The first interesting educational network project (IENP) is the International Relations and Politics Project, at http://www.nscds.pvt.k12.il.us/nscds/us/seniorseminar/project/main.html. This project is designed for high school students to discuss international affairs and foreign policy. Discussions are centered around geographic location (e.g., the Americas) and topic (e.g., terrorism). Unfortunately, several of the links at the site are broken.
Relevance to education
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The project is used in conjunction with history classes. The benefits of the project, in my opinion, are many. Students
- learn current events
- meet other cultures
- see how personal background influences an issue
- see how the local media influences an issue
- see the effects of historical events on the modern world
Reason that a network is needed
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The question-and-answer turnaround time of a network is necessary to sustain a meaningful conversation about a topic and to reach a worldwide audience without incurring the expense of telephone calls. The human aspect of the interaction reaches far beyond the information which can be found in a newspaper (which is controlled by a third party) and requires that individuals speak their own opinions.
Identified by: Jack Tan
February 1997