POORER SCHOOLS HAVE TROUBLE GETTING ONLINE - America's poorer schools do not have the Internet access capabilities of the wealthier ones, according to the results of a study conducted last fall by the Department of Education and published last week. The survey of 1,000 public schools discovered that in the poorer schools only 38 percent of classrooms have Internet access as compared to 74 percent in wealthier schools and to the national average of 63 percent. The study also found the ratio of students to computers with Internet access differs as well - seven to one in wealthy schools, 16 to one in poor schools and nine to one nationwide. Director Linda Roberts of the Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology, though uncertain of the exact reason such disparities exist, speculates the gaps stem from the increased difficulty of modernizing the older school buildings that are typically found in the poorer communities. Workers attempting to outfit more antiquated structures encounter such problems as asbestos dust in the walls, leaky ceilings and outdated electrical wiring that cannot support the activities of modern computers. (New York Times Online, 23 Feb 00 ­ Edupage 25 Feb 00)

FULLY WIRED - Hancock High School in Kiln, Miss, has used $2.1 million in state technology funds and funding from the local school budget that includes a special bond issue to equip all of its students with laptop computers. Mississippi ranks last among all 50 states when it comes to the amount of money spent on each student, and one out of every three children in the state lives in poverty, making Hancock High School an unlikely trend setter. By providing 1,150 laptops to students and teachers, the school has given geographically isolated areas 24-hour access to the Internet. The region's economy is expected to benefit from providing laptops to its high school students and by beginning technology classes in junior high schools, thereby educating the students to enter into technological jobs rather than being economically dependent on the timber industry and nearby casinos. (Kiplinger's, Feb 00 ­ Edupage 17 Feb 00)

MAINE'S KING SEEKS TO GIVE ALL 7TH-GRADERS COMPUTERS - All seventh graders in Maine could receive laptop computers in the fall of next year if a proposal from Governor Angus King succeeds. Under the initiative, the first such plan in the United States, every student in seventh grade and up would have a laptop within six years. Maine's classrooms lag in technology, and the proposal aims to give the state a high-tech edge and close the digital divide. The plan also would fund half the cost of computers for seventh-grade teachers and above, while individual districts would pay the other half. Furthermore, King proposes spending $1 million on training to show teachers how to use technology in the classroom. The proposal would make technology a more integral part of learning, enabling teachers to post assignments on the Web and include online research as part of classroom projects, King's aides say. The proposal calls for every student to have access to e-mail, word processing, and spreadsheets.
(Boston Globe Online, 2 March 00)

FOUR-PART PREDICTION SERIES - 16 Predictions for Higher Education

1. The number of degree-granting institutions will continue to grow, while the number of traditional campuses will decline. By 2025, half of today's existing independent colleges will be closed, merged or significantly altered in mission.

2. University degrees and programs at all levels will be available by information technologies from all quality levels of educational institutions.

3. Courseware producers will sell courses and award credits directly to the end user and thus, through intermediation, bypass the institutional middleman.

4. There will be two principal types of degree and certificate-granting institutions: value-added and certification institutions.

TO BE CONTINUED...
(Samuel L. Dunn, VP for Academic Affairs and a professor business and mathematics at Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, ID)