Implementing a global curriculum telecommunications project in Jerusalem. Water Use: You Can Make a Difference

Computers and communication technology are changing the nature of education around the world. This was a study of the implementation of an Internet-based model of global curriculum within the context of an eighth grade social studies classroom at St. Dimitri School, a private Greek Orthodox school, in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was a study conducted during 1995--1996. The time frame does not include additional time prior to 1995 for the planning stage as well as extended deadlines due to conflict in the region. The study aims to contribute to existing knowledge by documenting in an extended single situation by a participant observer how global subject material (water use) and telecommunications altered two teachers' classroom activities and perspectives in this traditional school. The international setting opened a window to the "other side" of an international telecommunications project---the cultural complexities of such an innovation, the administrative and technical hurdles, and the day-to-day realities of the implementation process in a non-U.S. classroom.;The problem addressed by the curriculum was how to prepare students for participation in an interdependent world community. As our world changes and we embark upon the information age, the lecture-recitation, textbook-driven model of teaching and learning is no longer adequate as the sole pedagogical approach for preparing students to participate in the global community. Water Use: You Can Make a Difference, a global curriculum telecommunications project, utilized the resources of the Internet to build a sense of awareness of belonging to a global community and make global connections through the study of a significant ecosystem issue of worldwide concern.;A qualitative approach to research was adopted for this study. Participant observation case study methodology was used to investigate how technology and curricular content effected two teachers' instructional outlooks and behaviors as a result of project participation. Multiple sources of data sources included: entry and exit interviews, observations both in and out of the classroom, informal interviews, observer field notes, electronic correspondence, and teacher and researcher journals.;Findings from the study suggested: (1) the two teachers' classroom activities and views about teaching and learning changed as a result of the introduction of Internet technology and Global Curriculum content, (2) cultural complexities, and (3) administrative and technical hurdles played significant roles during the implementation of the Global Curriculum project.