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Building on our experience working with
Head Start and Early Head Start in Guilford County, Nexus Technology
is working with a Guilford County middle school to outfit a 7th and
8th grade Social Studies class with a classroom set of laptops.
 The
laptops will help bring the world into the classroom, better prepare students for higher education and life in an information economy,
as well as enable students with learning deficits to learn and express
themselves in ways they are unable to using traditional classroom tools.
We estimate that we
need to raise nearly $25,000 for hardware,
software and security measures, and hope you will consider lending a
hand by making a tax deductible financial contribution. You can do
that using the Donate Now button, above, or by mailing a check to
Nexus Technology, PO Box 9218, Greensboro, NC 27429. 100% of all
contributions to this initiative will go directly to purchasing the
laptops and associated materials, not for administration, labor or
other indirect costs.
As terrific as our
public education system is, there is still huge room for
improvement. One area where big gains are readily within reach is
integrating technology into the classroom. Guilford
County Schools does a truly excellent job of providing technology to
teachers and to schools, but extending that all the way to students
in the classroom is a much greater challenge. In large part, that
is because student-level technology exponentially increases the
costs and complexities of hardware, software, supervision and support. It also
requires a classroom teacher who is willing and able to integrate
technology into the curriculum in a way that is effective,
appropriate and in line with other important classroom tools.
 Thus, for the most
part, teachers and schools have the technology they need, but
students do not have technology in their hands capable of bringing
the world into the classroom and better preparing them for higher
education and their future in an information economy. This is
an especially relevant deficit for social studies classes which, by
definition, are intended to expose students to the world as well as
prepare them to live and work in it.
Instead of technology in student hands, what students currently
have are computer labs that are excellently equipped but that are a
scarce resource that cannot
fully serve everyone. Moreover, because computer labs are
separated from the classroom, they elevate technology in the minds of
students to an artificially high status of novelty and superiority
over other essential classroom (and life) tools such as books,
discussion, pencils and paper. Because a class must travel to
a computer lab, the separation also forces teachers
to deviate from normal routines (a disruptive force in middle
school) and choose between technology and all other classroom resources.
These trends are
very similar to those we discovered at the early childhood level
during Nexus Technology’s work with Head Start and Early Head Start
classrooms in Guilford County. They are more pronounced at the
middle school level, however, because students’ ability to use
technology in educationally appropriate ways is so much greater at
the middle school level. Another trend we observed in Head Start
that has re-presented itself at the middle school level is that
children with learning deficits often find that technology enables
them to focus, learn and express themselves in ways they are unable to using
traditional classroom tools. In many cases, therefore, technology
reduces for these students the obstacles that stand in the way of a
bright future.
To be clear,
technology is no silver bullet and, like everything, should be
integrated into the classroom in moderation and in line with all
other resources. At the moment, however, it is scarcely integrated
at all at the student level and, as a result, not only misses widely expanded learning
opportunities, but also misplaces technology in the minds of
students in relation to the myriad of other learning tools.
 Nexus
Technology's response to
this reality is to outfit a 7th and 8th grade Social Studies class with a classroom
set of laptops (30 laptops plus some additional hardware and software to
ensure security and educationally appropriate use). This will not
only meet the immediate needs of many students, but will also serve as a
demonstration of effective technology and curriculum integration
which we hope will spawn follow-on initiatives.
To avoid adding
burden to Guilford County Schools’ Technology Services Department,
Nexus Technology will own, manage and support these laptops. Guilford
County already provides wireless Internet access in the classroom
and maintains an aggressive and effective filter to ensure that students
do not access inappropriate online content. Nexus Technology will
also install software that allows the access to be further limited
to only websites related to the curriculum being taught.
100% of all
contributions to this initiative will go directly to purchasing the
laptops and associated materials. None will be used for any other
purpose – administrative, labor, or otherwise. In the fantastic
event that we raise more than the estimated $25,000 we need, we will
return your contribution to you or apply it to the next outgrowth of
this initiative, whichever you prefer.
Will you join us in
this effort? We need contributions of all sizes, so please do
not
shy away from a $25 contribution, a $2,500 contribution, or a $5,000 contribution.
You can do that using the Donate Now button at the top of this page
or by mailing a check to Nexus Technology, PO Box 9218, Greensboro,
NC 27429. Your contribution will be tax deductible.
Thank you for
reading this through and giving it your heartfelt consideration.
We are grateful to you for that. |
