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When cyclists Brian Wood and Matt Labovitz begin pedaling north from Mission Buenaventura on May 4, 1995 they will be accompanied by dozens of "virtual companions" from Palo Alto elementary schools. These fourth grade students will use the Internet to participate in a project called California Missions Interactive: An Internet Field Trip (CMI). The bicycle tour is designed to emulate the journeys of the eighteenth century Spanish colonists who often traveled the historic El Camino Real resting each night at one of the 21 California Missions. Fourth graders in Palo Alto will use e-mail to exchange questions and observations with the cyclists and to receive digital images of the two and a half week journey.
A grant from the Peninsula Community Foundation provides funding to bring CMI to the Palo Alto Unified School District where Wood and Labovitz themselves attended elementary school fifteen years ago. In addition to the grant, Apple Computer will loan an Apple Powerbook computer and an Apple Quick Take 100 digital camera to the project. Modems and Internet accounts for some of the participating classes have been generously donated by Russel Mar of Tsoft, a public access Internet provider.
Organizing CMI has been an experiment for Brian Wood, a weathered "cyclotourist" who hopes to merge his career in the computer industry with his interest in education. During a recent bicycle tour of Mexico and Central America, Wood encountered a group of Minnesota educators using fax communications to remain in contact with their classes. "What really excites me is the experiential aspect of CMI and other projects like it. The kids can be right there with us sharing our experiences and learning through them," says Wood.
The curriculum for CMI, developed by Palo Verde elementary school teacher David Hoshizaki and Brian Wood, will provide teachers with interdisciplinary classroom activities. Aside from learning California history, students will practice math by calculating the cyclists' speed, review geography by plotting their route on maps and learn why bicycle touring is a form of "eco-tourism," environmentally low-impact travel.
Have comments, criticism or questions? Write to: briwood@igc.apc.org