The CyberSchool Project
URL cyberschool.4j.lane.edu/
Eugene School District 4
Eugene, Oregon, USA

Contact person: Tom Layton layton@4j.lane.edu

If you enjoy this posting, you might also be interested in Bertram Bruce's Education Online.

The CyberSchool Project was started in the summer of 1995 by nine teachers from the Eugene School District 4J of Eugene, Oregon, USA, led by Tom Layton, the technology teacher for the district. The goal was to experiment with a new model for offering classes to students from Eugene and from around the world.

CyberSchool classes are conducted entirely on the World Wide Web. Students first send e-mail to the course instructor explaining why they want to take the class and, after being accepted, receive a reading list, a set of pertinent questions to consider, and a due date to complete their reading. Some of what students read is from traditional print materials, other materials are found only on the Internet. After finishing the reading, students are enrolled in an online discussion group with other students working on the same course. Here they discuss questions posed by the teacher, conduct debates, and in general interact much as they would in a traditional classroom. The only difference is that their classmates may be located anywhere in the world, and that the conversation is asynchronous. This means that students and teachers talk to one another by e-mail at whatever time is personally convenient. It also means that everyone has the time to read and carefully consider what everyone else is saying and to make thoughtful contributions. Eventually, students are assigned final papers to write. Students completing a course receive high school credit for their work through the Eugene School District 4J.

Currently CyberSchool offers 19 courses in English, World Languages, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The English classes include the following:

Advanced Placement Composition

Bring Literature to Life with Visual Arts

Communicati on and Gender

In addition to its courses, CyberSchool provides training for teachers who want to construct their own CyberSchool courses. World Class Teacher Training focuses on the tools and techniques necessary for secondary teachers to practice their profession via high-speed computer networks like the Internet. During the class, teachers prepare one or more of their own courses for delivery over this new medium. They learn about new teaching tools, learn how to market their courses inexpensively, and learn CyberCourse management skills.

The Cybrary is another resource for CyberTeachers. This Web site is a gateway to electronic books that can be read online or downloaded as text files.

Go to index of project descriptions posted from May 1997 to June 2000