HOUSTON, Texas—Years before computers were available in schools, Kathy Booth was an advocate of using technology to enhance learning. She was using computers at home long before such "innovations" as the mouse were commonplace. Several years ago, during a vacation to Epcot Center in Florida, she remembers looking at a school-of-the-future exhibit. Seeing the make-believe classroom loaded with technology, she could imagine the many benefits for real students. But the future still seemed so far away. She could only lament, "I'll never live long enough!"

History has proved her wrong. A bond measure passed in her Houston-area district not long after that Florida trip, and elementary classrooms like hers began to be transformed with computers and other technologies. Ever since, Booth has been eager to find new ways to infuse her teaching with technology and help her students achieve at a higher level.

At a workshop for language arts teachers in the Spring School District, Booth started brainstorming with a teacher from another school about ways they might connect their classrooms. Naturally, Booth suggested using technology as a bridge.

At the time, Booth was teaching a gifted language arts class of 17 third-graders at Beneke Elementary. Twenty miles away at Hirsch Elementary, Sharon Alexander was working with a smaller class of six gifted third-graders. Explains Booth, "With fewer students in the class, Sharon's students were missing out on opportunities to collaborate and share ideas. They weren't getting as many chances to grow." What's more, the two schools draw from different demographic groups. Booth's school was racially diverse, including African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Caucasian students. Alexander's students were predominately Caucasian. Bringing their two classes together, the teachers thought, could enhance cross-cultural learning as well as help to build language arts skills.

Although they first thought about keeping costs down by using an inexpensive Web cam, district technology staff suggested they would have better results using videoconferencing equipment. The two teachers were successful in getting grant funding to bring videoconferencing equipment to both their classrooms, and district technology staff helped them set up and learn how to use the new gear.

Throughout the 2002-03 school year, Booth's students videoconferenced with their new peers from Alexander's classroom. There were surprises along the way as they pioneered using this new approach. The day of the first videoconference, for instance, one of Booth's students, an African American girl, looked at the video screen and announced, "Nobody there looks like me." By the end of the school year, however, the girl learned a powerful lesson. Says Booth, "She realized that students in both classes are a lot alike, even though they may not be the same color."

The teachers started the year by using conference time for literature circles. Students in both schools would read the same book, then share a discussion. The teachers quickly discovered that planning was important. "My students are used to class discussions, but this was different. We had to talk about being in front of the camera. They had to plan what to say, but not read from a script. It couldn't be too structured. We worked on some theater arts and communication skills. We talked about using note cards to help them keep track of their ideas."

The project also helped students think about what makes a good question. Booth's students worked on asking higher-level questions and also follow-up questions to take discussions deeper. Sometimes, their "harder" questions left students at the other school unsure how to reply. Adds Booth, "We found out it might be good to prep a little in advance, so students don't have to answer spontaneously."

During the second half of the year, the teachers shifted from doing literature circles to sharing projects via videoconferences. Booth's students were proud to share their multimedia book report presentations, complete with text and sound effects. They were also excited to describe how they had presented the projects to a college class at the University of Houston. "The college students wanted to see what kids are able to make using multimedia tools," Booth says. "During our spring break, we had 14 students and their parents go to the campus and share their projects. My kids loved it! They were treated like kings and queens."

When it was time to share the book presentations via videoconference, the students had to juggle several tasks: talk about their presentations, think about facing the camera, use a computer monitor to display their presentation, and give directions to students on the other end of the conference (so they could follow along on another computer screen). "It was a great lesson in giving clear directions," Booth says.

The bonds that the two classes made during the yearlong project demonstrated the potential of technology to forge social connections. "They spent enough time together that they got to know each other," Booth says. One boy in the other class, for instance, mentioned that he had performed in an opera. Booth's students had never seen an opera before, but now they were curious. "We had a great discussion about opera. It raised good questions," Booth says.

The project has reminded Booth of the importance of letting students direct their own learning. "I can be there to facilitate and guide," she says, "but the students have to drive."

This fall, Booth moved to a brand-new facility, Claughton Middle School. She is teaching gifted sixth-grade language arts, and plans to have her students videoconference with Alexander's fifth-graders to work on writing. Always interested in new ideas, she's also thinking about introducing weblogs to her classes. Weblogs allow for interactive publishing and online discussions. "That could be a good way to help students clarify their thoughts before they meet for a videoconference," she suggests.

Although Booth already qualifies for retirement, she's still teaching, "because I love what I do." Last year, she became a master teacher through the Intel® Teach to the Future program. She's still taking graduate courses in educational technology. "As a teacher, I have a chance to learn something new every day. I'm fortunate to be in a setting where I'm allowed to be creative and help my students achieve. We grow together."