These are random thoughts that I am trying to organize into a bigger idea. I apologize if they appear disorganized but the idea behind this post is to get the ideas down and try to figure out what this process and project could look like.
This post came out of a discussion one evening at the 2015 Ohio Education Technology Conference. I had heard Sean Wheeler (www.teachinghumans.com) discuss previously how the school should be seen as the center of the town. The success of the school translates into the success of the community and vice versa. I think Bobby Dodd when he was at New Lexington schools had done something similiar to this but the program was dependent upon the business providing the wireless access point and any resources that were exclusive on the network were not accessible. I don’t remember for sure though if this was the case. Schools are exploring the adoption of 1:1 programs of various forms (school supplied devices or a bring your own device) but these create challenges. Once we have the devices though how do we take full advantage of these devices when the students are not in the school?
Could these devices be used by parents to create a resume? Could these devices be used by parents to search for jobs? Could these devices be used by the parents to further their education? Could these devices be used to enhance health offerings in the community or track a users health?
The one item that I don’t see being addressed in 1:1 programs is access to the Internet when the devices are not in the school. The thought is that there is Internet in the home but many of the schools I work with have a high povery population where the reality is the Internet may be seen as a luxury item and not on the same level of importance as say heat, electric or water. How do we address this issue?
My thought process here is to involve the community in a partnership with the school to provide access. The idea would be a partnership where the cost of a wireless access point and license would be split amongst the school and business. The school would be able to extend their network and resources to the students outside of the school walls. The business would benefit by providing a place in which the student and family can come to access the Internet where it may not be accessible in the home. It would bring customers into the business while creating a relationship amongst those in the community.
I am attending Edcamp Columbus ( https://edcampcolumbus.wordpress.com/) on March 14th and Edcamp Cleveland ( https://edcampcle.wordpress.com/) on March 21st 2015 where I hope to add this topic to the board and discuss it further.
Bob
