By Beth Daley, Globe Staff, 02/11/99
It's one of the mantras of education reform in Massachusetts: better communication among parents, teachers, and students.
Still, there have been constant complaints that teachers have no phones and parents have little time to converse during school hours. And while teachers want to share lesson plans, they say it is difficult to communicate with peers from isolated classrooms.
Computers that poured into schools during the last several years were intended to help students learn. While a debate still reigns over whether that is really working, the machines are now giving teachers powerful access to parents, students, and each other through an Internet provider designed only for Massachusetts educators.
So far, about 21,000 teachers have signed up for the $25-a-year MassEd.Net service, which gives them an e-mail account, personal Web space and unlimited access to the Internet.
''It's hard to reach teachers in the classroom,'' says Ed Biggs, a fifth-grade teacher at the Batchelder School in North Reading. He says parents now contact him through the service to discuss their children's progress. He shares ideas, lesson plans, and suggestions with other teachers.
''It's a lot easier to drop a short message than to get in touch with a teacher,'' by phone or other means, he says.
One of the main components of the education reform effort - getting teachers out of classrooms to share ideas - has been one of the largest stumbling blocks. Meanwhile, getting parents more interested in their children's achievement also has been slow as teachers have trouble getting in touch with parents during the work day.
Started last year, MassEd.Net is the first program of its kind in the nation and gives teachers 24-hour free technical support. The $25 annual fee compares to about $240 for the rest of the public.
There are about 80,000 educators in the state who are eligible for the service.
''Let's say a teacher has a whole new curriculum and is teaching ancient civilization and starting on ancient Egypt,'' says Greg Nadeau, chief technology officer for the state Department of Education. ''There are probably a handful of people in Massachusetts who are trying to start the same unit but the teacher will never meet them. Now she can send an e-mail to teachers in certain schools. It transforms the way teachers communicate.''
For David Chuckran, an advanced biology teacher and head of science for the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District, the system has helped him help students. This quarter, students are writing about organ harvesting and they must cite at least five Internet sources. Once students complete the paper they have the option of sending it to him via e-mail, which gives them an automatic two-day extension. Students who don't have computers at home can use school or library computers.
''They all choose the e-mail option,'' says Chuckran. ''If they have any problems as they are working on their papers they e-mail me and I help them along and answer their quesitons. It's been a fantastic way of working and interacting with students.''
In addition, last month, Gov. Paul Cellucci announced a program that will allow teachers to take college and professional development courses on-line.
By the end of next year, a grant will pay outstanding teachers to post up to 1,000 lesson plans on a Web database that other teachers can access. Eventually, teachers will be able to choose lesson plans from other teachers. What's more, Nadeau says, they will be paid for it, just as textbook companies are paid for books.
''We will create a real marketplace of ideas ... This will be a richer source than all the textbooks,'' Nadeau says.
