BBS Conferences on Education

                  BBS CONFERENCES ON EDUCATION

There are several conferences on the FamilyNet BBS network that are 
concerned with education. These are public conferences on public com- 
puter bulletin board systems (BBSs) that are accessible to anyone with a 
computer and a modem over the dial-up telephone network. The purpose of 
these conferences is to promote the public discussion of educa- tional 
questions, and communication between people concerned with edu- cation, 
including teachers, students and school pupils and their parents, and 
education policy makers.

The following conferences are available:

     DISTANCE_EDUCATION
     EDUCATION_CRISIS
     COMMUNITY_EDUCATION
     SCHOOLS
     STUDENTS
     THEOLED

These conferences are described more fully below:

The following BBSs are linked with FamilyNet, and should have these 
conferences available:

     Diakonos            (0441) 8-1652
     Digital Gallery     (011) 784-9654
     Educare             (011) 854-2184
     Keith's Place       (011) 435-1779
     Mutant Pencil       (021) 919-0300
     Top Line            (011) 828-9315
     Unisa Editorial     (012) 429-8641
     CrossWired BBS AH   (021) 790-3983

(Note: AH after the name indicates that the BBS operates only in the 
evenings).

These conferences started on the Unisa Editorial Department BBS in 
Pretoria, and are now being echoed around Southern Africa on FamilyNet. 
We would like to see them made available in all parts of South Africa 
and in neighbouring countries. We would like to see schools, community 
colleges and other educational institutions start- ing their own BBSs 
and participating in this network. If anyone is interested in linking 
up, please contact Deon Strydom on Diakonos BBS (phone number above), or 
call any of these BBSs and send a message to Deon.

The purpose of the various message areas is as follows:

DISTANCE EDUCATION

This is mainly for educators to discuss distance education, which is of 
obvious interest to the University of South Africa (Unisa), Vista 
University, members of the Southern African Institute for Distance 
Education (SAIDE) and universities and others running distance educa- 
tion programmes. We are interested in anything to do with the 
presentation of study material, including printed texts and instruc- 
tional design, but anything else of interest to people providing dis- 
tance education will be welcome. You may cross-post interesting material 
from elsewhere - if you do, please indicate the source.

Unisa students who find problems with the presentation of the material 
in study guides and tutorial letters, or even radio broadcasts, may 
comment on it here. If you found something that was difficult to 
understand, please give an example and quote the course code and Study 
Guide Number and page (e.g. Page 23 of Study Guide 1 for SGG103-6).

Information about resources available to distance educators is always 
welcome.

EDUCATION CRISIS

This is primarily for the discussion of education POLICY at any level 
(primary, secondary, tertiary). Anyone concerned with developing 
policies for education - whether as a parent, teacher, pupil, student, 
or anything else, may contribute here.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION

This is primarily for educators. It was started after a workshop on 
computer education and networks for schools in the Pretoria area where 
the formation of school computer networks was discussed.

While the EDUCATION CRISIS echo is mainly for discussion of education 
POLICY, this one is more for the practical nuts and bolts stuff of 
teaching. Use it to discuss how to get communication between schools, 
how to help teachers and pupils cope with computers. Use it to list 
resources available for education, and anything else that seems 
appropriate and might be helpful to teachers and others involved in 
education.

SCHOOLS

This was also started as a result of the workshop on computer literacy 
and networks in schools. It is primarily intended for pupils at schools 
to communicate with each other. If such schools start BBSs, then it 
could become an echo on one of the networks linking such schools.

It could help just to get pupils at schools just chatting with each 
other about anything at all - especially pupils in "black" and "white" 
schools. It might also be possible for pupils to discuss the education 
system here, to see what is wrong with it, and how it can be improved.

STUDENTS

This is for students at universities, technikons, etc., to discuss 
problems they are having with their studies or anything else of inter- 
est to tertiary students. Students of any university, technikon, 
teachers training college, theological seminary or other tertiary edu- 
cational institutions are welcome to discuss various things with others 
who are studying the same subjects.

Note that this will NOT be a reliable means of communicating with Unisa 
lecturers. A few lecturers do use the Unisa Editorial BBS, but most are 
not connected. So it is primarily for discussions between students.

THEOLED

This is primarily for members of staff and students of theological 
education institutions (theological seminaries, Bible colleges, uni- 
versity faculties of theology, etc.) to communicate with each other. It 
was started at the request of members of the Joint Board for the Diploma 
in Theology in Southern Africa.

              =========================================

SYSOPS

Sysops who are interested in carrying these conferences on their BBS 
should contact:

Deon Strydom
FamilyNet Coordinator, African Region
Sysop of Diakonos BBS Tel (0441) 8-1652
FamilyNet: 8:79/0    Fidonet: 5:7104/40

OR

Steve Hayes
Sysop of Unisa Editorial Department BBS
Tel (012) 429-8592 (voice)
    (012) 429-8641 (BBS)

FamilyNet: 8:79/42   Fidonet: 5:7106/20   ICDMNet: 77:2703/2

Internet: steve.hayes@p1.f20.n7106.z5.fidonet.org
          hayesstw@risc1.unisa.ac.za

Updated: 1994-07-21


From: "Arthur R. McGee" <amcgee@netcom.com>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 1994 08:40:29 +0200
From: Steve Hayes <hayesstw@risc1.unisa.ac.za>
Subject: BBS CONFERENCES ON EDUCATION