Thursday, February 22, 2007

Wireless Schools

An excerpt from an article in TechLEARNING.com about CCPS.

Wireless connectivity in schools is all the rage, and many school systems have at least gotten their feet wet with a wireless lab or a few portable laptop carts. But Bijaya Devkota, the chief information officer of Charles County Public Schools, has done what many school systems only dream of—implemented universal wireless access throughout his district, including data and voice services. Mr. Devkota shared some of his district’s experiences in rolling out universal wireless, and the lessons and best practices learned throughout the process, as well as thoughts on the benefits of implementing wireless capability.

Mr. Devkota is clear about the intent of Charles County Public Schools to pursue a wireless initiative. “We had a vision for years to get a wireless network in place, and we’re now the first school system in the United States to have wireless end-to-end,” he says.

For the complete article, click here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are many more things that we need in this county than wireless internet.

Why don't we try to start cracking down on gang violence in the schools?

How about if we start offering a decent salary to seasoned teachers?
How about putting a cap on the student population, building caps in the county, and not open a new school that is already overcrowded?

Anonymous said...

Yes, I second that. How about the thug at McDonough that cut another student's head and shoulder with a box cutter?
How about all the violence that is errupting in our high schools? How about students beating on a nearly blind substitute that requires a seeing eye dog?
Are we heading towards another PG county school system?

How about the mass exodus of the teachers at Matthew Henson School?
Will the wireless technology address these issues?

How many of these board members as well as workers in the BOE administration think that children having new teachers, year after year, is a good thing?

Jennifer Abell said...

Anonymous #1 & #2,
I agree with a lot of what you are saying.

1. We are cracking down on gang violence in the schools. Is it enough? What else can we do? We need parents to get involved.

2. We have been tweaking the salaries and pay scales for the past three years I've been on the board. Salaries are getting better.

3. Put a cap on the student population...interesting concept in a perfectly controllable world. NOt feasibly possible unless the commissioners build a wall around the county and we refuse to let anyone else in :)

4. Building caps in the county, and not open a new school that is already overcrowded...DITTO above

5. "How about the thug at McDonough that cut another student's head and shoulder with a box cutter? " Happened after school hours, off of school grounds. Are we (BOE) now responsible for the students all the time?

6. "How about all the violence that is errupting in our high schools? How about students beating on a nearly blind substitute that requires a seeing eye dog?" I hadn't heard of this incident. Please provide more details. As for the violence, they are in the school system for maybe 8 hours a day. They have parents/guardians responsible for them and their behavior for the remaining 16 hours of the day. You cannot put all the blame on the school system for students who are illbehaved. It's time for the parents and the community to accept some of this responsibility.

7. "Are we heading towards another PG county school system?" I sure as heck hope not.

8. "How about the mass exodus of the teachers at Matthew Henson School?" Unaware of this...got any statistics?

9. "Will the wireless technology address these issues?" Don't be silly...but the wireless technology will keep CCPS students up to par with their peers across the country enabling them to compete in an ever competitive job market.

10. "How many of these board members as well as workers in the BOE administration think that children having new teachers, year after year, is a good thing?" All students will have a new teacher year after year if they are suceeding. Not sure of your question, please elaborate.

im1ru2 said...

See my previous post concerning PC connectivity for parental visits.

Seems the technology is ALREADY available (read the article linked touting Charles County technology) with wireless and video streaming capabilities.

My proposal for linking a "central location" for parental visits could be incorporated very easily with the technology and software already in place.

Someone just needs to make it happen...