The Look and Feel of Schools in the Next Decade

 Morse Code of the Millenium – Term Paper:

Will DSL & Wireless Computing Redesign Schools of the
Future: The Look and Feel of Schools in the Next Decade

An Excerpt taken from a paper written as

An assignment submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the class DCTE 740Telecommunications and Computer NetworksDr. Marlyn Littman, Ph.D., ProfessorSchool of Computer and Information SciencesNOVA Southeastern UniversitySpring Cluster 2004. Full paper can be viewed @ Morse Code of the Millenium:A Look and Feel for Future Schools

Implementation approach and guidelines

Livingstone (2004) stated that wireless connectivity has already changed the look
and feel of K-12 classrooms. With wireless computing, trips to the computer lab are not
necessary, and teachers can cycle in and out of the classroom utilizing and sharing
resources. Khirallah (2002) described a school utilizing the curriculum from K12 Inc in
McLean, Va., which also provides management services. Delivery of all curriculum
occurs over the Web via standard Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers. Flash, Real
Audio, and Windows Media handle streaming media. The media is delivered using thin
clients while applications remain on Sun Microsystems servers in McLean. Oracle
databases handle student data, such as test results, and progress through lessons.
Can wireless computing provide curriculum, such as that provided by K12, Inc

Could students access their individual curriculum through wireless connections, either from home or at school, then utilize the time in school needed for hands-on or group building
activities?

Envisioning this technology at work provides us with an outlook on how schools
of the future might change. Picture this:

A student starts his week at home by logging into his computer from his bedroom
in his pajamas, through a WLAN with DSL access provided by his home telephone
company. He utilizes the portal set up by the district, which provides an individualized
program for him. He sees the assignments that are due to his individual learning plan
and submits his homework electronically from there. He also checks the classes he will
have this week and signs up for any hands-on activities, proctored testing, or face to face
classes that he needs to attend. Times for conducting these activities at the school will
vary. While planning, he also signs up for the transportation to arrive at those classes,
and books time in the gym for his daily workout with a personal trainer, formerly known
as the gym teacher. The use of his medical (Holden, 2004)Smart Card will keep track of
his physical exercise as he uses the equipment, and this info will be submitted to the
nurse's office, as well as his doctor. In addition, he plans to attend service activities,
social activities, or sports while he is at school. The student also knows in advance the
location of each of his classes, and will not need to waste time visiting a locker, or a
homeroom. The resultant schedule is downloaded onto his PDA, worn on his wrist, or
incorporated with his cell phone for easy access once at school.

The student’s PDA has tracked the location of his bus and notifies him when it is
a mile away from the house so that he can meet it on time. He has no books to carry, his
PDA is the only school supply needed. The bus is tracked as it travels throughout the
neighborhood, so that administration knows where it is and which students have already
been picked up.

As the student enters the school building, his PDA automatically logs him into
the wireless LAN and identifies him on either the wireless or Ethernet network. He text
messages any friends that he plans to meet for lunch and makes plans for other social
events.

The student’s homework, submitted to his teacher, has been graded by the
computer or the teacher as he was enroute, so that when the student walks through the
door to attend the hands-on activities for the class, the teacher can give immediate
feedback, and guide the student to the next task. The teacher can also see at a glance
which students have met the criteria for the task, and which need extra help or an
alternative activity to be able to master the content or process, and can plan accordingly.
Most classes will involve time to collaborate with peers in planning, researching, and
presenting solutions to authentic tasks dealing with the specified curriculum. As classes
progress through the day, the student has utilized the PDA to access information through
the wireless lab from any resources, such as the local museum, or government agency, or
taken an online poll that aided the discussion in the class, or to take notes on what is
happening in the class. New assignments are automatically loaded onto the PDA for
viewing at home in a comfortable environment.

Because the student has taken care of the reading and writing activities at home in
a comfortable environment, most of the hands-on or group curricular activities can be
completed in several hours, so the student has finished the classroom activities, and can
move to the holistic activities, such as social, physical, emotional, or service activities
mentioned above, after lunch. The classrooms are now free for students who chose to
complete the holistic activities in the morning, to attend curricular-oriented classes. All
students leave the building with new assignments already loaded on the PDA, and can
work on the research, reading, writing parts of the assignments in their own homes, while
watching TV or listening to their choice of music.

will be a headache. However, at the touch of a button, administrators can find any
student in the school, as their PDA’s will have GPS software included (remember the
earlier scenario of tracking the bus). Busses, too, will always be locatable. The computer
will do schedules, and students will have input into their schedule, so if they are late
risers, they can choose to attend classes in a building that offers the afternoon classes. In
addition, all testing data, personal records, school data, and district-level data will be
available for school-wide decisions, or budgeting questions. Asynchronous training
modules deliver Staff Development, giving the administrator a well-trained staff, and fewer
faculty meetings to attend. Delivery of faculty meetings occurs in the same manner, and
faculty and administrators attend at their convenience, in their classrooms or from home.
In addition, the administration of the individualized student curriculum by the
computer system, will free teachers from record-keeping (it’s all done by the database),
and let them do what they do best – guide students through their own learning process by
offering alternative lessons to just those students who need them. The curriculum
software will identify student progress, so that students can advance at their own pace,
without the pressures of having nine months to learn the materials. If a student chooses
to work through the summer to complete coursework, then that student could be finishing
school earlier, and joining the workforce, thus saving district money for supplying
teachers just to keep students in school for nine months.

With the new advances of DSL and wireless technologies, as well as many
experimental things like learning objects, OS operating systems, customizable user login
screens, voice over IP, and Smart Card technologies, schools of the 21st century are sure
to evolve to fit into future scenarios such as the Jetson’s living room. The early
technologists like Morse, Bell, & Marconi, may be surprised at all the advances made
with their inventions today as they permeate our existence, but they would all agree that
mankind has a long way to go before those inventions reach their potential!

From the school administrators’ point of view, this scenario might seem like it

Conclusion

Full paper can be viewed @ Morse Code of the Millenium:A Look and Feel for Future Schools