Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
Four schools initially participated in the project in 1993 two high schools and two elementary schools. These schools jumped on board because teachers or supervisors were enthusiastic about the project. In 1994, seven more schools two high schools, one middle school, and four elementary schools were selected through a competition for second-year sites.
Every school currently participating in the project has a local area network (LAN) and access to a wide area network and Internet. Three of the schools are wired throughout. At other schools, classrooms participating in the project are wired. In addition, all libraries in the schools are wired, so that students not participating in the project have the opportunity to use the network.
School Focus Areas
In one of the participating high schools, Schenley High School, the focus of the project is on foreign languages. Students use Internet to communicate in German, French, and Spanish with their "pen pals" in foreign countries.
At Westinghouse High School, where math and science are the focus, students conduct science research through Internet. The project at the school, developed in partnership with the Westinghouse Corporation, was initially designed to provide students with mentors from Westinghouse Corporation and university professors, to assist them with their research projects. Students communicate through e-mail with their mentors and use the online resources available through Internet. At the completion of their research on such topics as acid rain, oil recovery and chromium, students publish their own papers, using the school-based resources. For them, it is rewarding to see the fruits of their labors placed on the network. In addition, recognizing that it takes time to get up to speed with new technology, the project developed an internal mentoring process whereby seniors work with sophomores and juniors to help them learn the tools necessary to use the resources provided on Internet.
At the elementary school level, the focus is on contacting other individuals to contribute to a project, rather than on collecting data. In the first year, teachers joined mailing lists for online projects already in existence, and in the second year, teachers are trying to initiate activities and develop their own collaborations on such topics as the river and the weather.
Providing Support
Teachers participating in the program receive both educational and technical support. The project team trains teachers and has catalogued resources on the Internet to help teachers locate information on specific curriculum topics. In other words, the menu is determined by teachers' requests, rather than by some centralized group deciding what teachers should have.
The project team also helps students to use the tools on the network and set up network accounts. The ultimate goal is to help schools build their own expertise and give schools independence from the center. One way this has been tried is to use the network itself as a support system. For example, teachers are given an E-Mail address named TROUBLE, where they can send a message describing the problems they encounter. A team of educators, technicians, and district personnel monitors the messages, and helps teachers solve problems.
To get additional schools involved, the project team provides introductory courses that demonstrate the usefulness of the technology and how to establish the network in the classroom. To encourage more schools to compete for a grant in the coming year, the project team will help schools who request assistance to write a proposal for funding under this grant and help them articulate the school team's visions for a particular curriculum area.
Glitches
There have, of course, been some glitches along the way. For example, some school administrators suggested that the internal competitive process for awarding grants may not be equitable. Some schools that have few resources feel they should automatically be awarded a grant. Still others feel that the selection process should be less competitive, so as to prevent schools from becoming losers.
The project aims to make the technology and resources of the Internet an essential part of instructional and administrative work at the Pittsburgh Public Schools. But, some district administrative staff members are concerned that they have not participated closely enough in the implementation process. Some district staff remain afraid of technological change and worried about how the project will affect them. Others are concerned about spending finite district resources on such new technology.
Although many teachers are ready for change, some fear technology or are unwilling to experiment with the network. Another issue that seems to have emerged among teachers is how to organize the classroom. The traditional 40-minute class periods, textbooks, and standardized tests, do not easily accommodate the problem-solving, research-oriented thrust provided through the project. Alternatives must be explored.
The Future
The school district is in the process of developing a five-year technology plan that will tie in the technology to the major priorities of the school district and link technology with standards set by the state. In concrete terms, three schools will be added to the project by 1995, and it is hoped that by 1997, 32 schools will have access to Internet.
Robert D. Carlitz
University of Pittsburgh
316 Allen Hall
3941 O'Hara Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(412) 624-9027
Mario Zinga
Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh
501 Fortleth Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
(412) 622-5930
Gail Futoran
University of Pittsburgh
Learning Research and Development Center
3939 O'Hara Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(412) 624-7473.
-###-
Pease Middle School
Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
kstubbs and gsolomon, 12/9/94