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     ==> Dear Listowner:
     Would you be willing to post this on your list(s)?  It is an 
     invitation for your readers to participate in a nonprofit project for 
     K-12 students and teachers.  Please forgive the form nature of this 
     message.  We are in great need of subject matter expert volunteers!
     Thank you for considering this request!
     
     
     Judi Harris, 
     University of Texas at Austin
     - - - - - - - - 
     
     WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW WITH K-12 STUDENTS AND 
     TEACHERS BY ELECTRONIC MAIL?
     
     Recent estimates indicate that 50% of all primary, middle, and 
     secondary schools in the U.S. have access to the Internet, that 
     proportion having increased by 15% in just one year's time.  This 
     makes a very special kind of learning available to many K-12 students 
     and teachers: one which directly involves subject matter experts 
     communicating about their specialties, via electronic mail. 
     
     Since early 1993 and with support from the Texas Center for 
     Educational Technology and the JC Penney Foundation, we (at the 
     University of Texas at Austin) have been offering a free 
     Internet-based service (the "Electronic Emissary") that brings 
     together K-12 students, their teachers, and subject matter experts 
     (3SMEs2) electronically, helping all to create telecomputing exchanges 
     centered around the students' active learning in the SMEs' 
     disciplines. 
     
     Increasing numbers of SMEs or SME groups are needed to correspond 
     regularly (approximately 4 times per week) with primary, middle 
     school, or secondary students and their teachers (1SME or expert group 
     per class, study group, or individual student).  Each electronic 
     exchange begins with project planning via electronic mail between the 
     SMEs and the teachers. Communications with students begin on mutually 
     convenient dates, and continue for previously-arranged periods of 
     time, usually lasting between 4 and 16 weeks.  An "online facilitator" 
     (one of the Emissary's staff) monitors the communication and is 
     available throughout the exchange to assist with project organization, 
     effective communication strategies, and technical help, as needed. 
     
     Subject matter expert volunteers are sought in *all* academic 
     disciplines and areas of practical expertise.  *Please note* that we 
     have particular needs for experts with specialties METEOROLOGY, 
     ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, and TEXAS HISTORY.  Communications with classes 
     will occur from now through mid-December, then again beginning in late 
     January and ending in mid-May to mid-June. 
     
     ==>  If you would like to find out more about participating in this 
     ==>  project, please explore our Web pages at:  
     ==>             http://www.tapr.org/emissary/ 
     ==>  ...and complete an online SME information form ==>  if you would 
     like to volunteer. 
     
     Judi Harris                             
     Electronic Emissary Project, Director 
     University of Texas at Austin 
     jbharris@tenet.edu      
     
     Greg Jones
     Electronic Emissary System Developer
     University of Texas at Austin & Texas Center for Educational 
     Technology 
     gjones@tenet.edu