A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Challenge Grants for Techonology In Education - FY95

San Mateo County Office of Education

Redwood City, California

Silicon Valley Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project

This project is one element of an ambitious program to revitalize education in schools throughout Northern California's Silicon Valley. Under the leadership of the San Mateo and Santa Clara County offices of education, and a consortium of industry partners called "Joint Venture: Silicon Valley" (JVSV), over $15 million in corporate contributions has been raised in the area to support systemic school reform. The Challenge 2000 Multimedia project builds on the collaborative foundation and experience of JVSV, helps unite several of its diverse elements, and focuses on the use of multimedia technologies in the creation of student instructional units. The project includes 37 schools, more than 750 teachers and 23,000 students drawn from two counties and nine school districts. Over 50% of these students come from low-income homes. The project addresses objectives of the Goals 2000 Act, provides an extensive professional development program, contains a strong school-to-work element, and promotes reform at all levels of education.

The Multimedia Project creates four "school communities," consisting of elementary and secondary schools, and colleges. The program is establishing a high-performance telecommunication network that links the schools, allowing them to exchange curriculum information and participate in joint educational activities. Through the network, the schools have access to state-of-the-art multimedia development tools, and physical and virtual resources at the Bay Area Multimedia Technology Alliance (BAMTA). BAMTA's "Collaboratory" is an educational research facility and technology testbed that facilitates the development of multimedia projects, including collaborative work environments. The school communities are being equipped with multimedia hubs containing high performance computer graphics workstations that allow students and teachers to take full advantage of Collaboratory resources. Each of the schools is developing an "exemplary practice" model for learning activities supported with multimedia software and network tools. Students use these technologies to explore subject matter content, and engage in collaboration, planning, revision, problem solving, critical thinking, and reflection. The school communities have also developed individual technology plans:

Blossom Valley Learning Consortium

Located primarily in South San Jose, this school community includes nine schools, and the general and special education departments of San Jose State University. Support services such as tutoring, alternative learning, and medical diagnoses are provided in partnership with local government, public agencies and industry. A school networking plan and a cross-school assessment system help consolidate the schools' programs. One school district in the consortium is opening a "Technology Teacher Magnet School" where teachers learn to use telecommunication and multimedia to enrich curricula.

Family of Schools

This community of 15 schools drawn from four districts serves an economically and culturally diverse population of over 10,000 students. The team's high school draws 40% of its students from an inner-city area where the median household income is less than half the national average. The Family of Schools focuses on improving math and science instruction, with extensive support from industry partners, including three major businesses, three community colleges, and an educational foundation. This community has established a professional development center where teachers create and test technology-supported math and science curricula.

Overfelt Family

These five East San Jose schools serve one of Silicon Valley's most economically stressed communities. At the elementary schools, eight out of ten children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. At home, nearly 80% of the students speak a language other than English. The Overfelt Family community is focusing on improvements in literacy and language arts, and is turning its schools into family centers, building on the school-linked "Healthy Start" integrated services program. Other focuses are retention, motivation and support of teachers in connecting instructional activities to real-world applications.

Palo Alto Learning Communities

This community of 16 schools focuses on literacy and school-to-work activities in an ambitious reform program that: 1) promotes performance assessment by community and corporate representatives who conduct standardized scoring of student multi-media exhibitions; and 2) helps develop school-to-work skills with a network link between schools, libraries, administrative offices and corporations.

JVSV has obtained commitments for educational support from the Hewlett-Packard Company, Intel, Network General, Symantec, 3Com, Silicon Graphics, Apple Computer, Applied Materials, Cirrus Logic, Logitech, NetManage, Quantum, the Robert Noyce Foundation, Sun Microsystems, Wells Fargo Bank, and Adobe Systems. JVSV is acting as a broker in obtaining technical support from the staff of these corporations for Multimedia Project schools. Additionally, JVSV is providing funding for release time and basic computer and Internet training of teachers. Silicon Graphics, Inc. will donate up to ten high-performance workstations for each school community hub, which will be located in the team's secondary school.

Project evaluation will be performed by SRI International. The project will maintain complete records of activities and products generated by the four school communities, and these materials along with results of the project evaluation will be disseminated in hard copy form and through the World Wide Web. The Multimedia Project brings together a powerful consortium of public, and private institutions to implement a comprehensive plan to help reform education in schools throughout the Silicon Valley.

PROJECT DIRECTOR:: Joe Becerra
San Mateo County Office of Education
101 Twin Dolphin Drive
Redwood City, CA 94065-1064
Telephone:: 415-802-5444
Fax:: 415-802-5665
E-mail:: jbecerra@ed.co.sanmateo.ca.us

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[Introduction]

[San Diego Unified School District]