What does I*EARN Membership mean for me?I*EARN makes learning and other activities global for teachers and youth organization leaders. You have the chance to network, share information, and problem-solve with counterparts around the corner and throughout the world.
Youth have the opportunity to learn about the world, and issues facing it, *first-hand* by communicating and working with others on the network. International events and cross- cultural learning will have a real-life context. And by joining in I*EARN projects, youth participants will make a meaningful difference in the health and welfare of the planet and its people.
Here are some specific benefits to teachers and youth leaders. You can:
- connect with others who share a vision of how educational telecommunications can be a means of improving the earth;
- gain access to the wealth of information on the Internet;
- bring real people from other communities and countries into the classroom or youth group through telecommunications;
- interact with national schools/organizations in other countries, not expatriate "international" schools;
- enable youth to be active learners;
- have access to structured projects with publication "products" for printing of student work. These projects can be used to fulfill curricula in the following subject areas:
- Environment
- Science/math
- Arts/literature
- Social studies, economics, politics
- Interdisciplinary areas
- have full use of Internet tools, such as telnet, gopher, World Wide Web, IRC Chat, Video Conferencing etc.;
- take advantage of the extensive on-line support provided by the networks used by I*EARN;
- work collaboratively on projects sponsored by international development agencies and environmental organizations, Save the Children, UNICEF, UN Environmental Programme, etc.;
- explore multi-lingual project work in Spanish, French and other languages spoken around the I*EARN Network of over 30 countries;
- utilize resources available in thousands of on-line conferences;
- participate in international I*EARN teacher meetings;
- share your I*EARN experiences at national and international conferences, such as ACEC, NECC and Tel-Ed;
- have use of other youth network material (KidLink, Kids Cafe, Kidsphere, etc.);
- create your own project ideas and propose them to others throughout the I*EARN network.
What are the costs of participating in I*EARN?I*EARN is a non-profit educational telecommunications network.
The philosophy of I*EARN is to make educational telecommunications as inexpensively as possible around the world. This is made possible by significant volunteer contributions by individuals throughout the globe. The Internet-based network we use, the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), shares this goal. It has created a decentralized, distributed family of networks providing local access in many countries.
The cost for I*EARN varies, of course, in each country in an effort to build an equitable, yet financially viable global network.
Each participating site needs:
- a personal computer of any model;
- a modem;
- telecommunications software;
- an account on an APC node (not always possible).
In some countries the cost to a local school or youth organization is solely the telecommunications access costs. In other countries I*EARN is fee-based to support the international program and administrative costs.
In Australia, the MAXIMUM I*EARN Membership Fee, is $310:00 for a Calendar Year. This includes the I*EARN membership of $250 Dollars and the Pegasus ID costing $60 Dollars. If you have your own service provider there are *NO OTHER* online costs to participate in I*EARN. See PAX account details below:
PAX: Access I*EARN from AnywherePAX accounts allow *ANY* user to access I*EARN from their *OWN* service provider, as well as its partner network projects and special resources from the Association for Progressive Communication (APC) networks.
Please contact the I*EARN Australia Support Office if you have questions about costs or access issues. Email us direct via, iearnaust@peg.apc.org.
