Using Videoconferencing to Connect Courtrooms to Classrooms in
Milwaukee Public Schools
by

Anne Knackert, Milwaukee Public Schools Division of School Technology
Support E2T2 and Connecting Courtrooms to Classrooms Project Coordinator

Abstract
Connecting Courtrooms to Classrooms is an educational partnership between the
Milwaukee County Court System and the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Its
purpose is to help middle school students understand the role that the court system
plays in the lives of the citizens of Milwaukee. Thirteen judges have adopted students
from seven Milwaukee schools to build a relationship through face-to-face meetings,
email, videoconferencing, and online discussion. Students will master social studies
standards through: their course of study in the traditional classroom, real life contact
with the judge as a resource, the courtroom as their virtual classroom, and the teacher
as a guide. Outcomes will include a concrete understanding of the judicial branch of
government and the law for the students, a personal relationship between the judges
and the schools they are connected to, and a mentoring partnership between the judges
and the students themselves.

Introduction
The current school year, 2002-2003, has been a pilot year for this project. Seven
schools and thirteen judges have begun the process of building relationships, creating a
course of study, and collaborating in a unique way to support the achievement of the
middle school students. This partnership between the county court system and the
school system in Milwaukee is a creative way to connect community members - the
judges, and real life environments - the courtrooms, in the educational process of
teaching students about the judicial branch of government, and the process of law.

Description of Process
During the 2001-2002 school year, Susan Simkowski, Instructional Technology
Specialist for MPS, experienced a day in the courtroom shadowing a judge at
the Milwaukee County Courthouse. From that experience, an idea was born that
students would be more motivated to learn about the judicial system if they were able
to experience it firsthand as a learning environment. Judges Jeffrey Wagner and Carl
Ashley were immediately interested in the project as a way to create positive interaction
between adolescent aged students and the court system. With approval from Chief
Judge Michael Skwierawski, and the MPS administration, the project began its
planning phases.

Seven interested schools met with the two lead judges during the spring of 2002 to
determine the best way to implement the plan. It was decided that students would
need some type of overview to introduce them to the court system. The production
of a video was selected to introduce the Milwaukee County Court System to
student peers. Seventh and eighth grade students used four digital video cameras
to gather about nine hours of film. The students worked to edit and produce the
16-minute video focused on introducing the partnership between MPS and the
courts, while highlighting the many career opportunities available in the justice
system. Meanwhile, judges from both the Circuit Courts in downtown Milwaukee
and the Children's Court Center were recruited to participate in this project.

By fall of 2002, the project had been defined and the pilot year began. Schools
participating include Audubon Middle School, Bell Middle School, Hartford
University School, Milwaukee Education Center, Muir Middle School, Steuben
Middle School, and Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning. Judges
Ashley, Butler, Donald, Kremers, Kuhnmuench, Lamelas, Malmstadt, Martens,
Sankovitz, Wagner, and White all agreed to participate by creating a relationship
with a specific school.

Students viewed the introductory video to kick off the project and then began to
study monthly topics related to the judicial system. The emphasis on relationship
building between the students and the judges pushed participants to think outside
of the box regarding the way that learning would take place. Judges made their
first contact by visiting the schools and meeting the students in their own
environment.

To allow for more continuous contact that takes into account the busy schedule of
the judges, students have viewed the courtroom in action by connecting via
videoconferencing from their classrooms to their judge's courtroom. The students
experience the real life lessons of the courtroom and have the opportunity during
court recess to have real time conversations with the judge, asking questions
about what they observed and clarifying both process and human consequences of
the law.

The technical piece of making this happen is simple. The Milwaukee County
Courthouse uses ISDN for its video connections. MPS uses video over IP.
Normally, these two types of video technology cannot speak directly to each other.
A Polycom Accord MCU/Bridge at the School Technology Support Center
performs the transcoding necessary to allow the two sites to see and hear each
other. Schools preschedule the time frame set aside for the conference. The video
contact at the courthouse, Mike Pook, calls into the MPS bridge; the school
connects to the bridge via IP, and without having to leave their classroom, students
are viewing the law at work. The real time connection also allows the judge and the
students to have discussions before and/or after watching the court proceedings.

Another form of contact is provided in the UW System's Dot.edu web course
management system, Prometheus. On this web site, students and judges connect
virtually to explore topics such as "Juveniles Tried as Adults," "DNA, the Death
Penalty and State's Rights," and "Ask the Judge." Through asynchronous chatting,
students tap into the expertise of their judge when and where it is convenient for each
of them. Because the site is available from any computer connected to the World
Wide Web, students can log on to discuss the law from home, school, or even the
public library. Some students have even personally emailed their judge to ask
questions about legal issues they are studying or cases that involve their friends and
family. Students have also inquired about how they too could become a judge,
receiving information about years of college and experience needed to prepare for this
role.

Lessons Learned
One of the court system's objectives was to help students understand that the courts
are really a place of service to the citizens. Many possibilities beyond punitive
consequences are offered by the courts. As students have built a connection, both
electronically and personally, with the judges, their opinions and perceptions about the
work of the courts has matured and expanded. After viewing the court proceedings via
videoconference, a group of students wrote to the two judges connected to their class,
"Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us before court this morning, and
for allowing us to observe court proceedings. We were impressed with the amount of
respect shown to all defendants by every member of the court." Judge Kuhnmuench
responded, "I'm glad that all of you recognized that Judge Kremers and I are respectful
to everyone who comes into our courtroom. Being respectful and kind to everyone who
uses our courts is one of the most important jobs a judge must do. A judge must be
respectful to everyone, including the defendants that appear before us, because respect
is a two-way street and if we want to be respected for the important work that we do,
we must also remember to be respectful to the people that appear before us."

Another lesson we learned is that it is easy to plan the glitzy portion of the project, such
as the use of videoconferencing, email, chatting, and field trips. Much of our current
effort is focused on writing strong, age appropriate curriculum that makes the connection
between the state standards and the lessons learned from this exciting connection. The
excitement of the personal contact with the reality of the system provides strong
motivation and enthusiasm from students whose natural curiosity pushes them to learn
more about what they are experiencing. The ultimate goal is for these experiential
lessons to translate to greater understanding of higher level concepts of government,
higher achievement scores, and a better chance for our students to become successful
and involved citizens.

Conclusions
The access to new and convenient forms of technology has broken down the barriers
that prevented a project like this from succeeding in the past. Formerly, courthouse
outreach was limited to an occasional visit from a group of students to the courtroom to
observe and if they were lucky, have a discussion with the judge over lunch. This project
opens up the concepts of time and space to allow the judges to interact with students
from their home at any time of the day or night via their modem. It eases the cost of
buses and the time involved in a field trip by allowing the students to turn to the
television in their classroom to watch a trial or have a discussion with a judge in his
chambers. It creates an ongoing educational opportunity that allows the time needed
to make these concepts real by connecting them to current events, to the course of
study in the classroom, and to the actual experiences of the students. Viewing the justice
system at work and interacting with the judges far exceeds the lessons that could be
taught in any textbook series alone. Connecting "courtrooms to classrooms" has
become a shining example of how technology integrated where appropriate into a
challenging curriculum can blur the division between the school and the community to
create education for life, unobstructed by walls, clocks, or miles.