The technology in corporate America is thriving, creating a Future World environment that provides instant access to anything imaginable. But what about America's schools? Without the expertise and financial resources of a profit-based corporation, how can the educational community keep pace with the future job requirements of the global markets?"There is no 'silver bullet' answer to the problems in education," says Mary Cullinane, director of Microsoft U.S. Partners in Learning. "But one important conclusion is that education institutions face many problems when designing and building quality learning environments for their students. We, as a company and a member of their community, need to figure out a better way to support them. At the end of the day, it's about the kids, and being able to help address the challenges our country is facing is truly a privilege."
Better ways
Enter the School of the Future (SOF) and see that "better way" in action. Located on seven acres in West Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, this new, very futuristic facility is at the top of the list for the most wired school in America. However, in this case, the most wired school in America is, in fact, mostly wireless.
The School of the Future opened its doors in September 2006. Funded by the School District of Philadelphia with additional support and technical assistance from Microsoft Corp., this $63 million project is a technological inspiration for other educational institutions across the globe.
All the students and educators carry Gateway laptops with fiber-optic Internet connectivity.
"The school can handle 750 students, four grades," says Barbara Farley, director of the office of communications at the school district of Philadelphia. "Currently, we have grades 9 and 10 enrolled in the SOF, approximately 400 students. In two years, the entire student body will be included in the SOF's curriculum and technology. However, we want it to be known that it's not just about the technology."
"Our philosophy," says Robin Walker, development coordinator at the SOF, "is to be sure that the curriculum drives the technology and not the other way around. We place the emphasis on learning first, with technology second."
"In addition," says Rosalind Chivis, SOF associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction, "we wanted to build a replicable school using processes (both educational and technological) that work as an incubator for best practices, to make this project scalable districtwide."
The 162,000-square-foot, four-story building has an equally impressive architectural design.
User technologies
All the students and educators carry Gateway laptops with fiber-optic Internet connectivity provided by the Meru Wireless LAN System, and each user has his own personalized media portal. "Wireless access is available throughout the facility, including the physical education center and the amphitheater outside the building," says Bob Westall, deputy CIO at the SOF.
All the classrooms have wireless Panasonic projectors, wireless microphones and Promethean whiteboards, which allow interactive activities and assignments between students and teachers, adds Westall. They also have access to a variety of digital devices such as digital cameras, camcorders and webcams for their project-based learning assignments, which they can use and share online or on one of the seven 42-in. Panasonic plasma screens located throughout the facility. "In addition, there are 30 surveillance cameras throughout the buildings to ensure a safe environment for everyone."
Smart cards are issued to everyone for lockers, building access, the digital library (called the Interactive Learning Center, which offers online textbooks containing local, regional and global information that's always current) and meals in a food court that rivals any mall in America. These cards also track attendance, library usage and food purchased -- plus they provide data on diet, nutrition and caloric intake.
The software used at the SOF includes Microsoft's Exchange Server, Identity Lifecycle Manager, Office SharePoint Server, Vista, Microsoft Office and Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium. In addition, Microsoft developed a Virtual Teaching Assistant program tailored to the school's specific needs, which provides the teachers with active, online tracking to monitor the students' progress and development areas. Teachers can create a test or assignment, send it directly to the students' laptops, then grade it immediately when they complete the exercise.
Design technologies
The architectural design is equally impressive. The 162,000-square-foot, four-story building (three floors above ground with a sort of daylight basement that conforms to the natural grade of the landscape) is Gold LEED-certified for its environmental design and construction. Gold LEED is the benchmark developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that rates buildings based on compliance in six environmental areas, adds Edison Freire, manager of the educational technology group.
The first floor has a "street scape" that resembles a boardwalk with direct access to the adaptive functional modules; that is, classrooms and other self-contained spaces linked by structure. Each module can expand, contract or integrate based on program requirements and/or site characteristics. For example, the auditorium (also known as the Performance Arts Center) located on the lower level is 8,500 square feet, seats 500 and has rotating platforms on a hydraulic system to divide the full auditorium area into smaller spaces (called pods) for events with audiences of 100 or less.
All the students and educators carry Gateway laptops with fiber-optic Internet connectivity provided by the Meru Wireless LAN System, and each user has his own personalized media portal. "Wireless access is available throughout the facility, including the physical education center and the amphitheater outside the building," says Bob Westall, deputy CIO at the SOF.
All the classrooms have wireless Panasonic projectors, wireless microphones and Promethean whiteboards, which allow interactive activities and assignments between students and teachers, adds Westall. They also have access to a variety of digital devices such as digital cameras, camcorders and webcams for their project-based learning assignments, which they can use and share online or on one of the seven 42-in. Panasonic plasma screens located throughout the facility. "In addition, there are 30 surveillance cameras throughout the buildings to ensure a safe environment for everyone."
Smart cards are issued to everyone for lockers, building access, the digital library (called the Interactive Learning Center, which offers online textbooks containing local, regional and global information that's always current) and meals in a food court that rivals any mall in America. These cards also track attendance, library usage and food purchased -- plus they provide data on diet, nutrition and caloric intake.
The software used at the SOF includes Microsoft's Exchange Server, Identity Lifecycle Manager, Office SharePoint Server, Vista, Microsoft Office and Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium. In addition, Microsoft developed a Virtual Teaching Assistant program tailored to the school's specific needs, which provides the teachers with active, online tracking to monitor the students' progress and development areas. Teachers can create a test or assignment, send it directly to the students' laptops, then grade it immediately when they complete the exercise.
Design technologies
The architectural design is equally impressive. The 162,000-square-foot, four-story building (three floors above ground with a sort of daylight basement that conforms to the natural grade of the landscape) is Gold LEED-certified for its environmental design and construction. Gold LEED is the benchmark developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that rates buildings based on compliance in six environmental areas, adds Edison Freire, manager of the educational technology group.
The first floor has a "street scape" that resembles a boardwalk with direct access to the adaptive functional modules; that is, classrooms and other self-contained spaces linked by structure. Each module can expand, contract or integrate based on program requirements and/or site characteristics. For example, the auditorium (also known as the Performance Arts Center) located on the lower level is 8,500 square feet, seats 500 and has rotating platforms on a hydraulic system to divide the full auditorium area into smaller spaces (called pods) for events with audiences of 100 or less.
Photovoltaic panels in the glass windows and roof reduce heating and cooling costs by converting sunlight into direct current, and photoelectric glass, which generates some of the building's power supply, also transmits real-time data for students to study the energy generated and the positive impact this has on the environment.Classrooms average about 900 square feet, and are set up with mobile desks and office-style chairs for easy arrangement based on assignments. Each classroom has controlled daylight with a combination of natural light from the windows, which includes sunscreens with rollup shades and inverted, integrated blinds at the top plus indirect lighting, both to prevent sun glare and diffuse the controlled light for optimized LCD screen viewing.
Photovoltaic panels in the glass windows and roof reduce heating and cooling costs by converting sunlight into direct current, and photoelectric glass, which generates some of the building's power supply, also transmits real-time data for students to study the energy generated and the positive impact this has on the environment.
"The 11,000-square-foot auditorium roof is covered with grass and shade trees to shield it from ultraviolet rays, control water runoff during rainstorms and reduce the urban-heat island effect," says Freire. In addition, the roof supports a recycled water system that collects rainwater and gravity feeds it into a 30,000-gallon underground tank, which is pumped back up to the school for flushing toilets and servicing the boiler system. Also, an ice-storage system makes ice during the off hours to help cool the building, notes Freire.
Further recycling efforts include using leftover wood from the construction site to build student desks, and using trees removed from the site prior to construction to build classroom and kitchen cabinets. In addition, the Forest Stewardship Council reported that 40% of all the wood used in this project was harvested according to its policies and approval. Plus, more than 70% of the waste from the construction was recycled, paving the way for the school's comprehensive recycling program that manages the facility's waste paper, metals and plastics.
Teaching and learning technologies
"What's really new in this environment is the way the technology is leveraged," says Chivis. "Instead of teaching the core curriculum as 'subject-based' education, which is the standard in most school systems; we use 'project-based' learning."
"For example," adds Walker, "The students are given a project to work on, such as Project Vote. In order to complete this project, the students must learn and utilize social studies, math, language arts and the technology. The educators are divided into teams that teach the subjects necessary for that project. There are only 20 students per class, but each student stays with the team until the project is complete."
"This style integrates teaching and learning at its best because the educators are not just a math, English, history or science teacher, but a combination-instructor of multiple subjects, which means all of our teachers are dual-certified," adds Fran Newberg, executive director for the office of educational technology. "It's an exciting adventure and I'm proud to be a part of it."
"We also have a person on-site to track all the technology and keep us current," says Chivis. "It's like a living, breathing plant. Everyday, we say, 'what's next'? And what's next is continually changing -- and that's always exciting."
The downside of technology
Some academic experts have said that too much reliance on technology can detract from teaching critical-thinking skills, and that students depend on computers too much, instead of thinking things through and doing the work themselves.
"Students are far too reliant on technology," says J. Andreas Lippert, associate professor of chemistry at Weber State University. "For example, I've noticed that they can't spell anymore because they always use the spell checker, which often results in incorrect word usage such as the difference between pulsar and pulser."
Lippert adds that students' reading capacity is also diminished because they scan everything so quickly; they don't retain anything they read. And worse, plagiarism is running rampant, because they copy and paste information directly off the Internet onto their papers, assuming that if it's on the Internet, it's free to use (as in public domain).
Additionally, the information retrieved from the Internet is often from less creditable sources, because the professionals and experts in their fields publish their research in books, which either cost money or require a trip to the library, continues Lippert. "I'm not against technology, because I certainly don't want to go back to the typewriter, but students today must learn to use the technology more wisely. Reading and writing are such critical skills; we can't allow them to become a lost art."
"New students are so familiar with technology in their personal life, they need these communication tools in their learning environment," adds Claire Schooley, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. "We will not throw out the old-like classroom training. There will always be a place for that; but we must choose the appropriate format in order to learn faster and more efficiently. The new learners may not have the depth of knowledge ... but they will know how to find it easily when they need it."
"If there is a downside," says Westall, "it's the reality that this is an R&D school, which means there's a huge spotlight on it. We worry about letting outsiders see our failures when we're struggling to implement new products and processes. But we are growing accustomed to it. My only advice to other institutions planning similar projects is to just accept the attention (and the press) as part of the package. The trade-off is more than worth it!"
Sartain is a freelance writer in Utah. She can be reached at julesds@comcast.net.
Photovoltaic panels in the glass windows and roof reduce heating and cooling costs by converting sunlight into direct current, and photoelectric glass, which generates some of the building's power supply, also transmits real-time data for students to study the energy generated and the positive impact this has on the environment.
"The 11,000-square-foot auditorium roof is covered with grass and shade trees to shield it from ultraviolet rays, control water runoff during rainstorms and reduce the urban-heat island effect," says Freire. In addition, the roof supports a recycled water system that collects rainwater and gravity feeds it into a 30,000-gallon underground tank, which is pumped back up to the school for flushing toilets and servicing the boiler system. Also, an ice-storage system makes ice during the off hours to help cool the building, notes Freire.
Further recycling efforts include using leftover wood from the construction site to build student desks, and using trees removed from the site prior to construction to build classroom and kitchen cabinets. In addition, the Forest Stewardship Council reported that 40% of all the wood used in this project was harvested according to its policies and approval. Plus, more than 70% of the waste from the construction was recycled, paving the way for the school's comprehensive recycling program that manages the facility's waste paper, metals and plastics.
Teaching and learning technologies
"What's really new in this environment is the way the technology is leveraged," says Chivis. "Instead of teaching the core curriculum as 'subject-based' education, which is the standard in most school systems; we use 'project-based' learning."
"For example," adds Walker, "The students are given a project to work on, such as Project Vote. In order to complete this project, the students must learn and utilize social studies, math, language arts and the technology. The educators are divided into teams that teach the subjects necessary for that project. There are only 20 students per class, but each student stays with the team until the project is complete."
"This style integrates teaching and learning at its best because the educators are not just a math, English, history or science teacher, but a combination-instructor of multiple subjects, which means all of our teachers are dual-certified," adds Fran Newberg, executive director for the office of educational technology. "It's an exciting adventure and I'm proud to be a part of it."
"We also have a person on-site to track all the technology and keep us current," says Chivis. "It's like a living, breathing plant. Everyday, we say, 'what's next'? And what's next is continually changing -- and that's always exciting."
The downside of technology
Some academic experts have said that too much reliance on technology can detract from teaching critical-thinking skills, and that students depend on computers too much, instead of thinking things through and doing the work themselves.
"Students are far too reliant on technology," says J. Andreas Lippert, associate professor of chemistry at Weber State University. "For example, I've noticed that they can't spell anymore because they always use the spell checker, which often results in incorrect word usage such as the difference between pulsar and pulser."
Lippert adds that students' reading capacity is also diminished because they scan everything so quickly; they don't retain anything they read. And worse, plagiarism is running rampant, because they copy and paste information directly off the Internet onto their papers, assuming that if it's on the Internet, it's free to use (as in public domain).
Additionally, the information retrieved from the Internet is often from less creditable sources, because the professionals and experts in their fields publish their research in books, which either cost money or require a trip to the library, continues Lippert. "I'm not against technology, because I certainly don't want to go back to the typewriter, but students today must learn to use the technology more wisely. Reading and writing are such critical skills; we can't allow them to become a lost art."
"New students are so familiar with technology in their personal life, they need these communication tools in their learning environment," adds Claire Schooley, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. "We will not throw out the old-like classroom training. There will always be a place for that; but we must choose the appropriate format in order to learn faster and more efficiently. The new learners may not have the depth of knowledge ... but they will know how to find it easily when they need it."
"If there is a downside," says Westall, "it's the reality that this is an R&D school, which means there's a huge spotlight on it. We worry about letting outsiders see our failures when we're struggling to implement new products and processes. But we are growing accustomed to it. My only advice to other institutions planning similar projects is to just accept the attention (and the press) as part of the package. The trade-off is more than worth it!"
Sartain is a freelance writer in Utah. She can be reached at julesds@comcast.net.
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