Point Loma cluster schools have turned to the Internet as a global educational resource to connect students and educators in dozens of countries around the world across 12 different languages.
The Point Loma cluster schools invited 25-year-old technology entrepreneur Michael Furdyk to speak to teachers, administrators and parents Nov. 8 at Correia Middle School about how the technology students use at home to communicate with friends can be used to educate them about global issues like climate change, HIV and AIDS, said Furdyck.
“It’s about getting teachers to collaborate with other teachers around the world to create really neat learning experiences for kids using the computer,” he said.
Using Furdyk’s website, TakingITglobal.org, educators can seize on the technology similar to social networking sites, like Myspace.com and Facebook.com, to create lesson plans and school projects involving students and even classes in other countries.
Assignments can range from simple tasks like creating a blog to following a downloadable “guide to action” on a given global issue like combating poverty, Furdyk said.
Even with powerful desktop and notebook computers, instant web access and social networking via the Internet, the education system in North America hasn’t done a very good job of keeping students engaged and interested in the classroom, Furdyk told educators.
To help solve the problem, technology in the classroom plays an increasing role in Point Loma cluster schools programs, said Dan Wolfson, program education director of the San Diego Unified School District’s Educational Technologies Department.
For about a year and a half, schools in the district have been focused on using computers and the web as an educational tool, he said.
Wolfson said it’s important that schools bridge the gap between the technologies available at home with what is available at school.
He said two schools in the Point Loma cluster ” Dana Middle School and Point Loma High School ” would be participating in a pilot program that provides a laptop for each student at about $500 to $700 per computer, starting in January, he said. The computers would provide the essentials of computer applications, including web access, basic multimedia applications and word processing, he said.
“It’s not just about trying out a new laptop that costs less,” Wolfson said. “It’s about changing [content] delivery with a hardware solution we can replicate throughout the district.”
By the end of this year, Wolfson said, 26 classrooms in the district should have “one-to-one” access to laptop computers.
Kimberly Eurich, an employer outreach specialist for Point Loma High School, said it’s important for educators to know the technology students use outside of school to help them learn. The mother of a school-age son, she said her son logs on to the social networking site Myspace.com to connect with friends. She said she sees the possibilities for the website Furdyk has created.
“[TakingITglobal.org] is like the kids’ Myspace. Same sort of thing but on issues that really matter,” she said.
The Point Loma cluster of schools is made up of seven elementary schools, two middle schools and Point Loma High School. In 2006, parents, educators and administrators developed a strategic plan with help the public schools in Point Loma stay competitive with a growing number of private and charter schools in the region. For more information, visit www.pointlomacluster.com.
