TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION DIGEST
Digest No. 16 -- July 21, 1997
A Moderated Mailing List
Steve Wildstrom (steve_wildstrom@businessweek.com), Moderator

Return to Technology & Education

High school educators and students who would like an award-winning starting point to enhance teaching and learning are invited to visit David Levin's Learning@Web.Sites. Just point your browser to http://www.ecnet.net/users/gdlevin/home.html .

Organized by departments that may be found in a typical high school, visitors will be able to easily point and click on web sites that are highly valuable, useful, and some that are just plain cool. Let me know what you think!
David Levin

>Mike Pitsch (TechnicalDocuments@compuserve.com) wrote in T & E Digest 15:

> >You Mac people just never learn do you? This unit has been panned by most >of the >computer trades as being more of the same, non-standard, >proprietary, low powered, feature-less, software-less, non-upgradable >technology that Apple has been pushing into schools, and that schools have >been >wasting taxpayer money on for 15 years.

Without wanting to clutter this digest with a flame war over Mike's ill-informed opinions, I would like to draw his attention to an article that gives some insight into why teachers, who know far more about the needs of the classroom than the computer trade, are so enthusiastic about eMate and Apple.

------------- "New Zealand School Makes Apple eMate Top of the Class"

St Pauls Collegiate in Cambridge, New Zealand, have just ordered 300 of the new Apple eMate for its senior pupils and the man responsible for evauluating the new machine from Apple Computers, IT Manager Paul Haylett-Petty, describes them as the best computers to hit the planet.

"These computers are stunning, I've kicked them and dropped them and found them to be extremely robust," Mr Petty declared. "We have been keen on portable computers being used in the senior (forms six and seven) classes for some time now but when we trialled a variety of standard Wintel laptops last year, we found that the attrition rate for them was too high, that the battery life was inadequate and that they were too heavy and uncomfortable for students to use," Mr Haylett-Petty said.

. . .

"The computer is now a standard tool and our pupils need to be able to use them wherever they go," said Mr Haylett-Petty, "its no good using the pen in the classroom when you are one of the 75% of our students who have computers in the home. The eMate gives our students access to Internet webpages along with their own school email address, allows them to collaborate on projects as well as making it a lot easier for our teachers to assess and grade their work."

"We've given our teachers six months to get up to speed on the eMate, a core group of them will get specialist teaching, making them evangelists for our other teaching staff. For some teachers it will be a steep learning curve, some are excited and some are nervous about it," Mr Haylett-Petty added.

Excerpted from an article by David Merritt that appeared in the Business/Information Technology section of the New Zealand Herald on the 17th of June 1997.

[Folks: When quoting from published material, please do not submit entire articles. I generally have no way of knowing the copyright status, but I assume that most published material, especially if commercially published, is under copyright and quotations from it without the express approval of the copyright holder are very much restricted.-MOD]

This is intended for Bob Witt who asked for advice on getting tutoring, and all others in similar situations. The elementary school where I tutor on computers is very similar to Bobs, with similar problems. Suggestions: Every college and university has a student body which is close to 100% computer literate. Most have special groups volunteering for community-related programs. Contact the local colleges, try to reach student government, the editors of the college newspapers, and whatever official of the university dealing with community affairs. Also, over 200 colleges have special institutes for learning in retirement, by whatever name, frequently under the dept. of continuing education, over 45,000 members nationally and growing. Contact them and although these are generally not the hot shots with computers that the college kids are, many are at least Internet savvy and are frequently volunteer oriented. Last, but not least,at least in Durham we have some exceptional private schools,with absolutely 100% computer literacy and generally awesomely more than that, where the H.S. level kids are expected to volunteer for community services. These kids are by far and away the most effective in tutoring the kinds of kids you are dealing with. Contact the head masters of these schools. Incidentally, the Institutes of Learning in Retirement a part of Elderhostel, headquartered in Boston, Mary Linnehan being the Director.

Please let me hear from you about your results, and good luck. Incidentally-someone suggested bypassing teachers and going to students directly. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THIS. We at Duke are running short training sessions for untrained teachers, and we are finding much enhtusiasm,as they see what the Web can do. We are not training them to be computer mavens, but using the web and email extensively( say to start global pen-pal programs for the kids) can be accomplished in just several hours, to get them launched.

Herb Halbrecht (919) 620-0546 Fax (919) 620-0454

>Lori Scribner (scribner@cts.com) writes: >A solution many school administrators haven't addressed is the option >to go "wireless." I work with Wi-LAN, a maker of wireless ethernet bridges. >The company currently has several ongoing, successful projects which entail >connecting entire school districts to the Internet.

Not sure that this is the proper format for advertising, and there is much, much more to a school district network than Internet access. Netday and its various state chapters are doing much to hardwire schools. This is a better long term solution in most cases. I will agree with you that in some applicatons, 150 year old school buildings, lead paint and asbestos loaded buildings etc., wireless lans are attractive. WANS are a completely different story.

>A project just starting up at the Indianola school district in Iowa has >been estimated to save the district $150,000 in additional hardware >costs and telephone charges. Instead of purchasing 4 file servers, >the district can run all WAN traffic through one file server. >Wireless has been tested to provide T-1 like speed access and >is a proven and reliable alternative to hard-wired solutions.>

What does wireless have to do with the number of servers in a network? Not much, me thinks. The reality of the technical situation with wireless is this: it is still an nonstandardized, low bandwith, site specific technology that schools should be very careful about investing. Don't believe me? Just ask the business community, who are going very slowly on this technology.

>Terrie Gray (tgray@pepperdine.edu) writes: >The second problem is that donated hardware usually brings a new menu of >troubles--greater maintenance cost; frustration for newbies; >no capacity for online work.

Donated hardware from Tech Corps can bring you delivery, installation, configuration, teacher training, teacher mentoring and technical support. What more than that do you want?

Mike

[Since a major purpose of this list, is the promotion of cooperation between businesses and schools. I have not problem with commercial enterprises posting product information, consistent with the rules laid out in the charter (see www.businessweek.com/bwplus/teched/charter.htm). What do you think?-MOD]

Some observations from an inner city middle school English teacher, who has no phone on his desk let alone an internet connection, regarding responses to your technology and education articles.

First of all, it is impossible to stimulate students with donated software and hardware that is ten years behind their own stuff at home. It is surprising to continue to see people want to relegate second hand stuff to our kids when they would howl if asked to use the same tools on their job. Yes, we are good at being imaginative and creative with less, but why not help us a little - this is hard work.

We have run out of the excuse about how much this stuff costs - it is getting very cheap and can do so much to stimulate kids and revitalize teachers. I have signed far too many packing slips for thousands and thousands of dollars to replenish obsolete textbooks. The money is there - it needs to be managed more efficiently. School boards and administrators are often the least prepared for dealing with the new world of technology.

For the first time in education every school at every level has at least one student more conversant in this stuff than the traditional leadership. I have seen too many teachers and administrators shut down these kids rather than include them in setting up a working system.

Throwing technology at an unimaginative and flawed school culture will guarantee failure much as we saw the same thing happen twenty years ago. This time, however, the Internet changes all of the rules. It is the purest form of democracy to come along this millenium. Kids and teachers can finally leap over the walls of their schools and their neighborhoods. Instant Gratification for Kids - what a concept!

In order to participate in this new democracy a kid has to bring something to the table - if they are going to really participate. If you have something to say and can present it in an accetable format I will sit you down beside me and we will explore the world together. Kinda makes them want to do their homework.

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