TeleOlympics2000

[OFCN Special Events <special>]

                     ORGANIZATION FOR COMMUNITY NETWORKS
                        THE ACADEMY 2000 TELEOLYMPICS
                           April 17 to May 1, 2000


"The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part,
the important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The
essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. To spread
these precepts is to build up a stronger and more valiant and, above all,
more scrupulous and more generous humanity." - - De Coubertin, founder of
the modern Olympic Games


The Organization For Community Networks (OFCN) will be hosting The Academy's
2000 TeleOlympics from April 17 to May 1, 1999. It is open to school-age
children worldwide (ages 6-18) with the ability to send and receive
electronic mail over the Internet. The TeleOlympics2000 is a project where
students go out into their schoolyards on the same day and "compete" in
events involving running, jumping, and throwing. Results are then sent
electronically to The Academy. Special rules have been established for
wheelchair students.

Information regarding each school will be exchanged using a listserv called
acad-olympics. This listserv will be available as of February 7, 2000. In
addition each message will be posted to OFCN's The Academy TeleOlympics2000
Discussion webpage.

Details are included below.

DETAILS ON THE TELEOLYMPICS

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Group Classifications:

   * Class A = ages 16-18
   * Class B = ages 14-15
   * Class C = ages 12-13
   * Class D = ages 10-11
   * Class E = ages 8-9
   * Class F = ages 6-7

List of Events:

   * 50 m run
   * tennis ball throw
   * long jump (choose either standing or running for your school)
   * 400 m run (for all ages)
   * 800 m run (for Class A, B, C, D and E)
   * 1600 m run (for Class A, B, C and D)

Educational Activities:

  1. Opening and Closing Activities - E-mail exchange. On the Opening Day,
     each participating school should send a letter to all of the other
     participating schools, wishing them good luck via the listserv. On the
     Closing Day, letters of congratulation should be sent to all other
     participating schools. These letters can include additional information
     and questions as desired, and potentially lead to establishing
     permanent keypal relationships with these other schools.

  2. In the time prior to the TeleOlympics, schools are encouraged to post
     reports on the progress of training of their athletes, weather
     conditions, or other information of interest. Possibilities include
     stories of the Ancient Olympics, word searches in any language with the
     subject being the Olympics, or interviews and stories of athletes from
     their community who have participated in the Olympics. Individual
     athletes are also invited to share their training programs and results.

  3. Participating schools may also begin to contact each other and exchange
     private e-mail as the registrations are posted. Regular updates of who
     is involved will be mailed to those participants who have only e-mail
     contact with Academy One. The listserv is another way to keep in touch
     but keep in mind that the amount of traffic could get quite large.

  4. If you send pictures of your athletes during the competition they will
     be posted to the website. You can mail your pictures to:
     Organization For Community Networks
     P.O. Box 32175
     Euclid, Ohio 44132-0175
     Or
     You can scan in your pictures and send them electronically to
     special@ofcn.org as an attachment to an email message.
     Or
     You can also ftp them to the anonymous ftp site. Logon to "ofcn.org" as
     annonymous using your email address as the password. Change directories
     by typing "cd /pub/incoming". Please make sure to transfer the mode to
     binary.
     Pictures should be scanned at 72dpi. Their approximate size should be
     200 pixels high by 150 pixels wide.

  5. The top three winners in each of the events and in each of the boys and
     girls age classifications can have their names, school identifications,
     national flags and a short biographical sketch posted. Teachers will be
     responsible for supplying the biographical sketches of all winners. As
     an educational activity, all students might prepare their biography in
     case they are winners. Students can also exchange their biography with
     students in other countries.

ADDITIONAL CURRICULUM INTEGRATION IDEAS:

------------------------------------------------

For those teachers who might wish to integrate several areas of the
curriculum into the TeleOlympics theme, the following are a few suggested
activities:

English

   * Students could write about their own athletic endeavors or hopes.
   * Students could write a story... "If I were an Olympic athlete..." and
     send to special@ofcn.org. The story will be posted to a special area
     for Student Authors.
   * Students could interview a former Olympian or a current athlete in
     training.
   * Any student attending a major athletic competition could act as an OFCN
     Student News Reporter and submit their interview to special@ofcn.org
     and the interview will be posted to a special area for Student
     Interviews on the OFCN's Academy website.

Math

   * Students could practice using metric measurements.
   * Students could practice converting between English and Metric systems.
   * Students could compute the mean, median and mode scores for the entire
     class in a given event.
   * Students could make a comparison of scores for each 100 meters of the
     400 meter run if known.
   * Students could conduct a comparison of pre-test and post-test scores in
     the TeleOlympian Training Program.
   * Students could compute the Training Heart Rate Range.
   * Students could analyze the pre-test and post-test scores of students
     from various schools and countries.
   * Students could practice graphing scores.

Social Studies

   * Students could learn about the communities of other schools in foreign
     countries. Some of this information is available from reading the
     registration forms. Students could write to several schools to gain
     additional information.
   * Students could interview their parents and grandparents regarding their
     athletic endeavors. Students can comparisons between today's equipment,
     rules, training methods and reasons for competition and those of former
     times.

History

   * Students could research and write about history of the ancient
     Olympics.
   * Students could research and write about the modern Olympics.
   * Students could research and write about famous Olympians from their
     town or country.

Health

   * Students could submit recipes which will be placed in a recipe exchange
     area.
   * The students could measure and evaluate the suggested long-term
     training program during participation.
   * The students could analyze the pre-test and post-test scores of
     students from theirschool or other schools.

Science

   * The students could study the anatomy and physiology of physical
     fitness.

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