Introduction Getting Ready
Learning Circles Teachers' Guide
Open Circle Plan Projects Share Work Publish
Close Circle Overview
   

Letters to Parents and Students

These sample letters are the from the iEARN team to the students and parents of the student participating in Learning Circles. If you are participating in Learning Circles with some other group, it is easy to modify these letters to suit your needs. There are three similar letters, in this file:

  1. Letter to the Parents or Guardians of Students
  2. Letter to Secondary Students
  3. Letter to Elementary Students

 

Letter to the Parents or Guardians of Students

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Your child's teacher has joined with other information-age pioneers on the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN) to explore new ways to challenge your child's thinking. Your child will have the unique opportunity to work with teachers and students in distant locations by using your school's computers as communication tools. The technical process is simple. Your child will be sending messages over the Internet, a service that is used throughout the world. But what is unique about this program is the educational design. Your teacher is working with a team of educators in Learning Circles to provide your child an exciting educational opportunity that will help prepare them for the 21st century.

How does it work? The iEARN Network links your child's class into a "Learning Circle" with 6-8 distant classrooms. Your child will be involved in writing for a distant audience of peers and developing a project from beginning to end. Your child's work may be shared with students and teachers in distant locations. It may also be selected for publication in the Learning Circle publication which will be created by all of the classes working together. One of the teachers, Jean Terry from the Netherlands, had this to say about the learning experience of her students:

"I have never, in over twenty years of teaching, seen kids work so hard on a writing assignment. They wrote, rewrote, proofread, rewrote, revised and rewrote! With no complaints. I'm sure that it was the idea of their work being shared with other kids in other schools that made the difference."

Participation in Learning Circles can help children develop valuable skills. They learn about themselves and their community by being placed in a position to share this information with students in other locations. Students often take this responsibility seriously and will benefit from your interest and help. They will also learn from the information sent by students in geographic and culturally diverse locations. Please encourage them to share what they learn with you.

Your child will be working cooperatively as a member of a team with group responsibilities. This will help them understand the importance of planning schedules and deadlines. They will be exploring a new technology that is shrinking the world. Just as telephones, television and airplanes have changed the world you work in from that of your parents, computers, videodiscs and telecommunications will change theirs. The technology will continue to evolve bringing people closer together, but the skills they learn working in Learning Circles will give them the working skills they will need to use the new technology.

If you have any questions concerning their Learning Circle participation, we encourage you to contact your child's teacher or ask your child.

Sincerely,

iEARN Team

 

Letter for Secondary Students

Dear Student,

Welcome to Learning Circles on iEARN!

We have developed a new learning tool to help you prepare for the future. In the age of communication and cooperation, you are likely to find yourself working closely with people who are located throughout the world. On the iEARN Network, you will experience this type of interaction by working closely with a team of students who live and learn in very different environments. We want to welcome you to this new experience, tell you a little bit about it, and explain why we believe you will enjoy it.

On the iEARN Network your class will be linked by computer telecommunications with six to eight classes in different cities, states and, possibly, countries. You will be able to communicate quickly and easily with these other classes. You will be using a freeway of computer and phone connections that make it possible for the words you type on your computer to end up on the screens of computers in these distant places. This new form of telecommunications is sometimes called "telecomputing." We are calling the group of classes with which you will be telecomputing your "Learning Circle."

You and your class will be asked to share knowledge about yourselves, your school and your community as you get to know your Learning Circle friends. At first, students in the Learning Circle will not know what you look like or where you live. They may not know what your school is like or what you like to do. They will depend on your descriptions and your writing to get to know you.

Each class in the Learning Circle will have the chance to sponsor, or design, a project. You will be working with your classmates and teacher to sponsor a Learning Circle project. You will be able to request the help of students in other places for your project. The students in other classrooms will also depend on you to help them with their Learning Circle projects. They may be asking you to describe local events, interview people in your community, locate information or carry out a simple experiment. They will look to you as information providers. Your class will be the experts on your area. The work that is done on Learning Circle projects will make up your Circle publication.

We hope you will be excited to learn with students in distant locations. The students in other places will be eager to receive a "hello" message from your class. Soon you will be busy on a Classroom Survey to introduce yourselves. It may seem strange at first, but you'll be amazed at how easy it is to meet and work with people through the iEARN Network.

Most students enjoy the excitement of meeting new people their own age in distant places and in learning with them in an electronic classroom environment. We hope your experiences in a Learning Circle will help prepare you for the information age.

Have a great session,

The iEARN Team

Letter for Younger Students:

Dear Student,

Welcome to the iEARN Network!

We have created a new way for you to learn. We are going to help you work with students in different schools in other cities, states and countries. You will be able to communicate with these students, but not by talking on a telephone. You will be able to write messages on a computer and then the computer, using a special computer phone called a modem, will send your messages to students in other classrooms.

You will be working with a team of classes called a "Learning Circle." At first, the students in the Learning Circle will not know what you look like or where you live. They may not know what your school is like or what you like to do. They will depend on your descriptions and your writing to learn more about you. You will be sharing information about yourselves, your school and your community as you get to know the other students in your Learning Circle.

Your class will be designing one Learning Circle project. Students in other classrooms will also be designing projects. You will work together as a team on all the projects. You may be asked to share your ideas, locate information, complete a survey, interview someone, do an experiment, or express your feelings. You and the students in these other classrooms in your Learning Circle will put your work together in a Learning Circle booklet to share with others.

The students in other places will be eager to receive a "hello" message from your class. Soon you will be busy on a Classroom Survey. It may seem strange at first, but you'll be amazed at how easy it is to make new friends on the iEARN Network.

We hope you will enjoy the excitement of meeting new people in distant places and in learning with them in your electronic classroom.

Have a great session,

The iEARN Team

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