July 2008 — Features
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Middle Schools : Strike Up the Bandwidth
Sometimes a bandwidth problem is not so easy to fix. BISD adopted new math textbooks featuring a large array of online, interactive activities that oblige students to be on the network a lot-- as do the district's social studies texts, which come from the same publishing company. The volume of users appeared to be too much for the network to support, as teachers of both subjects began finding themselves unable to get to the company's website. At first the solution was simply to get online before the other classes did. However, analysis by network staff indicated that the problem was not BISD's network, but rather the textbook company's website. The site was not prepared for 500- plus students from the same school hitting it at one time.
When bandwidth problems do occur, districts cope. Bryan keeps Moodle and Discovery Education's Streaming, a digital video-based teaching resource, on a server in the school and keeps e-mail and blogging in-house with applications on its own servers. Sometimes, if school bandwidth is insufficient, students get resourceful. McCall tells the story of one group of students who had a habit of standing next to a classroom window with their laptops every day. After investigating, teachers found out that the kids were tapping in to the network of a house across the street from the school. This became a teachable moment in ethics for the students as well as a field trip to the house across the street for a lesson in network security.
When bandwidth is limited, districts generally cut back the use of applications, such as those involving streaming video. As "ADS 2008" reports, without streaming video, students are left with a still photo, and the academic experience is not the same. "Pedagogic value is sacrificed," the report says.
If pedagogic value is sacrificed, so is student engagement, and ultimately so is achievement. Before Principal Moore came to Stephen F. Austin, laptops were put to use sporadically. In her two years at the school, she has fostered a culture that emphasizes technology use as well as focuses on achievement. The results of her efforts can be seen in the boost in scores on Texas' high-stakes tests. For example, In 2005-06, the year before Moore arrived, 67 percent of students passed the social studies portion of the statewide exam. In 2006-07, 80 percent passed, and this year the number rose again, to 84 percent.
There's a lesson to be had there: Teaching the students "the right way" starts with providing resources that will help engage them in learning. Once that engagement is established, achievement is almost sure to follow.
Geoffrey H. Fletcher is the editorial director of T.H.E. Journal.
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