St. John’s Parish School
925
Chenery Street • San Francisco, CA 94131 • 415-584-8383 •
www.stjohnseagles.com
September 10, 2002
“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
– Anonymous
St. John’s Elementary School faces its needs with openness and passion. Although, giving birth to innovative solutions requires labor, the results can go far beyond conventional expectations.
One year ago St. John’s was facing the reality of declining enrollment, low morale and rising tuition. Extra-curriculum programs were being cut and technology was the first to be ‘deleted.’ The traditional means of implementing technology were not options for St. John’s. With no “designated” space suitable for a computer lab; and with no computer teacher due to “limited resources;” the reality of St. John’s begged for innovation if technology was going to be integrated into the school’s existing culture.
I decided that is was more important during my first year to create a technology plan, generate enthusiasm and assess the academic culture of the school before implementing technology prematurely. So, I networked the office and initiated file sharing. Next, I brought DSL into the school and began to map out an infrastructure that would bridge our classrooms to the outside world via the Internet.
As I observed the academic culture of St. John’s I learned how the faculty had become masters of curriculum integration. Since funding for multiple programs was not available our educational community learned to integrate vital educational experiences into existing curriculum areas. Drama, music and art are all incorporated into the curriculum in very innovative ways, I thought, why should technology be any different. Our vision came clear.
Apple Computer was so excited about our vision that they sent one of their best engineers to guide us on how best to set up a our network as well as to build an infrastructure for a digital future. I discussed my technology plan with a few parents who possess a passion for technology and in a matter of months was able to get every classroom wired at no cost to our school.
The next step was to share my vision with our pastor to explore funding options. Although we annually budget $15,000 for technology it was not enough to realize our vision. So, being creators of possibilities we brainstormed ways of finding funding and borrowed $45,000 from our school’s own capital development fund with the commitment to pay the fund back over three years.
What was our innovative vision? Wireless Mobile Technology.
We purchased Apple’s Mobile Lab and several Airport Base stations with the vision of transparently integrating technology within the curriculum. To do this, technology had to meet the students when instruction was taking place. Students needed to be able to pull out their books, paper, pen and appropriate technology when the curriculum naturally called for such tools.
By implementing mobile computing we believe we have achieved instructional transparency. With the innovation of mobility comes the transparency of instruction because students stay in their classrooms, technology is brought to their desktop and the teacher continues to instruct. Wireless technology also allows our students and the teachers the flexibility of using the laptops anywhere on the school grounds for instructional or learning purposes and does so while staying continuously connected to the school’s network and the Internet.
Financially, wireless technology provides us with lower technology costs. Wireless computing simplifies the work of installing networks by requiring fewer wires, cables, and electrical outlets. Additionally, it eliminates the need for expensive retrofitting.
Out of necessity we have given birth to innovative possibilities that are now helping other schools within the San Francisco Archdiocese vision their uses of educational technology.