montgomery County will participate in a one-year, $100,000 pilot program that will provide pupils with nearly unlimited computer access to interactive libraries and digital databases around the globe via high-speed communications links.
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg is taking a lead role in the project, computerizing text and photos on such subjects as ecology, physics, biology and marine science. That information will be placed in customized databases accessible to the Montgomery students.
``It's an exciting time,'' said Ed Dreistadt , vice president of marketing for the Williamsburg theme park. ``Old assumptions have to be turned upside down.
``I feel like what it must have been back in 1938, at the birth of television.''
The program is a joint venture between Busch, Virginia Tech, the Tech-sponsored Blacksburg Electronic Village, Bell Atlantic-Virginia and Scholastic Network Inc. The National Science Foundation is the primary underwriter.
The groundbreaking effort, organizers said, is tied to the electronic village concept, which aims to connect citizens, schools, universities, research laboratories and businesses to the so-called information superhighway. The Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEV) debuted roughly a year ago, and has since more than doubled its subscriber base to 9,000 residents, according to BEV director of development Andrew Cohill.
The electronic village's growing popularity bodes well for the future of the virtual school, Cohill said.
``It's not just a few university professors sticking a few computers in the classroom and saying, `Let's see what happens,' '' he said. ``The goal here is to change things fundamentally. We're seeing the beginning of the end of stand-up lecture.''
Although there will be no major alteration in curricula or classroom procedures during the first phase of the project, subsequent phases could bring dramatic change. Proponents predict that in a true virtual classroom, teachers will become ``facilitators'' rather than ``deliverers'' of information.
And, supporters say, as students routinely log on to computer databases and exchange electronic mail with peers and instructors, they will become active, enthusiastic learners rather than rote memorizers.
``This process allows us in a comfortable way to remove barriers, but not in a way that's too radical,'' said Herman Bartlett , Montgomery County Schools superintendent. ``This whole system of education that we grew up with is changing on us. To stay competitive, we're all going to have to make this (computerized) information available.''
For rural school districts such as Montgomery County, more cash-strapped than their suburban counterparts, the virtual classroom brings the intellectual wealth of the planet to the fingertips of those who are far away from centers of learning.
``It's critical,'' Cohill said. ``This is the way we're going to compete with more affluent areas.''
Still to be determined are the ways success will be measured, and how well the new approach helps students learn.
``These new technologies are to some degree untried,'' said Margaret A. Miller, associate director for academic affairs at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. ``As we move into this virtual realm, replacing a physical classroom with an electronic classroom, it's very important to keep track of what works and what doesn't.''
The project's partners will seek additional National Science Foundation funding to extend the program. Should additional money become available, all 21 of Montgomery County's schools are slated to join in the virtual venture. by CNB