November 2001 — Features
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Lessons Learned: An Inside Look at Four of the Top Technology School Districts in the Nation
Anaconda's goal was to provide students with access to information using a wide variety of technologies. In turn, Buryanek says, this created students who are technologically literate and have marketable skills. Though Anaconda's push toward technology began in earnest in 1990, today, the ratio of students to computers is 3-to-1. Every teacher in the district has a computer for grading and administrative tasks. Students become familiar with computer keyboards in kindergarten and begin to learn word processing skills in second grade.
The district's middle and high schools are physically connected with fiber optic cables, and can share applications, Internet and video conferencing. There are individual TV, VCR and TV-PC connections in each of the elementary school classrooms and in the three high school labs. Students learn CadKey and AutoCAD in drafting classes; HyperStudio is used for creating presentations, while PowerPoint is used extensively in English, government and speech classes; and automated accounting systems are taught as well. A 14-bay CD tower provides network access to electronic government research tools, history programs and other encyclopedias. Anaconda also re-cently became a Cisco Network Academy that allows students to participate in a two-year program working toward certification. "This will allow students in the program to enter the workforce as highly trained information technology workers," says Buryanek. "We're installing five ZapMe computers in the library that provide a satellite-based Internet access. We've purchased an additional CD-ROM tower that allows caching of CDs to a hard drive, which increases performance and allows for better management of the resources."
In addition, the school district is currently in the process of connecting all of its schools with fiber optic cables to allow for a higher bandwidth access. "This will allow us to continue management of remote schools from the high school," says Buryanek. A satellite downlink enables distance learning with foreign language and advanced mathematics instruction. Since 1990, distance learning opportunities were made available for Anaconda students. Classes ranged from Russian and Japanese to advanced calculus and consumer law. Anaconda's curriculum committee continues to evaluate new software in specific subject areas to provide the best learning environment for its students.
Beaufort County School District - Beaufort, SC
Beaufort County is a mostly rural area of
the South Carolina low country. The Beaufort County School District 
has 17,000 students, welcoming 500 to 600 new students each year.
"We're utilizing technology to change the way our children learn and
the way our teachers teach," says Dr. Steven Ballowe, deputy
superintendent of Beaufort County School District.
Beaufort County School District began its efforts as a national technology pioneer in the mid-1990s, when it began installing $10 million in new technology throughout the county's schools. It was intent on bridging the local digital divide through its Learning with Laptops program.
