At Manhattan's PS 140, students in Tony Paulino's middle school Spanish classes are exploring the geography, economics, and culture of South America, all without leaving their classroom.

They're using the Internet to follow the One Road South team of adventurers on a 14-month bicycle trip around the continent. Through a program called Reach The World, kids at 60 of the city's elementary and middle schools are getting a taste of global citizenship by following the One Road South bikers, a family traveling in Europe, a bike trek in Africa, and a Harlem teacher working with scientists in Antarctica through online videos, journals, and field notes.

Teachers plan activities that relate the online adventures to state learning standards, thanks to the help of interns from Columbia University's Teachers College. Reach The World program manager Natasha Anderson said third graders at one school will be creating passports where they record what they learn about each country that their expedition visits.

The students told me they didn't know anyone who had gone on a long trip like One Road South's. But after watching the slide show, Rodriguez said, "It seems like a really fun trip to go on to experience other people's lifestyles."

Their teacher, Tony Paulino, said his students are "beside themselves" with excitement about following the One Road South bikers. "I believe it speaks to the core desire we all share, to dream, to travel and to explore," he said.

The article "Students travel the world through the Web, a lesson at every port" was posted on December 1st on the "Gotham Schools.org" websitehttp://gothamschools.org/2008/12/01/students-travel-the-world-through-the-web-a-lesson-at-every-port/

Published Monday, Dec. 8, 2008