The cyber-olympics - schools, sports and the superhighway

Abstract Increasing numbers of schools are connecting to the Internet and, as a consequence of this, there is a growing demand from schools for information on how to make effective use of this resource. However, it is an area in which very few teachers have expertise. Schools are actively seeking support and advice. The authors were interested in looking for uses of the Internet beyond browsing for information: how could the Internet be used to promote collaborative learning and stimulate work both on and off the computer? This paper describes a work in progress and presents a case study of a “CyberOlympics” topic. The CyberOlympics project involved 17 primary schools from five different countries competing against each other in an international sporting event. It took place in 1996, the year of the Atlanta Olympic Games. While the Olympics were taking place many schools took the opportunity to run mini sporting events with their own pupils. The Internet allowed pupils to take part in these sporting events as an international competition without leaving their school grounds. This paper identifies some of the activities that benefited from Internet access, notes some of the difficulties involved in running such projects and makes suggestions as to how schools can best exploit this resource.