Every new school year’s start brings a bustle of exciting changes and unique opportunities. While teachers were writing new lesson plans and students were shopping for their first-day-of school outfits, the Bethlehem Area School District’s technology team was undertaking some updates of its own. But these changes, including improved wireless connectivity and innovative online courses, will surely last longer than those trendy back-to-school threads. Increased wireless capabilities throughout the district’s schools are allowing teachers to offer innovative course designs.

PUSHING

“It’s no longer just in a textbook or just in a teacher’s head,” said Frank Arbushites, district supervisor for instructional technology. “The more ways in which we can push information out to students, the better off they’ll be.”

The district has been in need of wireless renovation for some time now. What finally made the extensive updates possible was E-rate funding, a federal program providing discounts to assist schools and libraries in purchasing affordable telecommunications and internet technology. Using this funding, 21 out of the district’s 22 schools have been granted increased connectivity. Only Nitschmann MS, which will be replaced with a new building, is without updates.

CHANGES

Nicholas Takacs, chief technology officer for the district, was crucial in introducing many of these changes, including additional wireless access points throughout schools, new cables capable of supporting more wireless devices, and a guest network which will allow visitors to access the Internet throughout school buildings.

These upgrades create new opportunities for students, teachers and parents within the district. Frank Arbushites was a key actor in using wireless updates to create innovate curriculum changes.

“We want our teachers and our staff members to be using technology in places where it helps them to be more efficient and effective in the classroom,” Arbushites said.

THREE-PRONG

The district is following a three-prong approach in its use of wireless technology in schools. The first approach is cyber schools. The district currently offers students the choice to enroll in the Bethlehem Area School District sponsored Cyber Academy. This entirely virtual school gives pupils with physical, social or scheduling restrictions the ability to take K-12 classes using the district curriculum – all without having to enter a school district building.

The second prong of academic and technological innovation is blended learning. This technique utilizes wireless devices to allow high school students to take classes online while also periodically meeting with an instructor and fellow classmates. Currently, the efficiency of blended learning is being examined using a pilot class at Freedom HS. Here, high school seniors are taking an honors English course using wireless devices such as Chromebooks. The teacher in charge of creating course material and assignments can call her students in for meetings or discussions whenever she sees fit. The district is extremely pleased with the pilot class, and is now encouraging other teachers to design courses with online instruction. Arbushites feels hopeful that the district will soon roll out blended classes in both science and social studies at the high school level.

The final component of the three-pronged technological approach is hybrid learning. This new instructional methodology merges face-to-face instruction with the use of wireless technology. Students rotate through three distinct stations within the classroom: direct face-to-face instruction with a teacher; independent learning using a wireless device; and collaborate projects working with fellow students to accomplish a common goal.

OPTIONS

“The kids get exposure to a subject in at least three different ways”, Arbushites points out. This ability to give students multiple ways to learn and access information may be the biggest advantage of the improved internet technology. Both Arbushites and Takacs indicate that the goal of the school district is to provide different avenues for students to succeed.

“We can’t just assume that everyone is going to acquire knowledge of information the same way”, Arbushites said. “Teachers have to differentiate their instruction, and that often involves the use of technology tools. It’s a very powerful way to learn.”

THE FUTURE

These pioneering teaching approaches are all in an effort to better prepare the students of the Bethlehem Area School District for the future, whatever that may hold for each individual pupil. In a world where the use of technology is a reality in all markets, the school district’s investment in increased tech in the classroom is a sure-fire way to enhance the education each child is receiving.

“The big thing is to make our students competitive,” Takacs said. “It [the technology] makes them competitive coming out of the district. It evens the playing field for whatever they want to do,whether that’s college, tech school, or the job market.”

CAPABILITIES

The district plans on increasing its technological capabilities even further in the coming months. Procedures to introduce more wireless devices to students and create a universal hub where students and faculty can access their email and other scholastic resources more conveniently are already in place. While both Takacs and Arbushites acknowledge that there may be some infrastructural and cultural challenges that come with this innovation, they are certain that the improved technological capabilities will bring increased freedom, consistency and manageability to the students and faculty of the Bethlehem Area School District.