I*EARN stands for the International Education And Resource Network. It is a telecommunications network of schools and teachers around the world who use email, ebsites, and videoconferencing to do collaborative classroom projects that make a positive difference in the world. Ms. McLane and Mrs. Rennebohm Franz have been Lead Teachers together in the I*EARN community since 1993. Their classes in Pullman and Seattle Washington have exchanged email with each other and with schools in Russia, Argentina, Netherlands, Australia, Hungary, Kenya, South Africa, China, Thailand, Costa Rica, Spain, and places in United States such as Zuni, New Mexico and Ashland, Oregon.

When Ms. McLane arrived in New York City, she went to the I*EARN/USA office and connected with Mrs. Rennebohm Franz's class in Pullman Washington using a videophone. A videophone is like a regular phone except that in addition to hearing one another's voices on a speaker phone feature, you can also send each other black and white photographs so you can see each other. Every child in the class that wanted to, sent his/her picture to Ms. McLane while talking to her and asking her questions about the plasn for the rrest of her journey. Ms. McLane and others in the I*EARN office sent their photos to the class too.

Here is what the class talking about with Ms. McLane:

Q: Where will you be go in May?

A. I will go to Berryville and Verona, New York. I may try to see my parents in New York.

And then I will go to cities in Canada including Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec.

Q. Where will you go in the summer months of June, July, and August?

Then I will go to the Paris, France, England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and cross a channel into Scotland.

July 12th to the 20th, I will be in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and then Sweden again.

I will go to Finland around August 1,2 and 3rd. Then to Germany (Berlin), and the Czech Republic.

Then we go to Austria, Switzerland (Geneva), back to Germany, Belgium, and to Amsterdam,Netherlands.

Q. Where will you be in September when we are back at school?

Oh, we go to Australia!!!! I will be there through September 15th. And then I will be in New Zealand in November!!!!

Several children in the class have family connections to countries where Ms. McLane will be going, so each of them told her where their families lived. Children told her about their families connections to Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Czech Republic, and Germany. One of the students will be living in London next year so she and Ms. McLane talked about going to see the Kew Gardens near London.

Q. How is your bike?

A. My bike is upside down in my hotel room right now with the two wheels off. It is getting cleaned and getting "a bicycle bath!"

Q. Have you gotten any new equipment or things for the rest of your trip?

Yes, a foot long plastic hammer to fix things! It's amazing how just a simple thing can be so important!

Q. How is the weather on your trip?

50% of the time we have had rain and we hope now we will have sunshine! That would be great!!! I keep going on this trip because I know you read my messages and you are learning a lot about the world! Thank you for sending me email!!!! I will finish my bicycle journey at teh end of December and be back at Kimball Elementary in Seattle in February!!!

Together, the class and Ms. McLane said good-bye to one another with great enthusiasm for being able to talk with one another!!!!