September 2003 — Applications
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Rural Wisconsin District Improves Teaching and Learning Through Worldwide Connectivity
Information technology is transforming the global economy and dramatically changing the way business and society operates. School districts nationwide are realizing that students must have the necessary skills to thrive in the Digital Age. Young people must be able to understand how to employ technology to locate and evaluate information that will enable them to learn, reason, make decisions, solve problems and collaborate in our rapidly changing world.
Recognizing these needs and finding the resources to meet them, however, are often incongruous goals. While most parents, educators, students and taxpayers agree that technology is an essential component in raising student achievement levels, its application in the classroom often carries with it a large price tag.
Technology Integration
The Tomorrow River School District in Amherst, Wis., was facing challenges many districts encounter: dropping math and language arts test scores, outdated technology resources, a lack of leadership in technology training, and limited funding. A small, rural district in central Wisconsin, the Tomorrow River School District serves the educational needs of some 900 preK-12 students. In early 1999, Tomorrow River partnered with the neighboring Wautoma School District to apply for a federal Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) grant through the state's Department of Public Instruction to support the integration of education technology into classrooms to improve teaching and learning. The resulting $209,470 grant was the seed money that allowed the district to begin wiring all classrooms, purchase hardware and software, as well as develop and implement teacher training programs.
One such program, "Best Practices in Educational Technology," was offered to teachers for free graduate credit or cash stipends. The course, which was taken by about 70% of the staff, covered such topics as Internet searching strategies; the use of Microsoft and Macintosh applications; and learning opportunities using scanners, digital cameras and multimedia projectors. Following the workshops, teachers began developing learning activities that use technology focused on math and writing. For example, one secondary school math teacher helped students use Internet research to create graphical price comparisons among used cars. In addition, a sixth-grade social studies teacher also used his newly found skills to conduct an activity in which students used Web-based resources to create mock postcards from other countries.
X-Ray View of the Internet
Although the first and subsequent TLCF grants paid for the training, wiring, hardware and software, Internet connectivity was not covered under the federal program. Enter WiscNet, a nonprofit ISP, which links classrooms and government organizations across Wisconsin to one another and the world. WiscNet delivers its services through a network that ties together more than 500 colleges, universities, K-12 schools, libraries, hospitals, as well as state and local government agencies.
What is unusual about WiscNet is that it provides a free toolkit to its members in an effort to help demystify how the Internet works and provide more efficient technical support.
