Wake Up Call !!!

The Instructional Technology and Library Program Review report, issued recently by Mary Francis Zilonis, Ed.D. and Linda Conneely, M.Ed., affiliated with Simmons College and retired directors of Information Technology in Newton and Needham Public Schools, is a wakeup call for Waltham!

The report reveals years of a lack of long-term planning by the City of Waltham.  It analyzes current technology in the Waltham Public system and states that despite the focus on technology by the school administration, Waltham needsto get  serious about advancing the technology education curriculum currently in place.  In fact, the report repeatedly states that Waltham has great, hardworking teachers and administrators but an overall lack of planning and resources prevented teachers from providing the best education possible.

Thankfully, School Superintendent Susan Nicholson and her Technology Committee last week proposed a One to One Technology Learning Initiative which addresses this serious issue.  Eventually, the One to One Learning Initiative in Waltham will offer each student a mobile computing device to use at school and home.  While several tablet computing devices exist on the market today, the iPad is the choice of the Waltham Public Schools for their ease of use and vast selection of education applications.  To support this initiative, Waltham will establish a wireless environment and equip classrooms with an interactive projector, laptop, document camera and tablets for students.

After attending the School Committee meeting during which this initiative pilot program was adopted, I called a meeting of the City Council Long Term Debt Committee, which I chair, to hear the proposal.  I made the motion for its approval at the City Council meeting later in the evening, and like the School Committee, the full City COuncil approved the pilot program.

The Waltham School System's vision is that "all students will be successful learners - intellectually, personally, physically, and creatively - college and career-ready, and contributing community members."  Today, college students learn with wireless, mobile tablets, which hold their text books.  Additionally, students take notes with these tablets, and receive their homework through them.  Mobile learning is student centered and available anywhere, anytime.  Also, online information is up-to-date and easily accessible for students at all levels of learning.

In the workforce, employers now expect students to have technology literacy skills before entering the workplace.  To help our children succeed, we need to ensure that Waltham's students are proficient in mobile technologies and adept at using them to perform critical thinking, collaboration and problem solving.  Providing proper resources, support and planning will give the school administration's technology initiative and our students the best opportunity to excel in the classroom and make Waltham Public Schools the standard for all to strive toward.

Tom Stanley