A district wide technology plan with a clearly-articulated mission statement, goals, objectives and milestones for all schools provides a framework for attaining greater equity over the next five years. Equity should mean that all schools have a minimum core of technology resources. Within those schools, technology-supported classrooms must be equipped with diverse options for teaching and learning which only technology can make possible, and they must be managed by knowledgeable, skilled and motivated teachers who are both comfortable and creative with technology.
Students must be provided with a technology-rich environment which is conducive to improving academic achievement in all areas. On a daily basis, they will be developing and using higher-level thinking and communication skills, and they will be engaging in problem-solving activities which model real-life situations. With the presence of technology such as video discs, CD-ROMs, telecommunication, information networks and desktop publishing, students will work individually or in groups at an appropriate level of challenge and interest. These diverse instructional technologies will allow them to grasp simple and complex knowledge and skills more quickly, accessing and benefitting from resources beyond the school walls and experiencing the satisfaction of tracking their own progress. Therefore, in any school district's development of mission for a new century, the needs of the schools, of classrooms, of teachers and of students must be given careful and key consideration.
The technology mission of the New Bedford Public Schools is to ensure educational excellence and equity, providing all students with the resources, knowledge and skills to thrive in the technology-intensive, ever-changing, global society of the future. As flexible thinkers and problem-solvers, graduates will become positive, active and fully-informed community members who employ technology to improve the planet they respect with all its environmental and human diversity.
As the year 2000 approaches, the New Bedford Public Schools will have transformed learning environments through the integration of technology. In envisioning the future, we are committed to the following principles:
We are working to provide equity of technological access by linking all 28 schools in our district to the Internet. Currently, the high school and junior high schools have direct access, while many elementary schools have remote access. At the high school, all students have Internet access through terminals located in the resource centers. At the junior high schools, all students have Internet access through the library and the computer lab. We plan to expand the number of terminals in these areas. At the elementary schools, many classrooms and labs have remote access to the Internet through modems. Additionally, every school currently has cable access, and over half the classrooms have direct access. We plan to complete installation of cable wiring, and TVS and VCRs in every classroom. We are further considering such voice/video/data links as microwave bypass, I-Net, and traditional Cable TV and phone lines. Our most pressing concerns at this time are providing direct Internet access to all of our elementary schools, increasing the number of on-line terminals in each school, and installing cable, TVS and VCRs in every classroom.
We strive to integrate the Common Core of Learning into our technology plan by preparing students with the skills to flourish in a technologically complex world where learning is a life-long process. The New Bedford Public Schools is committed to providing meaningful educational experiences which will ready our students for the future and the world of work; as part of that experience, we must give all students access to personal computers, electronic networks and audio-visual technologies to prepare them for the high-tech work environment of the future.
Therefore, we must plan to increase our number and upgrade the quality of our personal computers, electronic networks and audio-visual technologies. We have a responsibility to not only use technology to provide students with information, but also the ability to organize, analyze, evaluate, compare and apply that information.
We plan to use these technologies to promote flexible thinking and enhance problem-solving skills through individual and cooperative efforts. We believe that each student must be accountable for achieving success in English, mathematics, science, history and the arts. Currently, our Title I students use video laser discs, Apple IIE and Macintosh computers for reinforcement. Comprehensive Competencies Program students use video, Apple IIE and IBM compatible computers for basic skills remediation. All high school and junior high school students have access to resource center, library or lab computers well as increase th for research, learning and communication purposes. We plan to upgrade these computers as well as increase the number of computers and provide even more availability.
We understand that technology is more than a sterile student-computer relationship. Students must use and not serve this technology to advance basic values of concern, respect, justice and self-discipline in school, at work and throughout the community. We plan to involve the community more fully in our technology plan by providing community and world-wide access to the New Bedford Public School's home page on the world-wide web, and a technology newsletter, as well as through locally produced cable access programs such as PALMS-On, Hands-On, What's for Lunch, Look Who's Reading, Education 2000, and the student-produced NB Insider.
We strive to improve learning tools for students by upgrading our existing hardware and software and by acquiring additional hardware and software. We plan to create a virtual net, directly linking all the schools through data lines. Currently, much of our hardware is at least five years old, consisting of Apple II, Apple IIE, Macintosh, 286 and 386 PC's, Digital VT-100s, Tandy and Commodore hardware. We have numerous dot matrix printers along with many laser printers. Additionally, we have three satellite dishes, numerous TVS and VCRs, and a mobile TV studio. All schools have camcorders and laser-disc players.
Currently, computer classes are available in BASIC, PASCAL, FORTRAN, C, word-processing, CAD/CAM, financial spreadsheets, desk-top publishing, and keyboarding. Additionally, we have four levels of TV Production with more than one hundred students enrolled. Each school has a centrally located laser-disc library and access to electronic information retrieval systems such as SEAL, InfoTrack and EBSCO.
Our intention is to continue these offerings as well as expand/include the following: Internet access, multi-media systems, E-mail, laser-disc library, a laser-disc player on every floor of every school, CD-ROM, low-level word-processing, computer dissections for science classes, CAD/CAM for industrial arts classes, word-processing and research for English classes, and word-processing and financial spreadsheets for business classes.
We strive to provide professional development to enhance teaching and learning in support of educational reform. Currently, the New Bedford Public Schools has allocated $400,000 toward professional development opportunities for the 1995-1996 school year. These varied opportunities include, but are not limited to the following areas: course credit, local professional development, national conventions, conferences, study groups and curriculum development.
The New Bedford Public Schools Curriculum Office conducted a system-wide professional development needs assessment in the spring of 1995. The results of that assessment are being used to formulate a new Professional Development Handbook. Teachers surveyed designated fifty-seven different topics for professional development. Heading the list was a need for technology-based workshops. The New Bedford Public Schools Computer Department now offers professional development workshops in its centrally-located Computer Training Lab, which houses 25 networked units with slip connections to the Internet. In a six month period (11/94-06/95), 300 staff members received introductory training on the Internet in this facility.
As proud as we are of this facility and this work, we plan to continue, increase and improve our training sessions and facilities. Our current training grid offers the following opportunities to each school clerk: VAX Management (three hours), VAX Word-processing (six hours), Personal Computer Word-processing (six hours); clerks as well as all staff members are offered training in E-Mail (one and one half hours) and World Wide Web (two hours).
The New Bedford Public Schools on-going approach to professional development provides opportunities for staff to be involved in long-term, continuous learning, assessment and the occasion to implement new ideas and methodologies in the classroom. Our goal is to have everyone who impacts student learning to be involved in activities and programs that continually upgrade professional skills and promote personal growth, development and collegiality, leading to meaningful, relevant curriculum and improved student performance.
We also work to improve administrative efficiency and accountability. Currently, the financial component of the computer system incorporates book keeping, record keeping and payroll tasks. We plan to update the existing book keeping and record keeping package as well as provide direct Internet access. The educational management component consists of attendance tracking, report cards, guidance records and course scheduling. We plan to include customized programs for Title One and Special Services, and a nursing program, as well as to expand existing guidance, scheduling and attendance programs.
We are pleased with what our system has been able to achieve thus far in the area of technology; but at the same time we recognize the weaknesses, problems and needs which will require attention if our vision is to be realized. This vision is one of a twenty-first century in which all students, all citizens of our city, are given the chance to achieve success and to be productive in a global workforce set in a technology-enhanced world.