Technology in its Place: Successful Technology Infusion in Schools A Summary of Chapter 3: Technology for Urban Schools Brian Mellott Brian Mellott

Needs  Infrastructure  High-speed internet  Communication wiring  Dedicated electrical lines  Funding  Teachers  Effective  Technology Literate

Infrastructure Challenges  Aging buildings and infrastructure  Number of schools  Personnel needed to upgrade school systems with 100+ schools is often unavailable  Upgrades occur infrequently

Funding Challenges  Competing for limited resources  Lower income tax base  Federal E-rate covers telecommunications wiring and services based on percentage of low-income families with students in school  Does not cover other upgrades, computer purchases, or professional development  See the following sites for more info  

Teacher Challenges  Effectiveness is often defined through standardized test scores  “What gets tested gets taught”  Teachers do not feel inclined to attempt new strategies  Urban school systems struggle to find certified teachers, much less the most effective ones  Professional development takes a back seat to student programs or facility upgrades

Activity  Urban schools have problems recruiting and retaining the best teachers.  How do you define an effective teacher?  What makes you want (or not want) to stay with your current school system?

Chicago Public Schools  More than 420,000 students  Nearly 600 schools (as of 1998)  14%: less than 25 years old  26%: years old—upgradeable  40%: years old—difficult to upgrade  9%: over 100 years old  How do you address these obsolete buildings in a timely fashion?

Chicago Public Schools  Chicago Board of Education provides wiring connected to the internet through the Chicago Public School (CPS) gateway  Each school develops a LAN that will connect to the MDF (a WAN used for administrative and educational purposes)  Funding provided through local school discretionary accounts, bonds, E-rate applications, grants, and low-interest loans

Chicago Public Schools  Centralized technology team dispersed down to regional level  Focus on professional development  Providing technology training for principals  Citywide technology conference  Helping teachers develop on-line lessons and classes

An Alternative Model  Returning control of schools to the local population  Problems  Limited information sharing  Not taking advantage of economies of scale  Ineffective professional development

Discussion Activity  What are the benefits of a centralized versus a decentralized school system model?  What model does your school system most resemble? How does it differ?

Conclusions  Large populations of our nation’s youth live in urban centers with limited access to technology and to high-speed internet access.  How can we develop and fund plans to upgrade these school systems and prepare the students for the future?