Over the past few weeks there have been several articles in Philadelphia news in regards to technology access in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). The unfortunate budget cuts over the past several years have served to decrease the availability had by students to computers that can really do what they want and so some compromises have been reached that allow for students to gain access to the Internet but little else.
According to a recent article in The Notebook, "the SDP ranked second from the bottom in the average age of its computers: just over five years." As a recent transplant employee, I can attest to that being absolutely true. The last school I worked at - The Academy at Palumbo - had a computer lab with iMacs from 2010/2011 that worked fairly well - but has not been upgraded since. When I transferred from the High School of the Future in 2011, the laptops they had were already two years old and I believe they have had to make compromises on their 1:1 program for financial reasons.
The article does show some strengths of the systems at SDP: "The Philadelphia District ranks number one among Council of the Great City Schools in network bandwidth, which determines the speed at which the Internet is delivered to a computer. Every classroom is Internet-ready and all have high-speed wireless – Wi-Fi – as well." This was also true in my tenure in the District, albeit with some issues of network downtime as is normal in a large organization. Other comparison can be seen here.
The one major criticism I have that comes from the large financial strain the District has been under is the replacement technology they have had to order because it is cheaper: Chromebooks.
These devices - while wonderful for Internet usage and online app usage - do not have the power or capability to run higher-level software that students need. During my first round of laptop fundraising in 2011, I originally wanted to order Chromebooks at a reduced rate so that I could get more of them. I soon realized that I would not be able to run programs like Microsoft Excel, Geometer's Sketchpad, or Google Sketchup/Earth that I wanted to use in my classroom. Nowadays, I have a similar program, but it is for 3D modeling programs like 123D Design and Autodesk Inventor.
Yes, they are an inexpensive solution and can do quite a lot (especially in a District with little else), but if SDP relies on them too heavily over the next few years, it will be doing itself and its students a disservice.
Here are two other articles with more information on the current technology situation in the School District of Philadelphia.
According to a recent article in The Notebook, "the SDP ranked second from the bottom in the average age of its computers: just over five years." As a recent transplant employee, I can attest to that being absolutely true. The last school I worked at - The Academy at Palumbo - had a computer lab with iMacs from 2010/2011 that worked fairly well - but has not been upgraded since. When I transferred from the High School of the Future in 2011, the laptops they had were already two years old and I believe they have had to make compromises on their 1:1 program for financial reasons.
The article does show some strengths of the systems at SDP: "The Philadelphia District ranks number one among Council of the Great City Schools in network bandwidth, which determines the speed at which the Internet is delivered to a computer. Every classroom is Internet-ready and all have high-speed wireless – Wi-Fi – as well." This was also true in my tenure in the District, albeit with some issues of network downtime as is normal in a large organization. Other comparison can be seen here.
The one major criticism I have that comes from the large financial strain the District has been under is the replacement technology they have had to order because it is cheaper: Chromebooks.
These devices - while wonderful for Internet usage and online app usage - do not have the power or capability to run higher-level software that students need. During my first round of laptop fundraising in 2011, I originally wanted to order Chromebooks at a reduced rate so that I could get more of them. I soon realized that I would not be able to run programs like Microsoft Excel, Geometer's Sketchpad, or Google Sketchup/Earth that I wanted to use in my classroom. Nowadays, I have a similar program, but it is for 3D modeling programs like 123D Design and Autodesk Inventor.
Yes, they are an inexpensive solution and can do quite a lot (especially in a District with little else), but if SDP relies on them too heavily over the next few years, it will be doing itself and its students a disservice.
Here are two other articles with more information on the current technology situation in the School District of Philadelphia.
- Here's what it takes to run the Philadelphia School Distirct's IT network
- Assistive technology is a needed tool in the city's resource-starved schools
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