Building a Webcentric Family and Community Network
Susan Arisman and Marcia Cushall
Frostburg State University
2002
EDTECH REVIEW Series No. 2
The research reported herein is supported in part by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education through a grant to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education
Consortium (MAR*TEC) at the Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and
Education (TUCRHDE). The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position of the support-ing agencies, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Technology has burst onto the scene of the educational enterprise with renewed vigor and vitality. Not since the early 1970s has it been viewed as such a panacea for educational reform of all kinds and at all levels. Whole states like South Dakota and Iowa are wired. South Dakota’s
Digital Dakota Network alone connects “more than 400 buildings” and stretches over “more than
75,000 square miles” (Johnson, 2001, p. 55). Nationally, 98% of the public schools have Internet access, with the number of students per computer now standing at 6 to 1 (Johnson, p. 56).
One aspect of technology that has received considerable attention is its potential to bring families, communities, and schools together. Long known as a critical aspect of effective schools, family involvement takes on new meaning when technology is used (Lezotte 1992). A recent report, Leading School Improvement: What Research Says , by the Southern Regional Education
Board clearly states that children learn more when families are involved.
When parents and teachers collaborate—informally through parent/teacher conferences and other communication or more formally through signed contracts—the alliance sends powerful messages to students about expectations, care, and support. Parents are also valuable resources—whether for specialized expertise that can supplement classroom instruction, financial support, or help with extracurricular activities. (Hoachlander, Alt, &
Beltranena, 2001, p. 34)
In rural America, reaching out to families and to the full community has the potential not only to enhance achievement of students but also to transform the community itself.
Furthermore, such outreach has the potential to change family life and its relationship to schools, especially in an era in which the relationship has been intensified, since standards-based assessment programs need to enlist the assistance of families. Just as families are asking for more assistance from the schools, schools are asking for more assistance from the families (Fege,
2000). The collision course that he describes might be ameliorated by technology.

The Webcentric Community at Frostburg State University was founded to explore, develop, and enhance the potential of technology not only to build better home and school relations but also to push the limits of technology to build a better life for the citizens of Allegany
County. Therefore, the Webcentric Community extends beyond the family/community connections and encompasses educational initiatives not discussed here. The family/community component is a “neighborhood” within this larger community. Given this understanding, this paper will first explore the different ways in which technology can be used to connect schools, families, and the community and suggest other connections to be explored and developed; second, address issues of accessibility and security that must be part of any Webcentric
Community; and third, discuss policy issues that must be addressed to make programmatic, comprehensive, and accessible communities possible.
SURFING THE POSSIBILITIES IN FAMILY/COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
In a review of the literature on the role the family/community might play in a Webcentric
Community, the following connections emerged:
• home and school connections,
• family-to-family connections,
• family assistance connections,
• family/community-to-expert connections,
• economic/education connections,
• research connections,
• career connections,
• family/community activities connections,
• training connections, and
• student-to-student connections.
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A description of these connections follows. Although not all of these are now within the capability of the proposed neighborhood, they are all being considered for inclusion in the near future.
Home and School Connections
Informational Linkages . These connections are characterized by interactions centered on the transmittal of information. In this neighborhood, families have access to grades, assignments, attendance, and other factors that affect the achievement and well-being of their children. School information, such as sports schedules, PTA meetings, and School Improvement Team meetings, can be posted. It can provide information on state and national assessment measures, provide progress reports on how the school is meeting state and national standards, and enlist support for targeted areas of school improvement.
More creative uses of school information include posting a school journal that allows students to write about what is happening and to communicate that to their families and communities. In one online school forum, “The students write for an extended audience outside the classroom and have an authentic task in describing their learning activities. . . . Parents, students, and teachers can access the online journal and post comments, offer encouragement, and ask questions” (Hendricks, 2001, p. 2). This activity can be expanded to include student art and other performances. Further, this neighborhood will include an opportunity for families to post to the school their areas of expertise, their willingness to volunteer to work with children in the classroom, and their ideas for field trips and other school projects.
Curriculum Linkages . Schools will make available to families the web-based curriculum that it chooses to enhance its own curriculum. For example, parents will be able to “follow the silk trade trail” and use other computer-based packages to which their children have access.
Another example is the use of the MathPad, which can be linked to other handheld devices “or to another computing device, such as a teacher workstation, a share-board display system, or sensors
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built into the environment” (Means, 2000/2001, p. 60). This device was used in an environmental science class with “a sun photometer to measure attenuation of sunlight caused by haze, smoke, and smog” (Means, 2000/2001).
Family-to-Family Connections
In all communities, but especially in rural ones, communication between families that are facing similar educational challenges is problematic. First, there is a reluctance to be identified and “marked” by the difficulties children face. Second, there is a mistrust of people outside of the circle of family and friends who are privy to the challenges.
But it is critical to bring these families together to support each other and to assure that everyone is receiving the needed assistance. Special-education advocates have been most forward-thinking in using technology to assist these families. For example, the Johns Hopkins
University’s Center for Technology in Education (2001) provides a network on its From One
Parent to Another website. Their sites include http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu, http://www.pacer.org/stc, and http://www.php.com. Providing these links through our Webcentric
Community will give families access to information, support, and advocacy needed for their children. The comfort and assistance of families that share common interests and needs can be addressed through this linkage.
Family Assistance Connections
In addition to the assistance already available to families who have students with disabilities, there are many other sites that can be opened, including links for families with gifted students, artistically gifted students, and underachieving students. Here, the emphasis is not on connecting families with common interests but on linking families to professional sites that can inform and assist them. These sites might include ones on drug abuse, child abuse, gifted education, and many others.
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Family/Community-to-Expert Connections
The science and technology communities are leading the way in reaching out to connect experts with families, but many different organizations can replicate their efforts. In science, the
National Science Education Association is interested in reaching out to communities to build support for its National Science Education Standards. In order to do this, it is considering implementing the following web-based connections: forums and focus groups to gain support for its goals, partnering with local businesses and industry “to increase support for science and technology education of students,” and “involving local civic organizations . . . in activities such as math and science nights presented with the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs)” (The
National Academies, 1998, pp. 26–27).
Examples of the possibilities for community outreach include the project developed by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in Minneapolis, which brought community leaders and educators together to “revitalize” science programs. They found that many groups had developed inservice activities, curriculum supplements, field trips, or museum exhibits that were not reaching the maximum audiences that the groups wanted. When they joined together to discuss “how to fund programs which are consistent with teacher needs” (Hoben, 1998, p. 26), they found that together they could maximize impact.
Many other activities exist in the Twin Cites area outside of what has been discussed, such as school lectures, class visits, and adopt-a-school programs. There are summer institute offerings and individual resource centers outside the schools (Hoben, 1998, p. 26).
What Minneapolis decided to do was to coordinate these activities. Such possibilities could serve as a catalyst for bringing expert resources to the families.
At Frostburg, one site that already exists is the one developed by the university’s
Children’s Literature Centre, which provides annotated listings of children’s books that include information on children’s interests geared to developmental age.
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Economic/Education Connections
This neighborhood would provide families, and particularly women, with linkages to a
Small Business Development Center, to other employment opportunities, and to training. In the third world, the World Bank has demonstrated the efficacy of targeting the economic development of women. It has shown that a small investment in the economic expertise of women has a significant effect on family well-being. Because of this past success, women will be the first focus. Through linkage to Frostburg’s Small Business Development Center, families will be able to learn how to explore ideas, develop a business plan, and access support through chat rooms and ongoing training.
Research Connections
This neighborhood would provide families with access to the research databases in the public libraries. Families would be able to pursue individual questions, access local data on environmental factors, and use the web-based capabilities of the local and state libraries.
Although this is a traditional use of the web, it is nonetheless an essential linkage.
Career Connections
Because many rural youth and adults do not have access to career opportunities because of the limited number of occupations that are often possible, a career neighborhood will be available to provide descriptions of different occupations along with information on salary potential, education needed, and job availability.
At Ursuline Academy in Dallas, Texas, a “telementoring program creates an online environment for communication between Ursuline students and professional women” (Duff,
2001, p. 49). Online mentoring could link rural students with people in different professions and careers. Indeed, one of the pressing needs identified in this rural community is linking successful, professional women with aspiring women in order to provide mentoring and other support. This linkage could be part of this career connection.
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Family/Community Activities Connections
Through this connection, families can gain access to community activities that will enrich family life and student learning. For example, the Rural School and Community Trust and the
American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress have established “three Rural Trust network sites with extensive oral history websites . . . featur[ing] . . . resources for educators and students on the ‘Explore Your Community’ link accessed through the American Folklife Center’s website
(www.loc.gov/folklife)” (The Rural Trust, 2001, p. 3). Allegany County has similar opportunities through its History House, Library System, and Frostburg Museum—sites that facilitate an exploration of genealogy.
Allegany County is host to the Canal Place, a state and federal project that provides information and activities that explore the building of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. A virtual mystery tour of the canal is now available online. In addition, the county is investigating the possibility of replicating the One Book, One Chicago project on To Kill a Mockingbird (Chicago
Public Library, 2001), using the canal as a focus. County residents, including families, will be provided with different levels of books on the canal by Frostburg State University’s Children’s
Literature Centre through its own website. Libraries, civic associations, and businesses will be asked to join in a “public read and discussion” centering on the building and demise of the Canal.
This neighborhood will connect with the Maryland Intergenerational Coalition, which
“encourages intergenerational efforts at the local level for addressing issues that concern both seniors and advocates for children” (Maryland Intergenerational Coalition Newsletter, 2001, p.
1). Not only an oral history of the county but also authentic relationships between generations can be built here.
The Training Connections
The connections above are impossible without the development of a training neighborhood, which allows families and schools access to assistance. Frostburg State University
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has already developed modules for its students as a way to prepare them to meet the technology standards of the state of Maryland. These modules could be web-based and accessed by families and K–12 students. Student leaders have been identified at Frostburg to help faculty use the computer in instruction. A network of K–16 student leaders could be developed to provide such assistance to families. This network would join the assistance capabilities of the university and the Allegany County Public Schools.
In “Parent Internet Driving School: Using Technology to Increase Parent Involvement in
Schools,” Abilock (1997) writes that they involve parents by providing them opportunities “to develop their [computer] skills, to learn what their children are doing on the Internet, and to increase their confidence in parenting in a technological age” (p. 1). Here parents are taken from basic skills to an understanding of how the Internet provides curriculum opportunities. Parents are welcomed to access curriculum, including Turn of the Century Child, created by American
Memory Fellows at the Library of Congress, and Global Warming: Science and Society, a simulation that a science teacher and a librarian designed (p. 2). In this program, parents do not become experts in computers but gain “a common understanding” (p. 2) of what the web offers.
Student-to-Student Connections
Frostburg State University has already instituted a student-to-student link which focuses on creating math problems at an Allegany County elementary school that are solved by students at an elementary school in Wicomico County and vice versa. In addition, Frostburg is examining the possibility of establishing a global community of students and teacher-education students that will open up the world to all concerned.
CONFRONTING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
The digital divide, or "information apartheid" as it is referred to in Technology and Educational
Transformation (Lockwood, 1998, p. 1) continues to be a challenge to be addressed. As
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documented in Falling Through the Net (National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA), 1999), from 1994 to 1998 the access to and use of technology has increased, but the digital divide has also increased. It is most pronounced in rural areas and among those households that are poor, have less educated parents, or represent certain minority groups (NTIA).
Knowing that “information “haves” have dramatically outpaced the information “havenots” in their access to electronic services” (NTIA, p. 4), this neighborhood needs to address the accessibility issue if it is to be successful and meet the needs of the entire community. As suggested in the NTIA report, one possibility is through expanded community access centers such as schools, libraries, and other public access facilities. In the Webcentric Community, Internet access is already provided through the county library system, but the possibility of providing access in other areas, such as large, widely used stores and the YMCA, will be explored.
Community kiosks with access to school and community resources could be placed in these locations. Using school facilities after regular school hours and development and support for a computer loan program will also be explored.
Training to accompany expanded accessibility needs to be provided to parents and other community members. A Parent–Community Outreach Committee has already been formed to bring together the university, the library system, the YMCA, and civic and other organizations to develop a comprehensive plan for the neighborhood. This group will plan the training and provide volunteer community members with the appropriate expertise. For example, county libraries offer story hours for the children in the community. Parents bring their children to the story hours. While the children are engaged in the storytelling, training in the use of the computers for information access could be offered to the parents. The Parent–Community
Outreach Committee is an important component of the Webcentric Community in addressing the accessibility issue. The committee will provide ideas for and assistance with increasing the
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accessibility of computers, especially the Internet, to community members and will assist in assuring that the necessary training is provided.
Another major concern for the Webcentric Community is providing assurance of privacy and protection of participants in the community. An important component of the community is neighborhood-based discussions. These discussions need to be monitored, scheduled, and topicspecific. Included in the privacy issues that need to be addressed is the use of chat rooms, discussions areas, and listservs. The Parent–Community Outreach Committee and the project steering committee will be studying this issue to ensure that participants will be protected and yet not limited or discouraged from participating because of the restrictions placed on participation.
Privacy and protection of the students who use the Webcentric Community and thus have access to the Internet is also a major concern. Defending children’s safety and privacy online is becoming an increasingly important job for parents and teachers. Through the Webcentric
Community, teachers, parents, and children need to learn how to be “cybersmart” (TRUSTe and
Classroom Connect, 2000). Parents and community members need to develop an understanding about their roles in controlling Internet access for children and be involved in discussions about the use and nonuse of blocking and filtering tools (Internet Family Empowerment White Paper,
Executive Summary, 1997).
Further, through training and discussion groups community members will be acquainted with online resources and laws such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) for privacy and protection of the online community. The Parent–Community Outreach Committee will assist in providing assistance to parents in understanding their roles and options in regard to their children’s use of the Internet. For example, the committee could assist parents with
• creating web contracts between themselves and their children,
• becoming acquainted with parental consent options for websites used by their children,
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• identifying useful websites specially selected as appropriate for children,
• becoming acquainted with the American Library Association’s ongoing Internet collection for children and young adults that builds on values and selection criteria of the library profession, and
• becoming acquainted with parent/family involvement programs (TRUSTe and
Classroom Connect, 2000).
Parents also will be encouraged to become acquainted with the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) of their child’s school and the enforcement of that policy.
Again, the Parent–Community Outreach Committee is an important component of the
Webcentric Community in addressing privacy and protection issues. The committee will lead discussions of the issues and provide assistance in ensuring that members of the webcentric community understand the issues and feel safe in participating in the community.
WHAT POLICIES WILL SUPPORT SUCH A COMMUNITY?
A policy and structural support system must be in place in order to support the community envisioned above. First, the critical position of webmaster must be acknowledged and supported.
The time-consuming task of linking all the constituents and connections will be neglected if a full-time person is not in charge of the linkages. This position must eventually be supported by the community as a whole.
Second, the development of connections must be closely monitored by the community. Criteria for the activities, organizations, and events that will eventually become part of the community must be developed and monitored. Such a process means that a policy committee should be formed and attached to a larger organization for oversight. For example, this community might be monitored by the Allegany
County Chamber of Commerce Education Committee. These policy issues are in nascent form now and are under discussion. However, the survival and growth of the community will depend on a policy and structural support system that can transcend initial enthusiasm.
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CONCLUSION
The plans for the Webcentric Community are extensive, ambitious, and exciting for rural
America. Long characterized as a part of less educated Appalachia, Allegany County can step forward as a leader in how communities and families embrace technology.
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