Public Involvement

Tuning in to the Vision Athena Network : Integrating Distance Learning into the School Curriculum

Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization

Effective Practice:

Using a videoconferencing network to implement distance-learning projects involving school children, transportation agencies, and community leaders.

Participants:

• Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization
• IndyGo / Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation
• Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration
• Indiana Department of Transportation
• Participating high schools and middle schools

Description

The Indianapolis MPO, in coordination with the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC), has participated in distance-learning projects with Indiana's public schools. The CILC is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to encourage distance-learning technologies to enhance educational opportunities for students. Distance learning is delivered to Indiana classrooms through the 'Vision Athena' videoconferencing network.

The Vision Athena Network gives students the means to communicate with peers at other schools, collect data, and collaborate with government officials, local community leaders, industry experts, planners, engineers, and environmental scientists to study real-life problems. Project issues are integrated into the curriculum for classes in social studies, science, mathematics, art and the environment. Students formulate recommendations and share their findings in presentations with city and community leaders. Upon completion of their project, students are also given an opportunity to exhibit their models and findings in local museums and community centers.

Transportation-related studies are well-suited to distance-learning methods:

• Students worked with the Indianapolis MPO to identify proposed locations for bicycle routes.
• Working with IndyGo, the Indianapolis public transit provider, students studied public transportation needs. Depending on the high school, students surveyed the needs of communities and passengers; proposed design changes for bus shelters; and assessed how the transit system can better accommodate foreign visitors and immigrants.
• For the Northeast Corridor major investment study, students met with the Indianapolis MPO to investigate traffic congestion and mobility problems experienced in the fastest growing areas of the Indianapolis metropolitan area.

Benefits

For the Agencies:

Brings increased attention and interest to agencies' projects.

Generates participation of new segments of the population in the transportation planning process overseen by the Indianapolis MPO.

Invites new perspectives and innovative 'out-of-the-box' thinking.

For the Community:

• Introduces middle school and high school students from diverse backgrounds, including low-income and minority households, to the problems and issues of transportation.
• Allows students to work together to address common problems.
• Reduces barriers to participation in the public involvement process.
• Exposes youth to role models working in the 'real-world.'
• Gives students a sense of ownership and a feeling of accomplishment.
• Students pass on information to those at home, raising awareness about transportation issues within the community.

Challenges Ahead

The distance-learning education model can effectively bring communities and stakeholders into partnerships with transportation agencies in the planning and project development stages of decision making. The Indiana Department of Transportation is committed to this model for the I-69 project between Indianapolis and Evansville. Four central and southern Indiana middle and high schools will explore alternatives and assess environmental, community, and economic impacts of the project. This is the first long-term, multi-year project involving the state transportation agency as well as schools outside of Indianapolis / Marion County.

Proponents of the distance-learning model advocate its use on other community-oriented projects. Community organizations can use distance-learning to heighten interest and increase public participation levels as part of a strategy to build consensus and recommend locally preferred solutions. CILC suggests that eligible community projects meet the following criteria to be suitable for distance-learning methods:

• Authentic community issues must be under study by the community organization.
• The study issue warrants an interdisciplinary approach.
• A minimum of three months of classroom study of the issue should be given and there must be a research component to the study.
• School partners are prepared to collaborate.
• Funding partners are available.
• An opportunity for student solutions to be incorporated into the organization's proposals.
• A community awareness element will be included, allowing students to make presentations or contribute to publications.

Contacts/Resources

Mike Dearing, Principal Planner

Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization

Phone: 317-327-5139

E-mail: mdearing@indygov.org

Website address for Vision Athena: http://www.visionathena.k12.in.us/va/about/overview.asp