Learning @ the Speed of Thought...

A Communications and Information Plan
for Warren Township High School

Executive Summary

Wednesday, May 3, 2000

What a daunting task it is to plan for the communication and information needs of a high school in the year 2000.

We know we must prepare students for careers, many of which didn't exist before 1993, some of which may still not exist.

We know that ours is now an economy based on communications and information.

We know that, increasingly, the Internet is becoming the means of transportation for our ideas, messages, and transactions.

Alan November, a nationally recognized speaker on schools and technology, suggests that schools must "create a new culture of learning that prepares students to be successful in an economy that demands access to information and the skills of creating knowledge products." He further suggests that we imagine everyone connected to everyone else, sharing knowledge and wisdom.

In this Communications and Information Plan, we have set goals that acknowledge this changing world where our youth will live and work and that aim at getting everyone connected to the information that he or she needs. The specific goals represented in this plan grew out of the Gap Analysis and other surveys that we conducted, out of our research into emerging trends, and out of the discussions that ensued at our Technology Advisory Committee meetings. Meeting minutes, acknowledgments of committee members, and other documentation are all accessible online; and we encourage interested readers to review our work. Since we recognize that planning for a changing society requires frequent review and revision, we also invite you to join us in coming years to help us monitor the response to this plan and make any course corrections that might be required.

We have identified eight goals to guide our activities in the next years. They are listed below, with brief characterizations:

The intent of this goal is to mobilize stakeholders in support of our students' communications and information literacy. The goal specifies various events and media through which Warren can showcase how students are learning with technology, involve the community in decision-making, and provide information on our communications and information programs.

This goal focuses on the equipment and software necessary to improve the flow of information between the community and the school. Specifics include network equipment that provides more access for student computing, software that facilitates teacher publishing of course information, and programs to assure equitable access to technology for all students and families.

This goal suggests ways to promote implementation of the best instructional practices described in the engaged learning model. A profile tool for gathering of data, for-credit course offerings, support mechanisms, and promotion of successful models are action items listed in this goal.

Through this goal we hope to assure that all Warren graduates have developed basic abilities to access and manage information, that students interested in pursuing careers in technical fields have opportunities to develop technical skills while in high school, and that Warren students have the opportunity to share their technical skills with the community.

One of the most striking needs identified by our committee is to provide teachers greater access to computers. This goal provides laptops for teachers as a tool and an incentive to participate in professional development opportunities, publish course information on the Internet, and participate in other professional computing activities.

While some computing devices have been placed in classrooms, most classrooms still provide little access. Stimulating meaningful placement of communication and information devices in classrooms is the intent of this goal. The goals specifies the creation of engaged learning classrooms in four classrooms at each campus, each consisting of five student work stations and one presentation machine. Other action items in this goal set out to complete our video delivery system and specify the laptops referenced in Goal 5.

Technical support has often lagged behind acquisition of equipment in past projects. This goal identifies benchmarks for assuring that technical support is available to support the other goals in this plan.

Software and hardware systems we currently use to manage our financial and student records data, while functional on some levels, do not promote easy access and manipulation of our data. Systems are becoming available to schools that can help us realize the efficiencies gained through a better flow of information and digital delivery of records. Paired with this need for system improvement is a need for increased training in how to use technology more efficiently.

We offer this Communications and Information Plan as the next step for Warren Township High School as we move into the new millennium. We hope that it gives our young people "the chance to reinvent communications, culture, and community."