Pennsylvania School Board Meetings To Be Streamed in Student Initiative

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 04/15/09
##AUTHORSPLIT##<--->

A student effort in Pennsylvania is aiming to bring transparency and accountability to a Milford school board through the use of Web 2.0 tools and social networking.

School Board 2.0, expected to launch in May, will live stream school board meetings and important work sessions or committee meetings in Delaware Valley School District in Milford. The service will also provide a live chat feature to enable viewers to participate in the meeting. Students will operate the platform from the meeting and provide a live blog and polls, tracking relevant topics. The platform will host documents that are passed out at the meetings, scan them, and allow them to be viewed in digital form. After meetings, the video footage and documents, in addition to the live blog text, will be archived on the site to allow community members and students to go back and review it.

School Board 2.0 was developed by four students who have attended schools in the district and now participate in the Pike County Youth Coalition, a non-profit organization at Delaware Valley Regional High School that serves as a resource for young people in the area. The effort is being funded with a $6,000 grant from Mobilize.org.

"School Board 2.0 is a Web-based initiative designed not only to provide greater transparency in local government, but also to educate and engage more young people in civic participation," said Alex Lotorto, one of the participants who now attends Muhlenberg College in Allentown. Although the platform will be targeted to young people, Lotorto said access to the site will be public.

School Board 2.0 is scheduled to continue for about a year or until the board adopts a substantial amount of the same practices itself, the group said. Upon this project's completion, the Pike County Youth Coalition will publish a report detailing the project's successes and areas for improvement for future use and replication.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • abstract geometric pattern of glowing interconnected triangles, hexagons, and circles in blue, gold, and white, spread across a dark navy-to-black gradient background

    OpenAI Introduces 'Operator' AI for Performing Web Tasks

    OpenAI has announced "Operator," an AI agent designed to perform web-based tasks autonomously using its own browser. Currently available as a research preview for Pro users in the United States, the tool aims to automate everyday activities such as filling out forms, ordering groceries, and even creating memes.

  • glowing digital payment icon hovers above an abstract school environment

    New ParentSquare Feature Streamlines School Payments

    Digital engagement company ParentSquare has introduced ParentSquare Pay, a school payments solution for its flagship communication platform.

  • depiction of a K-12 classroom with geometric shapes forming students and a teacher, surrounded by multiple holographic learning tools in various subjects

    I've Been in K-12 for Over 15 Years. Here Are Three Things We Need to Do to Integrate AI Now.

    When AI is deployed responsibly and equitably, the potential advantages of empowering more personalized learning, optimizing student engagement, uncovering gaps in education, automating routine tasks, and freeing up more time for effective teacher-student interactions have the power to transform education.

  • Stock market graphs and candlesticks breaking apart with glass-like cracks

    Chinese Startup Disrupts AI Market

    A new low-cost artificial intelligence model from China is wreaking havoc in the technology sector, with tech stocks plummeting globally as concerns grow over the potential disruption it could cause.