Tomorrow River School District Utilizes VisualRoute to Teach Internet Networking Concepts

Getting Wired Up! Rural Wisconsin School District Using Technology to Improve Scores, Make Teaching and Learning More Interesting

Educators, parents and community members agree: Technology is a vital component in raising student achievement. In 1999, the Tomorrow River School District in Amherst, Wis., was facing challenges many districts encounter-dropping math and language arts test scores, limited and outdated technology resources and a lack of leadership in technology training.

A small, rural district located in central Wisconsin, the Tomorrow River School District serves the educational needs of some 900 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. In early 1999, Tomorrow River partnered with the neighboring Wautoma School District to apply for a federal Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) grant through the state's Department of Public Instruction to support the integration of educational technology into classrooms to improve teaching and learning. The resulting $209,470 grant was the seed money that allowed the Tomorrow River School District to begin wiring all classrooms, purchase hardware and software, and develop and implement teacher-training programs.

One such program, "Best Practices in Educational Technology," was offered to teachers for free graduate credit or cash stipends. The course, which was taken by approximately 70 percent of the staff, covered such topics as Internet searching strategies, the use of Microsoft and Macintosh applications, and learning opportunities using scanners, digital cameras and multimedia projectors. Following the workshops, the teachers began developing learning activities that use technology focusing on math and writing. One secondary school math teacher helped students use Internet research to create graphical price comparisons among used cars. A sixth-grade social studies teacher used his newly found skills to conduct an activity in which students used Web-based resources to create mock postcards from other countries.

Although the first and subsequent TLCF grants paid for the training, wiring, hardware and software, Internet connectivity was not covered under the federal program. Enter WiscNet, a not-for-profit Internet service provider (ISP), which is linking classrooms and government organizations across Wisconsin to one another and the world beyond. WiscNet delivers its services through a network that ties together more than 500 colleges, universities, K-12 schools, libraries, hospitals, and state and local government agencies.

What's unusual about WiscNet is that it provides a free toolkit to its members in an effort to help demystify how the Internet works and provide more efficient technical support. The flagship tool in the kit is VisualRoute, developed by Turlock, Calif.-based Visualware, which automatically determines precisely when, where and how data is flowing between two points on the Internet. Many Internet users encounter problems connecting to a Web site or find that data is moving too slowly, and determining the source of the problem can be difficult for people with limited experience in information technology (IT). Traditional diagnostic tools for troubleshooting connectivity problems are run in an out-dated DOS environment, yielding lines of complicated text that can be difficult to interpret. VisualRoute has a graphical interface that integrates the basic connectivity tools of traceroute, ping and Whois into one tool, which automatically analyzes Internet connectivity. With a simple click, users can see a visual display of the actual path of an Internet connection in an easy-to-understand table and a world map, identifying at which point on the path any data is being lost, or a slowdown is occurring. In essence, VisualRoute provides an "X-ray view" of an Internet connection, helping students to understand the mechanics of how Internet data travels.

Today, Tomorrow River School District's students and teachers are discovering that the World Wide Web isn't a vague concept but is, instead, a global, seamless entity that can be graphically represented. Using VisualRoute and other Web-based tools, adults and children alike are able to see and understand how the Internet works and why connectivity problems occur.

During the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, for example, students in one class were asked to choose athletes for whom they would track their competitive results and overall standings. After daily visits to the Games' official Web site, the students found on one particular day that the site was inaccessible. Using VisualRoute, they were able to determine that the connectivity problem was due to a faulty server in Rome.

Teachers also benefit from VisualRoute and the other tools WiscNet provides at no charge to member institutions. When attempting to access a particular Web site that may be non-responsive, they now can use these tools to determine the source of the problem. This self-empowerment allows more time for the enhancement and expansion curriculum support, rather than network troubleshooting by the district's IT personnel.

By Tom Nykl
Technology Coordinator
Tomorrow River School District
Amherst, Wis.